United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|
Why UNESCO?
War-torn London, 1942. Representatives of the Allied Powers lay the foundations for what was to become UNESCO. The premise: tyranny in all its forms breeds on ignorance and prejudice. All individuals, no matter where they live, must therefore have the opportunity to learn and to cultivate humanistic values, the first as a motor for material progress, the second to lay the foundations for peace and respect for human rights. UNESCO-the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-was born on November 16,1945. For this specialized UN agency, it was not enough to build classrooms in devastated countries or to publish the latest scientific developments. Education, science and culture were the means to a far more ambitious goal: "peace founded upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind." UNESCO works to break down the diverse barriers to the spread of knowledge, while fostering dialogue between cultures in its 188* Member States and five Associate Members. *As of June 2002. How does it work? The General Conference, made up of representatives of all of its Member States, is UNESCO's main decision-making body. It meets every two years to orient the Organization's policies. Following the principle of one vote per country, it approves UNESCO's programme and budget. Every six years, it appoints the Director-General upon the recommendation of the Executive Board. The Executive Board, composed of 58 Member States, meets twice a year to prepare the work of the General Conference. It is also responsible for ensuring that decisions taken by the General Conference are effectively implemented by the Secretariat. The Secretariat consists of the Director-General and the staff. The Director-General prepares the draft budget and programme and oversees the work of the staff, composed of some 2000 members (2002) from 160 countries. Staff members organize and coordinate the programme activities approved by Member States. Through a new decentralization policy, more than 600 staff members work in UNESCO's 56 field offices around the world. The staff currently includes 21 US citizens. UNESCO is the only UN agency to have set up a system of 190 National Commissions in its Member and Associate States. Composed of leading figures in each country's intellectual and scientific communities, the commissions form a vital link between civil society and the Organization by organizing activities, such as debates, and publishing information related to UNESCO's programme. UNESCO works closely with other UN bodies and agencies as well as a wide range of regional and national organizations. Almost 350 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) maintain official relations with UNESCO and hundreds more work with the Organization on specific projects. Successive Director-Generals: Koïchiro Matsuura of Japan was elected Director-General in 1999. Since 1946, UNESCO has been led by: Julian Huxley of the United Kingdom (1946 - 1948), Jaime Torres Bodet of Mexico (1948 - 1952), John W. Taylor of the United States (1952 - 1953), Luther Evans of the United States (1953 - 1958), Vittorino Veronese of Italy (1958 - 1961), René Maheu of France (1961 - 1974), Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow of Senegal (1974 - 1987), Federico Mayor of Spain (1987 - 1999). Milestones: November 16, 1945: representatives of 37 countries meet in London to sign UNESCO's Constitution which comes into force on November 4, 1946 following ratification by 20 signatories. 1952-54: Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia temporarily withdraw from the Organization because of Cold War tensions. 1956: The Republic of South Africa withdraws from UNESCO claiming that some of the Organization's publications amount to "interference" in the country's "racial problems". The state rejoins the Organization in 1994 under the leadership of Nelson Mandela. 1958: Inauguration of UNESCO's permanent Headquarters in Paris designed by Marcel Breuer (U.S.), Pier-Luigi Nervi (Italy) and Bernard Zehrfuss (France) in Paris. 1974: The General Conference grants observer status to the Palestine Liberation Organization and to African liberation movements recognized by the Organization of African Unity. 1975: H.H. Pope Paul VI awards the John XXIII Peace Prize to UNESCO. 1975: The United Nations University is established in Tokyo under the joint auspices of the UN and UNESCO. 1984: The United States withdraws from the Organization citing disagreement over management and other issues. 1985: The United Kingdom and Singapore also withdraw from UNESCO, citing the same reasons as the United States. 1997: The United Kingdom returns to UNESCO. 1999: Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura launches a major reform package to restructure and decentralize the Organization's staff and programme activities. Budget 2002-2003: US$544 million (regular budget) financed on the basis of assessed contributions. Main contributors in 2002 (percentage of regular budget): Japan 22% Germany 13% France 8.6% United Kingdom 7.3% Italy 6.7% Canada 3.4% Spain 3.3% Brazil 2.7% Republic of Korea 2.4% Netherlands 2.3% China 2.0% |
| Author | UNESCO BPI |
| Date | 12 Sep 2002 |