Stories: of Migration

Courier
T H E U N E S CO
October-December 2021
Stories of • Nigerian migrants:

Pursuing the dream at any cost
• Peru faces a surge
MIGRATION of climate migrants

• The long history of
the Overseas Chinese
• “The history of humanity is made
up of a succession of migrations”
An interview with Eva-Maria Geigl
IDEAS OUR GUEST
Open Science: Latin America: The golden age

A global movement of dinosaurs • An interview with palaeontologist
catches on Miriam Pérez de los Ríos
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Courier
T H E UNE SCO
Contents Editorial
Families forced out of their homes by war,
makeshift camps on the outskirts of cities,
survivors of perilous sea crossings – news
4
channels have become used to trivializing
WIDE ANGLE images of migrants, who are too often reduced to
an archetype of contemporary misfortune. These
Stories of MIGRATION news items reflect very real situations, like those
currently being experienced by civilians trying to
Nigerian migrants: Pursuing the dream at any cost . . . .. .. . 7 flee Afghanistan.
Lanre Ikuteyijo
The tragic side of migration, however, far
Refugees: Overcoming prejudices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 10 from summarizes the complex, plural, and
Alexander Betts changing reality of this major twenty-first
century phenomenon. In 2020, the International
Peru faces a surge of climate migrants. . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 14 Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that
Laura Berdejo
the number of international migrants worldwide
In Canada, a centre to treat the wounds of exile... .. .. .. .. 17 was 272 million. These people left their home
Guy Sabourin countries to flee violence, natural disasters, or
the effects of climate change – but also to study,
Mobile phones: An indispensable tool for migrants . . .. . 20 work, and invent a new life somewhere else.
Moha Ennaji
This figure, which continues to rise, is frequently
Venera Toktorova: A Kyrgyz migrant makes her way. .. . 22 exploited by those who use it as a political
Nazigul Jusupova weapon, to argue that migrants – convenient
scapegoats for the fears and frustrations of
The Overseas Chinese: A long history. . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 24 host communities – pose a real threat. These
Zhuang Guotu fears are exacerbated during a pandemic,
fuelled by preconceived notions and prejudices
Teeth: Mapping our past mobility .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 27 about migrants, which serve to obscure well-
Jenny Dare
established data – particularly that population
“The history of humanity is made up movements primarily occur between low- and
of a succession of migrations”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 28 middle-income countries, and that nearly half of
An interview with Eva-Maria Geigl all migrants do not cross borders.
These prejudices also fuel rejection, racism, and
even discrimination, against the new arrivals.
30 ZOOM
“UNESCO offered me the world”.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 30
A retrospective of Dominique Roger’s work
Women are particularly penalized. It is precisely
to encourage living together and to reduce this
kind of discrimination that UNESCO set up
the International Coalition of Inclusive and
Sustainable Cities (ICCAR).
The Organization is also keen to remind us that
40 IDEAS
Open science: A global movement catches on. .. .. .. .. .. .. 41
Chérifa Boukacem-Zeghmouri
behind the dry statistics, there are thousands of
human destinies, countless stories – sometimes
terrible, often happy – and the richness of a
cultural mix that is part of our lives and our
collective history.
Making scientific evaluations more transparent. .. .. .. .. . 44
Alex Holcombe Does the term migration still mean anything in
our globalized societies, which are characterized
by an intensification of exchanges and travel,
46
where “somewhere else” is now within reach of
OUR GUEST
many people?
Latin America: The golden age of dinosaurs.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 46 In Le Métier à métisser, the Haitian writer René
An interview with Miriam Pérez de los Ríos Depestre invites us to rethink the very idea of
exile: “The process of globalization is a call
to render outdated and obsolete the belief that,
50 IN DEPTH
Journalism: A dangerous profession. . . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 50
to have an identity, one must stay at home,
smelling the aroma of one’s grandmother’s
coffee.”
Agnès Bardon
WIDE ANGLE
Stories of
MIGRATION
Sans titre VII, Polyptych detail, 2006 © Anabell Guerrero
Details of faces and hands are the only fragments of identity visible in the series Voix du Monde / Délocalisation
(Voices of the World/Relocation), 2006, polyptych by French-Venezuelan artist Anabell Guerrero.
4 | The UNESCO Courier • October-December 2021

Agnès Bardon
of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). The effects of climate
UNESCO
change – including water shortages, land impoverishment,
and coastal erosion – are also driving up the numbers of
F
people fleeing their homes.
or the first time in many years, the increase in the In response, the UN adopted the Global Compact for
number of international migrants slowed down in Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in 2018. Its objective
2020. This slight downturn can be explained primarily is to improve the situation for migrants internationally,
by the restrictions on movement linked to the Covid- and to encourage co-operation in the field of migration.
19 pandemic – the flow of migrants has otherwise been The agreement also emphasizes that states must provide
steadily growing for decades. In 2020, 281 million people assistance to migrants travelling on dangerous routes.
were living in a country in which they had not been born. This The plight of many migrants – especially illegal ones, who
figure has increased from 173 million in 2000, and 84 million are at the mercy of human traffickers – includes exploitation,
in 1970. racketeering, and violence. Some pay for the journey with
Then, as now, people leave their home countries to escape their lives. In the first quarter of 2021 alone, 1,146 people died
poverty, to build what they hope will be a better life. Often, at sea while attempting to cross the Mediterranean.
they leave their families behind to find a new future. The main For those who make it, the reality in the host country
migration corridors that have formed over time still connect is often far removed from the life they had dreamed of –
developing countries to industrialized ones – the United many migrants face prejudice and even discrimination. In a
States, Europe, the Russian Federation, and Saudi Arabia. deteriorating economic context marked by uncertainty, the
Increasingly, people are also leaving their countries to arrival of new populations is sometimes perceived as a threat,
escape conflict and violence. In 2020, refugees and asylum fuelling fears and frustration.
seekers accounted for twelve per cent of the total number That the reality is more complex and nuanced than it
of migrants, compared to 9.5 per cent two decades earlier. appears is often forgotten. While the number of migrants may
Between 2000 and 2020, the number of people forced into seem high, they only represent 3.5 per cent of the world’s
exile by war, crisis, or persecution doubled from 17 million population – which is far from the surge that some describe.
to 34 million, according to the United Nations Department Besides, the vast majority of migrants move within their own 
Reporting on migration:
A handbook for journalists and educators
Migration and forced displacement are practitioners, the handbook presents
among the most challenging topics for the a comprehensive curriculum for journalism
media to report on today. To the extent that educators through thirteen modules. These
journalists and news organizations are include key terms, context, professional
sometimes reluctant to tackle these complex challenges, best practice, dealing with
and sensitive issues. trauma (of migrants and refugees, but also of
A UNESCO handbook, Reporting on Migrants the journalists who cover them), cross-border
and Refugees: Handbook for Journalism collaboration, and how to pitch migrant and
Educators, published in 2021, helps refugee stories.
journalism educators address these issues. Journalism students using the guide will
It provides a wealth of open-access resources, learn that migration stories are, above
theory and case studies from across the all, human stories, and require ethical
globe to promote a better understanding of reporting, accurate facts and reliable
migration issues, and to encourage a more sources. Practising journalists can use the
balanced and informed public debate.
handbook to improve their reporting, and to
Developed by an international group resolve their own challenges when they cover
of media researchers, educators and migration.
Stories of MIGRATION | 5
WIDE ANGLE
continent. In 2020, nearly half of all international migrants

resided in their native region.
The fact that the displacement of populations has always
© Alireza Tabouk - posterfortomorrow - 2017

been a part of human history is also overlooked. The oldest
known human or pre-human presence outside Africa dates
back over 2 million years.
Above all, the fact that there are always human destinies
and life stories – sometimes dramatic, often happy – behind
the dry statistics is often ignored. And that, out of this
mingling of cultures, success stories in the worlds of business,
sport, music, and scientific research, have emerged.
In the long term, the contribution of migrants is usually
an asset for host societies. This is not something that a
non-governmental organization is claiming. The Council
of Europe, in a 2017 report, Migration as an opportunity for
European development, stated that “migrants bring diversity
to European countries, contributing to cultural exchanges
and having an important impact on arts, sports, fashion,
media and cuisine.”
Freedom of movement is a human right, by Iranian
graphic artist Alireza Tabouk.
GLOBAL MIGRATION, BY THE NUMBERS
272 million 25.9 million

International migrants Global refugees in 2018
in the world in 2019
41.3 million Internally
Created by Adrien Coquet
from the Noun Project
3.5 per cent of the displaced persons due to violence

world’s population and conflict at the end of 2020
52 per cent were male
$689 billion
Main countries where Total international
international migrants remittances in 2018
primarily originate: Created by Arafat Uddin
Top recipients of remittances:
• India: 17.5 million • India: $78.6 billion
• Mexico: 11.8 million • China: $67.4 billion
• Mexico: $35.7 billion
• China: 10.7 million
Created by Gan Khoon Lay
Top countries sending remittances:

• United States: $68 billion
Main country of destination • United Arab Emirates: $44.4 billion
for migrants: United States • Saudi Arabia: $36.1 billion Created by Silviu Ojog
Source : World Migration Report 2020, International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Nigerian migrants:
Pursuing the dream
at any cost
Why are more and more young Nigerians choosing to leave
their country? Growing unemployment, the lack of opportunities,
the attraction of an idealized West, and the ignorance of the dangers
of illegal immigration explain this massive exodus.
Lanre Ikuteyijo
Senior Lecturer at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
N
igerian youth constitute one of relation to irregular migration, the study
the largest populations among focused on 15- to 35-year-olds. All those
migrants travelling from interviewed were susceptible to irregular
countries of the Global South migration – they were either unemployed, In 2020, 53.4 per
to Europe. Why are these young people in their final year of tertiary education, cent of young
deciding to leave their country? Are they or engaged in the compulsory National
aware of the dangers they may encounter Youth Service Corps. Nigerians were
en route? These questions formed the
basis for my study, Irregular Migration as
The young people who fell into one or
more of these categories expressed fear
unemployed
Survival Strategy: Narratives from Youth in of the future, and viewed migration as a
Urban Nigeria, published in 2019. survival strategy to escape an existence
Carried out in four major Nigerian of poverty and powerlessness. The voluntarily, or because they had been
cities – Lagos, Ibadan, Ile-Ife, and Benin study also included youth who had left deported.
City – chosen for their characteristics in the country and then returned – either The first lesson learned was that most
of these youth were unfamiliar with
formal, legal immigration processes.
More than half of them did not own valid
passports, a minimum requirement for
safe and legal international migration.
They knew, however, that it was possible
to migrate illegally, or, as they say in
Nigeria, “travelling to Europe by road”.
Most of them knew someone who had left
the country illegally, using forged travel
documents, or the services of human
© Osama Hajjaj / Cartoon Movement
traffickers or smugglers.
The consensus was that “the end
justifies the means”. Most of the youth
did not consider irregular migration a
crime, but a practical solution that was
“diplomatic” or “smart.” Their strong
motivation to migrate meant they failed to
see the risks of an illegal journey, making 
African immigration to Europe, by Jordanian cartoonist Osama Hajjaj, for Cartoon Movement,
a global platform for editorial cartoons based in the Netherlands.
|
Nigerian migrants: Pursuing the dream at any cost 7
WIDE ANGLE
them easy prey for human trafficking who had successfully migrated enjoyed a of destination countries. “Been to”, the
cartels. better quality of life. “Those who migrate popular term for people who have visited
outside the country often live far better foreign continents, especially Europe and
An idealized vision than we do in Nigeria. They have constant America, conferred a level of social status.
of life abroad power supply, better weather, eat a good A returnee migrant at a social gathering
diet, and are relatively safe,” said Saturday*, was seen to add glamour and prestige.
An “imagined West” – an idealized view a 29-year-old unemployed woman. Information about destination
of life in western countries – is often Their attitudes were also influenced countries – which was often exaggerated
at the heart of the immigration plan. by radio, television, music, and other or inaccurate – came from informal sources
Respondents generally believed that those popular culture and media portrayals like friends, relatives, and social media.
Africa: Using rap to highlight the dangers

of irregular migration
The video clip from Prévenue (Warned), released to mark International Migrants Day on 18 December
2020, was a big hit in Senegal. It features the rapper Xuman warning hip-hop artist Mamy Victory
of the risks of choosing to immigrate on irregular migration routes.
The video is part of the Empowering Youth in Africa through Media and Communication project,
an awareness-raising campaign by UNESCO in West and Central Africa. The goal is to provide
young people with fair and balanced information on migration issues, and on the discrimination
that migrants face in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The two-week campaign involved relaying videos, cartoons, audio and visual messages on social
media networks and in local media in eight countries – Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea,
Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal. Besides French and English, content was produced in twenty official
and national languages – including Baule, Fanti, Malinke, Yoruba, and Wolof.
The videos featured were the result of two writing workshops on the theme of migration organized
in Dakar, Senegal, and Niamey, Niger, in October and November 2020. Held in collaboration with
Senegal’s Association Africulturban and Niger’s Global Actions Forum, the workshops were attended
by journalists, experts, artists, and migrants. The campaign attracted nearly 6 million views and
300,000 engagements across digital platforms during its fifteen-day run.
© UNESCO
A video clip of Prévenue, by rappers Xuman and Mamy Victory, warning of the perils of illegal migration.
The clip gained 235,000 views on UNESCO/Dakar’s YouTube page.

