Nicaragua joined UNESCO on February 22, 1952.
Nicaragua is one of the countries selected for the Education for All - Fast-track Initiative (FTI), to ensure accelerated progress towards the goal of universal primary education by 2015. Other projects aim to boost literacy, higher education and vocational training.
Nicaragua has one World Heritage site, the Ruins of León Viejo, one of the oldest Spanish colonial settlements in the Americas.
In 2005, the satirical street drama El Güegüense was proclaimed the country’s second Masterpiece of Intangible Heritage.
Given its rich biodiversity, the country has two biosphere reserves included in the network of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme: Bosawas (1997) and Río San Juan (2003).