Posted on 18 November 2020
On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of UNESCO and the signing of its Constitution, the UNESCO Archives prepared an online exhibition bringing together some of the stories and individuals behind the making of UNESCO’s founding document, as revealed through archival sources: An Act for Peace: The Making of UNESCO's Constitution.
To celebrate UNESCO’s creation 75 years ago, the UK National Commission for UNESCO, UNESCO Archives, UK Permanent Delegation to UNESCO, and the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, are working with the UK National Archives to digitize UNESCO’s original Constitution, along with every formal acceptance of the Constitution by its member states through ratification instruments. The collection spans from the first ratifications in 1945 to the latest ones of the 2010s, and will be made publicly available online in 2021.
UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, was created on 16 November 1945 with the UNESCO Constitution and the signing of the act by the 37 founding States. UNESCO, whose Constitution entered into force on 4 November 1946, seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, Sciences and Culture.
Click here to visualize the online exhibition prepared by the UNESCO Archives.