Endemic unemployment
Nigeria’s economy and high levels of
youth unemployment push people
to seek better opportunities, jobs and
security. In 2020, the country’s National
Bureau of Statistics reported that 53.4 per
cent of young people were unemployed.
According to 2021 data from the World
Poverty Clock, an estimated 86 million
Nigerians, or forty-one per cent of the
population, live in extreme poverty.
These economic realities, coupled with
other variables such as political instability,
rising waves of conflict – and now, the
effects of the Covid-19 pandemic – have
led to an increasing number of youth
in certain categories leaving Nigeria for
other countries perceived to hold greater
© UNESCO
promise.
“I have to check all this out,” by Damien Glez, one of ten drawings by the French-Burkinabe
Most of the youth cartoonist for UNESCO’s Empowering Youth in Africa through Media and Communication
campaign, 2020.
did not consider
irregular migration
a crime, but a education system in Nigeria is fraught migration may lead to policy solutions.
with regular episodes of industrial Nigeria must bridge inequality, create
practical solution action by academic and allied workers. employment, and guarantee security
that was ‘smart’ This contributes to a loss of confidence for its population, so that young people
in these institutions, and disruption in do not want to leave. Programmes and
education. As a result, young people seek activities should educate youth on the
opportunities to study outside Nigeria. dangers and pitfalls of irregular migration
– demystifying both the life of an irregular
Most respondents who left Nigeria Educating youth migrant, and the reality of living in
illegally said they were completely on illegal migration destination countries. Secondary school
unaware of what lay ahead. Many of those curricula should include information on
who came back recounted horrendous This often leads to a form of step the rights of migrants and international
stories of their attempts to reach Europe. migration, where most students would migration procedures.
Jessica, a 30-year-old woman who had rather remain in destination countries, to Nigeria must promote and build
returned from Italy, reported that six seek greener pastures at the end of their a youth-friendly economy, where
of the girls she had travelled with, died studies, than return home. Jessica was enterprising young people are given the
at sea. A hundred and sixty girls were lured by traffickers who promised her financial and practical support they need.
transported in three ships. Two of the the better prospect of an uninterrupted Each of these interventions is vital to
ships developed mechanical faults in education abroad. “During the first-term ensure that the country retains the army
the middle of the sea, and six girls died holidays in secondary school, a family of skills and the capacities embodied in its
before the ships could be rescued. The friend told my parents that he would take youthful population.
surviving girls were eventually picked me to Italy to continue my education. My
up by prospective patrons or employers, parents succumbed to the idea because
illicit or otherwise, when the ship finally they felt that in Italy my education would
berthed in Madrid, Spain. be unhindered.” She later realized that
The growth and development of any she had been deceived, and returned
nation largely depends on its human home. *All names have been changed to protect
capital development, often encapsulated Understanding the reasons these the identities of those who participated in
in training and education. The public young Nigerians are susceptible to the study.
Nigerian migrants: Pursuing the dream at any cost | 9

WIDE ANGLE
Widespread preconceived notions about refugees from Africa

– that they are all potential candidates for immigration to
Europe, North America, or Australasia; that host societies are
always hostile to migrants; that refugees would inevitably
create competition for the scarce jobs needed by the citizens
of their host community – are largely refuted by field studies.
Refugees: Overcoming
prejudices
Alexander Betts
internationally, most movements are
Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs
either within East Africa to neighbouring
at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
Uganda, or through organized relocations
T
such as repatriation or resettlement. Only
oday there are more people communities. I draw upon that research a tiny proportion – far below one per cent
displaced by persecution, to challenge five popular myths about per year – are moving inter-regionally to
conflict, and other crises than refugees in Africa. Europe or other rich countries.
at any time since the Second The implication is that we need to
World War – 82.4 million, with 26 million Mobility recognize that most refugees are – and
having crossed a border as refugees. “Refugees in Africa will will continue to be – hosted by low- and
However, amid the politicization of all come to Europe” middle-income countries in their regions
asylum and immigration, in both rich of origin.
and poor countries, refugees increasingly In rich regions of the world, there is a
face challenges of accessing international common perception that all refugees Social Cohesion
protection. want to travel to Europe, North America, “Host communities
Part of the problem stems from or Australasia. The reality of refugee are inevitably hostile
misinformation. The media and politicians mobility is quite different. Eighty-six per to refugees”
sometimes distort public perception, cent of refugees are hosted by low- and
portraying refugees as an inevitable middle-income countries, and nine out of There is a common assumption that
burden on receiving communities. ten of the leading refugee countries are in receiving communities inevitably regard
In my recent book, The Wealth of the global South. the presence of refugees as a burden.
Refugees: How Displaced People Can Build It is true that aspirations to move to Yet, given the right policies, refugees are
Economies, published in 2021, I argue rich countries are great. But many also sometimes regarded positively. In some
for an evidence-based approach to acknowledge that this is unrealistic. For remote border regions, the presence of
refugee policy. Drawing upon extensive example, in Addis Ababa, more than refugees and humanitarian organizations
qualitative and quantitative research in ninety-five per cent of refugees hope may be one of very few sources of jobs
East Africa – including an original survey to move on to a third country. However, and markets.
of more than 16,000 refugees and host more than half recognize that this is likely For the local Turkana community of
community members in camps and to be unrealistic in the near future. Kenya, for example, the presence of the
cities in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda – In Kenya, although a significant Kakuma refugee camps offers a market for
I argue that given inclusive policies, it number of refugees do change their their firewood and livestock, employment
is possible for refugees to be, and be residency in a given year, the majority of opportunities, and access to schools and
perceived to be, contributors to their host movement is internal. For those moving clinics.

© UNHCR / Samuel Otieno
D ef in it io n s
Migrants, refugees,
or displaced persons?
Migrant: There is no legally

accepted definition of the term
“migrant” at the international level.
According to the United Nations’
International Organization for
Migration (IOM), it refers to “any
person who has resided away from
his or her place of usual residence,
whether within a country or across
an international border, regardless
of the person’s legal status; whether
the movement is involuntary or
voluntary; what the causes for
the movement are; or, what the
length of the stay is.” However,
it is common to include certain
categories of short-term migrants,
A woman from Turkana (left) and her friend, a refugee from South Sudan, at the Kalobeyei such as seasonal agricultural
Integrated Settlement in north-west Kenya. workers, who migrate at planting
or harvest time.
Refugee: As defined by the
Across our focus countries, we have and freedom of movement. However, 1951 Geneva Convention, the term
found that what matters most to host many refugee-hosting countries impose applies to “any person who, owing
communities is the quality of economic restrictions on these entitlements. They to a well-founded fear of persecution
interaction. The people with the most do so because they believe that allowing for reasons of race, religion,
positive attitudes towards refugees tend refugees to work will create tension with nationality, membership of a
to be those who benefit economically the host community. particular social group or political
from their presence. We have also found The result is that refugees in countries opinion, is outside the country of his
that contact makes a difference – higher such as Kenya and Tanzania have to or her nationality… and is unable or,
levels of intergroup interaction are remain for many years in refugee camps, owing to such fear, is unwilling to
strongly associated with more positive without access to employment. The return to it”.
host community attitudes, particularly evidence suggests this has negative
Displaced persons: Persons
in cities. Furthermore, most people’s consequences for refugees’ rights and
who have been forced or obliged
attitudes towards refugees are strongly well-being, and that it may also be bad
to flee or to leave their homes or
correlated with those held by their for host countries.
places of habitual residence, in
families and neighbours – suggesting that Uganda is one of the few African
particular as a result of or in order
attitudes are formed within immediate countries to allow refugees to work and
to avoid the effects of armed conflict,
communities. choose their place of residence. This
situations of generalized violence,
The implication is that host commu approach has significant benefits for
violations of human rights or natural
nities can be welcoming towards refugees, refugees. Refugees in Uganda have sixteen
or human-made disasters. This
and there are policies that can be adopted per cent higher incomes than refugees in
definition covers both internal and
to strengthen inclusion. Put simply, neighbouring Kenya.
cross-border displacement.
refugee policies also need to support There is some evidence that such
host communities, and the relationship policies benefit not only refugees, but Asylum seeker: An individual
between refugees and hosts. also host country citizens. For example, in who is seeking international
Kampala, the Ugandan capital, we found protection. According to UNHCR,
Right to Work that some twenty-one per cent of refugee the UN Refugee Agency, the term
households have a business that employs is used to define “someone whose
“Host countries lose by
at least one other person, and that forty request for sanctuary has yet to be
letting refugees work”
per cent of their employees are host processed.”
Refugees have socio-economic rights nationals. For many Ugandans, refugees
under international refugee and human contribute to the economy as producers, Source : Glossary on Migration, International
rights law. These include the right to work consumers, and entrepreneurs. Organization for Migration (IOM)

|
11
WIDE ANGLE
© UNHCR / Samuel Otieno
Maombi Samil, a 24-year-old refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, makes face masks at his small business in Kenya’s Kakuma camp.
The implication is that we need to majority of registered refugees are in in camps tend to be younger and female.
actively promote – and incentivize – camp-like settings. According to UNHCR, Sometimes refugees divide their families,
the right and opportunity for refugees the UN Refugee Agency, just sixteen per with those able to work moving to the city,
to work, no matter where they are in the cent of Kenya’s refugees are in the capital, and those with assistance needed or care
world. Nairobi; six per cent of Uganda’s are in responsibilities remaining in the camps.
Kampala; and four per cent of Ethiopia’s are Our research in East Africa reveals three
Cities versus camps in its capital city, Addis Ababa. The urban- key insights. First, refugees earn more,
“Refugees are always better rural distribution reflects government own more, and work more in the city, but
off in cities than in camps” restrictions, the relative availability of are not necessarily happier, healthier, or
assistance versus employment, and the better fed than those who live in camp-
Reflecting the broader global trend in preferences of refugees. like settings. Second, host communities
urbanization, most refugees are now in The composition of urban and camp are generally more positive towards
cities. However, this is not the case in sub- cohorts is generally different. Those in refugees in rural than urban settings.
Saharan Africa, where the overwhelming cities tend to be older and male, and those Third, there is temporary and permanent

©P
ara
Immigrant Nobel
m
on
ov A
laureates lead the way
lexander/S
Since 1969, when the Nobel Memorial Prize in
hu
tte
rst
Economic Sciences was first awarded, the majority
ock
of Nobel prizes have gone to institutions in the United

States. However, the scientists behind the cutting-edge research
have often been expatriates from all over the world. Out of the
281 laureates who were exclusively affiliated with the winning
US institutions, eighty-seven were born abroad, according to the
Nobel Prize Foundation,
This trend can be observed in other countries as well. Since 1969,
fifteen out of forty-five laureates representing institutions in the
United Kingdom were born abroad. The largest number of foreign
laureates can be found in Switzerland, with eight foreign-born
laureates to seven Swiss-born laureates. Countries whose
institutions made it to the top ten without the help of immigrant
scientists are Japan, with fifteen homegrown laureates,
and Sweden, with eight.
The high percentage of immigrant and expat Nobel prize winners
can mainly be attributed to research institutions attracting
scientists from across the world. According to the 2021 UNESCO
Science Report, the G20 countries accounted for almost eighty-
nine per cent of the world’s researcher population (in full-time
equivalents).
The biggest shares can be found in the European Union
(23.5 per cent), China (21.1 per cent), and the US (16.2 per cent).
In some cases, the researcher population has grown faster than
research expenditure, resulting in a struggle for project funding.
This could lead to a brain drain.
it is also important to recognize that

Eighty-six per refugee assistance takes place in
the context of complex and often
cent of refugees ambiguous politics.
are hosted by The politics of refugee rights is evident
in examining what motivates even the
low- and middle- most progressive and generous refugee-
movement between camps and cities in
both directions.
income countries hosting countries. For example, Uganda’s
widely praised self-reliance policy needs
The implication of these insights is to be understood in a historical or
that neither urban nor rural residency political context. Far from being a recent
is inherently better for refugees than creation, it has emerged over time with
Politics
the other. Each option represents a the support of successive presidents.
constrained choice with relative pros and “Refugee assistance is The implication is that international
cons. Refugee policies need to focus on entirely humanitarian” humanitarian organizations need to be
improving access to entitlements in both aware of the political context in which
urban and rural contexts. Refugee protection and assistance are refugee protection takes place. Rather
often viewed as purely humanitarian than simply relying upon advocacy,
acts. International law and advocacy different strategies and incentives are
certainly play an important role in needed to promote refugee rights in
shaping refugee protection. However, different countries.
Refugees: Overcoming prejudices | 13

