The Office of the UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific is working towards initiating Arts Education Observatories – clearinghouses which will compile, analyze and disseminate evidence of the effects of Arts Education, so as to support advocacy processes. UNESCO hopes that it can establish at least eight Observatories within the Asia-Pacific region by early 2008. The research-results from the Observatories across the region will be compiled and presented at the second World Conference on Arts Education, to be held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, in 2010.
This initiative is part of the operationalization of the “Asia-Pacific Action Plan”, formulated as part of preparations for the World Conference on Arts Education which was held in Lisbon in March 2006. The aim of the World Conference was to encourage the integration of the arts and culture into education worldwide, with the broader goal of fostering human creativity. 
UNESCO is searching for candidates to become UNESCO Arts Education Observatories. The ideal candidates would be universities or other institutions involved in Arts Education in the Asia-Pacific region with the capacity to conduct and disseminate research on Arts Education and present their results at the 2010 World Conference on Arts Education.
If funds are secured to support this initiative, UNESCO may be able to provide suitable institutions with seed-funding to establish the Observatories. In addition, UNESCO may be able to help defray the costs involved in travelling to the 2010 World Conference in the Republic to Korea to present the Observatory’s findings. Established Observatories would also be given priority for consideration as UNESCO Chairs in Arts Education.
Further information about the proposed Observatories and the UNESCO Arts Education programme can be found on this website: www.unescobkk.org/culture/artsineducation.
The deadline to apply is 31 December 2007.

http://www.unescobkk.org/culture/artsineducation.