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

Education transforms lives and is at the heart of UNESCO’s mission to build peace, eradicate poverty and drive sustainable development. It is a human right for all throughout life. The Organization is the only United Nations agency with a mandate t is the only United Nations agency with a mandate to cover all aspects of education. It has been entrusted to lead the Global Education 2030 Agenda through Sustainable Development Goal 4. UNESCO provides global and regional leadership in education, strengthens education systems worldwide and responds to contemporary global challenges through education with gender equality as an underlying principle. Its work encompasses quality educational development from pre-school to higher education and beyond. UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It contributes to peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication and information. UNESCO promotes knowledge sharing and the free flow of ideas to accelerate mutual understanding and a more perfect knowledge of each other's lives. UNESCO's programmes contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in the 2030 Agenda, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015. Political and economic arrangements of governments are not enough to secure the lasting and sincere support of the peoples. Peace must be founded upon dialogue and mutual understanding. Peace must be built upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of humanity. In this spirit, UNESCO develops educational tools to help people live as global citizens free of hate and intolerance. UNESCO works to ensure that every child and every citizen has access to quality education. By promoting cultural heritage and the equal dignity of all cultures, UNESCO strengthens the bonds between nations. As early as 1942, in wartime, the governments of the European countries, which were confronting Nazi Germany and its allies, met in the United Kingdom for the Conference of Allied Ministers of Education (CAME). World War II was far from over, yet those countries were looking for ways and means to rebuild their education systems once peace was restored. The project quickly gained momentum and soon acquired a universal character. New governments, including that of the United States, decided to join in. Upon the proposal of CAME, a United Nations Conference for the establishment of an educational and cultural organization (ECO/CONF) was convened in London from 1 to 16 November 1945. Scarcely had the war ended when the conference opened. It gathered together representatives of forty-four countries who decided to create an organization that would embody a genuine culture of peace. In their eyes, the new organization was to establish the “intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind” and thereby prevent the outbreak of another world war. Political and economic arrangements of governments are not enough to secure the lasting and sincere support of the peoples. Peace must be founded upon dialogue and mutual understanding. Peace must be built upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of humanity. Live for a better world through UNESCO's projects and activities. Since wars begin in the minds of women and men, it is in the minds of women and men that the defences of peace must be constructed. These opening lines of UNESCO’s Constitution bear witness to our effort to understand and respond to the very origin of conflict. They are the backbone of all our action. UNESCO was created in the aftermath of two world wars, in response to one of the most radical attacks against the dignity of human beings, when violent, racist and antisemitic doctrines were taught in schools, legitimized by pseudo-science and fuelled by systematic propaganda, using the modern tools of culture, communication and information. UNESCO was born from a simple but firm conviction: that lasting peace must be built on more than the political and economic ties between states alone. That reconciliation and development demand stronger foundations, deeply rooted in mutual understanding, in the respect for the equal dignity of all human beings, and the intellectual and moral solidarity of humanity. Education, science, culture and the free flow of ideas and knowledge are humanity’s fundamental needs. They are also building blocks for lasting peace. More than 75 years since it was founded, UNESCO reaffirms the importance of its humanist vision to uphold human dignity. Our world needs education, science, culture and information. Our world needs humanity. ...view more