| Name | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization |
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| Type | Specialized Agency |
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| Acronyms | UNESCO |
|---|
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
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| Head | Irina Bokova |
|---|
| Status | Active |
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| Established | 16 November 1945 |
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| Website | |
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| Commons | UNESCO |
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The
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (
UNESCO; ) is a specialized agency of the
United Nations established on 16 November 1945. Its stated purpose is to contribute to
peace and
security by promoting international
collaboration through
education,
science, and
culture in order to further universal
respect for
justice, the
rule of law, and the
human rights along with fundamental
freedoms proclaimed in the
UN Charter. It is the heir of the
League of Nations'
International Commission on Intellectual Cooperation.
UNESCO has 193 Member States and seven Associate Members. The organization is based in
Paris, with over 50 field offices and many specialized institutes and centres throughout the world. Most of the field offices are "cluster" offices covering three or more countries; there are also national and regional offices. UNESCO pursues its objectives through five major programs: education,
natural sciences, social and
human sciences, culture, and communication and information. Projects sponsored by UNESCO include
literacy, technical, and teacher-training programmes; international
science programmes; the promotion of independent
media and
freedom of the press; regional and cultural
history projects; the promotion of
cultural diversity; international cooperation agreements to secure the world
cultural and
natural heritage (
World Heritage Sites) and to preserve
human rights, and attempts to bridge the worldwide
digital divide.
Mission and priorities
UNESCO’s mission is to contribute to the "building of peace", reducing the
poverty,
sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through
education, the
sciences,
culture, communication and information. The Organization focuses, in particular, on two global priorities:
Africa and
Gender Equality.
Other priorities of the Organization include attaining quality education for all and lifelong learning, addressing emerging social and ethical challenges, fostering cultural diversity, a culture of peace and building inclusive knowledge societies through information and communication.
The broad goals and concrete objectives of the international community – as set out in the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – underpin all UNESCO’s strategies and activities.
History
UNESCO and its mandate for international intellectual co-operation can be traced back to the League of Nations resolution on 21 September 1921, to elect a Commission to study the question. The International Commission of Intellectual Co-operation (CICI) was officially created on 4 January 1922, as a consultative organ composed of individuals elected based on their personal qualifications. The International Institute for Intellectual Cooperation (IICI) was then created in Paris on 9 August 1925, to act as the executing agency for the CICI. On 18 December 1925, the International Bureau of Education (IBE) began work as a non-governmental organization in the service of international educational development. However, the work of these predecessor organizations was largely interrupted by the onset of the Second World War.
After the signing of the Atlantic Charter and the Declaration of the United Nations, the Conference of Allied Ministers of Education (CAME) began meetings in London which continued between 16 November 1942 to 5 December 1945. On 30 October 1943, the necessity for an international organization was expressed in the Moscow Declaration, agreed upon by China, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the USSR. This was followed by the Dumbarton Oaks Conference proposals of 9 October 1944. Upon the proposal of CAME and in accordance with the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO), held in San Francisco in April-June 1945, a United Nations Conference for the establishment of an educational and cultural organization (ECO/CONF) was convened in London 1-16 November 1945. 44 governments were represented. At the ECO/CONF, the Constitution of UNESCO was introduced and signed by 37 countries, and a Preparatory Commission was established. The Preparatory Commission operated between 16 November 1945, and 4 November 1946 – the date when UNESCO’s Constitution came into force with the deposit of the twentieth ratification by a member state.
The first General Conference took place from 19 November to 10 December 1946, and elected Dr. Julian Huxley to the post of Director-General. The Constitution was amended in November 1954 when the General Conference resolved that members of the Executive Board would be representatives of the governments of the States of which they are nationals and would not, as before, act in their personal capacity. This change in governance distinguished UNESCO from its predecessor, the CICI, in terms of how member states would work together in the Organization’s fields of competence. As member states worked together over time to realize UNESCO’s mandate, political and historical factors have shaped the Organization’s operations in particular during the Cold War, the decolonization process, and the dissolution of the USSR.
Among the major achievements of the Organization is its work against racism, for example through influential statements on race starting with a declaration of anthropologists (among them was Claude Lévi-Strauss) and other scientists in 1950 and concluding with the 1978 Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice. In 1956, the Republic of South Africa withdrew from UNESCO claiming that some of the Organization’s publications amounted to “interference” in the country’s “racial problems.” South Africa rejoined the Organization in 1994 under the leadership of Nelson Mandela.
