United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural OrganizationAt the start of 2010, International Year of Biodiversity, UNESCO is holding an inaugural event (21-22 January) and a scientific conference (25-29 January) at Headquarters. These activities aim to present what we know about biodiversity and raise awareness of the alarming rate of biodiversity loss. More
The aftershock of the global financial crisis threatens to deprive millions of children in the world’s poorest countries of an education, warns the 2010 Education for All Global Monitoring Report. The report was launched 19 January in New York. More
UNESCO is contributing to the United Nations’ Flash Appeal for Haiti. It is focusing on reactivating the educational sector, devastated by the earthquake.
UNESCO’s 14-member team in Haiti has been accounted for; all are alive. More
The UN has declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity, aiming to cut the rate of biodiversity loss. During the Year, UNESCO will lead activities to raise awareness of biodiversity's vital role and catalyze international action for its sustainable use. More
UNESCO wishes you a joyful holiday season and a happy and constructive new year. In 2010, the world will celebrate the International Year of Biodiversity and the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures.
UNESCO has long contributed to our knowledge of climate change, focusing on key elements - e.g. collecting and sharing data, education, the social aspects of the problem. The Organization is participating in the United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen (Denmark). On 16 December, Director-General Irina Bokova presented UNESCO's initiatives in this domain. More
Sites inscribed on the World Heritage List – the historic centre of Prague in the Czech Republic and the old town of Cáceres in Spain, for example – can now be explored online, thanks to an agreement signed by UNESCO and the international corporation Google. More
What strategies for living and learning for a viable future? CONFINTEA VI is hosted by the Government of Brazil in Belém from 1 to 4 December. With more than 1500 participants, it provides an important platform for policy dialogue and advocacy on adult learning and non-formal education at global level. More
Universal access to prevention and treatment will not be possible “without fully respecting the universality of human rights, regardless of a person’s age, sex, ethnicity, occupation, religious beliefs and sexual orientation,” stresses UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova in her message for 1 December, World AIDS Day. More
The number of researchers, on the rise world-wide, jumped by 56% in developing countries between 2002 and 2007, according to a new study published by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). In comparison, their number increased by only 8.6% in developed countries during the same period. More
Irina Bokova issued a message on 15 November, her first day in office. "My goal is to lead the world to a new era of peace," she said. Ms Bokova begins her term with a visit to Doha (Qatar) on 16 November to address the first World Innovation Summit for Education. Video
The world celebrates the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakthrough for peace and democracy it symbolized. UNESCO Director-General-elect Irina Bokova issues a warning: “Too many walls remain,” she says. In the UNESCO Courier, Ukrainian author Andrei Kurkov talks about what happened after the Wall fell. More
UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura today expressed his sorrow over the death of eminent French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, whom he described as one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century. Mr Levi Strauss worked closely with UNESCO from 1949 on. For his 100th birthday in 2008, the UNESCO Courier devoted a special issue to him. More
The Forum will focus on developments in science and science policies in the last decade and examine priorities for future action. It will be held in Budapest (Hungary) from 5 to 7 November, ahead of World Science Day for Peace and Development (10 November). More
The international community paid tribute on 22 October to Koïchiro Matsuura, the outgoing Director-General of UNESCO. President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Frédéric Mitterrand, French Minister of Culture and Communication, praised Mr Matsuura’s dedication and wisdom. More
Companies that invest in cultural diversity, whether at the management, human resources or marketing level, can benefit economically from it. This is one conclusion of the UNESCO World Report Investing in Cultural Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue, released 20 October. More
Irina Bokova sworn in as Director-General of UNESCO
Ms Bokova's investiture ceremony was held on 23 October, the last day of the 35th Session of the General Conference. The Director-General elect spoke of the “new humanism” she intends to promote. More
The tango (Argentina and Uruguay), India’s Ramman festival, Chinese sericulture and France’s Aubusson tapestries were among 76 new elements inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which now totals 166 elements. During the meeting, the Committee also launched the List of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, on which it inscribed 12 elements. More
The restoration of the modernist masterpiece that has served as UNESCO’s Headquarters since 1958 came to a successful end on Friday 25 September when the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, former Director-General Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow and French architect Jean-Loup Roubert inaugurated the born-again Paris landmark. More
At the end of the 5th round of voting, the 58 members of UNESCO's Executive Board designated Irina Gueorguieva Bokova as candidate to the post of Director-General. When confirmed by the General Conference (on 15 October), she will be the first woman to head the Organization. More
A presentation by former First Lady of the United States Laura Bush in her role as Honorary Ambassador for the UN Literacy Decade and a ceremony to award the 2009 UNESCO Literacy Prizes were among the varied events on UNESCO’s programme for International Literacy Day on 8 September. The spotlight this year is on the empowering role of literacy and its importance for participation, citizenship and development. More
Reducing HIV infection in young people and improving their sexual and reproductive health require effective education programmes. However, such programmes are still not available in many parts of the world. UNESCO and its partners have now developed new guidelines to address this problem More
Respect, tolerance and dialogue are highlighted by the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, in a message on the occasion of the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, celebrated on 23 August every year. More
Professor Lalage Bown, expert on adult education and female empowerment, spent much of her career in Africa. Her research led to a groundbreaking 1990 report on women, literacy and development. She will be at UNESCO in Paris on September 8 to give the International Literacy Day Lecture on ‘Literacy and Empowerment’. More
