UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO /juːˈnɛskoʊ/)[2][a] is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture.[3][4] It has 194 member states and 12 associate members,[5] as well as partners in the non-governmental, intergovernmental and private sector.[6] Headquartered in Paris, France, UNESCO has 53 regional field offices[7] and 199 national commissions.[8][9] UNESCO was founded in 1945 as the successor to the League of Nations' International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.[10] UNESCO's founding mission, which was shaped by the events of World War II, is to advance peace, sustainable development and human rights by facilitating collaboration and dialogue among nations.[11] It pursues this objective through five major programme areas: education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and communication/information. UNESCO sponsors projects that improve literacy, provide technical training and education, advance science, protect independent media and press freedom, preserve regional and cultural history, and promote cultural diversity.[12][13][14] The organization prominently helps establish and secure World Heritage Sites of cultural and natural importance.[15] UNESCO is governed by the General Conference composed of member states and associate members, which meets biannually to set the agency's programs and budget. It also elects members of the executive board, which manages UNESCO's work, and appoints every four years a Director-General, who serves as UNESCO's chief administrator. HistoryOriginsUNESCO and its mandate for international cooperation can be traced to a League of Nations resolution on 21 September 1921, to elect a commission to study the feasibility of having nations freely share cultural, educational and scientific achievements.[16][17] This new body, the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation (ICIC), was created in 1922[10] and counted such figures as Henri Bergson, Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Robert A. Millikan, and Gonzague de Reynold among its members (being thus a small commission of the League of Nations essentially centred on Western Europe[18]). The International Institute for Intellectual Cooperation (IIIC) was then created in Paris in September 1924, to act as the executing agency for the ICIC.[19] However, the onset of World War II largely interrupted the work of these predecessor organizations.[20] As for private initiatives, the International Bureau of Education (IBE) began to work as a non-governmental organization in the service of international educational development since December 1925[21] and joined UNESCO in 1969, after having established a joint commission in 1952.[22] CreationAfter 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 from 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 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 from April to June 1945, a United Nations Conference for the establishment of an educational and cultural organization (ECO/CONF) was convened in London from 1 to 16 November 1945 with forty-four governments represented. The idea of UNESCO was largely developed by Rab Butler, the Minister of Education for the United Kingdom, who had a great deal of influence in its development.[23] At the ECO/CONF, the Constitution of UNESCO was introduced and signed by 37 countries, and a Preparatory Commission was established.[24] 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.[25] The first General Conference took place from 19 November to 10 December 1946, and elected Julian Huxley to Director-General.[26] United States Army colonel, university president and civil rights advocate Blake R. Van Leer joined as a member as well.[27] 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.[28] This change in governance distinguished UNESCO from its predecessor, the ICIC, in 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 Soviet Union.[29][30] DevelopmentAmong 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.[31] In 1955, the Republic of South Africa withdrew from UNESCO saying that some of the organization's publications amounted to "interference" in the country's "racial problems".[32] It rejoined the organization in 1994 under the leadership of Nelson Mandela.[33][34] One of the early work of UNESCO in the education field was a pilot project on fundamental education in the Marbial Valley,[35] Haiti, which was launched in 1947. Following this project one of expert missions to other countries, included a 1949 mission to Afghanistan.[36] UNESCO recommended in 1948 that Member countries should make free primary education compulsory and universal.[36] The World Conference on Education for All, in Jomtien, Thailand, started a global movement in 1990 to provide basic education for all children, youths and adults.[36] In 2000, World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, led member governments to commit for achieving basic education for all in 2015.[36] The World Declaration on Higher Education was adopted by UNESCO's World Conference on Higher Education on 9 October 1998,[37] with the aim of setting global standards on the ideals and accessibility of higher education. UNESCO's early activities in culture included the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, launched in 1960.