The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded on 16 November 1945 as the United Nation’s specialized agency.
UNESCO has 195 Members and 10 Associate Members. It is governed by the General Conference and the Executive Board. The Secretariat, headed by the Director-General, implements the decisions of these two bodies.
The Organization has 54 field offices around the world. Its headquarters are located in Paris, France.
Its mission is to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.
The Organization focuses, in particular, on two global priorities, Africa and Gender equality, and supports the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted at the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly, through all its programmes.
Quality of education, which has until recently been relatively neglected in the international discourse, is gaining greater attention in many Member States. This follows increased access to education at all levels and yet a recognition of the worrying fact that many learners complete primary education without having acquired even basic literacy and numeracy skills. A diverse policy challenge, this area of work covers a wide range of policy domains, including curriculum, pedagogy, teacher policies and particularly assessment (of both cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes).
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