The Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts, Premila Kumar met with the UNESCO Representative for the Pacific States, Ms. Nisha virtually to get an update on the work of UNESCO in Fiji and identify key priority areas for the Ministry.
A number of important activities formed part of the meeting agenda. However, the three important ones that the Ministry, in consultation with UNESCO, will address are Public Library, Heritage and Arts, and Science, Technology and Innovation Policy.
Minister Kumar, said, “Public libraries across the world have evolved over time. However, our public libraries are still lacking visibility and have not yet adopted to changing times. Traditional libraries are no longer as relevant as we move into an era of digital education and bring library services to people’s doorstep”.
Globally, heritage tourism has become one of the largest and fastest growing tourism sectors, with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation estimating that more than 50% of tourists worldwide are now motivated by a desire to experience a country’s culture and heritage.
Minister Kumar stated that Levuka has been declared as a World Heritage Site and there is a need to promote heritage tourism by first improving the sites which is of significance to our history and culture. The Ministry will work with relevant stakeholders promote heritage sites in Fiji for local and international tourist market.
UNESCO has supported a number of countries that have built their national archives system. Fiji is the first country in the Pacific with a fully digitalised archive resources. With the assistance and support from the UNESCO Pacific Office, the Ministry will work towards building strong communication to promote the work of National Archives in Fiji, rich in information for research and reference.