Established on November 4th, 1945, immediately after World War II, with the primary aim of developing “intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind” in the name of sustainable peace, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with its innovation has contributed to the change of the world, for real dialogue and understanding. Starting with only 20 member-states, today they are 195. The main mission of UNESCO is for peace, elimination of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, science, culture, youth and communication and information.
In the first years of its existence, UNESCO has supported the restoration of schools, libraries and museums destroyed during the war and was an international intellectual forum for the exchange of ideas and scientific knowledge. The organization accomplished a number of campaigns for equal access to education, to preservation of biodiversity, to preservation of famous historical and cultural intangible and tangible monuments, to freedom of the media and the right of people to access information, thus contributing to building knowledge societies. It is its merit the creation of a program for World Heritage and the List of monuments of great importance for the history of mankind. The list includes nine Bulgarian sites of material, natural and cultural heritage, as well as three of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
For many generations UNESCO embodies the aspirations, hopes and constant struggle for a better life based on human dignity, mutual understanding and human solidarity. These ideas and values are enshrined in the Founding Act of UNESCO, adopted in London on November 16th, 1945 – the birth date of the Organization.
Today the world is facing new and much bigger challenges, to which UNESCO must respond with the same courage and vision, as well as at its inception because violence in the modern world is directed against schools, cultural diversity, freedom and human rights. World Organisation believes that in times of great public changes, it is imperative to invest in people: in education for all, cultural diversity and cultural heritage, natural and social sciences and human ingenuity, which will contribute to a decent, fair and sustainable development. UNESCO strives to create conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples based on respect for the values shared by all. Thanks to this dialogue a sustainable humanity development can be achieved, including respect for human rights, mutual respect and poverty reduction – key objectives of the Organization. UNESCO is convinced that culture – a motive power of dialogue, social cohesion, economic growth and creativity – must be a priority in its development plan after 2015, and the strategy for the development of education for democratic citizenship.
Nowadays, when the world is looking for new ways to build peace and sustainable development, UNESCO relies on innovation, of people’s intelligence to expand our horizon and to revive the hope of a new humanism. The organization exists to give to this intellectual force the means to develop, because namely in the minds of men and women need to be built the foundations for lasting peace and sustainable development.
70th anniversary of UNESCO will be celebrated in all the member states of the Organization with a wide variety of events throughout 2015 and the culmination of the celebrations will be between 31st of October and 16th of November. More about international events dedicated to the anniversary can be found on the UNESCO website (www.unesco.org) and about national events – on the website of the National Commission for UNESCO of the Republic of Bulgaria (www.unesco-bg.org), and the website of Sozopol Foundation (www.http://sozopol-foundation.com/).