The United Arab Emirates joined UNESCO on 20 April 1972. The country is covered by the UNESCO Office Doha (Qatar), cluster office for Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture was established in 1998, on the initiative of the United Arab Emirates. The US$50,000 award is presented every two years to a national of an Arab country and a national of any other country whose artistic, intellectual or promotional work had helped develop and disseminate Arab culture in the world.
In March-April 2007, through a collaborative initiative of UNESCO and the Sharjah Biennale, 10 teachers and educators from different parts of the world followed a 4-day workshop in Sharjah to explore the potential of creative digital resources for education.