UNESCO’s early work in the field of education included the pilot project on fundamental education in the Marbial Valley, Haiti, started in 1947. This project was followed by expert missions to other countries, including, for example, a mission to Afghanistan in 1949. In 1948, UNESCO recommended that Member States should make free primary education compulsory and universal. In 1990 the World Conference on Education for All, in Jomtien, Thailand, launched a global movement to provide basic education for all children, youths and adults. Ten years later, the 2000 World Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal, led member governments to commit to achieving basic education for all by 2015.
UNESCO’s early activities in the field of culture included, for example, the Nubia Campaign, launched in 1960. The purpose of the campaign was to move the Great Temple of Abu Simbel to keep it from being swamped by the Nile after construction of the Aswan Dam. During the 20-year campaign, 22 monuments and architectural complexes were relocated. This was the first and largest in a series of campaigns including Moenjodaro (Pakistan), Fez (Morocco), Kathmandu (Nepal), Borobudur (Indonesia) and the Acropolis (Greece). The Organization’s work on heritage led to the adoption, in 1972, of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The World Heritage Committee was established in 1976 and the first sites inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1978. Since then important legal instruments on cultural heritage and diversity have been adopted by UNESCO member states in 2003 (Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage) and 2005 (Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions).
At an intergovernmental meeting of UNESCO in Paris in December 1951 was held which led to the creation of the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN) in 1954. The World Wide Web was born at CERN in 1989.
Arid Zone programming, 1948-1966, is another example of an early major UNESCO project in the field of natural sciences. In 1968, UNESCO organized the first intergovernmental conference aimed at reconciling the environment and development, a problem which continues to be addressed in the field of sustainable development. The main outcome of the 1968 conference was the creation of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme.
In the field of communication, the free flow of information has been a priority for UNESCO from its beginnings. In the years immediately following World War II, efforts were concentrated on reconstruction and on the identification of needs for means of mass communication around the world. UNESCO started organizing training and education for journalists in the 1950s. In response to calls for a "New World Information and Communication Order" in the late 1970s, UNESCO established the International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems, which produced the 1980 MacBride report (named after the Chair of the Commission, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Seán MacBride). Following the MacBride report, UNESCO introduced the Information Society for All programme and Toward Knowledge Societies programme in the lead up to the World Summit on the Information Society in 2003 (Geneva) and 2005 (Tunis).
Activities
UNESCO implements its activities through the five programme areas of Education, Natural Sciences, Social and Human Sciences, Culture, and Communication and Information.
Education: UNESCO is providing international leadership in creating learning societies with educational opportunities for all; it supports research in Comparative education; and provides expertise and fosters partnerships to strengthen national educational leadership and the capacity of countries to offer quality education for all. This includes the
*Eight specialized Institutes in different topics of the sector
*UNESCO Chairs, an international network of 644 UNESCO Chairs, involving over 770 institutions in 126 countries.
*Environmental Conservation Organisation
*Organization of the International Conference on Adult Education (]) in an interval of 12 years
*UNESCO ASPNet, an international network of 8,000 schools in 170 countries
UNESCO does not accredit institutions of higher learning.
UNESCO also issues public 'statements' to educate the public:
*Seville Statement on Violence: A statement adopted by UNESCO in 1989 to refute the notion that humans are biologically predisposed to organised violence.
Designating projects and places of cultural and scientific significance, such as:
*International Network of Geoparks
*Biosphere reserves, through the Programme on Man and the Biosphere (MAB), since 1971
City of Literature; in 2007, the first city to be given this title was Edinburgh, the site of Scotland's first circulating library. In 2008, Iowa City, Iowa became the City of Literature.
*Endangered languages and linguistic diversity projects
*Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
*Memory of the World International Register, since 1997
*Water resources management, through the International Hydrological Programme (IHP), since 1965
*World Heritage Sites
Encouraging the "free flow of ideas by images and words" by:
*Promoting freedom of expression, press freedom and access to information, through the International Programme for the Development of Communication and the Communication and Information Programme
*Promoting universal access to ICTs, through the Information for All Programme (IFAP)
*Promoting Pluralism and cultural diversity in the media
Promoting events, such as:
*International Decade for the Promotion of a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World: 2001–2010, proclaimed by the UN in 1998
*World Press Freedom Day, 3 May each year, to promote freedom of expression and freedom of the press as a basic human right and as crucial components of any healthy, democratic and free society.
