EAC, UNESCO to Strengthen Cooperation with New Deal Covering Education and Culture

The East African Community (EAC) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) have reaffirmed their commitment to collaborating on areas of mutual interest, including education, health, culture, sports, music, and the arts.

Both the EAC and UNESCO have agreed to negotiate and sign a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to replace the one signed in 2006.

During a courtesy visit to EAC Secretary General Veronica Nduva in Arusha, Tanzania, UNESCO's Head of Office and Representative to Tanzania and the EAC, Michel Toto, highlighted the shared priorities of both organisations. These priorities include promoting education, culture, and Kiswahili as a lingua franca in East Africa and globally.

Toto emphasised the need for the new MoU to align with the EAC and UNESCO’s priorities and called for expedited negotiations. He stressed the importance of education in promoting global peace and noted UNESCO's commitment to promoting Kiswahili in East Africa and beyond.

He also mentioned that UNESCO aims to strengthen its cooperation with the EAC, similar to its successful partnerships with the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which have yielded significant mutual benefits.

EAC Secretary General Veronica Nduva expressed the EAC's reliance on its development partners for planning and executing key programmes and projects. She acknowledged UNESCO’s contributions to sectors such as gender, culture, education, and health, and highlighted the potential benefits of further cooperation.

Nduva informed Mr. Toto of the EAC’s dedication to promoting Kiswahili as the region's lingua franca, now one of the Community's official languages alongside French and English. She noted that 7th July is celebrated as World Kiswahili Language Day, with recent celebrations held in Mombasa, Kenya.

The Secretary General emphasised the EAC's prioritisation of education, noting the bloc's status as a Common Higher Education Area and the establishment of specialised institutions to facilitate professional interaction and knowledge exchange.

Nduva also highlighted various initiatives to promote and preserve the region's cultural heritage, including the annual Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Forum, EAC Games, and JAMAFEST – a biennial festival showcasing culture as a key driver of regional integration.

She underscored the importance of revisiting the MoU between the EAC and UNESCO, stating that the updated agreement would encourage mobility in the arts, music, and sports, and support MSMEs.

Also present at the event were EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Infrastructure, Productive, Social and Political Sectors, Andrea Aguer Ariik Malueth, Faith Shayo, the National Programme Officer (Education) at the UNESCO Dar es Salaam Office, and Maurice Tayebwa, the Gender, Youth and Children Expert at the EAC Secretariat.