WIDE ANGLE
With more than 3,000 kilometres of coastline and ecosystems

that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change,
Peru is one of the countries in the world where natural events
and human mobility are strongly correlated.
Peru faces a surge

of climate migrants
Laura Berdejo
levels, as the frequency and intensity of major climate - r elated population
UNESCO environmental hazards are expected to movement dates back to the eighteenth
B
skyrocket. century, when the Zaña river overflowed
etween 2008 and 2019, around “The key word here is huaico”, explains and the entire city had to migrate.”
656,000 of Peru’s 33 million Liliana Márquez, a camerawoman for The El Niño Southern Oscillation
inhabitants were forced to a television channel in Lima. “That’s (ENSO) is the most consequential driver
move because of natural what we call the flash floods caused of natural climate variability in Peru.
disasters, according to the Internal by torrential rains that originate from Characterized by warming (El Niño) and
Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). the El Niño phenomenon, almost every cooling (La Niña) events of the ocean
It is estimated that by 2100, these summer. These have now become surface temperature in the Pacific,
movements could reach unprecedented recurrent in a country where the first the phenomenon causes atmospheric
© Benjamin Morales Arnao

changes that can profoundly affect the of the highlands, and also threaten one of stress in the Amazon region, the almost
climate – particularly rainfall patterns. the country’s principal fresh water sources. total melting of glaciers in the Andes, and
Its most recent coastal occurrence, Finally, the selva, with its rainforests, more intense El Niño events that would
in 2017, led to nearly 300,000 people is experiencing an increasing number of endanger coastal populations.
being displaced. But beyond the El large-scale floods. At the other extreme,
Niño phenomenon, each of Peru’s three there are severe droughts, riverbank Internal displacements
ecosystems is exposed to specific risks collapses, erosion, deforestation, and the
that are capable of contributing to risks of extreme heat stress. In Peru, migration – whether permanent
massive waves of migration. In a country where the poverty or temporary, internal or external – has
rate is more than twenty per cent, and always existed historically. Traditionally,
Natural risks on the rise where social inequalities have increased fewer people have migrated to the
considerably due to the pandemic, these country than those who have left – to
While the inhabitants of the costa environmental threats further accentuate improve their job prospects, for social
– the coastal region where most of the the socio-economic vulnerability of the and educational opportunities, and
country’s population and economy are population. increasingly, to escape environmental
concentrated – suffer the full effects of According to a 2021 assessment hazards.
ENSO, they are also affected by recurring of Peru by the Potsdam Institute for “These historical flows have resulted
droughts, periods without rain and, Climate Impact Research (PIK), and the in strong migration networks across the
to a lesser extent, high and extreme International Organization for Migration country that pull new migration towards
temperatures, forest fires, and strong (IOM), half of Peru’s national territory is cities and the coast and boost remittances
winds. exposed to recurring hazards, and one to rural areas,” the IOM notes.
In the sierra, the highland region, most third of the population uses exposed Climate migrants tend to move mainly
of the meteorological hazards are linked space. More than 9 million people are within their country’s borders, where
to water – although exposure to high exposed to heavy rains, floods, flash floods dynamics depend on social demographics
temperatures and extreme heat in some and landslides, 7 million to low and very – age, with young people leaving more
areas, and extremely cold and freezing low temperatures, and almost 3.5 million often; deprivation, with poor people more
temperatures in places such as Cuzco, also to droughts. likely to migrate; and gender, with men
predominate. In the worst-case scenario of global slightly more likely to move than women.
One of the greatest dangers here is warming of over 4 °C by 2100, the Andean Inhabiting a land of extreme land
the retreat of glaciers, the acceleration country would face three major threats, scapes and climates, the people of Peru
of which could cause the migration of which could cause tens of thousands of have developed coping and adaptation
twenty-eight per cent of the inhabitants people to be displaced – extreme heat strategies to deal with hazards where 
© Greenpeace/Daniel Beltra
Images of the Yanamarey glacier in the Cordillera Blanca mountains taken in 1997 (left)
and 2004 (right), show that it has retreated significantly in only seven years.
|
Peru faces a surge of climate migrants 15
WIDE ANGLE
they live. In the costa, fishermen

move along the coast, depending on
the availability of marine resources
determined by ENSO. And farmers in
Piura, in the country’s north, migrate
temporarily during droughts to diversify
their income.
In the highlands, the effects of climate
change have accelerated the historically
large flows of migrants due to cold waves
CC BY 2.0 photo by the Ministry of Defence of Peru

and freezing weather, water shortages
caused by glacier retreat, and changes
in rainfall patterns. In the selva region,
farmers migrate mainly as a temporary
and precautionary measure during the
rainy season, to mitigate food insecurity.
Many migrants have no choice but
to resettle in areas that are also exposed
to multiple hazards – such as riverbeds,
floodplains and water-stressed hills in
the outskirts of cities. “Such disaster
displacement can take a high psychosocial The evacuation of citizens who were affected by El Niño in the northwestern region of Piura,
toll on people who have lost their after torrential rains in 2017.
livelihoods and assets, including homes
and other infrastructure,” the IOM points
out. weather-related disasters in 2020. Though some legal gaps remain,
In this context, the role of the media Meteorological events accounted Peru has established several reference
in climate displacement management is for ninety-eight per cent of disaster frameworks on climate change since
increasingly important. “The victims of the displacement. 2000, and now has a wide range of legal
2017 huaico are still living in tents in Lima, “Our report also shows that most of instruments and policies applicable to
three years later,” notes Márquez. the people displaced by these disasters climate migration.
“There is a growing interest in the remain in their home countries,” explains
human stories behind climate migration,” Alexandra Bilak, director of IDMC. She
remarks Pablo Escribano, Regional fears that this “will further exacerbate
Thematic Specialist in Migration, socio-economic inequalities.”
Environment and Climate Change in IOM’s El Niño displaced
Regional Office for Central America, North An organized response nearly 300,000
America and the Caribbean.
“These stories are important because “The PIK-IOM report puts the evidence people when it last
they bring audiences closer to the reality on the table,” notes Johan Rockström,
of the people who are affected by climate director of PIK. “In Peru, we are seeing occurred in 2017
change and forced migration,” he adds. the impacts of how climate change and
ecosystem degradation amplify the risks
A global phenomenon of human displacement and migration, Although most climate migrations
already occurring now at 1.2 °C of global remain internal and are therefore the
The increase in climate migration in Peru warming.” responsibility of states, regional initiatives
– as in other countries with high rates, “Given that Peru shares its ecosystems are also being developed, Escribano notes.
such as Bangladesh, Fiji, Ghana, and – sierra, costa, selva – with its neighbours, “In South America, the regional
Tanzania – is part of a worldwide trend. some realities may be shared too,” says organization with the most advanced
In April 2021, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Escribano. “What differentiates them is the approach to climate migration is the
Agency, published a report stating that response of the authorities.” South American Conference on Migration
over the past decade, weather-related “The Latin American region has been a (SACM),” according to him. “It is currently
events triggered an average of 21.5 million pioneer in the development of policies on working on mapping policies on
new displacements each year – over twice migration, the environment and climate migration, the environment, and climate
as many as the displacements caused by change, perhaps as much as the Pacific,” change.”
conflict and violence. he adds. “In several countries in the region That is an increasingly evident
According to a 2021 report by IDMC, – like Peru, Guatemala, Belize and Chile – necessity, given the future impact of
30.7 million people worldwide were efforts are underway to improve the policy natural disasters on the continent’s
displaced because of geophysical and response to climate migration.” population.

In Canada, a centre
to treat the
wounds of exile
The psychological distress suffered by migrants and refugees has been
ignored for a long time. But this is changing, with the introduction of
services like the Specialized Psychological Services for Immigrants and
for Refugees at the Jeffery Hale Hospital in Quebec, which addresses
the symptoms of patients taking into account the culture of their origin.
Guy Sabourin
be prone to depression, and may idealize but managed to build a new life in Quebec.
Freelance journalist based in Montreal. the life they left behind. “This sadness can One evening, she was attacked while
A
actualize or exacerbate previous latent leaving work. “This attack reawakened all
ssane Traoré*, now a refugee pathologies, if there were fragilities or her previous traumas,” recalls Pocreau. “The
in Quebec, recently left West vulnerabilities originally,” Pocreau says. recovery of her vitality [in her new country]
Africa, where he witnessed collapsed. Irrationality took over, and made
massacres and violence Decoding suffering her feel that she was always in danger,
perpetrated by jihadist groups. In the wherever she was.”
evenings, he locks himself in with his But for asylum seekers and refugees
family, pulling the shades to cover the who have experienced separation and The contribution of
windows. He constantly feels he is being heartbreak, the grief can be severe. They ethnopsychiatry
followed. are susceptible to depression and anxiety,
“He’s here, but still [thinks he’s] family conflicts, and post-traumatic stress “At the turn of the millennium, migrants
over there, like many others,” explains accentuated by exile. and refugees felt misunderstood when
psychologist Jean-Bernard Pocreau, This often results in physical disorders they approached the health-care system
retired tenured professor at the School affecting the head, digestive system, or during episodes of psychological distress,”
of Psychology, Université Laval, Quebec, the spine. “Their suffering is still very real, explains psychologist Lucienne Martins
and co-founder of the Specialized even if it has no observable physical basis,” Borges, professor at the School of Social
Psychological Services for Immigrants and according to Pocreau. “Many migrants Work and Criminology, Université Laval,
for Refugees (SAPSIR), who treated Traoré. from traditional cultures perceive their and co-founder of SAPSIR. “We were aware
“What was relevant in his home country difficulties in ways that are very different of this issue, so we created a service for
no longer matters here. His anxiety is from ours. This is why we must, first of all, them.”
affecting his family.” decode their reading of the situation.” Based in premises adjoining the
Normally, migrants do not suffer from These different pathologies primarily Refugee Health Service of the Jeffery
mental health issues any more than the affect self-confidence, social ties, and their Hale Hospital in Quebec City, SAPSIR
general population (one in four people perception of the future. is a part of the publicly-funded health
in their lifetime, according to the World Migrants and refugees also suffer, to establishment. “For complex situations,
Health Organization). But their specific varying degrees, from the institutional the large-group approach is best,” Borges
experiences before migrating and in violence and repeated attacks that may says. The team includes the person who
the host country may increase their occur in their host country. Take, for first refers the individual to the service, a
psychological distress. example, the case of a survivor of the senior psychologist and a co-therapist, a
Migrants who have the opportunity Rwandan genocide who lost her family and social worker, a nurse, and an interpreter
of returning to their home country may some of her children during the conflict, and cultural mediator. 
|
In Canada, a centre to treat the wounds of exile 17
WIDE ANGLE
“The people we see are often from Restoring confidence of major depression, he was unable to
collectives or community organizations, in the future imagine a future for himself.
so they respond better to group This changed once he got involved in
interventions,” she adds. Depending Migrants and refugees need physical a local initiative to save a river in Quebec.
on the case, there are also small-group and psychological security and to feel “He found himself in a familiar situation, in
follow-ups. Some cases may be seen by a reassured that they are able to make plans a world he knew that made sense to him,”
small team of two or three professionals, for the future. They need to know how explains Pocreau. “This is what allows the
and rarely, individual follow-ups. they can continue to be themselves in a person to experience the coherence and
“During these meetings, we must new place. They need time, a protective continuity of the self.”
really build on the person’s culture, the net, and people around them, to feel a “It’s like a before-and-after advertise
elements that have shaped him or her, sense of security. ment for plastic surgery,” enthuses Borges.
and that have meaning for him or her,” “You can physically see the change. You go
Pocreau explains. “We must gradually from being a stooped, lifeless person in
enter their world and then work together distress to someone who quickly becomes
to weave and construct an understanding more invested, smiling, and confident
that will allow them to bond. This is about the future. If we hadn’t seen these
crucial if the person is to accept the
SAPSIR’s approach results in therapy, I don’t think we would
treatment and consider it is relevant and accords a central have had the energy to continue [with our
useful for them.” work].”
This approach is derived from place to the “There are also times when we lose
ethnopsychiatry, which accords a central cultural dimension contact with people who carry an
place to the cultural dimension in the aggression that is not their own, who are
expression of psychological symptoms. in the expression sad and depressed,” adds the therapist.
The team meets the person fifteen to
seventeen times, and then supervises the
of psychological “They no longer trust other people and
are unable to maintain a link with us.”
intervener who takes over. That is how the symptoms “Our system responds to a need, and
SAPSIR approach has spread throughout the majority of the people we see find
the country. meaning in their lives again,” says Borges.
“I’ve been in this field for a quarter She is concerned that an interruption in
of a century and I can tell you that we An example of this is the case of a SAPSIR’s service for children has affected
are witnessing an evolution among South American agricultural engineer, them – the programme is back on track in
the interveners,” Pocreau insists. He who was imprisoned by militias after autumn 2021.
is confident that some professionals having been heavily involved in rural “What worries me are all those people
in Quebec are now inspired by communities. His captors had trapped who do not reach us, especially the
ethnopsychiatric thinking and the him in a bag, thrown him into the water children, many of whom are traumatized.
intercultural clinical approach to treating and shot at him. He miraculously escaped, That’s what keeps us awake at night right
the psychological suffering of migrants. but when he arrived in Quebec in a state now,” she concludes.
ICCAR: A network of welcoming cities

Säli, Ali, and Nariman had only two weeks streets of three German cities: Berlin, Stuttgart, © Marcelo Brodsky, from the book Nexus, published by Editorial Lamarca, Buenos Aires, 2001
to make their case. The three young and Leipzig.