[38] The purpose of the campaign was to move the Great Temple of Abu Simbel to keep it from being swamped by the Nile after the 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 Mohenjo-daro (Pakistan), Fes (Morocco), Kathmandu (Nepal), Borobudur (Indonesia) and the Acropolis of Athens (Greece).[39] 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.[40] In 1976, the World Heritage Committee was established and the first sites were included on the World Heritage List in 1978.[41] 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)[42] and 2005 (Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions).[43] An intergovernmental meeting of UNESCO in Paris in December 1951 led to the creation of the European Council for Nuclear Research, which was responsible for establishing the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)[44] later on, in 1954.[45] Arid Zone programming, 1948–1966, is another example of an early major UNESCO project in the field of natural sciences.[46] In 1968, UNESCO organized the first intergovernmental conference aimed at reconciling the environment and development, a problem that 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.[47] UNESCO has been credited with the diffusion of national science bureaucracies.[48] In the field of communication, the "free flow of ideas by word and image" has been in UNESCO's constitution since it was established, following the experience of the Second World War when control of information was a factor in indoctrinating populations for aggression.[49] 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.[49] 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,[50] which produced the 1980 MacBride report (named after the chair of the commission, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Seán MacBride).[50] The same year, UNESCO created the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), a multilateral forum designed to promote media development in developing countries.[51] In 1993, UNESCO's General Conference endorsed the Windhoek Declaration on media independence and pluralism, which led the UN General Assembly to declare the date of its adoption, 3 May, as World Press Freedom Day.[52] Since 1997, UNESCO has awarded the UNESCO / Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize every 3 May.[53] 21st centuryChanges in States' membershipsIsrael, Palestine, and the United StatesIn 2011, UNESCO admitted Palestine as a member.[54][55][56] Laws had passed in the United States after Palestine applied for UNESCO and WHO membership in April 1989[57][58] mean that the United States cannot contribute financially to any UN organization that accepts Palestine as a full member.[59][60] As a result, the United States withdrew its funding, which had accounted for about 22% of UNESCO's budget.[61] Israel also reacted to Palestine's admittance to UNESCO by freezing Israeli payments to UNESCO and imposing sanctions on the Palestinian Authority,[62] stating that Palestine's admittance would be detrimental "to potential peace talks".[63] In 2013, two years after stopping payment of its dues to UNESCO, the United States and Israel lost UNESCO voting rights, but without losing the right to be elected; thus, the United States was elected as a member of the executive board for the period from 2016 to 2019.[64] In 2019, Israel left UNESCO after 69 years of membership, with Israel's ambassador to the UN Danny Danon writing: "UNESCO is the body that continually rewrites history, including by erasing the Jewish connection to Jerusalem... it is corrupted and manipulated by Israel's enemies... we are not going to be a member of an organization that deliberately acts against us."[65] Also in 2023, the United States stated its intent to rejoin UNESCO, five years after leaving, and to pay its US$600 million of back dues.[66] The United States was readmitted by the UNESCO General Conference that July.[67] Three years later, in 2025, however, the United States stated its intent to withdraw again, to be effective as of December 2026.[68] RussiaIn 2023, Russia was not renewed as member of the executive committee for the first time, after failing to get sufficient votes.[69] Cultural policies and sustainable developmentIn the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and United Nations-wide efforts to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, the UNESCO reactivated in 2022 the cycle of MONDIACULT Conferences (World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development) whose first edition had been held in Mexico City in 1982. The 2022 MONDIACULT conference was held again in Mexico, and a 2025 edition is planned in Barcelona, Spain. Activities UNESCO implements its activities through five programme areas: education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, and communication and information.[70]
UNESCO does not accredit institutions of higher learning.[71]
