UNESCO

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) was founded in London in November 1945 as a specialized agency of the United Nations. Its Head Office is to be found in Paris, Place de Fontenoy n. 7.
The purpose of the Organization was defined as follows: "to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations."

The General Conference is the sovereign organ of UNESCO that unites all representatives of the Member States every two years, to determine the programs and the budget of the Organization.

Control over the implementation of the decisions taken by the Conference is carried out by the Executive Board, a council of administration that is made up of 58 Member States and meets twice a year.

The executive organ is formed by the Secretariat consisting of the Director-General and the staff. The Director will be elected by the General Conference every four years; his/her main task is to make the Member States respect the obligations taken. The actual Director-General of UNESCO is the Japanese Koichiro Matsuura who was elected in 1999.