Germans were selected to be the faces of the
This campaign is just one example of the actions
Together Human campaign, designed to fight
carried out by the International Coalition of
stereotypes about people from an immigrant
Inclusive and Sustainable Cities (ICCAR).
background.
Launched by UNESCO in 2004, this initiative aims
Highlighting the integration success stories to emphasize the contribution of migrants and
of Säli, a medical student, Ali, a firefighter refugees to the development of host societies.
and sportsman, and Nariman, a naval officer,
With a network of more than 500 cities
the campaign ran live and online on social
worldwide, ICCAR is involved in policy
media from 26 November to 7 December 2019.
development, capacity-building and awareness-
Using messages to foster diversity and raising activities – to promote inclusive
inclusion, videos and a thousand posters urban development that is free of all forms
starring the protagonists were put up on the of discrimination.
*Some names have been changed to protect

18 | The UNESCO Courier • October-December 2021 the identities of those interviewed.
Self-Portrait as Shot to Death,
Plaza San Felipe Neri, Barcelona, 1979,
from Nexus, by Marcelo Brodsky.
Born in 1954 in Buenos Aires, he was
forced into exile in Barcelona, following
the military coup in Argentina in 1976.
WIDE ANGLE
Smartphones have become crucial to the survival of migrants

and refugees – enabling them to keep in touch with their families,
seek financial help in times of need, and to find the information
they require to continue on their often perilous journeys.
A study in Fez, Morocco, led by the author, highlights the critical
importance of mobile technologies at every stage of the way.
Mobile phones:
An indispensable tool
for migrants
Moha Ennaji
Linguist, author and activist, he is President and Co-founder of the International
Institute for Languages and Cultures (INLAC), and a Professor of Linguistics Refugees can
and Cultural Studies at the Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez.
spend up to a third
“
Sometimes I have to choose refugees and illegal migrants from Syria, of their budget
between food and internet Libya, and sub-Saharan Africa.
connectivity, to keep in touch Since the mid-2000s, Morocco, which on internet access
with my family back home. When has long been a land of immigration, has
I need money, I make a call to them via become a place of transit and reception
WhatsApp, and they send it very quickly.” for a large number of migrants from Not surprisingly, we found that
This is how Mamadou, a 22-year-old sub-Saharan Africa – notably Congo, smartphones support migration flows
from Niger, sums up the key role that Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal. by providing migrants with online
smartphones now play in the lives of They hope to reach Europe, either via the information leading up to the trip – often
migrants. The fact that refugees can spend Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, or influencing their motivation to leave, the
up to a third of their budget on internet via the Canary Islands, before crossing choice of routes and final destinations,
access – according to the Rabat office of the Mediterranean or the Atlantic Ocean. and then throughout the journey.
the UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Although they usually consider their They also facilitate co-operation and
Agency – is proof of how important these stay in Morocco a mere stopover, many mutual support between migrants. Illegal
portable devices are. migrants end up staying for months, or migrants tend to be more dependent
When migrants leave their home even years, in difficult conditions. on unofficial sources of information
countries, they are entirely dependent – especially information provided by
on their mobile phones. Smartphones Co-operation and smugglers.
and tablets have a significant impact on mutual support Smugglers have the advantage of
their experiences at every stage of their being familiar with the routes, border
journey. This is what emerged from the The people we interviewed had varying crossings and visa procedures. The
fieldwork I conducted – with Filippo levels of education, which influenced their migrants we spoke to said they had
Bignami, a senior researcher and lecturer “digital literacy”, or their ability to take received accurate information from
at the University of Applied Sciences and advantage of the opportunities available the smugglers, who often used social
Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) to them via the internet and mobile networks to provide assistance during
– between 2017 and 2019 in Fez, with technology networks. the journey.

© Maxime Reynié
A notebook, a bag and a mobile phone is all that 25-year-old Saeed brought with him when he fled Sudan for France.
From the series In the bag of refugees, by French photojournalist Maxime Reynié.
Regis, a 23-year-old from Cameroon, destinations. In spite of their efforts, they

followed directions from his smuggler via are just as likely to be victims of robberies
text messages from his home country all Better-informed and assaults, or subject to security devices
the way to Fez. However, some migrants that turn them back at borders – forcing
refuse to rely on the services of smugglers, potential migrants them to remain in the transit country in
and prefer to continue their journeys are not necessarily many cases.
using navigation tools like GPS and New technologies can also be sources
Google Maps. more successful of false information and rumours that can
influence the choices of potential migrants.
A comforting link in reaching Ibrahima, a 23-year-old from Côte d’Ivoire,
to loved ones their desired decided to leave his country after reading
on the internet that, once he arrived in
For those who are driven to take the destinations Morocco, he would be sent to a European
uncertain and often perilous routes country as an asylum seeker who was
of migration, mobile phones are also attending school. After he realized that
– perhaps above all – a comforting link technology. “Without my smartphone this was not the case, he risked his life every
with the loved ones left behind. They and social networks, I would feel more night trying to get onto a truck heading for
are kept informed of travel conditions excluded and isolated,” says Yaya, a Spain. Stories like this are quite common
via messages and photos exchanged 22-year-old from Guinea. “I use it to ask among illegal migrants.
on WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, or my friends for help, and to keep in touch Those who do manage to reach their
Facebook. with my family.” destinations could also contribute to
The moral support provided by families But new technologies provide no influencing future migrants, by sharing
is accompanied by financial support in protection against all the risks associated information and images about their
many cases – which often determines with illegal migration. Our research new life via messaging apps and social
whether or not the journey continues. revealed that better-informed potential networks.
The funds provided by the family are migrants are not necessarily more
usually transferred directly, using mobile successful in reaching their desired
Mobile phones: An indispensable tool for migrants | 21

WIDE ANGLE
Venera Toktorova:
A Kyrgyz migrant
makes her way
When she arrived in Moscow over a decade ago, Venera Toktorova
endured the typical fate of immigrants from Kyrgyzstan, taking on
a series of tough, low-paid jobs. Today, after years of hard work,
she is a successful entrepreneur who owns two restaurants, and
the only Kyrgyz movie theatre in the city, which she co-founded.
Nazigul Jusupova
Kyrgyz journalist, based in Moscow. When she arrived in Moscow, she screen. This is proof that dreams do come
followed the path that is typical for true!” she enthuses.
I
migrants from this Central Asian country. Over the years, the idea of returning
n a lively café filled with Asian music “At that time, they were usually employed to Kyrgyzstan has faded. The desire to
in Moscow’s east, a woman watches as maintenance workers and lived in provide her daughter with a quality
the comings and goings of the basements,” recalls Toktorova, who initially education, and her own success, have led
servers with an authoritative eye, lived in a basement with her daughter. At Toktorova to keep postponing her wish
while checking her mobile phone from first, she worked as a janitor in a posh to return. “I left Moscow so many times
time to time. Wearing a light-coloured building, and then as a house cleaner, telling myself that I would never return,
dress and her hair neatly tied back, to pay for her daughter’s schooling. She but each time I came back,” she admits.
Venera Toktorova, 40, is the owner of the chose to turn down better-paying jobs She has certainly come a long way
Sulaiman-Too – named after the sacred that would have forced her to leave her since her arrival. Now an accomplished
mountain of her homeland. child with a nanny. “It was important for entrepreneur, Toktorova co-owns two
Thirteen years ago, Toktorova left the me to see her grow up,” she explains. restaurants. But though she has settled in
small town of Osh in Kyrgyzstan after Moscow, she has not severed her ties to
a divorce, and moved to the Russian The power of dreams the country of her birth.
capital with her three-year-old daughter. Three years ago, Toktorova started the
She was destitute at the time, and had Through sheer hard work, she managed only Kyrgyz cinema hall in the Russian
nowhere to go. But nothing daunted to save enough money in a year to buy capital, with several partners. A lack of
the determination of this woman who, a small apartment in Osh. “I used to get experience and management errors
as a child, had sold chewing gum and up at dawn to clean for my first employer, quickly led to the failure of this venture.
cigarettes at the local bazaar after school I would then take my daughter to school,
to help support her family. and go back to work. Then I would leave
With a degree in economics, she could to pick up my daughter, and when she was
have become a teacher in her country. in bed, I would go to another employer to
“I can imagine how difficult life would clean the floor. I felt like a hamster on a
have been, with a salary that barely wheel,” she remembers. Manas Cinemas is
covered basic expenses,” she says. The Besides working hard, Toktorova, one of the capital’s
average salary in Kyrgyzstan is about $200 who has not remarried, was also driven
a month – the lowest among countries in by a dream – she imagined a more main Kyrgyz
the region. In 2019, there were more than comfortable life for herself, and a place
1 million migrants from Kyrgyzstan in to call her own. “Today I have my own
cultural attractions
Russia. apartment in Moscow, and a big TV today

However, the few months that the Manas time of the “Kyrgyz miracle”, when young In 2018, on the occasion of the
cinema existed were enough to create directors adapted the works of the writer 90th anniversary of Aïtmatov’s birth,
a need among her compatriots – who Chingiz Aïtmatov (1928-2008) for the big the Kyrgyz embassy in Russia gifted a
actively campaigned for its reopening. screen. But after Kyrgyzstan became an collection of films adapted from his works
Named after a famous Kyrgyz epic, independent country in 1991, the film to Manas. This allowed the film theatre to
Manas Cinemas is today one of Moscow’s industry was deprived of subsidies and programme Kyrgyz films from the “Golden
main Kyrgyz cultural attractions. People went through a period of decline. Age” free of charge for an entire year. “It
from Kyrgyzstan come here to be Today, a new generation of filmmakers was a wonderful gift,” says Toktorova,
entertained, but just as much to cure their has emerged, bringing commercially admitting that she only recently
homesickness. Many confess to Toktorova viable projects to the big screen that have discovered the richness of Kyrgyz cinema.
that they enjoy watching Kyrgyz films found their audience. As a result, Kyrgyz Thirteen years after leaving Kyrgyzstan,
abroad more than they did at home. films have found their place alongside the successful entrepreneur says she can
When they leave, they always thank her for international productions. imagine herself living in Moscow for a few
giving them the opportunity to see a film more years. “Here I’ve had to work hard and
in their own language, and in the setting overcome difficulties, but I’ve blossomed in
of their childhood. this new life. I’ve learned to think differently,
and I’ve become stronger.”
A renaissance of In Moscow, I’ve Still, Toktorova has never quite given
Kyrgyz cinema up the hope that she will return to live in
had to work hard, her homeland one day. “No matter how
In recent years, Kyrgyz cinema has gained educated or how successful we are, we
a new vitality. The seventh art had reached
but I’ve blossomed migrants always have the strong feeling
its peak locally in the 1970s. This was the in this new life of being from somewhere else.”
© Maria Plotnikova
Venera Toktorova takes a front seat at Manas, the Kyrgyz cinema hall in Moscow that she helped found, August 2021.
Venera Toktorova: A Kyrgyz migrant makes her way | 23

WIDE ANGLE
China, after India and Mexico, accounts for the largest number of
people who have left their home countries to migrate elsewhere.
The history of Chinese immigration, marked by successive waves,
dates back to the opening of the ancient maritime Silk Road.
Overseas
The
Chinese: A long history

Zhuang Guotu
Chair Professor of Huaqiao University and a professor at Xiamen University,
in China’s Fujian province. His research focuses on the history of ethnic China
and the history of the country’s international relations. He is also a member of
A distinctive trait
the advisors committee of the State Council for Overseas Chinese Affairs. of the Chinese
diaspora worldwide
T
here are more than 10.7 million 20,000 to 30,000 in Japan. They were
Chinese overseas today – about mainly engaged in trade and crafts. By the
is the importance
60 million, if their descendants mid-nineteenth century, their numbers had they place on
are included – according to the increased to 1.5 million, with most of them
International Organization for Migration settled in Southeast Asia. In Japan, they educating the next
(IOM). integrated into Japanese society. generation
This is one of the highest figures of
immigration in the world. But the history The impact of
of Chinese migration is ancient. It began the Opium Wars
with the opening of the maritime Silk Road the Pacific, the economic prosperity of
over 2,000 years ago, with immigrants From the middle of the nineteenth Southeast Asia further stimulated the
moving mainly to Southeast Asia. century to the early 1940s, a second demand for labour, that was met by
By the early fifteenth century, several wave of migration started in China. Chinese immigrants. By the early 1940s,
Chinatowns – each hosting thousands of Unskilled labourers, or so-called there were around 8.5 million Chinese
overseas Chinese – were established in “Chinese contracted coolies”, formed expatriates worldwide – over ninety per
Sumatra and Java (present-day Indonesia). a major part of this wave. Through the cent of them in Southeast Asia.
But it was at the end of the sixteenth two Opium Wars in the mid-nineteenth From 1949, when the People’s Republic
century that large-scale migration began. century, Britain and France forced the of China was founded, to the late 1970s,
Meanwhile, Europeans had established Qing government to authorize a massive large-scale migration was no longer
themselves in the Far East, with the exodus of Chinese labourers to western permitted. The tide of overseas Chinese
intention of integrating the region into countries and their colonies, to replace immigration that had continued for more
the world trade network. They competed black slaves. than 300 years was interrupted.
with each other to expand and develop This was the beginning of the A third wave of new Chinese migrants
the colonies in Southeast Asia, creating a dispersion of the Chinese across the world started in the 1980s, and was an integral
demand for Chinese traders and workers. – from Southeast Asia to America, Africa, part of the surge of global migration. The
By the beginning of the seventeenth Europe, and Australia. majority of migrants came from mainland
century, there were about 100,000 overseas After the First World War, and before China, but also from Taiwan, and Hong
Chinese in Southeast Asia, and around the Second World War broke out in Kong. 

