South Sudan went to the polls on 9 January in a referendum to determine whether it will remain in unity with the north or separate. The referendum was part of a commitment made during the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended decades of civil war between the mainly Arab north and African south.  The conflict claimed the lives of more than 2 million southerners and displaced 4 million more.

UNESCO’s programmes in Sudan are adapting to the changing political landscape and the social needs of the diverse population via the country office in Khartoum and in close collaboration with other UN agencies. UNESCO also has a branch office in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

Illiteracy rates are over 80 percent in southern Sudan, education is therefore a priority. UNESCO is coordinating the training of trainers to ensure the provision of higher quality education and learning achievement. Following the 2005 peace agreement, UNESCO has put additional emphasis on education aimed at the disarmament and demobilization of youth. Through the programme, called LIFE (Literacy for Empowerment), young ex-combatants and women and girls from war-affected areas receive training aimed at improving their employability and self-reliance.

Large swathes of Sudan’s population are transient due to the war, and so HIV infection rates are high among Internally Displaced People, refugees and returnees. UNESCO leads several HIV and AIDS-awareness projects delivered through formal and informal education. UNESCO also provided South Sudan’s Ministry of Culture with three mobile cinemas which are used for awareness-raising in the different areas of civil education as well as HIV/AIDS.

Sudan has a plethora of cultures within and across its African and Arab populations. In 2007, UNESCO assisted the Sudanese government in developing its National Cultural Development Framework. UNESCO is currently mapping Intangible Cultural Heritage. Assistance in the form of capacity building will be given to groups who wish to safeguard their Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The imprint of ancient civilizations that have existed in the region are enshrined in three UNESCO World Heritage Sites; El-Kurru, a royal cemetery used by the Nubian royal family; Jebel Barkal, a mountain that marked the southern most point of the Egyptian Pharoah Thutmose III; and Nuri, the site of pyramids built for Nubian kings. UNESCO will continue to support the Sudanese to safe guard their World Heritage Sites.

Source: Unesco.org