“It is in the minds of men and women that the defences of peace and conditions of sustainable development must be built”
Founded on 16th November 1945, the United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is considered the “intellectual” agency of the United Nations. It was created in response to the belief that political and economic agreements are not enough to build lasting peace. Instead, peace must be established on the basis of humanity’s moral and intellectual solidarity.
UNESCO’s mission is to build a culture of peace, sustainable development, intercultural dialogue and the eradication of poverty through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information
“UNESCO has all the qualifications to bring an intellectual and humanist response to globalisation and to the economic crisis: we know that culture and art, the sciences, education, communication and knowledge are the real values that form the essence of humanity.”
Irina Bokova, Director General (2009 – 2017)
The Governing Bodies
The Executive Board
The Executive Board of UNESCO is elected by the General Conference every two years and consists of fifty-eight Member States elected from the six regional groups in UNESCO for a maximum of two terms of four years each. In electing members to the Executive Board, certain criteria including the diversities of cultures, geographical distribution and qualification of representatives in at least one mandate area of UNESCO considers important.
The General Conference
As the supreme policy-making body of UNESCO, the General Conference meets every two years to deliberate on and approve the Organization’s policies and main line of work as described in its Medium-Term Strategy (C/4) document, as well as approve the budget outlined in the Programme and Budget (C/5) document of the Organization.
