United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), agency of the United Nations established in 1946 to encourage collaboration among nations in the areas of education, science, culture, and communication. Through such cooperative endeavors, UNESCO hopes to encourage universal respect for justice, laws, human rights, and fundamental freedoms. The organization’s founding statement declares that “peace must therefore be founded, if it is not to fail, upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind.”

More than 180 nations belong to UNESCO. The agency has its headquarters in Paris, France, and operates educational, scientific, and cultural programs and exchanges from 60 field offices worldwide. Projects sponsored by UNESCO include international science programs; literacy, technical, and teacher-training programs; regional and cultural history projects; and international cooperation agreements to secure the world’s cultural and natural heritage and to preserve human rights.

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