UNESCO

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) A specialized agency of the UN, formed in November 1946 to further the extension and improvement of education worldwide, especially in less developed countries. It established two centres, one in Mexico and one in Egypt, to train teachers for basic education among the least-developed nations. It also had centres in Montevideo, Cairo, New Delhi, Nairobi, and Jakarta, for research into the general improvement of worldwide living conditions, with special emphasis on peace, human rights, and youth needs. In 1984 its directorate under Amadou Mahtar M'Bow was accused by the USA of an overtly political and left-wing approach to its educational and cultural activities, so that in 1985–6 the USA, UK, and Singapore withdrew support and funding (amounting to 30 per cent of its total budget). Through internal restructuring it regained the trust of its member states. At the end of the millennium it focused particularly on education, as it aimed to combat illiteracy in the small states of Micronesia and the Caribbean, and in Africa. In this way, UNESCO also became involved in the restructuring of Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban. It was composed of 188 member states in 2001, with six associate members.

http://www.unesco.org