*Criança Esperança in Brazil, in partnership with Rede Globo, to raise funds for community-based projects that foster social integration and violence prevention.
*International Literacy Day
*International Year for the Culture of Peace
Founding and funding projects, such as:
Migration Museums Initiative: Promoting the establishment of museums for cultural dialogue with migrant populations.
*UNESCO-CEPES, the European Centre for Higher Education: established in 1972 in Bucharest, Romania, as a de-centralized office to promote international co-operation in higher education in Europe as well as Canada, USA and Israel. Higher Education in Europe is its official journal.
*Free Software Directory: since 1998 UNESCO and the Free Software Foundation have jointly funded this project cataloguing free software.
FRESH Focussing Resources on Effective School Health.
*OANA, the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies
*International Council of Science
*UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors
*ASOMPS, Asian Symposium on Medicinal Plants and Spices, a series of scientific conferences held in Asia
*Botany 2000, a programme supporting taxonomy, and biological and cultural diversity of medicinal and ornamental plants, and their protection against environmental pollution
Official UNESCO NGOs
UNESCO enjoys official relations with 322 international NGOs. Most of these are what UNESCO calls "operational", a select few are "formal".
Operational relations are reserved for an
NGO with an active presence in the field, with special expertise and with an ability to channel the concerns of their clients. Requests for admission by an NGO to UNESCO for
operational relations can be made to the Director-General at any time.
Formal relations are reserved for those NGOs who have a sustained role in cooperating with UNESCO both upstream and downstream. Admission for
formal recognition is only granted to international NGOs that are widely representative and expert in their field of activity, and with a genuinely international structure and membership.
Formal relations are themselves sub-divided into two types, "consultative" or "associate", depending on the role and structure of the NGO itself. The Executive Board, one of UNESCO's governing bodies, decides on requests for admission by NGOs to one or the other type of
formal relation on the basis of recommendations made by the Director-General.
Formal relations are established for renewable periods of six years.
The highest form of affiliation to UNESCO is "formal associate", and the 22 NGOs with formal associate (ASC) relations occupying offices at UNESCO are:
# International Baccalaureate (IB)
# Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service (CCIVS)
# Education International (EI)
# International Association of Universities (IAU)
# International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication (IFTC)
# International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies (ICPHS) which publishes Diogenes
# International Council for Science (ICSU)
# International Council of Museums (ICOM)
# International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE)
# International Council on Archives (ICA)
# International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
# International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
# International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
# International Federation of Poetry Associations (IFPA)
# International Music Council (IMC)
# International Scientific Council for Island Development (INSULA)
# International Social Science Council (ISSC)
# International Theatre Institute (ITI)
# International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN)
# International Union of Technical Associations and Organizations
# Union of International Associations (UIA)
# World Association of Newspapers (WAN)
# World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO)
# World Federation of UNESCO Clubs, Centres and Associations (WFUCA)
UNESCO Institutes and Centres
in
Delft]]
The institutes are specialized departments of the Organization that support UNESCO's programme, providing specialized support for cluster and national offices.
Education
UNESCO International Bureau of Education (IBE); Geneva (Switzerland) specializes in educational contents, methods and structures. IBE shares expertise on curriculum development and aims to introduce innovative approaches in curriculum design and implementation, improve practical skills, and facilitate international dialogue on educational policies and practices.
UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning promotes lifelong learning policy and practice with a focus on adult learning and education, especially literacy and non-formal education and alternative learning opportunities for marginalized and disadvantaged groups.
UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP); Paris (France) and Buenos Aires (Argentina) is a centre for training and research to strengthen the capacity of countries to plan and manage their education systems.
UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE); Moscow (Russian Federation) serves as a centre of excellence and provider of technical support and expertise in the area of ICT usage in education.
UNESCO International Institute for Capacity-Building in Africa (IICBA); Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) works to enhance the capacities of regional, national and local level educational institutions in Africa, thus providing the opportunity for technological improvements, such as the utilization of electronic media for networking and for educational purposes, targeting both individuals and institutions.
UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC); Caracas (Venezuela) contributes to the development and transformation of the tertiary education through the reinforcement of a work plan that, among other purposes, attempts to be an instrument to support the management of change and the required transformations in order that higher education in the region becomes an effective promoter of a culture of peace that allows to make viable - in an age of globalization - the human sustainable development based on principles of justice, equity, freedom, solidarity, democracy and respect of the human rights.
UNESCO International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (UNEVOC); Bonn (Germany) works to strengthen and upgrade countries' Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) systems.
UNESCO European Centre for Higher Education (CEPES); Bucarest (Romania) promotes co-operation and provides technical support in the field of higher education among UNESCO’s Member States in Central, Eastern and South-East Europe.
Natural sciences
UNESCO Institute for Water Education (IHE); Delft (Netherlands)the largest water education facility in the world, and the only institution in the UN system authorised to confer accredited MSc degrees.
International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP); Trieste (Italy) aims to foster growth of advanced studies and research in physical and mathematical sciences, develops high level programmes and conducts research especially in developing countries.
Statistics
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS); Montreal (Canada) provides an impressive collection of up to date statistics in the fields of education, science and technology, culture and communication.
Official list of UNESCO prizes
UNESCO currently awards 22 prizes in education, science, culture and peace:
Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize
L’ORÉAL-UNESCO Prize “For Women in Science”
UNESCO/King Sejong Literacy Prize
UNESCO/Confucius Prize for Literacy
UNESCO/UNESCO-Emir Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah Prize to promote Quality Education for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities
UNESCO/King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa Prize for the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Education
UNESCO/Hamdan Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Prize for Outstanding Practice and Performance in Enhancing the Effectiveness of Teachers
UNESCO/Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science
UNESCO/Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Preservation
Great Man-Made River International Water Prize for Water Resources in Arid Zones presented by UNESCO (title to be reconsidered)
UNESCO/Obiang Nguema Mbasogo International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences
UNESCO/Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Culture of Human Rights
UNESCO Prize for Peace Education
UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence
UNESCO/International José Martí Prize
UNESCO/Avicenna Prize for Ethics in Science
UNESCO/Juan Bosch Prize for the Promotion of Social Science Research in Latin America and the Caribbean
UNESCO/Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture
Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes (UNESCO-Greece)
IPDC-UNESCO Prize for Rural Communication
UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize
UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize
Inactive UNESCO prizes,
Carlos J. Finlay Prize (for Meritorious Work in Microbiology) (inactive since 2005)
International Simón Bolívar Prize (inactive since 2004)
Member states
As of October 2009, UNESCO counts 193 Member States and seven Associate Members. Some member states have additional National Organizing Committees from some of their
dependent territories. 4 November 1946
Djibouti 31 August 1989
Dominica 9 January 1979
Dominican Republic 4 November 1946
Ecuador 22 January 1947
Egypt 4 November 1946
El Salvador 28 April 1948
Equatorial Guinea 29 November 1979
Eritrea 2 September 1993
Estonia 14 October 1991
Ethiopia 1 July 1955
Fiji 14 July 1983
Finland 10 October 1956
France 4 November 1946
Gabon 16 November 1960
Gambia 1 August 1973
Georgia 7 October 1992
Germany 11 July 1951
Ghana 11 April 1958
Greece 4 November 1946
Grenada 17 February 1975
Guatemala 2 January 1950
Guinea 2 February 1960
Guinea-Bissau 1 November 1974
Guyana 21 March 1967
Haiti 18 November 1946
Honduras 16 December 1947
Hungary 14 September 1948
