The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization was established on the 16th of November 1945, just after the end of the Second World War. Thirty seven countries founded UNESCO, in order to promote peace and prevent the outbreak of another world war.

The first General Conference of UNESCO was hosted in the city of Paris and the Constitution of UNESCO came into force in 1946, signed by twenty countries: the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Greece, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Norway, India, China, Egypt, Turkey, Norway, Lebanon, Denmark, New Zealand, Dominican Republic and Czech Republic.

UNESCO's mission is to promote peace and achieve a global vision of eradicating poverty. The organization also aims to contribute to sustainable development and promote an international dialog between people, cultures and civilizations. The two global priorities that UNESCO focuses on are gender equality and Africa. In addition UNESCO aims to achieve the following objectives:

To foster intercultural dialog and cultural diversity
To mobilize science, knowledge and policy to promote sustainable development
To promote lifelong learning and education for every person
To address ethical and social challenges
To build knowledge across cultures and societies the communication and information

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's headquarters are established in two offices in Paris.

UNESCO
7, place de Fontenoy
75352
Paris
07 SP
France

UNESCO
1, rue Miollis
75732
Paris
Cedex 15
Paris