TO THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON CULTURE, SCIENCE AND EDUCATION

 

Synopsis n° 2001/090

7 September 2001

 

The Committee on Culture, Science and Education meeting in Paris on 5 September 2001 with Mr Rakhansky in the chair:

·        paid tribute to Mr Urbanczyk, Member of the Committee since 1997 and Vice-Chairman of the Sub-Committee on the Media, who had died tragically in Greece on 7 August, and took note that its Chairman had already conveyed its sympathy to the Polish Delegation;

·        appointed Mr Baciu (Romania, SOC) to replace Mr Ivanov as Rapporteur on higher education in South-East Europe, approved a report and adopted unanimously a draft recommendation;

·        approved a report and adopted a draft recommendation on the European Year of Languages (Rapporteur: Mr Legendre, France, EDG) presented by Mr Billing and agreed to invite the European Parliament Rapporteur to its meeting on the European Day of Languages (26 September 2001);

·        approved its contribution to the OECD debate presented by the Rapporteur, Mr Varela i Serra (Spain, LDR);

·        heard a presentation by Mr Hans-Wolf Rissom, representing the Director General of Unesco, and held an exchange of views on international cooperation in the field of education;

·        held an exchange of views on the draft programme for its meeting in Armenia;

·        appointed the following rapporteurs:

-         Mr Abbasov (Azerbaijan, EDG) on the cultural situation in the Caucasus;

-         Mr O’Hara (United Kingdom, SOC) on scientific and technological contributions to the improvement of public health;

• designated representatives to forthcoming meetings;

• heard a report by Mr Varela i Serra on the World Congress on Gifted Children (Barcelona, 1-4 August 2001);

• took note of the replies of the Committee of Ministers to recommendations on the maritime and fluvial cultural heritage and on the management of cathedrals and other major religious buildings in use;

• confirmed its forthcoming meetings as follows:

-     Strasbourg, during the coming part-session (24-28 September)

-         Yerevan, 22-24 October

-         Paris, 11 December

* * * * *

The Sub-Committee on Science and Ethics meeting in Paris on 4 September 2001 with Mr Birraux in the chair:

·        heard a presentation on orphan diseases, by Mr Alastair Kent, Chairman of the European Alliance of Patient and Parent Organisations for Genetic Services and Innovation in Medicine, held an exchange of views and decided to propose Mr O’Hara as Rapporteur ;

• heard a presentation on the activities of the European Space Agency by Mr Antonio Rodota, Director General of ESA and held an exchange of views on this subject;

• decided to elect a new Vice-President at its next meeting following the resignation of Mr Plattner;

• held an exchange of views on its work programme;

• decided to hold its next meeting, if possible, during the next part session of the Assembly (Strasbourg, 24-28 September).

* * * * *

The Sub-Committee on the Media meeting in Paris on 5 September 2001 with Mrs Isohookana-Asunmaa in the chair:

• expressed its deep sorrow at the tragic death of its Vice-Chairman, Mr Urbanczyk;

·        discussed an approved an action plan presented by the General Rapporteur on the Media, Mr Hegyi, and instructed him to write to the heads of the parliamentary delegations of Azerbaijan, Russia and Ukraine in order to express concern about recent events in the media field in these countries;

• held an exchange of views on new challenges to the European audiovisual industry and to public service broadcasting;

• heard an information report by Mr O’Hara on the Prix Europa, welcomed continuation of Assembly financial support for the prize in the television category “Current Affairs” and discussed participation in a Current Affairs workshop organised jointly with Prix Europa in Postdam on 19 October;

• was informed by Mr Rakhansky on the Television and Cinema Forum to be held in Yalta from 7 to 14 September and took note that he would represent the Assembly at it;

• agreed to meet on the afternoon of Thursday 27 September 2001 for an exchange of views with Mr Freimut Duve, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.

 

C. Grayson, J. Ary, B. Theophilova, B. Torcătoriu