Iceland 8 June 1964
India 4 November 1946
Indonesia 27 May 1950
Iran (Islamic Republic of) 6 September 1948
Iraq 21 October 1948
Ireland 3 October 1961
Israel 16 September 1949
Italy 27 January 1948
Jamaica 7 November 1962
Japan 2 July 1951
Jordan 14 June 1950
Kazakhstan 22 May 1992
Kenya 7 April 1964
Kiribati 24 October 1989
Kuwait 18 November 1960
Kyrgyzstan 2 June 1992
Lao People's Democratic Republic 9 July 1951
Latvia 14 October 1991
Lebanon 4 November 1946
Lesotho 29 September 1967
Liberia 6 March 1947
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 27 June 1953
Lithuania 7 October 1991
Luxembourg 27 October 1947
Madagascar 10 November 1960
Malawi 27 October 1964
Malaysia 16 June 1958
Maldives 18 July 1980
Mali 7 November 1960
Malta 10 February 1965
Marshall Islands 30 June 1995
Mauritania 10 January 1962
Mauritius 25 October 1968
Mexico 4 November 1946
Micronesia (Federated States of) 19 October 1999
Monaco 6 July 1949
Mongolia 1 November 1962
Morocco 7 November 1956
Montenegro 1 March 2007
Mozambique 11 October 1976
Myanmar 27 June 1949
Namibia 2 November 1978
Nauru 17 October 1996
Nepal 1 May 1953
Netherlands 26 October 1993
Norway 4 November 1946
Oman 10 February 1972
Pakistan 14 September 1949
Palau 20 September 1999
Panama 10 January 1950
Papua New Guinea 4 October 1976
Paraguay 20 June 1955
Peru 21 November 1946
Philippines 21 November 1946
Poland 6 November 1946
Portugal 11 September 1974
Qatar 27 January 1972
Republic of Korea 14 June 1950
Republic of Macedonia 28 June 1993
Republic of Moldova 27 May 1992
Romania 27 July 1956
Russian Federation 21 April 1954
Rwanda 7 November 1962
Saint Kitts and Nevis 26 October 1983
Saint Lucia 6 March 1980
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 14 January 1983
Samoa 3 April 1981
San Marino 12 November 1974
São Tomé and Príncipe 22 January 1980
Saudi Arabia 4 November 1946
Senegal 10 November 1960
Serbia 20 December 2000
Seychelles 18 October 1976
Sierra Leone 28 March 1962
Singapore 8 October 2007
Slovakia 9 February 1993
Slovenia 27 May 1992
Solomon Islands 7 September 1993
Somalia 15 November 1960
South Africa 12 December 1994
Spain 30 January 1953
Sri Lanka 14 November 1949
Sudan 26 November 1956
Suriname 16 July 1976
Swaziland 25 January 1978
Sweden 23 January 1950
Switzerland 28 January 1949
Syrian Arab Republic 16 November 1946
Tajikistan 6 April 1993
Thailand 1 January 1949
Timor-Leste 5 June 2003
Togo 17 November 1960
Tonga 29 September 1980
Trinidad and Tobago 2 November 1962
Tunisia 8 November 1956
Turkey 4 November 1946
Turkmenistan 17 August 1993
Tuvalu 21 October 1991
Uganda 9 November 1962
Ukraine 12 May 1954
United Arab Emirates 20 April 1972
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
* including separate NOCs from: Bermuda
United Republic of Tanzania 6 March 1962
United States of America 1 October 2003
* including separate NOCs from: Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands
Uruguay 8 November 1947
Uzbekistan 26 October 1993
Vanuatu 10 February 1994
Venezuela 25 November 1946
Vietnam 6 July 1951
Yemen 2 April 1962
Zambia 9 November 1964
Zimbabwe 22 September 1980
As of 2008, Liechtenstein is not a member of UNESCO, but they have a NOC.
Holy See
Postage stamps
Various countries have issued
postage stamps commemorating UNESCO. The organization's seal and its headquarters building have been common themes. In 1955 the
United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) issued its first ones honouring the organization.
While UNESCO has never separately issued stamps valid for postage, from 1951 to 1966 it issued a series of 41 "gift stamps" to raise money for its activities. Designed by artists in various countries, they were sold at a desk by the UNPA counter located in the United Nations Headquarters building in New York City. No longer available at the UN, most of these Cinderella stamps can be purchased at low cost from speciality stamp dealers.
Directors-General
#
Julian Huxley (1946–1948)
#
Jaime Torres Bodet (1948–1952)
#
John Wilkinson Taylor (
acting 1952–1953)
#
Luther Evans (1953–1958)
#
Vittorino Veronese (1958–1961)
#
René Maheu (1961–1974;
acting 1961)
#
Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow (1974–1987)
#
Federico Mayor Zaragoza (1987–1999)
#
Koïchiro Matsuura (1999–2009)
#
Irina Bokova (2009– )
UNESCO offices
UNESCO has offices in many locations across the globe; its headquarters are located in
Paris,
France. Through its field offices, UNESCO develops strategies, programmes and activities in consultation with national authorities and other partners.
