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.
|
