About UNESCO's Office in Lebanon

The Arab States Center for Administration and Training of Education Personnel (ASCATEP) was founded in 1961 in Beirut (Resolution 1233 of the UNESCO General Conference) with the aim of training educational personnel within the Arab States in the management and planning of Arab educational systems.

In 1972, within the framework of the decentralization policy, ASCATEP became UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States (UNEDBAS). During the war years in Lebanon, the Office was temporarily relocated to Cairo, Paris and Amman (1975-1991). It gradually re-opened in Beirut in 1992, where it is now officially located.

In 2023, the Office expanded its mandate from the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education and became the UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office, covering Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, providing expertise in the thematic areas of Education, Culture, Communication and Information, Social and Human Sciences, and Natural Sciences.

UNESCO’s programmes contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in Agenda 2030, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015, and seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, the Sciences and Culture

The UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office in Beirut implements programmes and provides support at the country level for Lebanon and Syria, is a member of both United Nations Country Teams (UNCT),  and contributes to the overall efforts of the UN system in these countries in continuously developing programmes and operations in collaboration with the respective Governments and partners, while taking into account the uniqueness of the crisis situation in these countries.