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Unit 11: Library Legislation—II

field of sustainable development. The main outcome of the 1968 conference was the creation of Notes
UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme.
In the field of communication, the free flow of information has been a priority for UNESCO from its
beginnings. In the years immediately following World War II, efforts were concentrated on
reconstruction and on the identification of needs for means of mass communication around the
world. UNESCO started organizing training and education for journalists in the 1950s. In response
to calls for a “New World Information and Communication Order” in the late 1970s, UNESCO
established the International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems, which
produced the 1980 MacBride report (named after the Chair of the Commission, the Nobel Peace
Prize laureate Seán MacBride). Following the MacBride report, UNESCO introduced the Information
Society for All programme and Toward Knowledge Societies programme in the lead up to the World
Summit on the Information Society in 2003 (Geneva) and 2005 (Tunis).
In 2011, Palestine became a UNESCO member following a vote in which 107 member states supported
and 14 opposed. Laws passed in the United States in 1990 and 1994 mean that it cannot contribute
financially to any UN organisation that accepts Palestine as a full member. As a result, it will

withdraw its funding which accounts for about 22% of UNESCO’s budget. Israel also reacted to
Palestine’s admittance to UNESCO by freezing Israel payments to the UNESCO and imposing
sanctions to the Palestinian Authority, claiming that Palestine’s admittance would be detrimental
“to potential peace talks”.

Activities
UNESCO implements its activities through the five programme areas of Education, Natural Sciences,
Social and Human Sciences, Culture, and Communication and Information.
Education: UNESCO supports research in Comparative education; and provides expertise
and fosters partnerships to strengthen national educational leadership and the capacity of
countries to offer quality education for all. This includes the
• Eight specialized Institutes in different topics of the sector
• UNESCO Chairs, an international network of 644 UNESCO Chairs, involving over 770
institutions in 126 countries.
• Environmental Conservation Organisation
• Organization of the International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA) in an
interval of 12 years
• Publication of the Education for All Global Monitoring Report
• UNESCO ASPNet, an international network of 8,000 schools in 170 countries
UNESCO does not accredit institutions of higher learning.
UNESCO also issues public ‘statements’ to educate the public:
• Seville Statement on Violence: A statement adopted by UNESCO in 1989 to refute the
notion that humans are biologically predisposed to organised violence.
Designating projects and places of cultural and scientific significance, such as:
• International Network of Geoparks
• Biosphere reserves, through the Programme on Man and the Biosphere (MAB), since
1971
• City of Literature; in 2007, the first city to be given this title was Edinburgh, the site of
Scotland’s first circulating library. In 2008, Iowa City, Iowa became the City of Literature.
• Endangered languages and linguistic diversity projects
• Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity

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