Corporate body

International Institute of Intellectual Co-operation

• Institut international de Coopération intellectuelle

1925-1946

The idea for an International Institute of Intellectual Cooperation, established with the aid of the French government and located in Paris, was first proposed in 1924. It was to provide a permanent secretariat for the League of Nations International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation which aimed to promote international cultural/intellectual exchange between scientists, researchers, teachers, artists and other intellectuals. The Committee was composed of 12 eminent persons (later 19) and met for the first time in the summer of 1922 under the chairmanship of the French philosopher Henri Bergson. Unable to secure the funding required to maintain a significant office in Geneva, the Committee was offered assistance from France to establish an executing agency: the International Institute of Intellectual Cooperation.

The institute was inaugurated with an official ceremony on 16 January 1926. Between 1926 and 1939, the directors of the IIIC were all French. However, the IICI had an autonomous status, separate from the League of Nations and the French Government, and held diplomatic relations with its member states. The states established national commissions for intellectual cooperation and appointed delegates to represent their interests at the Institute in Paris. In 1939, 44 delegates and 45 national commissions worked with the Institute.

The Institute, the national commissions and the delegates of the member states formed an international organization for intellectual co-operation. The organization's structure was confirmed by the International Agreement concerning Intellectual Cooperation, adopted during a conference in Paris in December 1938. The agreement came into effect in the middle of World War II with its eighth ratification in January 1940.

The Institute was closed between 1940 and 1944, but reopened in February 1945, continuing its work until the end of 1946 when UNESCO took over part of its responsibility.

Paris: The Secretariat of the Institute was situated in the Palais Royal (2, rue Montpensier).

Executing agency of the International Organization of Intellectual Cooperation, a subsidiary organ of the League of Nations.

As the executive organ of the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, the IICI carried out the Committee's decisions and recommendations. In association with the Intellectual Cooperation and International Bureaux Section, it was in charge of preparing the work and documents of the sessions of the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation and of Expert Committees.

The IICI was administrated by a director under the authority of the Governing council. The Executive Committee met at least every two months to deal with all current matters and consisted of five members of different nationality. It was chaired by the president of the Governing council.

The League of Nations (LoN) was an inter-governmental organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920. The League's goals included upholding the new found Rights of Man such as right of non whites, rights of women, rights of soldiers, disarmament, preventing war through collective security, settling disputes between countries through negotiation, diplomacy and improving global quality of life.

Although it was not clearly mentioned in the Covenant, the League of Nations was concerned not only with the exchange of political ideals and material goods, but also with reinforcing intellectual relationships between States.
Therefore, already in 1920 the Assembly was considering the possible setting-up of a technical organization attached to the League of Nations: the Intellectual Cooperation Organization which included the Committee on Intellectual Cooperation and therefore the International Institute of Intellectual Cooperation.

UNESCO

Mayoux, Jean-Jacques (1901–1987)

Bonnet, Henri (1888–1978)

Zimmern, Alfred (1879–1957)

Luchaire, Julien (1876–1962)

Created by Julia Pohle, June 2009. Revised slightly by AWT 24 March 2011. Revised slightly by Marie Caillot November 2011. Dates and introductory sentence of administrative history revised, AWT, 30-5-2016.

Introduction of IICI. Inventory of archives 1925-1946 (UIS.90/WS/1), AG 1/1.