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What
is UNESCO?
UNESCO - the
United Nations
Educational,
Scientific and
Cultural
Organization
(UNESCO) was
founded on 16
November 1945 to
build lasting
world peace
founded upon
intellectual and
moral solidarity
by promoting
international
co-operation
among its
Member States in
the fields of
education,
science, culture
and
communication.
UNESCO
functions as a
laboratory of
ideas and a
standard-setter
to forge
universal
agreements on
emerging ethical
issues. The
Organization
also serves as a
clearinghouse
– for the
dissemination
and
sharing of
information and
knowledge –
while
helping Member
States to build
their human and
institutional
capacities
in diverse
fields.
UNESCO is
working to
create the
conditions for
genuine dialogue
based upon
respect for
shared values
and the dignity
of each
civilization and
culture. This
role is
critical,
particularly in
the face of
terrorism, which
constitutes an
attack against
humanity. The
world urgently
requires global
visions of
sustainable
development
based upon
observance of
human rights,
mutual respect
and the
alleviation of
poverty, all of
which lie at the
heart of
UNESCO’s mission
and activities.
Link to UNESCO's
global webpage:
www.unesco.org
The UNESCO
governing bodies
-
The General Conference is UNESCO’s governing
body and made up of all
Member States States (188 MS and five associate members)
and meets every two years.
-
The Executive Board
holds meeting twice a year. It consists of 58 members
elected by the Conference and is responsible for
supervising the programme adopted by the Conference.
-
The
Secretariat (UNESCO Headquarters)
is based in Paris,
France, and is the Organization's executive branch, which
implements the programme adopted by Member States under
the authority of the
Director-General. This post is
currently filled by Koichiro Matsuura, elected in 1999 for
a six-year term. 2,160 international civil servants,
professionals and general staff, are members of the
Secretariat.
-
Field
Offices: Nearly 645 work outside Headquarters in one
of 53 UNESCO field offices. 18 of
these are located
in Africa.
-
Member states:In
1945, 37 countries signed the Constitution of UNESCO,
which was ratified later in 1946 by 20 States. They
became the first founders of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. By
1950, UNESCO counted fifty-nine Member States. In 1954,
the USSR became the seventieth. Between 1960 and 1962,
as a result of the decolonization process, twenty-four
newly created African States were admitted. With the
entry of Brunei Darussalam to UNESCO in March 2005, the
Organization is now comprised of 191 Member States
and 6 Associate Members.
-
National Commissions:
The
UNESCO National Commissions are national cooperating
bodies set up by the Member States for the purpose of
associating their governmental and non-governmental
bodies with the work of the Organization.
The
National Commissions
are constituted of
representatives of national educational, scientific and
cultural communities. These bodies are
UNESCO's privileged partners and facilitate the
outreach of the Organization to civil society.
-
UNESCO Institutes
and Centres: In addition, the Organization has several specialized
UNESCO Institutes to support its work,
such as:
UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning
IIEP, Paris (France) and Buenos Aires (Argentina
UNESCO European Centre for Higher Education
CEPES,
Bucarest (Romania),
UNESCO International Institute for Capacity-Building in
Africa
IICBA,
Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)
UNESCO Institute for Education
UIE, Hamburg (Germany)
UNESCO International Bureau of Education
IBE, Geneva, (Switzerland)
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
UIS,
Montreal (Canada)
UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in
Education
IITE, Moscow (Russian Federation)
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