UNESCO was founded on this day in 1945; read more about the agency on 75th anniversary

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was born on this day, i.e, November 16, in 1945. This year, UNESCO marks the 75th birthday and 48th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention and it will continue to “protect the world’s most outstanding places” around the globe. According to the official website, the UN body’s mission is to contribute to the building of a culture of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, sciences, culture, communication and information. 

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The idea of creating an international movement for protecting heritage had emerged after World War 1. The UN agency works to create the condition for dialogue among civilisations, cultures and people, based upon respect for commonly shared values. UNESCO believes that through this dialogue that the world can achieve global visions of sustainable development encompassing observance of human rights, mutual respect and the allegation of poverty, all of which are at the heart of its mission and activities.

Currently, UNESCO has 195 members and eight associated members. It is governed by the General Conference and the Executive board. The Secretariat, headed by the Director-General, implements the decisions of tases two bodies. Furthermore, the organisation has more than 50 field offices around the world and its headquarters are located in Paris. 

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48th anniversary of World Heritage Convention 

Coming to the 48th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention, in 1972, the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage developed from the merging of two separate movements - first, focusing on the preservation of the cultural sites and the second, dealing with the conservation of nature. The event had aroused international concern after which UNESCO launched an international safeguarding campaign. 

As per the website, the most significant feature of the 1972 convention is that it links together in a single document the concepts of nature conservation and the preservation of cultural properties. The Convention additionally also recognises the way in which people interact with nature, and the fundamental need to preserve the balance between the two. The Convention defines the kind of natural and cultural sites which can be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List.  

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