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UNESCO-UNEVOC

Our mission
Our history
UNEVOC within UNESCO
Our people

Who we are

Our mission

Our vision
The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training acts as part of the United Nations mandate to promote peace, justice, equity, poverty alleviation, and greater social cohesion. The Centre assists Member States develop policies and practices concerning education for the world of work and skills development for employability and citizenship, to achieve:

access for all
high quality, relevant and effective programmes
learning opportunities throughout life.

Our work

The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre acts as a key component of UNESCO’s international programme on technical and vocational education and training. It also works to support UNESCO’s mandate for Education for All and Education for Sustainable Development.

The International Centre achieves this through taking action to strengthen and upgrade the worldwide UNEVOC Network (Flagship Programme), with particular reference to:

Stimulating international and regional cooperation concerning human resource development
Promoting UNESCO normative instruments and standards
Promoting good and innovative practices in TVET
Knowledge sharing
Mobilizing expertise and resources
Strengthening partnerships with other relevant agencies

Our ambition

For the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre to be recognized by UNESCO Member States, UNESCO Offices, United Nations agencies, and other partner organizations working in the field of skills development for employability and citizenship, as a truly international, effective and relevant centre of excellence in achieving our mission.

Our history

The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training was established as a result of a decision taken by the UNESCO General Conference in 1999. In 2000, UNESCO and the Government of Germany signed an agreement for the hosting of the International Centre in Bonn, Germany. The inauguration ceremony took place in April 2002.

United Nations Campus in Bonn

In February 2002, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan signed a contract to develop Bonn further to become a UN city. The former governmental and parliamentary quarter in Bonn is currently converted into a UN Campus, which also includes an international conference centre.

In June 2005, 11 UN agencies located in Bonn moved to the historic parliamentary building “Langer Eugen”. Use of the premises has generously been granted free of charge by the German Government.

Other UN organizations in Bonn (website of City of Bonn)

UN in Bonn (Brochure, PDF)

UNEVOC within UNESCO

The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre is one of eight UNESCO institutes and centres in the field of education. UNESCO is the United Nations’ specialized agency for education, science, and culture. UNESCO's education sector works to improve education worldwide at all levels of education through technical advice, standard setting, innovative projects, capacity-building and networking. UNESCO's education sector aims to:

Promote education as a fundamental human right;
Improve the quality of education;
Stimulate experimentation, innovation and dialogue.

UNESCO carries out its work through its headquarters in Paris, field offices and institutes and centres.

Who is who in the UNESCO Education Sector?

TVET in UNESCO

UNESCO has been entrusted to lead the Global Education 2030 Agenda through Sustainable Development Goal 4. The roadmap to achieve this is the Education 2030 Framework for Action (FFA). In this context, UNESCO's work in the area of TVET is based on its TVET strategy for 2016-2021. It has three priority areas:

Fostering youth employment and entrepreneurship
Promoting equity and gender equality
Facilitating the transition to green economies and sustainable societies

The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre works closely together with UNESCO’s Section for Youth, Literacy and Skills Development. A number of UNESCO staff all over the world deal with issues relating to TVET. They are located in national and regional UNESCO field offices, UNESCO’s Headquarters in Paris, UNESCO institutes and, of course, in the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre in Bonn, Germany.

Links

UNESCO TVET Strategy 2016-2021

What UNESCO does on TVET

UNESCO: Leading Education 2030