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Jacinta de Jesus da Costa Barreto, 27, secretary general of the Timorese National Commission for UNESCO, could possibly be the youngest leader of a UNESCO national office in the world. Barreto is a physics teacher-turned secretary general, who took the job in September last year. She is currently in Korea to participate in the Study Visit Program run by the Korean National Commission for UNESCO. The program aims to build the capacity for national commissions from the least developed countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Barreto said the Timorese commission has a lot to learn in carrying out the UNESCO mandates: to bring peace, eradicate poverty, and achieve sustainable development in her country through better education, more application of the sciences, cultural communication and information sharing. It also has priorities in Africa and gender equality. “We’re still a baby. And I am here to learn how to develop the national commission,” the secretary general told The Korea Times during an interview last week in Seoul. In 2003, Timor-Leste became a member of UNESCO and opened the national commission in 2009. Out of 193 member states and seven associate members of UNESCO, 196 run a national commission that operates independently. Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, is a small country comprising the eastern half of the island of Timor in Southeast Asia. First colonized by Portugal in the 16th century, the country gained its independence in 1975, but only for 10 days. It was then occupied by Indonesia until 1999. On May 20, 2002, it officially became a sovereign state. The violence that followed the separation from Indonesia in August 1999 led to the loss of thousands of lives. Nearly 70 percent of private homes and public buildings were destroyed. The country suffered personnel loss as well, with only two electrical power engineers, 20 percent of its secondary school teachers and 23 doctors left. In 2006, a major crisis erupted, again slowing down the nation-building process. According to the CIA World Factbook, the country’s conditions are still grave. Among roughly 1 million people, 42 percent live below the poverty line. The unemployment rate is close to 20 percent, especially high among the youth. The illiteracy rate is 41.4 percent, also high among women. Barreto distinguishes herself as one of the very few lucky women who has made their way up in a society where gender equality was non-existent. “Many women usually stay at home and cook,” she said. It was her father, a math teacher, who inspired her to live a life different from others. “My father always gave me motivation for education,” she said. Foreign donor countries to East Timor are actively seeking gender equality for the Timorese women. The Irish Ambassador to Korea Eamonn Mckee once said between 2009 and 2010 the Irish government invited Timorese women for a discussion on women’s protection and political engagement in conflict areas to nurture them for active leadership. Barreto’s background in science education is helpful to her UNESCO stewardship. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics in 2007 in East Timor, she taught physics at a high school and at a university. Among her many duties was training teachers, and she also served as executive director of the Center Study of Science and Math, a private organization promoting science and math education. While at the center, she contributed to the making the “Multimedia Encyclopedia of Science and Math in Everyday Life.” One of the upcoming projects for the Timorese National Commission is a “Hands-on Science and Mathematics Training Course.” She drafted the proposal and is now refining it with the help of the Korean national commission team, and will implement it in August when she goes back. For this, the Korean commission will provide $20,000. During one month of training in Seoul, Barreto together with two other participants from Nepal and Myanmar, will visit heritage sites, schools, different cities in Korea and meet experts from various fields. She said everything she is experiencing in Korea will be of good use. Above all, the extent of development and advancement in technology she is witnessing will be the biggest lesson she’ll take back home. skim@koreatimes.co.kr |
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