A newspaper produced entirely by women in rural India and other innovative literacy projects in Burkina Faso, Afghanistan and the Philippines have won the UNESCO Literacy Prizes this year, while a programme in Bhutan received an Honourable Mention. The laureates were proclaimed by the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, on the recommendation of an international Jury. More
Anne Frank’s Diaries and the Royal Archives of Thailand and Madagascar are among 35 items of documentary heritage of exceptional value which have been added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. This brings the total number of inscriptions since 1997 to 193. More
Only a few months after their historic voyage to the moon, American astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins came to UNESCO to share their experience. As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first moonwalk, UNESCO underlines that 2009, International Year of Astronomy, is the time to rediscover our place in the universe and understand how scientific knowledge can contribute to a more equitable and peaceful society. More
The Ishtar Gate is one of the key structures of the ancient city of Babylon damaged during recent military use of the famous archaeological site in Iraq, says the new UNESCO “Final Report on Damage Assessment in Babylon”, released 9 July. The report, an exhaustive technical evaluation of present conditions at the site, lists recommendations for Babylon's future protection, restoration and management. More
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was awarded the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize by Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, at the Organization’s Headquarters on 7 July, in recognition of his action for peace and equality of rights. More
Rapid growth in student numbers, the surge in private provision, measures to promote equity - these and other key issues will be addressed as over 1,000 participants discuss the future of Higher Education and research at the 2009 Conference, organized at UNESCO in Paris from 5 to 8 July. More
El Comité del Patrimonio Mundial, que celebra en Sevilla su 33ª reunión presidido por María Jesús San Segundo, Embajadora y Delegada Permanente de España en la UNESCO, inscribió este año dos nuevos sitios naturales y 11 culturales en la Lista del Patrimonio Mundial. Además, retiró de la Lista el Valle del Elba en Dresde, Alemania, con lo que la Lista tiene en adelante 890 bienes inscritos. todas las noticias
The first United Nations World Ocean Day was celebrated 8 June under the theme “One Ocean, One Climate, One Future”. To mark the occasion, UNESCO has announced the nomination of French navigator Maud Fontenoy as the UNESCO and World Ocean Network Spokesperson for the Oceans. More
The 21st session of the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB-ICC) is taking place from 25 to 29 May 2009 on the Island of Jeju, Republic of Korea. Today the MAB-ICC decided to add 22 new sites from 17 countries to the UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) which now counts 553 sites in 107 countries. More
Two famous calligraphers from different traditions will intertwine their writing to celebrate World Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development at UNESCO. Among many other examples, Master Fan Zeng (China) and Jassan Makaremi (Iran) provide a poetic illustration of learning how to “better know each other and live together”. More
The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was chosen on 13 May as the laureate of UNESCO’s 2008 Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize. The award ceremony will take place on 7 July. More
More than twenty UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors – influential celebrities who defend UNESCO’s ideals – will examine the best ways of promoting UNESCO’s activities in post-conflict and natural disaster zones, during their annual meeting organized at UNESCO Headquarters on 14 May. More
UNESCO devoted the second session of its Future Forum to the role and impact of ICTs in the knowledge process and to their potential for enhancing education, the sciences and culture. More
A global cinema survey by UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics (UIS) says that India remains world’s leading film producer but Nigeria is closing the gap after overtaking the United States for second place More
Le Directeur général de l’UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, a accordé pour la première fois le patronage de l’UNESCO à « La Nuit européenne des Musées » qui se déroulera le samedi 16 mai 2009. Continuer
The media’s potential for promoting dialogue, mutual understanding and reconciliation was the theme of UNESCO World Press Freedom Day 2009, celebrated in Doha (Qatar) on 2-3 May. Events included a conference and the award ceremony of the UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize, won posthumously by Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge. More
After launching the World Digital Library with the Library of Congress and 32 other partners, UNESCO celebrated World Book and Copyright Day on 23 April in Beirut (Lebanon). Beirut is now World Book Capital for the next year while “The Big Read” activities recall that 776 million adults in the world cannot read or write.
Koïchiro Matsuura has expressed grave concern over the possible entry into force of legislation adopted by Parliament on the personal status of the Shiite community in Afghanistan. More
Koïchiro Matsuura today voiced grave concern about the suspension of press freedom in Fiji under thirty-day Public Emergency Regulations that came into force on 10 April. More
UNESCO and 32 partner institutions have launched the World Digital Library, a website that features unique cultural materials from libraries and archives from around the world, at Paris Headquarters on 21 April. More
The late Sri Lankan journalist and editor Lasantha Wickrematunge, assassinated on 8 January this year, is laureate of the 2009 UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize. The award ceremony will be held in Doha (Qatar) on May 3, World Press Freedom Day. More
After participating in the G-20 Summit in London, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon came to Paris to attend the annual meeting of the CEB (UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination), hosted by UNESCO on 4-5 April. More
Koïchiro Matsuura, the Director-General of UNESCO, has written to the leaders of the Group of 20 nations, meeting in London this week, to plead the cause of education.
UNESCO, Egypt and Sudan are commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Nubia Campaign to save the 22 monuments of Ancient Egypt about to be flooded by the construction of the Aswan Dam: a defining moment of international solidarity. More
The UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is taking place in Bonn (Germany) from 31 March to 2 April. Some 700 experts and stakeholders will exchange best practices and develop strategies during the event, which marks the midpoint of the UN Decade for ESD. More about the event
World Water Day 2009 highlights Transboundary Waters. Its celebration on 22 March closes the World Water Forum in Istanbul (Turkey). More