Office types
UNESCO's field offices are categorized into four primary office types based upon their function and geographic coverage. The following descriptions identify the primary dividing lines.
Cluster offices
A cluster office covers a group of countries and is the central component in the field, around which are organized national offices and regional bureaux. The 27 cluster offices, covering 148 Member States, represent the main supporting structure of UNESCO Secretariat’s network in the field.
National Offices
In addition to cluster offices which are the main supporting structure of the Secretariat’s network in the field, there are 21 national offices, each serving a single Member State. These exceptions to the cluster system involve either the so-called E-9 countries (nine highly-populated countries) which are either in post-conflict situations or are in transition.
Regional sureaux
Regional bureaux and regional advisers specializing in the fields of education, science, the social sciences, culture and communication provide specialized support to cluster and national offices in a given region.
Liaison offices
The decentralized network includes two liaison offices to the United Nations in New York and Geneva and a liaison office to the European Union in Brussels.
UNESCO field offices by region
The following list of all UNESCO Field Offices is organized geographically by UNESCO Region and identifies the members states and associate members of UNESCO which are served by each office.
Africa
Headquarters]]
Abuja - National Office to Nigeria.
Accra - Cluster Office for Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo.
Addis Ababa - Cluster Office for Djibouti and Ethiopia.
Bamako - Cluster Office for Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger.
Brazzaville - National Office to Congo.
Bujumbura - National Office to Burundi.
Dakar - Regional Bureau for Education in Africa and Cluster Office for Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal.
Dar es-Salaam - Cluster Office for Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and United Republic of Tanzania.
Harare - Cluster Office for Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Kinshasa - National Office to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Libreville - Cluster Office for Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe.
Maputo - National Office to Mozambique.
Nairobi - Regional Bureau for Sciences in Africa and Cluster Office for Burundi, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia and Uganda.
Windhoek - Cluster Office to Angola, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.
Yaoundé - Cluster Office to Cameroon, Central African Republic and Chad.
Arab States
Headquarters]]
Iraq - National Office for Iraq.
Amman - National Office to Jordan.
Beirut - Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States and Cluster Office to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and the Autonomous Palestinian Territories.
Cairo - Regional Bureau for Sciences in the Arab States and Cluster Office for Egypt, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and Sudan.
Doha - Cluster Office to Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Khartoum - National Office to Sudan.
Rabat - Cluster Office to Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.
Ramallah - National Office to the Palestinian Authority.
Asia and Pacific
Almaty - Cluster Office to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Apia - Cluster Office to Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Tokelau (Associate Member).
Bangkok - Regional Bureau for Education in Asia and the Pacific and Cluster Office to Thailand, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Singapore, Viet Nam and Cambodia.
Beijing - Cluster Office to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Japan, Mongolia, the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Korea (ROK).
Dhaka - National Office to Bangladesh.
Hanoi - National Office to Vietnam.
Islamabad - National Office to Pakistan.
Jakarta - Regional Bureau for Sciences in Asia and the Pacific and Cluster Office to Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Timor Leste.
Kabul - National Office to Afghanistan.
Kathmandu - National Office to Nepal.
New Delhi - Cluster Office to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Phnom Penh - National Office to Cambodia.
Tashkent - National Office to Uzbekistan.
Tehran - Cluster Office to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Turkmenistan.
Europe and North America
Brussels - Liaison Office to the European Union and its subsidiary bodies in Brussels.
Geneva - Liaison Office to the United Nations in Geneva.
New York - Liaison Office to the United Nations in New York.
Moscow - Cluster Office to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation.
Venice - UNESCO Venice Office Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Headquarters]]
Brasilia - National Office to Brazil.
Guatemala - National Office to Guatemala.
Havana - Regional Bureau for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean and Cluster Office to Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Aruba.
Kingston - Cluster Office to Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago as well as the associate member states of British Virgin Islands, Netherlands Antilles and Cayman Islands.
Lima - National Office to Peru.
Mexico - National Office to Mexico.
Montevideo - Regional Bureau for Sciences in Latin America and the Caribbean and Cluster Office to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Port-au-Prince - National Office to Haiti.
Quito - Cluster Office to Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.
San José - Cluster Office to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama.
Santiago de Chile - Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean and National Office to Chile.
