A INFORMATION COMMISSION URGES NEWS SURVEY FULL REPORT on the work of the Office of Inter national Information of the Department of State was presented to the U. S. Advisory Commission on Information at its initial meeting in Washington, October 7 and 8. pro Addresses of welcome to the Commission were given by Under Secretary of State Robert A. Lovett, and George V. Allen, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, under whose direction the informational gram of the Department functions. Mr. Lovett called upon the Commission members for guidance in developing what he envisaged as "a new era of diplomacy as part of our foreign policy", one of the principal aims of which would be to simplify the terms of diplomatic communications and thus "debunk the mass of confusing details which are put out". ports from his division heads: Douglas Schneider, who outlined the field operations of OII; Herbert T. Edwards, International Motion Pictures; Jack Chipman McDermott, International Press and Publications; Charles W. Thayer, International Broadcasting (Voice of America); and William Stone, special assistant to Mr. Allen. POR Members of the U. S. Advisory Commission on Information, appointed by Mr. Allen stated that information activity "must be a two-way street if we are to avoid a justified accusation of imperialism", and expressed the hope that the Commission "will judge every question by one indelible criterion-the determination to preserve in the United States and gain abroad the widest possible extension of the freedom of information in all its aspects". Lloyd A. Lehrbas, director of the Office of International Information, introduced William C. Johnstone, head of the Office of Educational Exchange, who explained the cooperation between OEX and OII. Mr. Lehrbas then called for re Mark F. Ethridge, chairman of the Commission, called the Government's informational program "not only necessary but vital to the United States and to the people of the world". He referred to the "starvation of knowledge about the United States" despite the "general realization in Europe... that we had become by the outcome of the war not only the trustees of western civilization but the reluctant architects of its future". He deplored the fact that "the war itself had created an intellectual and cultural vacuum and that in the reorientation the United States had not aggressively moved in culturally at all". The Commission requested that a field survey be made of areas of the world that have inadequate or no news services, with a view to determining whether some plan can be worked out to provide such service. It has also undertaken a study of the difficulties, under the restrictions imposed by present security and civil service laws, of staffing the Department's information operations with the highly trained specialists required. U S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1948 United States National Commission for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Street scene in picturesque Beirut, capital of the Lebanon, where the Third Session of the General Conference of UNESCO is now in progress. A cosmopolitan port of 233,667 people, Beirut derives its wealth and importance largely from the great volume of transit trade that passes through its harbor facilities by road and rail to and from Damascus, Baghdad, and other important centers of the Near and Middle East. Situated on a small peninsula, the city provides from many quarters excellent views of the Mediterranean, the Bay of St. George, and, to the east, the snow-capped peaks of the Lebanon mountains. French, Beirut Street Scene as well as some English, is spoken by a majority of the inhabitants in addition to their native tongue. The site of the UNESCO Conference is in the quarter known as "St. Elie el Tina" on the southern edge of the city, not far from the sea. The headquarters will be practically a self-contained unit, situated within the walls of what was once a French military compound. (For story and map see opposite page.) DEPARTMENT OF STATE Published with the approval of the Director of the Bureau of the Budget DECEMBER 1948 STATES NATIONAL COMMISSION UNESCO NATIONAL COMMISSION NEWS VOL. II, NO. 6 TORRES BODET SUCCEEDS HUXLEY IN UNESCO POST UNESCO General Conference in Beirut Adopts $8,000,000 Director-Generalship of UNESCO since it was first organized in the autumn of 1945. Señor Torres Bodet visited Washington briefly on November 30, en route to Beirut to assume the duties of his new position. He was met at the airport by Max McCullough, Deputy Director of the UNESCO Relations Staff, who, delivered to him a congratulatory letter from Secretary of State Marshall. On December 1, Señor Torres Bodet was the guest of honor at a luncheon in New York, at which Archibald MacLeish, member of the Executive Committee of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, was host. The guest company included other members of the National Commission residing in New York. Mr. MacLeish paid eloquent tribute to Señor Torres Bodet on behalf of the National Commission. In replying, Señor Torres Bodet congratulated the Commission on its accomplishments and stated that it "has attained. the maturity that it now possesses owing to the application of those same virtues which form the en during basis of our Organization: exercise of tolerance, enjoyment of untrammeled freedom of opinion and information, respect for the right to think and to produce without undue burden or robot-like acceptance." He added: TURKEY "We, who established the UNESCO, believed that man's will is not only a philosophical device and that the freedom of the spirit means