General information

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was created in Paris (France), on 16 November 1945.

Its Headquarters are located in Paris and the Organization has an important network of field offices in different countries of the world. UNESCO currently has 195 member States and 9 associate members.

The main objective of UNESCO is to establish peace and security between States by promoting cooperation in education, social and natural sciences, culture and communication fields; create favorable conditions for dialogue between civilizations, cultures and peoples, based on the respect of universal values.

UNESCO’s activities for the realization of the above-mentioned objectives focus on:

• Providing quality education for all children as a fundamental human right and as a prerequisite for human development.
• Building intercultural understanding through protection of heritage and support for cultural diversity. UNESCO created the idea of World Heritage to protect sites of outstanding universal value.
• Pursuing scientific cooperation, such as early warning systems for tsunamis or trans-boundary water management agreements, to strengthen ties between nations and societies.
• Protecting freedom of expression as an essential condition for democracy, development and human dignity.

The two global priorities of the Organization are Africa and Gender equality.