Children studying in a hand laundry in New
York, by documentary photographer Bud Glick.
From 1981 to 1984, he was commissioned by the
© Bud Glick
Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) to

photograph the street life, people, and domestic
scenes of Manhattan’s Chinatown.
WIDE ANGLE
They moved mainly to industrialized

countries – the top destination for Refugee education:
overseas Chinese at the time was the
United States. A serious lack of funding
China’s rapid economic growth and the
development of foreign trade relations in Nearly half the world’s displaced people today are children.
recent years have seen a large number of Their numbers have been growing steadily in recent years
Chinese move to developing countries. – the number of school-age refugee children has increased
The population of Chinese migrants has by twenty-six per cent since 2000. These are the findings from
soared in Central and Western Asia, Africa, UNESCO’s 2019 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) report,
and Latin America. Migration, displacement and education: Building bridges,
not walls. It emphasizes that while the right of these children
Railroad construction to a quality education is recognized in theory, it does not always
and gold mining translate into reality in classrooms.
Nevertheless, progress has been made to integrate these
The overseas Chinese made significant
children, notably by some of the top refugee-hosting countries,
contributions to their new societies.
such as Chad, Ethiopia and Uganda. Canada and Ireland
Whether in the tropical countries of
stand out for implementing inclusive education policies for
Southeast Asia, or in the temperate
immigrants.
nations of Europe and America, they
pioneered the construction of roads and However, efforts to achieve inclusion are in danger of failing
reclaimed wasteland in Southeast Asia because of a lack of qualified teachers. To provide quality
in the eighteenth century. They built education for all refugees, Germany would need 42,000 new
ports and cities; mined gold in the US teachers, Turkey 80,000, and Uganda 7,000. To support children
in the nineteenth century; constructed who may have experienced trauma, these teachers need
railroads, and opened restaurants and specialized training, which is often inadequate or absent.
grocery stores in Europe in the twentieth In Lebanon, for example, only fifty-five per cent of teachers
century. were trained to meet the needs of displaced students.

Funding is also sorely inadequate. In 2016, only $800 million
was spent on refugee education worldwide – a third of what
was needed, according to the report.
Starting in
the 1980s,
Chinese migrants friends – they have a culture of making These characteristics have sometimes
remittances to help those at home fuelled stereotypical perceptions of
moved mainly financially. Chinese immigrant communities that
to industrialized For nearly a century, the Chinese
diaspora has also participated in China’s
have further widened the chasm between
them and other social groups in their
countries modernization. Since the 1980s, over two- destination countries.
thirds of the foreign investment accepted However, it is difficult to make
by the Chinese government has come generalizations about such a large group
With a tradition of hard work and from expatriates. of migrants. In a globalized world where
frugality, Chinese migrants tend to earn cultures are constantly in communication,
their place in society by saving their Characteristics and any attempt to label certain groups of
income and investing in property to tide stereotypes people is short-sighted and irrational.
them through economic hardship. So Overseas Chinese have continued to
when a crisis hits, they are invariably able The overseas Chinese have a reputation of explore and build their identities in this
to take care of themselves before seeking being hard-working and thrifty. Another increasingly integrated world.
help from family and friends – let alone distinctive trait of the diaspora worldwide In the context of the Covid-19
the new society in which they live. is the importance they place on educating pandemic, where discrimination against
The overseas Chinese continue to the next generation. people of East Asian descent has erupted,
have strong ties to their home country. “All work is inferior, only reading is these challenges cannot be resolved
They believe that China is their homeland superior,” is an old Chinese belief. Whether overnight. But the Chinese abroad
– an attachment that often lasts for they are rich or poor, Chinese families have developed a resilience to such
generations. abroad are willing to make sacrifices to stereotypes over the centuries, which
One of the main reasons they migrate ensure that their children get the best could be useful while confronting these
is to be able to support their families and education possible. hardships.

Teeth: Mapping
our past mobility
A treasure trove of information for archaeologists, our teeth
can reveal our journeys, even centuries later.
Jenny Dare
It’s not only teeth that give us clues. suggest that researching dental calculus
UNESCO The mineralized dental plaque or calculus could unearth answers to the riddles of
A
– tiny layers of food and bacteria which past migratory patterns.
ncient teeth can be analysed build up where teeth meet gums – Today, forensic scientists apply these
by archaeologists to uncover contains twenty-five times more DNA techniques to identify migrants who die
patterns of migration. “With than a bone. In 2019, researchers from during perilous journeys. As Freiwald adds,
some sleuthing, the chemical the University of Adelaide, Australia, “It’s a bit harder, since modern people eat
composition of a person’s tooth provides used calculus from the teeth of ancient food from so many different places, but if
a mini-life history,” says Carolyn Freiwald, Polynesians to decipher the timings and our combined work in this area can bring
archaeologist and associate professor exact migration routes of prehistoric a person home to their family, it’s worth
of Anthropology at the University of humans in the Pacific. Anthropologists the effort.”
Mississippi, United States, who studies the
biology and chemistry of teeth.
When teeth form, elements from food
and water, such as oxygen, nitrogen
and carbon, are incorporated into them.
These chemical traces reveal where food
was grown and consumed. “In cultures
around the world, we’ve found people
whose teeth tell us they migrated.
We often think of ancient people as
stationary, but in reality, people
have always been mobile,” © Ga
il Eust
Freiwald explains.
on-Brown
Unlike bones, which

regenerate through our lives,
/Shutterstock
teeth do not produce new

cells when they form. The first
molar, for example, forms and
sets during infancy, chemically
“recording” a baby’s diet. The
wisdom tooth contains a diary
of what an adult eats, and where
their food originates. A mouthful
of teeth can provide us with a map
of where a person lived, between birth
and burial.
|
Teeth: Mapping our past mobility 27
WIDE ANGLE
Eva-Maria Geigl: “The history

of humanity is made up of
a succession
of migrations”
Whether for reasons prompted by climate change,
conflicts, or subsistence, humans have always moved around
and intermingled, as the analysis of the genome of bones found
at archaeological sites shows.
Eva-Maria Geigl, co-leader of a palaeogenomics team at
the Institut Jacques Monod of the French National Centre
for Scientific Research (CNRS)/University of Paris, elaborates.
Interview by Agnès Bardon

we can reconstruct affiliations – links farmers began to migrate to Europe via a
UNESCO of kinship, genetic proximity – but also continental route that started in Greece
the migrations and interbreeding that and passed through the Balkans, then
What is the role of palaeogenomics?
 occurred over time. Hungary, Austria, and Germany, to arrive
in northern France (the Paris Basin).
Palaeogenomics is a discipline that  How can genomic information be A n o t h e r ro u te fo l l owe d t h e
complements archaeology and used to tell the biological history of a Mediterranean coast via what is today
anthropology. Archaeologists conduct population? Croatia, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, and
excavations and find bone fragments that Corsica, and then on to the south of
they try to place in a given period and Genetic analysis makes it possible to France and the north-east of the Iberian
culture. The analysis of human remains characterize the history of the settlement Peninsula. These phenomena were
from excavations can identify the sex of of a given region, and therefore also known thanks to the analysis of remains
the individual, possibly his or her social the movements of populations and found during excavations – including
status, the diseases that affected him or their interbreeding with indigenous fragments of ceramics, flint tools, or
her – and often even provide indications communities. Palaeogenomics has bones of domesticated animals such as
on the functioning of a society. shown that 8,500 years ago, farmers sheep, which were introduced by these
The work of palaeogeneticists consists of Anatolian or Aegean origin moved populations of farmers.
of extracting DNA from bones to analyse to northwestern Europe. Agriculture But from the materials available to
their genome. This genome is then and animal domestication developed them, archaeologists could not determine
compared to that of individuals who around 12,000 years ago in the Fertile whether only the skills and techniques
lived at other times, in other places, or Crescent of the Middle East, in Iran and of the Fertile Crescent farmers had
from current populations. In this way, in Anatolia. About 8,500 years ago, these travelled, or whether the inventors of

these techniques had physically moved. palaeoanthropologists did not suspect Even today, in Brittany in the west
Through genomic analysis, it was possible the existence of this population. of France, in Ireland, and in the United
to establish that the farmers had mingled The migration to Europe of the Yamnaya, Kingdom, eighty per cent to ninety per
with the indigenous hunter-gatherers nomads from the Pontic steppe north of cent of men carry the Y chromosome
who had been living in Europe for about the Black Sea, is another example. These of the Yamnaya. This phenomenon was
14,500 years, and had partially interbred populations, who had an economy based not known to archaeologists because
with these populations. on cattle-breeding, surged into central and no material traces of the passage of the
northern Europe some 5,000 years ago. Yamnaya had been found.
 Does genome-based analysis These steppe nomads, who were mostly
sometimes shed new light on historical men, then interbred with the indigenous  Do we know the causes of these
facts? farmers of the late Neolithic Period. But as different migrations?
their reproductive success was higher, a
This happened in 2012, when the significant genomic replacement – called Several causes can be envisaged, but
remains of a young girl who lived at least introgression – occurred. these are only hypotheses. We cannot
50,000 years ago were discovered in the provide scientific proof. The reasons for
Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains these movements could be climatic, but
of Russia. The genomic analysis of her they could also have been demographic.
phalanx demonstrated the existence Migrations could be motivated by
of a contemporary population of There are no the necessities related to a group’s
Neanderthals. This population, which subsistence, like hunter-gatherers who
inhabited Asia, spread and interbred with
genetically ‘pure’ followed the migrations of large animals.
the first sapiens from Africa. Until then, populations When the climate changed, humans
had to look for other regions they could
inhabit. Clashes between populations
could also be the cause. Just as we do
today, people thousands of years ago
probably moved because of climate, for
subsistence, or as a result of conflicts.
 Given the analysis of our ancestors’

genomes, can we say that we are all
migrants?
Absolutely. To begin with, we are all

African, because our ancestors all came
from Africa. Homo sapiens evolved in
Africa and left the continent in waves. The
last wave is that of our direct ancestors.
And then, we are all migrants because
the history of humanity is made up of
a succession of migrations. Since the
beginning of time, populations have
been moving and intermingling. And this
sometimes results in the replacement of
indigenous populations, but not always.
We are not sedentary people. We have
always had to move and adapt because
our environment changed. There are no
genetically ‘pure’ populations. This is a
good thing, because biologically, we need
a mixing of genomes.
We are all migrants, by
Serbian illustrator Goran Bajić.
© Goran Bajić
|
Eva-Maria Geigl: “The history of humanity is made up of a succession of migrations” 29
ZOOM
Dominique Roger :
“UNESCO offered me
the world”
O
Photos: UNESCO / Dominique Roger
n 4 November 1966, an acqua alta, an
Text: Katerina Markelova, UNESCO exceptionally high tide that periodically
floods Venice, burst the coastal dykes,
drowning the city under more than a metre
of water. Following the call for international solidarity
launched by UNESCO, countries around the world came
to the rescue of this architectural wonder.
Dispatched to the scene by the Organization,
Dominique Roger reported on the efforts made to save
the monuments and frescoes of Venice, which, at the
time, had not yet been placed on the World Heritage List.
During her thirty-year career, the photographer
– who went on to become head of UNESCO’s photo
service from 1976 to 1992 – chronicled the Organization’s
actions in images, both at Headquarters and on her
many assignments around the world.
From the recital by South African singer Miriam
Makeba in 1978, to the first deployments of underwater
sensors by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission, and literacy campaigns in Cabo Verde,
Iran, and Peru – the photojournalist illustrated what
the Organization does on a daily basis, in Paris and in
the field. Roger’s photos are an essential testimony,
and a significant contribution to the visual memory of
UNESCO.
“The Organization offered me the world and
contributed to making me aware of differences, of
inequalities, of ‘hoping against hope’, in a nutshell; of the
‘Others’”, wrote the photographer in her book Un chemin
vers la paix (A Road to Peace, 2016). An Anglo-Spanish
edition was published in 2018.
The UNESCO Courier has devoted many pages to
Roger’s photos over the years. Her work has also featured
in several international exhibitions.
© All rights reserved
This retrospective feature marks the 75th anniversary

of the UNESCO Constitution, which came into force
on 4 November 1946.
Dominique Roger on assignment in the 1970s.

