UNESCO

United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESC0) is one of 18 specialized agencies within the United Nations System. It was established on November 16, 1945, as much of the world was emerging from the devastation of the Second World War. Canada was one of the 20 founding members. UNESCO was formed to create an organization that would embody a genuine culture of peace by promoting collaboration among nations through education, the sciences, culture, and communication and information.

UNESCO works to create the conditions for dialogue and cooperation between the peoples of the world, based upon commonly shared values and respect for individual civilizations and cultures. The Organization also serves as a clearinghouse to share knowledge and ideas with its 190 Member States and six Associate Members. Through diverse and extensive strategies and projects, UNESCO is is actively pursuing the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, placing particular emphasis on initiatives which focus on eradicating poverty; achieving universal primary education and eliminating gender disparity in education; helping countries to implement national strategies for sustainable development; and halting the loss of environmental resources.

Since its inception , UNESCO has worked to inspire, encourage and sustain the principles of democracy, cooperation, non-violence, respect for human rights and cultural diversity. As the developing countries of the world struggle to find their place, as globalization continues to grow and the world moves rapidly towards knowledge based societies, the work of UNESCO becomes ever more vital. Through its efforts in the sectors of education, science, culture, information and communication, UNESCO is committed to attaining an ambitious goal: to build peace in the minds of men.

For more information on the work of UNESCO please visit the UNESCO web site.

urgent appeal from the Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova

Click online and donate to UNESCO

Paris, 10 November – The Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova today launched an online site so ordinary people can donate to UNESCO.  The money they give will go into a special Multi-donor Emergency Fund. Member States, Institutions, Corporations and Foundations will also be asked to contribute. 

This new site is one of the emergency measures announced today to fill the immediate $65m shortfall in UNESCO’s budget arising from dues withheld by the United States.

Donations can be made online at: http://www.unesco.org/donate

The United States announced the withholding of their dues after the admission of Palestine as a UNESCO Member State on 31 October. They were required to do so by national laws dating back to the 1990s. The sum of $65m corresponds to the amount due to UNESCO by the United States for 2011.

This news provoked an unprecedented wave of support for UNESCO from citizens, associations and private corporations from all corners of the globe.

“I see these expressions of support as clear recognition of the good that UNESCO does in the world. These are very concrete indicators of success,” said the Director-General, during the closing session of the UNESCO General Conference on 10 November.

“This is not simply another extra budgetary fund – it will be directed to supporting our core activities, so that they are not affected by a difficult financial situation,” she said.