Elections
Elections for the renewal of the position of Director-General took place in Paris from 7 September to 23 September 2009. Eight candidates ran for the position, and 58 countries voted for them. The Executive Council gathered from 7 September to 23 September, the vote itself beginning on the 17th.
Irina Bokova was elected the new Director-General.
Controversy and reform
New World Information and Communication order
UNESCO has been the center of controversy in the past, particularly in its relationships with the
United States, the
United Kingdom,
Singapore, and the former
Soviet Union. During the 1970s and 1980s, UNESCO's support for a "
New World Information and Communication Order" and its
MacBride report calling for democratization of the media and more egalitarian access to information was condemned in these countries as attempts to curb
freedom of the press. UNESCO was perceived by some as a platform for communists and Third World dictators to attack the
West, a stark contrast to accusations made by the USSR in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In 1984, the United States withheld its contributions and withdrew from the organization in protest, followed by the United Kingdom in 1985 and Singapore in 1986. Following a change of government in 1997, the UK rejoined. The United States rejoined in 2003, followed by Singapore on 8 October 2007.
Internal reforms
Part of the reason for their change of stance was due to considerable reforms implemented by UNESCO over the past 10 years. These included the following measures: the number of divisions in UNESCO was cut in half, allowing a corresponding halving of the number of Directors—from 200 to under 100, out of a total staff of approximately 2,000 worldwide. At the same time, the number of field units was cut from a peak of 1,287 in 1998 to 93 today. Parallel management structures, including 35 Cabinet-level special adviser positions, were abolished. Between 1998 and 2009, 245 negotiated staff departures and buy-outs took place, causing the inherited $12 million staff cost deficit to disappear. The staff pyramid, which was the most top-heavy in the UN system, was cut back as the number of high-level posts was halved and the "inflation" of posts was reversed through the down-grading of many positions. Open competitive recruitment, results-based appraisal of staff, training of all managers and field rotation were instituted, as well as SISTER and SAP systems for transparency in results-based programming and budgeting. In addition, the Internal Oversight Service (IOS) was established in 2001 to improve organizational performance by including the lessons learned from programme evaluations into the overall reform process. It regularly carries out audits of UNESCO offices that essentially look into administrative and procedural compliance, but do not assess the relevance and usefulness of the activities and projects that are carried out. At least in thoery, the evaluation of the relevance and effectiveness of programmes is carried out by the Evaluation Section of IOS, although evidence of using "lessons learned" in programming is less clear and not always free from donor preferences.
Israel
In October 2010, UNESCO’s Executive Board voted to include
Rachel's Tomb in
Bethlehem on the
West Bank referring to it as the 'Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque/Rachel's Tomb and a part of
Palestinian territory under occupation. The board demanded that
Israel remove the site from its own
list of National Heritage Sites, even though the site has had
Jewish significance for thousands of years, on the grounds that this unilateral action was a violation of international law.
Subsequently, Israel partially suspended ties with UNESCO.
Danny Ayalon, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel, declared that it was another example of campaign of delegitimization that the
Palestinian National Authority was waging and that it hurt UNESCO for seeming to be a
rubber stamp.
Zevulun Orlev, chairman of Israel's Education and Culture Committee, referred to the resolutions as an attempt undermine the mission of UNESCO as a scientific and cultural organization that promotes cooperation throughout the world. Writers such as Larry Derfner recognized that UNESCO's 21 October decision "spells out in black and white that the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb are holy to Muslims, Christians and Jews."
References
External links
UNESCO.org Official UNESCO website
NGO-db.UNESCO.org A searchable database of organizations maintaining official relations with UNESCO
UNESCO – Bureau of Strategic Planning UNESCO – Bureau of Strategic Planning
United Nations University Office in Paris at UNESCO (UNU-OP)
Official link about the art collection
whc.unesco.org Official World Heritage website with the full World Heritage List and extensive databases
UNESCO offices worldwide
portal.unesco.org UNESCO Culture Sector
unesco.org/webworld – Communication & Information Programme
UNESCO – Information for All Programme
UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.
unescobkk.org Asia Pacific Heritage
UNESCO Science Prizes
UNESCO – Institute for Statistics
Download UNESCO Education Data
UNESCO – International Bureau of Education
UNESCO – International Institute for Educational Planning
UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training
UNESCO.org Water sustainable development and conservation of freshwater resources in the world
UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning
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