A detail of the Temple of Isis, island of Philae,
in the Nile River, Egypt, 1968. The outstanding
archaeological area was threatened with submersion
after the construction of the Aswan Dam. In 1960,
UNESCO launched the ambitious and successful
twenty-year International Campaign to Save
the Monuments of Nubia.
|
Dominique Roger : “UNESCO offered me the world” 31
ZOOM
Restoration of the porch of the Caryatids at the Erechtheion, 1968. In 1977, UNESCO launched a campaign
for the restoration and conservation of the Acropolis Monuments, which have been ravaged by centuries of war,
earthquakes, fires, water damage, air pollution and mass tourism.
A cherub sculpture being cleaned at a restoration

workshop in Palazzo Davanzatti, Florence, 1967,
as part of an international campaign launched
by UNESCO for the safeguarding and restoration
of the cultural assets of Florence, damaged
by the flood of 4 November 1966.
A painting by Venetian artist Giovanni Battista Piazzetta

(1682-1754) in the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo,
the largest church in Venice, being restored by Professor
Pedrocco in 1968.
Water pollution caused by rubbish dumped in the Venice Lagoon, 1968.
ZOOM

3
4 1. A recital by South African singer, songwriter

and civil rights activist Myriam Makeba at an
evening to mark the official launch of the
International Anti-Apartheid Year at UNESCO
Headquarters, Paris, 21 March 1978.
2. Violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin

and pianist and composer Wilhelm Kempff
rehearse at the Salle Pleyel in Paris, 9 January
1974, for concerts to commemorate
the 25th anniversary of the International
Music Council founded at UNESCO’s request.
3. Léopold Sédar Senghor (left), President

of Senegal, with Amadou-Mahtar M’Bow,
Director-General of UNESCO, during a visit
to Headquarters in Paris, May 1978.
4. Indian musician and composer Ravi

Shankar performs at a musical evening at
Headquarters in Paris, to mark UNESCO’s
20th anniversary, 1966.
|
ZOOM
A student simulates miniature earthquakes transmitted

to a “shaking table” by a hydraulic device, Tokyo, 1969.
A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
project for which UNESCO is the executing agency,
collaborates with the Japanese government to train
Samples of sea water being taken to measure experts at the International Institute of Seismology and
temperature and salinity by the National Centre Earthquake Engineering to help developing countries
of Oceanographic Research, at Nosy Bé, Madagascar, combat the effects of earthquakes.
1989. The project was part of UNESCO’s
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).
Farmers from Tassette, Senegal, discuss their concerns

on a rural education radio programme, 1971.
Children and adults participate in a pilot literacy
project of the Iranian government, run by
volunteers from the Knowledge Army, who
doubled as teachers in rural areas while serving
in the army, Qazvin, Iran, 1965.
|
ZOOM
2

4
1. A school/community centre in Pamplona, Peru, 1967,

5 supported by UNESCO. A school for 600 girls during
the day, it became a recreation centre for parents in
the evenings and on weekends, offering literacy, sewing,
knitting, and first aid classes.
2. A student at the primary school in Koon Po

City, south of Seoul, Republic of Korea, attended
by 1,430 children, 1969.
3. A work-oriented adult literacy class, Ecuador, 1967.

“For me, a 35-year-old photographer in 1967, nothing
was more moving than the literacy of older people. This
weathered face, bent over his notebook in the light of an
oil lamp, in a lost hut, was, and remains, a perfect moment
of contemplation of a painting,” wrote Dominique Roger.
4. Women attending a literacy programme in a rural

agricultural zone on the island of Fogo, Cabo Verde, 1990.
5. A student at Chateau Holden, a welfare centre

for young shoe-shine boys in Douéra, Algeria, 1964.
|
IDEAS
Open science:
A global movement
catches on
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to real advances in the way scientific
data is shared. But there is still a long way to go before open science
truly encompasses unhindered access to scientific publications,
data, and collaborative research.
While the idea of a common good is gaining ground – especially
among the younger generation of researchers – the commodification
of scientific knowledge continues. The entire relationship between
citizens and science is at stake when we consider these issues.
Chérifa Boukacem-Zeghmouri
of euros per year for its main actors, the
Professor of Information and Communication Sciences, scientific publishers.
Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, France.
In their current formulation, the
T
demands for opening up science are
he Covid-19 pandemic has This new collaboration has relaunched more aligned with the commercial and
allowed us to observe a great discussions in favour of an “open science”. managerial rationales that have defined
surge of collaboration and If the need for openness is felt so strongly the organization of science since the
sharing of scientific knowledge today, it is because science – when it 1950s, than they are with a denunciation
among researchers – in the effort to cope comes to the publication of its results – of the totalitarianism that provoked the
with the virus, provide the most effective has become partly inaccessible. Besides Second World War.
treatments, and especially, to find a being very costly for researchers to However, they are also related to earlier
vaccine. We have seen barriers fall when produce, trusted publications are also too assertions by the American sociologist
the major scientific publishing groups expensive for many of the libraries that Robert K. Merton [1910-2003] and the
– such as Elsevier, Springer Nature, and would like to subscribe to them. Austrian-born British philosopher of
Wiley – opened access to thousands of science Karl Popper [1902-1994]. They
research articles. This allowed scientists The commodification of denounced these monopolies as new
from all over the world to read them, scientific knowledge forms of commercial totalitarianism that
keep up with research advances, and thus, appropriated a common good, scientific
accelerate their work. An analysis of the historical conditions knowledge – created and produced with
Data and metadata – the data that that have led to the emergence of the help of public actors and public funds.
Illustrations: © Boris Séméniako for The UNESCO Courier
describes other data – were also opened movements in favour of open science Accessibility, sharing, transparency,
up and shared among groups of scientists. shows us that this “closure” is deeply reuse, and an interaction with society are
For a time, scientific knowledge, a rooted in the long march towards the all values championed by open science.
common good, escaped from the old and commodification of scientific knowledge. These values can now be translated into
well-established forms of commercial Since the end of the Second World War, concrete terms, thanks to digital platforms
appropriation that do not favour the scientific knowledge has been a highly and infrastructures. This “reformulation”
dissemination of scientific knowledge. profitable market – bringing in billions should also be seen in the context of the 
Open science: A global movement catches on | 41

IDEAS
evolution of our societies. Science must These platforms base their value on
renew its links by taking into account
phenomena such as the spread of fake
The interest in advanced features and services that
depend on artificial intelligence for their
news, the rise of populism, and the open science development – especially to cope with the
exacerbation of inequalities. incessant flow of resources.
is now on the Although they do not offer peer
A new generation international review in the traditional sense, they are
experimenting with models that allow
The pandemic has made it possible to political agenda a form of expertise to be conferred on
publicize another phenomenon related articles, based on the collaborative
to the opening up of science, previously mobilization of communities.
confined to the academic sphere. Private research funding agencies
We are now witnessing the emergence young people belong to the generation – such as the Bill & Melinda Gates
of a new generation of web-based that grew up with the web and digital Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg
platforms, managed by scientific technology. They are not afraid to shake Initiative – are taking an interest in these
communities that are adopting the up a system that is impenetrable without new models and supporting them. This
principles of open science, its good the “open sesame” effect that being support offers real funding opportunities,
practices and its standards. published in prestigious, ultra-selective but it also presents risks of recuperation,
Young researchers, who have an and very expensive journals represents. or even a takeover, as we have seen in the
important place in these communities, Some of these platforms have played past.
are testing, innovating and experimenting a crucial role in the dissemination of The interest in open science is not
to reinvent the model of scientific scientific information on Covid-19. limited to the academic community – it
communication and make it more open – Researchers were able to share their is now on the European and international
including to society, which can contribute results in real time to move forward faster political agenda. This movement
to the process through comments. These and more collaboratively. goes beyond open access to scientific
Illustrations: © Boris Séméniako for The UNESCO Courier

A UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science
At the 41st session of UNESCO’s General libraries, publishers and young researchers.
Conference in November 2021, the Organization’s
A Scientific Committee, composed of thirty
Member States discuss a draft Recommendation
experts from around the world, was tasked with
on Open Science. Its objective is to define
the shared values related to open science; preparing a preliminary draft text following a
to propose concrete measures for allowing open worldwide consultation of 2,900 participants
access to data; and to promote the dissemination including experts, civil society, non-
of scientific knowledge worldwide. governmental organizations, and United Nations
agencies.
The review is the culmination of an inclusive
and transparent two-year consultation The Recommendation is a key step towards
process, during which UNESCO established a facilitating international co-operation and
partnership of science academies, universities, the universal access to scientific knowledge.
publications. It also includes the opening and video – are being improvised at the The inequalities that, until now, existed
of research data – according to the initiative of the researchers themselves. only between readers – between those
principle of “as open as possible, as closed The major scientific publishing groups who have access and those who don’t –
as necessary” – and the citizen science that who were earlier sworn opponents of are being transformed into inequalities
characterizes the twenty-first century. open science, have now become zealous between authors; between those who can
Some countries are beginning to adopt defenders of openness. To do this, they afford the cost and publish in open access,
policies for sharing scientific knowledge. are migrating their digital platforms to and those who cannot.
I n a n o t h e r m a n i fe s t at i o n o f support the ongoing transformation. The latter will only be able to publish
this interest, UNESCO submits its in traditional journals that give access to
Recommendation on Open Science to their contents through a subscription,
Member States in November 2021, to which is also very expensive.
facilitate international co-operation and Open science is therefore being
universal access to scientific knowledge. developed at the crossroads of
These recommendations cover Accessibility, increasingly internationalized policies
publications, data, software and sharing, and more active communities – whose
educational resources, and citizen initiatives and practices are being
science, to emphasize the importance transparency, rejuvenated and organized around models
of keeping science in the hands of created outside pre-existing patterns.
academic communities and citizens. They
reuse, and an The new models that are emerging
can then work together to ensure that interaction with are trying to escape the monopolies of
the objectives of scientific advances are the past. It is around these issues that
defined without the logic of monetization society are all the transformation of science is taking
and its constraints. values championed place – freedom from the exclusionary
logic of monetization; from inequalities
Open access publications by open science in access to knowledge; and from new
forms of monopoly exacerbated by digital
This national and international policy technologies. All this to better face the
context has fostered a research framework complex challenges of society.
that would have seemed utopian even Negotiations between publishers and
twenty years ago. The number of open libraries over subscription rates have now
access publications worldwide continues become negotiations for “transformative
to grow – it is estimated that by 2030, agreements” – where the focus is on the
seventy-five per cent of publications will rates for publication in the publisher’s
be open access. journals, or the number of articles that
The awareness of open access can be published for the same price.
to research data is growing, and an These issues are crucial at a time when
understanding of the relevant issues universities are trying to improve their
and practices is increasing. New forms of international rankings – which take into
scientific exchange – using social networks account the number of publications.
Open science: A global movement catches on | 43

IDEAS
Before being published, research work is evaluated by peers,

experts who examine the rigour of the approach and the reliability
of the results. However, this critical process has some serious flaws.
It also completely bypasses the general public, which is deprived of
the essential elements for understanding how science is developed.
Making scientific
more
evaluations
transparent
Alex Holcombe
Professor at the School of Psychology,
University of Sydney, Australia.
Illustration: © Francesc Roig for The UNESCO Courier

A
year and a half into the Covid-
19 pandemic, science has
saved many lives. Without
basic biomedical research, the
vaccines could not have been engineered
and evaluated for safety and efficacy. But
the scientific community has not been as
clear on other critical issues related to the
pandemic. The evidence on the usefulness
of masks, for example, and on the
reliability of models of viral transmission,
has been tentative. This is partly because
many of the relevant studies have been
flawed.
Science is complex, and it is easy
to conduct a scientific study badly. To The most recent scientific findings are Giving the
effectively evaluate the implications of only trustworthy when their authors have
these studies, we need experts to review had time to submit them for additional public access
them. This is called the peer review – the tests, and when multiple experts have to debates could
traditionally confidential process for had a chance to scrutinize them. When
evaluating new scientific findings. new research is published, scientists and lead to a better
As a researcher, I know from experience others can only see the writings of the
that other researchers often see flaws in researchers who conducted the study, and
understanding
my work that have eluded me. But the nothing more. of science
peer review process itself can also be
flawed.

