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Malaysia-UNESCO Cooperation Programme (MUCP) to Enhance South-South Cooperation
Introduction

Operational since 2013, Malaysia-UNESCO Cooperation Programme (MUCP) places special emphasis on SIDS and LDCs in Asia and the Pacific and in Africa. It draws on the expertise of Malaysian institutions, including the International Centre for South-South Cooperation for Science, Technology and Innovation (ISTIC), and on the Regional Humid Tropics Hydrology and Water Resources Centre for South-East Asia and the Pacific (HTC), created under the auspices of UNESCO. To date, 29 projects have been implemented in more than 70 countries, including Gambia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Objective of the practice

The MUCP projects are contributing to the achievement of the SDGs. MUCP projects include: educating for sustainable development in Pacific Island countries; building the capacity of Indian Ocean Member States in tsunami preparedness and response; reforming education systems to meet the demands of the 21st century; conducting climate change education for small islands; upscaling water security across Asia and Africa; developing community-based management at World Heritage sites; and strengthening STEM curricula for girls in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. The Programme thus addresses a total of 13 SDGs.
The scope and outreach of cooperation under the MUCP includes projects on: education policy and reform; Education for Sustainable Development (ESD); skills development; disaster risk reduction; sustainability science; enhancing science, engineering and technology standards; social inclusion; safeguarding documentary heritage; and fostering media capacity, while building on Malaysian institutions and expertise.
MUCP focuses on promoting South-South cooperation to enhance science, engineering and technology standards in Asia and the Pacific with the aim of strengthening engineering institutions, improving the quality of education and enabling mobility of engineers between the Asia and Pacific region and Africa. It has led to the development of a modular curricula and prompted countries to join the Federation of Engineering Institutions of Asia and the Pacific’s (FEIAP) accreditation system. Within the framework of this project, UNESCO co-hosted several regional and interregional workshops on South-South Cooperation for Strengthening Engineering Standards and Mobility of Professionals to support the engineering qualification standardization guidelines of FEIAP and to promote South-South cooperation for sustainable development. Over 60 participants from Azerbaijan, China, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste and the United Kingdom attended the December 2017 workshop in Jakarta.
Moreover, MUCP supports capacity-building among policymakers in ASEAN countries, particularly in Cambodia, Malaysia, and Timor-Leste, to promote social inclusion through public policies. Using project funding, UNESCO designed and launched the Inclusive Policy Lab to support implementation of the SDGs’ pillar on inclusive development through informed and joined-up policy frameworks.
Another successful practice involves support for sustainable development at World Heritage sites (and sites of the tentative list) in Southeast Asia by assisting site managers and key stakeholders in community-based management that incorporates sustainable tourism management. This led to the publication of the Sustainable Tourism Strategy Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as the Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy; its guidebook; Guide Map: Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras; and the Sustainable Tourism Strategy for George Town and Malacca.

Key stakeholders and partnerships

Donor: Malaysian government
Implementing entities: UNESCO New Delhi, UNESCO Bangkok, UNESCO Jakarta, UNESCO Apia, International Institute for Education Planning (IIEP) , International Bureau of Education (IBE)

Implementation of the Project/Activity

Through building capacity, facilitating South-South regional collaborative research, cooperation and knowledge-sharing, MUCP has proved to be an effective mechanism to strengthen South-South cooperation among UNESCO Member States in a sustainable way. For example, to strengthen long-term knowledge-sharing, cooperation and dialogue, MUCP created three knowledge platforms addressing sustainability science (http://mucp-mfit.org/knowledge-platform-on-sustainability-science/), South-South cooperation for engineering qualifications, and South-South cooperation for water security. It also contributed to enhancing the capacity of policymakers in ASEAN countries, particularly in Cambodia, Malaysia and Timor-Leste to promote social inclusion through public policies, which also included the development of an Inclusive Policy Lab (http://en.unesco.org/inclusivepolicylab/). Its work to develop modular curricula on science, engineering and technology standards, which can then be adapted for professional bodies and universities for certified training of professionals, offers another good example of how UNESCO is strengthening institutional capacity through MUCP. The same approach can be shared with other development partners who are willing to use their development experiences, as well as their knowledge and technical expertise. to support LDCs and SIDS to achieve the SDGs by creating shared knowledge platforms, curricula and accreditation systems, such as the Federation of Engineering Institutions of Asia and Pacific’s (FEIAP) accreditation system.

Results/Outputs/Impacts

Enabling factors and constraints

Sustainability and replicability

Conclusions

Other sources of information

Goal 3
3.9 - By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination
Goal 4
4.3 - By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university
4.5 - By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations
4.6 - By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy
4.7 - By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development
4.a - Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all
4.b - By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countries
4.c - By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States
Goal 5
5.c - Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels
Goal 6
6.1 - By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
Goal 8
8.2 - Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors
Goal 9
9.5 - Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending
9.a - Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries through enhanced financial, technological and technical support to African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States
Goal 11
11.3 - By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries
11.b - By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels
Goal 12
12.b - Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products
Goal 13
13.2 - Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning
13.b - Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities

* Acknowledging that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the primary international,
intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to climate change.
Goal 14
14.a - Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, in order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular small island developing States and least developed countries
Goal 15
15.9 - By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts
Goal 16
16.6 - Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels
16.a - Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime
Goal 17
17.6 - Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism
17.7 - Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed
17.8 - Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology
17.9 - Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the sustainable development goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation
Financing (in USD)
9,000,000 USD
Basic information
Start: 01 January, 2017
Completion: 31 December, 2019
Ongoing? no
Region
Asia and Pacific
Countries
Geographical Coverage
It is a programme being implemented in more than 70 countries in Asia Pacific and Africa, including Gambia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Entity
UNESCO
Type: Intergovernmental organization
Contact information
Clare Stark, Strategic planning specialist, c.stark@unesco.org,
Photos
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