UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) was established

on November 16, 1945

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO;

pronounced /juːˈnɛskoʊ/ yew-NESK-oh) is a specialized agency of the United Nations
established on 16 November 1945. Its stated purpose is to contribute to peace and security by
promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture in order to
further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and the human rights along with
fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the UN Charter.[clarification needed][1] It is the heir of the
League of Nations' International Commission on Intellectual Cooperation.

UNESCO has 193 Member States and seven Associate Members.[2][3] The organization is
based in Paris, with over 50 field offices and many specialized institutes and centres
throughout the world. Most of the field offices are "cluster" offices covering three or more
countries; there are also national and regional offices. UNESCO pursues its objectives
through five major programs: education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture,
and communication and information. Projects sponsored by UNESCO include literacy,
technical, and teacher-training programmes; international science programmes; the

promotion of independent media and freedom of the press; regional and cultural history
projects; the promotion of cultural diversity; international cooperation agreements to secure
the world cultural and natural heritage (World Heritage Sites) and to preserve human rights,
and attempts to bridge the worldwide digital divide.

UNESCO implements its activities through the five programme areas of Education, Natural
Sciences, Social and Human Sciences, Culture, and Communication and Information.

• Education: UNESCO is providing international leadership[citation needed] in creating

learning societies with educational opportunities for all; it supports research in
Comparative education; and provides expertise and fosters partnerships to strengthen
national educational leadership and the capacity of countries to offer quality education
for all. This includes the
o Eight specialized Institutes in different topics of the sector
o UNESCO Chairs, an international network of 644 UNESCO Chairs, involving
over 770 institutions in 126 countries.
o Environmental Conservation Organisation
o Organization of the International Conference on Adult Education
(CONFINTEA) in an interval of 12 years
o UNESCO ASPNet, an international network of 8,000 schools in 170 countries

UNESCO does not accredit institutions of higher learning.[10]

• UNESCO also issues public 'statements' to educate the public:

o Seville Statement on Violence: A statement adopted by UNESCO in 1989 to
refute the notion that humans are biologically predisposed to organised
violence.
• Designating projects and places of cultural and scientific significance, such as:
o International Network of Geoparks
 o Biosphere reserves, through the Programme on Man and the Biosphere
(MAB), since 1971
o City of Literature; in 2007, the first city to be given this title was Edinburgh,
the site of Scotland's first circulating library.[11] In 2008, Iowa City, Iowa
became the City of Literature.
o Endangered languages and linguistic diversity projects
o Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
o Memory of the World International Register, since 1997
o Water Resource Management, through the International Hydrological
Programme (IHP), since 1965
o World Heritage Sites

• Encouraging the "free flow of ideas by images and words" by:

o Promoting freedom of expression, press freedom and access to information,
through the International Programme for the Development of Communication
and the Communication and Information Programme
o Promoting universal access to ICTs, through the Information for All
Programme (IFAP)
o Promoting Pluralism and cultural diversity in the media

• Promoting events, such as:

o International Decade for the Promotion of a Culture of Peace and Non-
Violence for the Children of the World: 2001–2010, proclaimed by the UN in
1998
o World Press Freedom Day, 3 May each year, to promote freedom of
expression and freedom of the press as a basic human right and as crucial
components of any healthy, democratic and free society.
o Criança Esperança in Brazil, in partnership with Rede Globo, to raise funds for
community-based projects that foster social integration and violence
prevention.
o International Literacy Day
o International Year for the Culture of Peace

• Founding and funding projects, such as:

o Migration Museums Initiative: Promoting the establishment of museums for
cultural dialogue with migrant populations.[12]
o UNESCO-CEPES, the European Centre for Higher Education: established in
1972 in Bucharest, Romania, as a de-centralized office to promote
international co-operation in higher education in Europe as well as Canada,
USA and Israel. Higher Education in Europe is its official journal.
o Free Software Directory: since 1998 UNESCO and the Free Software
Foundation have jointly funded this project cataloguing free software.
o FRESH Focussing Resources on Effective School Health.[13]
o OANA, the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies
o International Council of Science
o UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors
o ASOMPS, Asian Symposium on Medicinal Plants and Spices, a series of
scientific conferences held in Asia
 o Botany 2000, a programme supporting taxonomy, and biological and cultural
diversity of medicinal and ornamental plants, and their protection against
environmental pollution

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), specialized

agency of the United Nations, with headquarters in Paris. Its counterpart in the League of
Nations was the International Committee for Intellectual Cooperation. UNESCO was founded
in 1945 and became an agency of the United Nations in 1946. It has 193 members and six
associate members. The organization's policies are decided by the general conference, which
meets every two years; it consists of one representative for each member. The executive
board, with 58 members elected for four-year terms, and a secretariat, headed by a director-
general, carry out the program. National commissions or cooperating bodies of member states
act as liaisons between UNESCO and national educational, scientific, and cultural
organizations. UNESCO seeks to further world peace by encouraging free interchange of
ideas and of cultural and scientific achievements and by improving education

More than a billion people around the world spend their free time watching soccer. It’s an
international phenomenon. The United Nations is hoping to use the world’s love for the game
to raise funds to support education around the world.

UNESCO, the U.N.‘s education organization is asking FIFA, the world’s soccer association,
to consider levying a 0.4 percent tax on all sponsorship deals. The Better Future tax would run
through 2015 and generate about $48 million annually to put nearly half a million children,
who are currently out of school, into classrooms over the next five years. Considering that
Cristiano Ronaldo signed a transfer deal with Real Madrid last June for nearly three times that
amount, it doesn’t really seem like an unreasonable request.

The tax would be levied on all broadcast and sponsorship revenues from the five European
leagues, including the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. The 2010 World Cup is projected to
generate about $850 million in revenue, while annual revenues for the major European
leagues total a collective 10.9 billion dollars in revenue.