PARIS, France — Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, now in Paris, France, for the 39th Session of the UNESCO General Conference, headed a CARICOM delegation to a meeting with the outgoing Director General of UNESCO Irina Bokova, during which multilateral cooperation among Caribbean countries was one of the areas discussed.

The CARICOM representative in the delegation raised the matter and the discussion focused on the usefulness of shifting from bilateral to multilateral cooperation particularly in education, science and technology.

Among the other subjects covered according to a release from the ministry, was the need for increased participation from CARICOM states in the Leadership Forum, which formed part of then plenary of the General Conference. This was seen to be another avenue for Caribbean countries to share their concerns.

The meeting also called for increased support for Caribbean countries enabling them to have more World Heritage Sites.

Director General Bokova expressed appreciation for the points raised and indicated that she will share them with the new Director.

In presenting the outgoing director general with an autographed book by track legend, Usain Bolt and a packet of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, Grange expressed appreciation for her service during the last eight years and in particular her support for programmes in the Caribbean.

In attendance were also members of the senior management team of UNESCO including Director for the Caribbean Cluster, Katherine Grigsby.

The delegation was made up of ministers, permanent delegates to UNESCO, secretaries-general and other government officials attending the UNESCO Conference. Also included was Dr Eduardo Ali, Programme Manager Human Resource Development (Education, Labour and Sport), CARICOM Secretariat.