Kuwait joined UNESCO on 18 November 1960.
The country is covered by the UNESCO Office Doha, in Qatar. Opened in 1976, the cluster office represents UNESCO in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Education reform and preparation of a national education strategy have been key areas of cooperation between UNESCO and Kuwait. The resulting framework includes Kuwait’s Child and Motherhood Centre, created as a UNESCO national project.
The Arab Open University, based in Kuwait, is the result of an agreement between UNESCO and the Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Development Organizations (AGFUND). The university focuses on science and technology, computer science and business administration.
To further scientific collaboration, Kuwait is a very active member of the SESAME project (International Centre for Synchrotron Light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East), based in Jordan. Kuwait has also been actively involved in the Arab Network of the Man and the Biosphere programme (ArabMAB).
The Emir Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah Prize for Research and Training in Special Needs Education for the Mentally Disabled was created by Kuwaiti authorities in partnership with UNESCO in 2001.