Behind closed doors in peer review. The NEJM accepted the submitting them to journals. Websites
article after receiving comments from for scientists to discuss and criticize new
Traditionally, the peer review process four experts, and, as is standard, any research now buzz with activity.
begins after a team of scientists submits uncertainty expressed or questions posed Editors at the journals are finding it
a manuscript describing new results to during the peer review were not made increasingly difficult to find experts for the
a scientific journal. An editor, usually an public. traditional review process. Many editors
academic from another university, reads We still do not know what the experts tend to rely on experts they already know,
it and decides whether the work meets said. What we do know is that many and on experienced researchers who are
the standard of the journal. If it does, the scientists who were not included in the highly sought after, and therefore unable
editor will recruit experts on the topic peer review process immediately detected to keep up with the demand. This slows
being evaluated. signs that the data might be questionable, down the peer review process, and does
Often, one or more of the experts will and wrote critical letters to the journal not reflect the changing demographics of
then provide the journal with a long list within days of its publication. the scientific community.
of comments and criticisms, which are Today, more women and minorities are
forwarded to the authors. involved in the sciences, and contributions
The comments could push back from developing countries – such as
against our conclusions and challenge China – are increasing rapidly. But many
us to make our case more strongly, or to of these researchers remain off the radar
soften some of our claims. Women and of the senior scientists who edit journals
As an author, I don’t relish seeing that are located mostly in North America
criticism of my work, but I know it’s researchers and Europe.
necessary for scientific progress. After Over time, these problems may be
correcting some of the flaws in our logic,
from developing resolved with the emergence of new
or substantiating the assumptions that countries remain avenues for criticism and commentary.
have not been justified, we can be more Some journals now invite experts to make
confident about our conclusions, and off the radar of their comments public on their associated
hope they will have a greater impact. science editors websites. The development of this practice
The back-and-forth that follows could promote diversity in peer reviews.
between the authors, editor, and expert
reviewers results in a final manuscript, A better understanding
which analyses the data more rigorously of science
and usually offers a more cautious take on In this case, the huge interest in the
its implications – whether or not it is finally subject motivated experts to review the It is the dialogue among experts within
accepted for publication. article and write in with their concerns. the research community that defines
Unfortunately, the public never Unfortunately, this is quite unusual. the frontier of knowledge – that conveys
discovers which elements of the study Away from the high stakes of the uncertainty associated with the
were called into question, or which pandemic-related studies, evaluations effectiveness of a new vaccine, the forecast
aspects of the debate were the most of research are rarely made public. In of more droughts in a country’s future, the
controversial. 2013, researchers believed that they had credibility of dietary advice, or an estimate
This is because the peer review created the smallest-scale reconstruction of the economic consequences of tariffs.
process happens behind closed doors – yet of proteins on the surface of HIV, the Giving journalists and the public
within the password-protected walls of virus that causes AIDS. Their article was access to some of the debates among
the journal’s database. To know where published in one of the world’s most experts would mean that media reports
different experts stand on the issues, it prestigious journals. are more accurate – leading to a better
is imperative that the public is aware of But as we later discovered, at least four understanding of science in general.
the conflicts of opinion that arise during other journals had previously rejected the The experts will also benefit. Having
peer reviews. paper – some of them because of strong access to some of the peer review
criticism from their peer reviewers. None comments, researchers would be less
Disputed studies of these were made public. It was only likely to assume that a finding is totally
because other experts were approached solid, and more likely to reconsider their
In 2020, two studies of the impact of by journalists that the scientific conclusions.
hydroxychloroquine and blood pressure community learned about the case. Researchers will benefit. So will
medications on the progress of Covid- In response to growing criticism, science.
19 were retracted after publication and many journals are now opening up
conventional peer review. – giving outsiders a chance to view the
The Lancet and The New England live disagreements that are characteristic
Journal of Medicine (NEJM), two of the of cutting-edge science. And many
world’s most respected medical journals, researchers have begun posting their
both had experts examine the studies manuscripts on the internet before
|
Making scientific evaluations more transparent 45
OUR GUEST
L atin A merica:
The golden age of dinosaurs
Miriam Pérez de los Ríos
Researcher at the Anthropology Department of the University of Chile, Santiago, her work
focuses on the identification of phylogenetic relationships between species through the study
of fossil skulls. She is also an executive member of the Chilean Association of Palaeontology.

In recent years, there has been such a proliferation of major palaeontological
discoveries in Latin America, that the region is sometimes referred to as a
“dinosaur factory”. Our guest, a palaeontologist and specialist in the evolution
of Miocene hominoids – apes who lived 23 million to 5 million years ago –
explains that these scientific advances are the result of an increased interest
in the discipline, and the significant contribution of new research methods.
Interview by Laura Berdejo

 What is the significance of the recent
UNESCO
discoveries in Latin America?
Latin America, and the Southern Cone

in particular, are of great relevance for
our understanding of the origin and
evolution of dinosaurs. Many discoveries
have been made, in the region of La
Rioja in Argentina, a country with a long
palaeontological tradition. One of the
oldest known dinosaurs, Eoraptor lunensis,
discovered in 1991, lived in the region
some 230 million years ago. Teams in
Brazil are currently searching for an even
older specimen in the border area.
There are numerous records of these
animals throughout the Mesozoic era,
between 250 million and 66 million
years ago. Remains of these dinosaurs
can be found on all five continents,
until their mass extinction at the end of
the Cretaceous period, 66 million years
ago. The specimens found in the region
cover their entire time on earth – they
became extinct at the same time as their
counterparts on the rest of the planet.
However, excavations in the Southern
Cone of Latin America have uncovered
the remains of titanosaurs – the largest
dinosaurs – belonging to unique species
such as Chilesaurus diegosuarezi, one of
the few known herbivorous theropods.
The excavations have also led to the
discovery of the southernmost dinosaurs,
represented by a huge sauropod found in
Torres del Paine, Chile.
 Do these discoveries change what

we already know about dinosaurs on a
global scale?
© Courtesy: Oscar Sanisidro
Of course they do, because in

The four-legged long-necked herbivorous dinosaurs, palaeontology it is essential to compare the
Titanosaurian sauropods (left), were exceptionally specimens discovered with those already
prevalent in Latin America, but lived all over the world. identified to establish their phylogenetic
|
Latin America: The golden age of dinosaurs 47
OUR GUEST
position – that is, their familial relationships remains found in the Atacama Desert in are associated with international teams,
to other dinosaurs. Further excavations the country’s north, some thirty years ago, mainly from the United States.
and the comparison with known remains belonged to a newly discovered species of
allow us to understand their evolution and titanosaur, Arackar licanantay.  Does the evolution of study
to evaluate, through the observation of techniques play a role in the frequency
morphological changes, how speciation  How do you explain such a succession of discoveries?
[the formation of new and distinct species of discoveries in Latin America in recent
in the course of evolution] has occurred. years? I would say that the frequency of findings
This is how the National Museum of does not depend so much on the methods
Natural History in Santiago, Chile, was able These latest discoveries demonstrate used – which are still quite traditional –
to demonstrate, in April 2021, that the the progress being made in Latin as on the creation of local teams with a
America in the study of sciences such as high level of scientific training. In recent
palaeontology. Historically, Argentina has years, many young scientists who went
© Chilean National Museum of Natural History

led the expertise on the fossil record in the to study for their doctorates in the US
region – due to the great interest in this or Europe have returned to their home
One of the oldest discipline, and the presence of leading countries, and have begun to develop
palaeontologists such as José Fernando research projects on the local fossil fauna.
known dinosaurs Bonaparte, who discovered more than This has led not only to the discovery of
was discovered twenty species, and Rodolfo Casamiquela, new material in unexplored and fairly
a specialist in the remains of these large isolated areas – such as Patagonia or
in Argentina saurians. tropical rainforest areas – but also to the
In other countries, including Ecuador, ‘rediscovery’ of material that had been
Colombia, Chile, Brazil, and Peru, there forgotten in national or local museums,
has been an explosion of knowledge in waiting for a palaeontologist to bring it
recent decades – thanks to the work of back to life.
different teams affiliated to universities It is true, though, that laboratory
and research centres, some of which techniques have made it possible to
reveal new features of fossils that were
previously impossible to evaluate – such
as the internal cavities of skulls or the inner
ear, using computerized tomography
(CT) scans. The study of bone growth
The digital
is also possible today thanks
reconstruction of
to histological studies,
a Chilesaurus, 2018. Discovered in
southern Chile and first described in
2015, the plant-eating dinosaur lived
about 150 million years ago. CC BY-SA 4.0 by Liam Elward
Serial discoveries
A 98 million-year-old fossil excavated in the Palaeontologists, who have unearthed twenty-
Neuquén River Valley in Argentina may belong four vertebrae and elements from its pelvis
to the largest dinosaur ever to walk the earth, and pectoral girdle, are not certain whether
according to a study in the journal Cretaceous the gigantic bones belong to a known species
Research, published in January 2021. or to a gigantic specimen of a dinosaur
we already know about.
Researchers first started unearthing the fossilized
bones of a gigantic sauropod in 2012. Though In March 2021, the National University of
the skeleton is far from complete, experts believe San Luis, Argentina, announced the discovery
it could be even bigger than the Patagotitan, of Llukalkan aliocranianus, a giant carnivore
the “Titan of Patagonia” – which at 122 feet long that roamed present-day Argentina about
and nearly seventy tons, is the largest dinosaur 80 million years ago. Then, in April 2021,
known to date. This group of long-necked the National Museum of Natural History
sauropods were found all over the world, but in Santiago, presented Arackar licanantay,
some of the last representatives lived in Latin a titanosaur over twenty feet long that lived
America, where they evolved into giants. 66 million years ago in Chile’s Atacama Desert.

The Arackar licanantay, the third species of non-avian dinosaur to be discovered in Chile, is one of a kind. Discovered in the 1990s by geologist
Carlos Arévalo in the Atacama region, the “new” dinosaur was exhibited at the Chilean National Museum of Natural History in April 2021.
which analyse the structure of living tissue. again, and have access to our study to support this human development with
Our knowledge of the locomotion and materials. high-level equipment that does not exist
the bite of animals has also progressed, in the region – or has not been certified at
due to Finite Element Analysis (FEA) –  If a research department, like the one the international level, and the results of
a numerical calculation method that you work in, were to draw up a “dream which therefore, are not accepted by part
makes it possible, among other things, to list” of resources and capabilities for the of the scientific community.
simulate mechanical behaviour. next five years, what would you ask for? In spite of everything, palaeontology
is a booming discipline in Latin America.
 Has the Covid-19 pandemic had an From my point of view, the needs of Several sites are currently being studied,
impact on palaeontological research in any research core are basically the particularly in Argentina, in the Neuquén
Latin America? same: funding, willingness, and well- region, or in Chile, where a dinosaur
trained teams. A team cannot do its footprint site is being studied in the area
The global health context is a challenge work – no matter how deeply it desires of Termas del Flaco, in the Chilean Andes.
for any researcher who has to carry out to revolutionize national or regional
field and laboratory work. Many of the palaeontology – if it does not have
teams have had their field visits cancelled institutions that endorse and support its
because international participants were projects.
unable to attend, because funding has Likewise, often the lack of knowledge
been suspended – or because many of of some of the local evaluators of
the institutions that financially supported palaeontological research proposals
their work have had to allocate their means that they are not evaluated
budgets to pandemic control tasks. positively. And that, in the end, means
In addition, museums and scientific that there are some lines of research that
institutions have also closed their doors, cannot be carried out – in spite of the fact
making collections that contain the fossils that they are extremely interesting at the
to be analysed, inaccessible. Likewise, global level.
© Stefano De Luca
palaeontological conferences have had Finally, in Latin America, the shortage

to reformulate their systems, and have of specialists in South American countries
been held remotely – limiting exchanges has slowed down the development of this
between specialists to mere recorded field. Fortunately, these colleagues are
presentations. Feedback and discussion beginning to train new scientists locally, Miriam Pérez de los Ríos (in the foreground)
that are fundamental to science have been so that in five to ten years, there could excavating at the 10 million-year-old site
lost. I guess, like any scientist, I long for the be an explosion of great international in Rudabànya, Hungary, where the remains
time when we can meet our colleagues relevance. It would be critical to be able of Miocene apes have been found.
Latin America: The golden age of dinosaurs | 49

