UNESCO - UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND
CULTURAL ORGANIZATION
UNESCO is a Specialized Agency of the United Nations. Its
constitution was adopted by the LONDON CONFERENCE in Nov, 1945
and entered into effect on 4 Nov, 1946 when 20 states had deposited
the instruments of acceptance. It was founded on 16 Nov, 1945 as an
IGO. Currently, 195 countries are members of UNESCO (as of 2018).
The main objective of UNESCO is to contribute to peace and security
in the world by promoting collaboration among nations through
education, science, culture and communication in order to enhance
universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human
rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the people
of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by
the Charter of the UN.
In support of this objective, UNESCO's principal functions are:
• to promote intellectual cooperation and mutual understanding
among people through all means of mass communication
• to give fresh impulse to popular education and to the spread of
culture
• to maintain, increase and diffuse knowledge
• to encourage scientific research and training
• to apply sciences to ensure human development and the
rational management of natural resources.
HEADQUARTER: UNESCO, 7, place de Fontenoy, 75700, Paris, France
MOTTO: The motto of the UNESCO is, "since war begins in the minds
of men, it is in the minds of men that the foundations for peace
should be sought."
As a forum for global intellectual cooperation, UNESCO has the
widest range of programmes of all UN specialised agencies. This
includes education, science, culture, communication and
information. The concrete objectives in the individual programme
areas are redefined every two years by the UNESCO General
Conference. Medium Term Strategies set out overarching
programme objectives. The Secretariat implements the UNESCO
programmes operationally.
UNESCO has a total budget of $1.2 billion for the years 2018 and
2019, of which $592.2 million is through membership fees. Germany
(July 1951 joining) is the third largest contributor to UNESCO after
Japan and China. The financial situation has been tense since the
failure of US contributions since 2011- until then the largest
contributor. In Oct 2017, the US announced its withdrawal from
UNESCO, which came into effect at the end of 2018.
STRUCTURE
UNESCO has three bodies according to its constitution:
1. The General Conference
2. The Executive Board
3. The Secretariat
The General Conference is the assembly of all Member States, which
meets every two years. At the General Conference, each member
state has one vote. It is the supreme decision-making and controlling
body of UNESCO.
It sets the objectives and general guidelines of UNESCO's work. It
convenes state conferences and adopts recommendations or
agreements.
The General Conference elects the members of the Executive Board
and at its suggestion, appoints the Director General.
The Executive Board consists of 58 member states and meets five
times in the Biennium. It reviews UNESCO's work programme and
makes recommendations to the General Conference.
The Secretariat implements the UNESCO programmes operationally.
The Secretariat is headquartered in Paris and has more than 50 field
offices worldwide.
UNESCO is a forum for international cooperation and exchange of
information, experience and ideas. It is not a development aid
organisation or agency for project funding.
It builds model projects, advises governments through expert
missions and ministerial conferences and promotes knowledge
sharing through more than 250 larger and countless smaller expert
networks.
An important function of UNESCO is the development of normative
instruments at intergovernmental level. It has passed numerous
international conventions, recommendations and declarations, most
notably the 1972 Convention on the protection of Cultural and
Natural Heritage.
LONG TERM DEVELOPMENT
EDUCATION: UNESCO makes an important contribution to improving
education worldwide. In the context of the UN Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG), UNESCO has tasked itself with
implementing SDG4- ensuring inclusive and equitable quality
education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. In
2015, the UNESCO member states adopted the Global Education
Agenda 2030 in order to achieve these goals- agenda to coordinate
and implement and providing global monitoring of progress in
education (main task).
a. In this context - Global Education Monitoring Report- 2019 was
launched at the Federal Foreign office in Berlin Nov. 2018
b. Global Education Meeting (GEM) in Brussels in Dec 2018, which
took stock of the progress made and challenges faced
c. UNESCO- responsible for the implementation of the World
Action Program 'Education for Sustainable Development'
(2015-2019) includes overall concept of ecologically,
economically and socially sustainable development that will be
taught at different levels of education.
d. UNESCO Associated Schools Network, motto of the curriculum
is: 'learning to live together in a pluralistic world of cultural
diversity'.
e. UNESCO Chairs programme - 40 UNITWIN Networks, 700
UNESCO Chairs-> 116 centres. Priority areas - education in the
natural and social sciences, culture and communication.
SCIENCE: UNESCO offers a global forum in which science and politics
work together to formulate guidelines for sustainable development.