The UNESCO transparency portal has been designed to enable public access to information regarding the Organization's activities, such as its aggregate budget for a biennium, as well as links to relevant programmatic and financial documents. These two distinct sets of information are published on the IATI registry, respectively based on the IATI Activity Standard and the IATI Organization Standard.[94] New proposed listsTwo new UNESCO lists have been proposed.[95] The first proposed list would focus on movable cultural heritage such as artifacts, paintings, and biofacts. The list could include cultural objects, such as the Jōmon Venus of Japan, the Mona Lisa of France, the Gebel el-Arak Knife of Egypt, The Ninth Wave of Russia, the Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük of Turkey, the David (Michelangelo) of Italy, the Mathura Herakles of India, the Manunggul Jar of the Philippines, the Crown of Baekje of South Korea, The Hay Wain of the United Kingdom, and the Benin Bronzes of Nigeria.[95] The second proposed list would focus on the world's living species.[95][96] MediaUNESCO and its specialized institutions issue a number of magazines. Created in 1945, The UNESCO Courier magazine states its mission to "promote UNESCO's ideals, maintain a platform for the dialogue between cultures and provide a forum for international debate". Since March 2006 it has been available free online, with limited printed issues. Its articles express the opinions of the authors which are not necessarily the opinions of UNESCO. There was a hiatus in publishing between 2012 and 2017.[97] In 1950, UNESCO initiated the quarterly review Impact of Science on Society (also known as Impact) to discuss the influence of science on society. The journal ceased publication in 1992.[98] Official UNESCO NGOsUNESCO has official relations with 322 international non-governmental organizations (NGOs).[99] Most of these are what UNESCO calls "operational"; a select few are "formal".[100] The highest form of affiliation to UNESCO is "formal associate", and the 22 NGOs[101] with formal associate (ASC) relations occupying offices at UNESCO are:  Institutes and centresThe institutes are specialized departments of the organization that support UNESCO's programme, providing specialized support for cluster and national offices.
PrizesUNESCO awards 26 prizes[114] in education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, communication and information as well as peace: Education
Natural Sciences
Social and Human Sciences
Culture
Communication and Information
PeaceInactive prizes
International Days observed at UNESCOInternational Days observed at UNESCO are provided in the table below:[117] Member states UNESCO member states UNESCO member state dependent territory with separate NOC UNESCO associates UNESCO observers As of July 2023[update], UNESCO has 194 member states and 12 associate members.[128] Some members are not independent states and some members have additional National Organizing Committees from some of their dependent territories.[129] UNESCO state parties are the United Nations member states (except Israel[130] and Liechtenstein), as well as Cook Islands, Niue and Palestine.[131][132] Israel left UNESCO on 31 December 2018.[133][134] On May 4, 2025, Nicaragua announced its decision to withdraw from UNESCO, effective December 31, 2026.[135][136] The United States left UNESCO in 1984, rejoined in 2003, left again in 2018, and rejoined in 2023.[66][137][67] On July 22, 2025, the United States informed the Director-General of its decision to withdraw again, effective December 31, 2026.[138][137][139] Governing bodiesDirector-GeneralAs of June 2023[update], there have been 11 Directors-General of UNESCO since its inception – nine men and two women. The 11 Directors-General of UNESCO have come from six regions within the organization: West Europe (5), Central America (1), North America (2), West Africa (1), East Asia (1), and East Europe (1). To date, there has been no elected Director-General from the remaining ten regions within UNESCO: Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central and North Asia, Middle East, North Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, South Africa, Australia-Oceania, and South America. The list of the Directors-General of UNESCO since its establishment in 1946 is as follows:[140]
General ConferenceThis is the list of the sessions of the UNESCO General Conference held since 1946:[141]
Executive BoardBiennial elections are held, with 58 elected representatives holding office for four years.
Offices and headquartersThe UNESCO headquarters is located at Place de Fontenoy in Paris, France. Several architects collaborated on the construction of the headquarters, including Bernard Zehrfuss, Marcel Breuer and Luigi Nervi.[151] It includes a Garden of Peace which was donated by the Government of Japan.[152] This garden was designed by American-Japanese sculptor artist Isamu Noguchi in 1958 and installed by Japanese gardener Toemon Sano. In 1994–1995, in memory of the 50th anniversary of UNESCO, a meditation room was built by Tadao Ando.[153] UNESCO's field offices across the globe are categorized into four primary office types based upon their function and geographic coverage: cluster offices, national offices, regional bureaus and liaison offices. Field offices by regionThe 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.[154] Africa
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