OREANDA-NEWS. December 2, 2009. The ceremony of opening the International Conference on the Role of Information and Communications Technologies, Science and Planning in Improving the Quality of Education took place in Turkmenbashi town.

The idea of conducting the forum of the international experts in Turkmenistan was supported by the President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. The conference is jointly organized by the Turkmen National Commission for UNESCO, the Ministry of Education and the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan, the UNESCO Office in Tehran.

The experts and representatives of various international institutions of the UNESCO, the European Centre for Higher Education and the Bangkok-based regional office of this international organisation, the education experts from Europe, Asia and America and the diplomatic missions and the UN agencies accredited to our country arrived in the seaside town to participate in the forum. Turkmenistan is represented by the high-ranking officials and specialists of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan, the Ministry of Education, the ministries and departments and higher educational institutions.

The fact of conducting this representative meeting illustrates the undiminishing attention of the Turkmen state and its leader to the development of the spheres of science and education.

It should be noted that this forum adds a new chapter in partnership successfully developed between Turkmenistan and UNESCO – an authoritative international organisation – a leading UN agency that aims its activity at promoting peace and global security through the development of wide international cooperation in the spheres of education, culture, science and information. During the years of cooperation Turkmenistan and UNESCO have implemented a number of the important joint projects. The major historical and architectural monuments testifying to the great history of the Turkmen land including Ancient Merv, Kunya Urgench, the Parthian fortresses of Nisa are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. At present, the study of several natural sites of Turkmenistan including the Karakum Desert and the large mountain ranges that are nominated for the inscription on this prestigious global register is carried on. With technical and expert assistance of this international organisation s the departments at the leading higher schools of the country and the monitoring centres were opened to collect the information and systematize the data on the cultural and historical complex of Turkmenistan, is systematic advice. In recent years, academic exchange is actively developed.

As is known, this year the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received the highest award of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – Avicenna Gold Medal for the outstanding contribution to the development of the national culture, preservation of the cultural and historical monuments and enhancement of cooperation with UNESCO.

The leader of the Turkmen state underscores the role assigned by Turkmenistan to cooperation with the leading international organisations including UNESCO that serves as a key aspect of Turkmenistan-UN strategic partnership aimed at strengthening peace, security and achieving global progress.

The opening ceremony took place in the conference hall of the Nebitchi Hotel – one of the first facilities constructed on the Caspian Sea shore under the large-scale project of Avaza national tourism zone. Along with the organizers the cabinet ministers, the representatives of the largest public organisations, the UN agencies accredited in Turkmenistan, the ministries and departments concerned and journalists.

The welcoming statement of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov was presented at the opening ceremony.

In the welcoming statement the Turkmen leader expressed belief that “the international conference conducted with the participation of UNESCO experts will be of significant importance in learning about the best international practice to improve the quality of the national education system and increase the effectiveness of scientific research, to specify the trends in further cooperation with UNESCO in this field.”

Qunli Han, Director of UNESCO Office in Tehran, Sampo Lalungpa, Representative of UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Turkmenistan, Hans Keppler, CEO of the German company that developed the academic programmes addressed the forum. They expressed profound gratitude to President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov for an opportunity to visit Turkmenistan, the high level of organization of the forum, the major aim of which was to develop the education system, promote international cooperation for the common benefit and progress.

The idea of the role of innovative technologies in improving the quality of the process of education dominated in the opening remarks. Emphasis was put on the significance, topicality, timeliness and positive role of the education reform initiated by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in the progress of the independent Turkmen state

The participants emphasized that informatization of education and science was a component of the global process. The progress of a country was impossible today without widely adopting innovative technologies, scientific and technological advances in all the sectors of Turkmen economy and other spheres of the life.

The foreign guests appreciated the scale of the reforms launched in this sphere in recent years. They were impressed with the ongoing projects on construction of schools and institutions that widely applied interactive teaching methods, were supplied with multimedia equipment and had an access to the internet. The participants noted that the orientation towards the latest trends in world science, effective planning and adoption of advanced technologies allowed making conclusions about the progress of the country.

Highly evaluating the scale of the ongoing reform sin Turkmenistan Qunli Han, Director of the UNESCO Office in Tehran said that UNESCO stood ready to support the Government of Turkmenistan for the education reforms , and this international conference would contribute to further successful development of the research and educational system of the country.

Upon concluding the plenary meeting a video film about the development of education in independent Turkmenistan, the specific areas of large-scale reforms launched in this priority field of the national policy was demonstrated to the participants.

Then the guests were briefed on the priorities of the development of the region and, in particular, the project on creation of Avaza national tourism zone on the Caspian coast. An excursion was arranged for the forum participants so that they would receive the firsthand information about the grandiose scale and pace of the implementation of this large-scale project.