UNESCO does not research itself and is not a research funding
institution. It supports its member states in capacity-building (such as
training of staff or equipment of institutions), promotes international
research operation and open data exchange and defines global
standards.
Goals of the UNESCO Science Programme:
• promoting peace through scientific cooperation
• help developing and emerging economics to build research
infrastructures to participate in technical and economic
progress.
• Develop scientific knowledge to set concrete, locally adopted
sustainable development goals, including through an improved
environmental management
• Ask ethical questions about global change and new
technologies.
SPONSORS of the Science Programme are ( in addition to the main
secretariat of UNESCO in Paris):
• UNESCO regional and country offices ( for eg , Regional office
for South- Eastern Europe in Venice),
• UNESCO Science Institutes (i.e. IHE in Delft for training in water
topics). Scientific Institutes under UNESCO auspices, -
Intergovernmental and expert panels of long -term
scientific programmes, National Commission for
UNESCO,
- National Commission for scientific long-term
programmes, and
- UNESCO chairs
• National Committees have been set up in many countries to
involve scientist at national level in the work of UNESCO as fully
as possible.
LONG- TERM SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMMES
International Hydrological Program (IHP), International
Governmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), Man and the
Biosphere (MAB), International Geoscience Program (IGSP),
International Programme of Basic Sciences (IBSP), Management of
Social Transformation (MOST)
CULTURE:
• The protection and conservation of cultural heritage (April
2006), the preservation and promotion of cultural diversity and
dialogue between cultures are the main tasks of UNESCO in this
programme area.
• There are over 1073 monuments in 167 countries on the
UNESCO World Heritage list.
• The Convention for the protection of Intangible Cultural
Heritage, which entered into forcein April 2006,
• The Convention on the protection and promotion of the
Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which entered into force in
March 2007, are new and important UNESCO instruments for
International Cultural Policy.
COMMUNICATION:
Here, the focus is on the promotion of modern knowledge societies',
freedom of speech and freedom of the press as well as on free
access to information and knowledge. UNESCO promotes
information technologies to overcome the 'digital divide'. In
developing and conflict regions, it trains journalists and builds
independent media. The ' Memory of the World' programme serves
to preserve the doocumentary heritage.
THE IMPORTANCE OF UNESCO
The UNESCO is under scrutiny after the US stated it will withdraw
from the organization by Dec 31, 2018. Founded in 1945 in response
to the horrific aftermath of both WWI and II, the organization
currently has 195 member states and 10 associated states
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova ( present Director- General is
Audrey Azoulay) said the US withdrawal would be a loss to the UN
and "a loss to multilateralism.....At the time when the fight against
violent extremism calls for renewed statement in education, in
dialogue among cultures to prevent hatred, it is deeply regrettable
that the US should withdraw from the UN agency leading these
issues...."
"Building peace in the minds of men and women" is UNESCO's slogan
and is rooted in efforts to coordinate international cooperation in its
named components: education, science and culture, as well as
communication. These efforts made by the UN agency have a goal to
mobilize societies accross the globe so that each child and citizen..."
has access to quality education; a basic human right and an
indispensable prerequisite for sustainable development. May grow
and live in a cultural environment rich in diversity and dialogue,
where heritage serves as a bridge between generations and peoples.
Can fully benefit from scientific advances; and can enjoy full freedom
of expression; the basis of democracy, development and human
dignity."
The importance of UNESCO is highlighted by an interview with
Jaroslava Moserova , President of the General Conference in 1999,
who was convinced of the role that the organization could play in a
post-cold war world. She said in the interview that " The aim of
UNESCO is to improve the quality of life. It is not a political
organization at all...the main pillar of UNESCO is education, access to
education. When you hear the delegates from different cultures,
different traditions, there is one thing all of them agree on, and that
is that thing all of them agree on, and that is that the only tool for
better or worse is education."
The note Moserova made when acknowledging that education is an
indispensable tool is only one of the ways to see the importance of
UNESCO.
The other pillars of UNESCO also point to the significance of their
work and efforts. When considering that preserving heritages and
promoting scientific advancement are the other focusses of the
organization, the importance of UNESCO and the benefits of the
agency can be subtle.
Seeing as how encouraging positive cultural experiences, scientific
development and educational growth are all components that lead
to overall poverty reduction and socio-economic advancement for
countries. UNESCO puts an emphasis on children, and as UNICEF
reiterates, reducing poverty begins with children and the things that
improve their quality of life. Education is one of the most important
pieces and UNESCO's efforts to improve it will benefit people all over
the world.