IN DEPTH
Journalism:
A dangerous profession
Attacks, intimidation, and even murder. Journalists across the world face
serious risks and threats every day, just for doing their jobs – reporting
the news and bringing information to the public.
Linda Klaassen
have identified political leaders, extremist networks and partisan
UNESCO
media as some of the biggest instigators and amplifiers of online
O
violence against women, according to the UNESCO discussion
ver the past decade, a journalist has been killed paper The Chilling: Global trends in online violence against women
every four days on average. Each year since 2016, journalists, 2021, based on a major interdisciplinary study
more journalists have been killed outside of conflict produced by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ).
zones than in countries currently experiencing armed In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, media workers
conflict. A total of eighty-six killings of journalists worldwide have around the world have also been subject to harassment,
been reported between 2020 and the end of June 2021. persecution and detention as a result of their work to keep
Impunity for crimes against journalists continues to prevail, citizens informed about the health crisis.
with nine of ten killings remaining unpunished. The year 2020 saw
a slight improvement, however, with thirteen per cent of cases
worldwide reported as resolved, compared to twelve per cent in
2019, and eleven per cent in 2018. In many cases, impunity results This section is published to mark the International Day to End Impunity
for Crimes against Journalists, 2 November.
from bottlenecks within the justice system itself.
While fewer women journalists are among the victims of
fatal attacks, women are particularly targeted by offline and
online gender-based threats and harassment. These attacks  Source: UNESCO and the UNESCO Director-General’s Report
have increased significantly in recent years. Women journalists on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity, 2020.
JOURNALIST KILLINGS WORLDWIDE, IN FIGURES

Number of journalists killed, 2006 to June 2021
124
116
98 102 99
90
84 80
77
66 65 62 62
57
46
24
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
(as of 30 June)

WHERE ARE JOURNALISTS MOST AT RISK?
Number of total killings registered worldwide 2020 - 2021
2019
by region, 2019 to June 2021 (as of 30 June)
Asia and the Pacific 15 31
Latin America and the Caribbean 23 28
Africa 7 12
Arab States 10 11
Central and Eastern Europe 1 2
Western Europe and North America 1 2
Source: UNESCO and the UNESCO Director-General's Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity, 2020
Number of killings registered by country, 2018-2019
2018 2019
12 1 n/a
Mexico 13
Chad Guatemala 2
n/a
6 1 n/a
Syrian Arab Republic 9
Chile Palestine 2
n/a
5 Democratic Republic 1 n/a

Afghanistan 16
Russian Federation 2
of the Congo n/a
5 1 n/a
Pakistan 5
Ghana Bangladesh 1
n/a
3 1 n/a
Colombia 5
Ukraine n/a
Bulgaria 1
3 1 n/a
Honduras n/a
Libya 1 El Salvador 1
3 1 n/a
Philippines 3 Nigeria n/a Liberia 1
3 1 n/a
Somalia 7 United Kingdom n/a
Nicaragua 1
2 n/a
1
Brazil 4 Yemen Saudi Arabia 1
7
2 n/a n/a
Haiti India Slovakia
n/a 6 1
2 United States of n/a

Indonesia 1 6
America
2 Central African n/a Source: UNESCO and the UNESCO

Iraq n/a Republic 3 Director-General's Report on the Safety of
Journalists and the Danger of Impunity, 2020
Journalism: A dangerous profession | 51

WHO IS BEING KILLED AND IN WHAT CONTEXT?
Percentage of men and women 2018 2019 2020 - 2021
among journalists killed, 2018 to 2021
(as of 30 June)
93% 91% 90%
Men Women 10%

7% 9%
Journalists killed, by media type 2018 2019 2020 - 2021

2018 to June 2021
Cross-platform 7 4 25
TV 33 14 23
Online 15 12 13
Radio 18 20 13
Print 26 7 12
Percentage of journalists killed in

countries currently experiencing armed
55% 61% 61%
conflict versus other countries, 2018-2020
2018 2019 2020
39% 39%
45%
Armed No armed
conflict conflict
Killings of staff or freelance journalists

2018 to June 2021, in percentages 9%
19% 17%
2020 -
2018 2019
2021
Staff Freelance 91% 81% 83%
Killings of local and foreign journalists 2018 2019 2020 - 2021

worldwide, 2018 to June 2021
93 56 83
Local Foreign
6 1 3
Source: UNESCO and the UNESCO Director-General's Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity, 2020

WHAT ARE THE LEGAL CONSEQUENCES?
Status of inquiries into killings of journalists, 2006 to 2019, in percentages
Ongoing/unresolved No information received Resolved

1,167
inquiries 56% 31% 13%
World total 650 inquiries 366 inquiries 151 inquiries
Status of judicial inquiries into killings of journalists per region, 2006 to 2019
Western Europe
Asia & Latin America Central and
Region Arab States Africa and
the Pacific & the Caribbean Eastern Europe
North America
Total Cases 368 312 275 135 45 32
Cases resolved
Ongoing /
unresolved
No information
received so far 5 166 197 34 166 112 61 207 7 16 69 50 21 24 0 14 18 0
% Unresolved
99% 89% 78% 88% 53% 56%
WOMEN AND ONLINE VIOLENCE

Out of the 901 journalists and media workers – 714* of which identified as women – taking part in a survey for the 2021 UNESCO
discussion paper The Chilling: Global trends in online violence against women journalists:
had experienced online

73% violence in the course of 25% had received threats
18% had been threatened
of physical violence with sexual violence
their work
had received threats of have been attacked have self-censored on

13% violence against those
20% offline in connection
30% social media according
close to them, including with online violence to the level of online
children and infants they have experienced violence they experience
said they had reported

25%
*The survey is non-representative, and all results represented are a proportion of this sample.
online violence incidents
Source: The Chilling: Global trends in online violence against women journalists, Research
to their employers Discussion Paper, UNESCO, 2021
Journalism: A dangerous profession | 53

UNESCO PUBLISHING
New publications
Reporting on Migrants World Heritage No.98 World Heritage No.99

and Refugees Monitoring World Heritage from World Heritage in China
Handbook for journalism Space (Special issue)
educators ISSN 1020-4202 ISSN 1020-4202
EAN 3059630101967 EAN 3059630101967
ISBN 978-92-3-100456-8
72 pp., 220 x 280 mm, paperback, €7.50 120 pp., 220 x 280 mm, paperback, €7.50
304 pp, 210 x 297 mm, PDF
UNESCO Publishing/Publishing for UNESCO Publishing/Publishing for
Publication available on
Development Ltd. Development Ltd.
https://unesdoc.unesco.org
Remote sensing, or using technology The 44th session of the World Heritage
This handbook helps journalism
to gather information remotely about an Committee (WHC) was held in Fuzhou,
educators to address migration and
area, is a routine way of assessing potential China, and online, from 16 to 31 July 2021.
refugee matters, one of the major
damage to cultural heritage sites or
challenges of the twenty-first century.
evaluating natural areas. Satellite imagery At its annual sessions, the WHC makes
Through a set of thirteen modules,
analysis is an important component of this. decisions on whether a property will
educators are provided with a
be inscribed on the World Heritage List.
comprehensive curriculum, covering
In this issue, we discover how It also examines reports on the state
different aspects of training – including
collaborations with agencies such as of conservation of inscribed properties,
analysis, research, presentation, and
the International Centre on Space and asks States Parties to take action
the ethics of migration coverage.
Technologies for Natural and Cultural when properties are not being properly
Heritage (HIST), under the auspices managed. The Committee also decides on
The guide is also useful for journalism
of UNESCO; the European Space Agency the inscription on, or removal of, properties
students, who will learn that matters
(ESA) and the United Nations Institute from the List of World Heritage in Danger.
of migration and forced displacement
for Training and Research (UNITAR),
involve human beings – making it
allow experts to monitor where sites have This issue of World Heritage presents
crucial to ensure that accurate facts,
been damaged or need protection most. the extraordinary variety of cultural and
reliable sources, ethical reporting and
natural sites in China. Approaches used
good practices are adhered to.
to manage this vast array of heritage
– such as case studies and educational
activities – are explored.
[email protected]
Many voices
The UNESCO Courier is published in the six official languages
of the Organization, and also in Catalan, Esperanto, Korean, and Portuguese.
Correio
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• Grécia, o Dorado dos • Por un nuevo pacto social en América Latina por Karina Batthyány нской Америки
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• Redes socia museus confr нда индийски
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• Nos Paíse ial: Catherine
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• Argentin Himalaya FM:
Organización
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контент по вкус
• China, um Jigen
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para la Educación,
• Una ocasión para reinventar la escuela por Poornima Luthra la Ciencia y la Cultura у аудитории в
bronzes de todo Китае
Courrier
联合国教科文组织 LE
信使 2021年第 1期
2021 ‫ يونيو‬- ‫أبريل‬
D E L’ U N E S CO
juillet-septembre
2021
海洋： Biodiversité :
restaurer
扭转局面， nos liens
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• 加纳：收复被海洋
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• 被传统拯救的
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• 拉丁美洲
向塑料宣战 :‫زمن اجلائحة‬
• 绿海龟重归
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‫سن العشرين أجمل األعمار؟‬
ّ ‫هل‬
‫أفكار‬ ‫ الشباب ومحنة األزمة الصحية‬:‫الهند‬
‫الفكر التّآمري‬ ‫الشباب اإلفريقي في شباك المؤثّرين‬
‫ﻣﻨﻈﻤﺔ ﺍﻷﻣﻢ ﺍﻟﻤﺘﺤﺪﺓ‬ ‫الدّ وافع‬ ‫ الحيوات المتعدّ دة‬،‫في الصين‬
‫ﻟﻠﺘﺮﺑﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﻌﻠﻢ ﻭﺍﻟﺜﻘﺎﻓﺔ‬ ‫وراء ظاهرة كونية‬ ‫لجيل السالشرز‬ ntagne NOTRE INVITÉE
‫ عقار ضدّ األزمة‬،‫الكِ ي ـ بوب‬ pour les gorilles de mo rsité
menace s’éloigne Olivette Otele
explore
• En Afrique, la
联合国教育、
中国出版传媒股份有限公司 vitrines de la biodive
科学及文化组织 • Les îles, fragiles l’histoire méconnue
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Stories of • Nigerian migrants:

MIGRATION of climate migrants

IDEAS OUR GUEST

Open Science: Latin America: The golden age

Follow the latest news Read and share

4 | The UNESCO Courier • October-December 2021

continent. In 2020, nearly half of all international migrants

© Alireza Tabouk - posterfortomorrow - 2017

GLOBAL MIGRATION, BY THE NUMBERS

272 million 25.9 million

3.5 per cent of the displaced persons due to violence

Top countries sending remittances:

6 | The UNESCO Courier • October-December 2021

Africa: Using rap to highlight the dangers

8 | The UNESCO Courier • October-December 2021

Nigerian migrants: Pursuing the dream at any cost | 9

Widespread preconceived notions about refugees from Africa

10 | The UNESCO Courier • October-December 2021

Migrant: There is no legally

12 | The UNESCO Courier • October-December 2021

of Nobel prizes have gone to institutions in the United

it is also important to recognize that

Refugees: Overcoming prejudices | 13

With more than 3,000 kilometres of coastline and ecosystems

Peru faces a surge

14 | The UNESCO Courier • October-December 2021

they live. In the costa, fishermen

CC BY 2.0 photo by the Ministry of Defence of Peru

16 | The UNESCO Courier • October-December 2021

ICCAR: A network of welcoming cities

to make their case. The three young and Leipzig.

*Some names have been changed to protect

Smartphones have become crucial to the survival of migrants

20 | The UNESCO Courier • October-December 2021

Regis, a 23-year-old from Cameroon, destinations. In spite of their efforts, they

Mobile phones: An indispensable tool for migrants | 21

22 | The UNESCO Courier • October-December 2021

Venera Toktorova: A Kyrgyz migrant makes her way | 23

Chinese: A long history

24 | The UNESCO Courier • October-December 2021

Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) to

They moved mainly to industrialized

26 | The UNESCO Courier • October-December 2021

Unlike bones, which

teeth do not produce new

Eva-Maria Geigl: “The history

Interview by Agnès Bardon

28 | The UNESCO Courier • October-December 2021

 Given the analysis of our ancestors’

Absolutely. To begin with, we are all

This retrospective feature marks the 75th anniversary

30 | The UNESCO Courier • October-December 2021

A cherub sculpture being cleaned at a restoration

A painting by Venetian artist Giovanni Battista Piazzetta

34 | The UNESCO Courier • October-December 2021

4 1. A recital by South African singer, songwriter

2. Violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin

3. Léopold Sédar Senghor (left), President