something more than a phrase to be used in electoral speeches. We believed-and I, for one, still continue to believe that if there is something capable of outlasting the desolation of cities and the ruin of civilizations, it is exactly this: the will of those suffering and easily injured beings, whom we call brothers." ARANEAN SEA LEBANON • Aleppo Damascus LEVANT STATES George V. Allen, Assistant Secretary of State for public. affairs and Chairman of the U.S. Delegation to Beirut, in a statement concerning Señor Torres Bodet's election, said: TRANS JORDAN Jerusalem DEAD ARABIA SEA "The election of Jaime Torres Bodet is an event of profound satisfaction to the United States Delegation and the United States Government. It is a tribute to his country, as well as to him.... His capabilities as an administrator and his intellectual leadership, together with his deep devotion to a people's movement, should be invaluable to UNESCO and contribute immensely to the achievement of its goals." Señor Torres Bodet has distinguished himself in the field of diplomacy and letters. He began his career as a teacher, and at the age of 20 was made Chief of the Department of Libraries of the Ministry of Education of Mexico. He served as Minister of Education in Mexico from 1943 to 1946, during which period a unique and intensive campaign against illiteracy was carried out in that country. Señor Torres Bodet has had several volumes of both poetry and fiction published. He is 46 years of age. Mr. Huxley's tenure in office has been marked by the growth of UNESCO from an original group of 30 member nations to a present total of 44, in 31 of which national commissions have been organized. Prominent among UNESCO accomplishments have been surveys of technical needs in the field of mass media in the war-ravaged countries; the adoption of a comprehensive educational reconstruction program for the war-affected areas; establishment of such international bodies as the International Theatre Institute and the International Institute of the Hylean Amazon; and the holding of international seminars. The Beirut Conference opened on November 17, one day after the third anniversary of the signing of the UNESCO constitution in Paris. Speeches of welcome were made at the initial session by Bishara el-Khouri, President of Lebanon, and Hamid al-Frangieh, Lebanese Foreign Minister, who was named president of the Conference. The Interim President, Francisco del Rio, of Mexico, in addressing the conference, urged UNESCO to fight against "barbarism and the desolation of war." Mr. Allen was chosen as one of the seven vice presidents of the conference. One of the first items on the agenda was the annual report of the Director General. In the introduction to his report, Mr. Huxley proclaimed the need for the immediate adoption of "a single unifying idea" to point up the UNESCO ideal, saying: "I would like to throw out the suggestion that for the purpose of a unifying and general appeal, the underlying idea behind all UNESCO's activities can best be expressed in the five words, 'The Advance of World Civilization.' Civilization because civilization implies peace, and is indeed in essence the technque of peaceful living; world civilization because peace must be global, and because civilization confined to one section of humanity is not compatible with UNESCO's constitution, and is indeed provocative of violence and war; advance of world civilization because world civilization is in its infancy, and because we need the dynamic appeal of a distant and ever-receding goal." A feature of one of the earlier sessions of the conference was a speech by Mr. Allen. He stated that "the problems which beset the world today will be well on the way to solution if the UNESCO concept of the essential one-ness of humanity can be brought nearer to acceptance." He added: "I am fully convinced that UNESCO is one of the principal pillars on which a solid United Nations The Conference has adopted an $8,000,000 ceiling on the budget for 1949, with a recommendation to the budget subcommittee that the figure be reduced below that ceiling if possible. Thus the 1949 budget is $317,363 higher than that voted for 1948, but $464,059 lower than the amount requested by the Director General. The administrative commission has voted unanimously to recommend that the United States share of contributions toward the UNESCO budget be reduced from 41.72 to 38.47 percent. The need for further defining UNESCO'S program by adopting more definite projects has been emphasized throughout the conference. On the two days immediately preceding the formal opening of the conference, representatives of national commissions of 20 member nations met in Beirut to discuss their work in relationship to the international organization. Milton S. Eisenhower, Chairman of the U.S. National Commission and Vice Chairman of the U.S. Delegation, was elected Chairman of the group. Members of the U.S. Delegation, appointed by President Truman, include, in addition to Mr. Allen and Mr. Eisenhower, Mrs. Anne O'Hare McCormick, of New York, and Luther H. Evans, Librarian of Congress, and Waldo G. Leland, Director Emeritus, American Council of Learned Societies, both of Washington, delegates, and the following alternates: Mrs. Kathleen Lardie, Division of Instruction of the Detroit Public Schools, Detroit, Mich.; F. D. G. Ribble, Dean of the Law School, University of Virginia, Charlottesville; Joseph Rosier, President Emeritus, Fairmont State Teachers College, Fairmont, W. Va.; and W. Albert Noyes, Jr., National Research Council, and George F. Zook, President, American Council on Education, both of Washington. |