The Democratic Republic of the Congo joined UNESCO on 25 November 1960. The country is covered by the UNESCO Office Kinshasa.
UNESCO recently updated its strategy to support reconstruction in the country. Reforming and modernizing the education system is a priority. Projects are aimed at capacity-building for policy-making and use of ICTs as well as literacy and teacher training. Special programmes - for demobilized young adults and former child soldiers, for example - have been launched.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has five natural World Heritage sites:
Virunga National Park ; Garamba National Park ;Okapi Wildlife Reserve ; Kahuzi-Biega National Park; and Salonga National Park. They are listed as World Heritage in Danger due to the region’s instability.
The Congolese Media Observatory (OMEC) and UNESCO organized workshops in April 2007 on the theme “Media for peace consolidation, democracy and good governance”.