Building Knowledge Societies

The sharing of knowledge and information, particularly through Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has the power to transform economies and societies. UNESCO works to create inclusive knowledge societies and empower local communities by increasing access to and preservation and sharing of information and knowledge. UNESCO strives for knowledge societies built on four pillars: freedom of expression; universal access to information and knowledge; respect for cultural and linguistic diversity; and quality education for all.

UNESCO promotes “openness” in content technology, and processes through Open Access to Scientific Information, Open Educational Resources, Free and Open Source Software, an Open Training Platform and Open and Distance Learning. Such resources allow researchers and innovators to more easily share and use data. They also provide students and educators from around the world with unprecedented access to knowledge and information.

Central to its mandate of promoting peace and intercultural dialogue, UNESCO supports the preservation of documentary heritage by strengthening existing preservation frameworks, and emphasizes long-term preservation of digitized and digitally-born information. UNESCO equally encourages multilingualism and respect for cultural diversity in cyberspace. It promotes local content production in different languages and contributes to international debates on internet governance, through participation in the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

UNESCO Office in New York serves as a platform for the support and promotion of UNESCO’s action to promote ICTs for development including in the context of the WSIS process as well as in the discussions on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

For more information contact: Ricardo de Guimarães Pinto, Liaison Officer (+1 212 963 4383 | r.de-guimaraes-pinto(at)unesco.org)