United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural OrganizationRomania joined UNESCO on July 27, 1956.
The country hosts the UNESCO European Centre for Higher Education (CEPES). Also the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Europe, it has been working since 1972 on drafting legislation to improve higher education in Europe.
In June 2007, UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura opened the 5th Regional Summit of Heads of State of South-East Europe, hosted by Romania in Bucharest and focusing on cultural diversity. The Director-General and other participants also visited Sibiu, named 2007 Cultural Capital of Europe.
Romania was the first country in Europe to ratify UNESCO’s Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, in July 2006.
UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP) has developed several activities with Romania aiming to improve water resources management in the region.
Through UNESCO’s Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe (BRESCE) in Venice, Romania is active in the South Eastern European (SEE) networks of scientific cooperation in astronomy, genetics, and nanotechnologies.
Romania has seven World Heritage sites. Restoration of the Byzantine Probota Monastery, part of the “Churches of Moldovia” site, represents a major cooperation project with UNESCO.
A representation of the “Căluş Ritual” - proclaimed a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005 - was organized by the Romanian Delegation at UNESCO Headquarters in 2006.