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The new organisation became known by the acronym "UNESCO" (as shown in the copyright on their thousands of publications). Today, it is capitalised and its work continues "to build peace in the minds of people" through its key divisions devoted to education, the natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture and communications and information. Today, there are 190 countries that are members and "associated states" of UNESCO. The organisation works through National Commissions and 53 field offices spread throughout the world. The nearest ones to Botswana are in Harare and Windhoek. Over 350 non-governmental organisations have formal links with UNESCO. In the arena of culture, UNESCO runs the "World Heritage list" with over 700 natural and cultural sites throughout the world. Famous sites are the Taj Mahal in India, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Old Havana in Cuba and the Great Barrier Reef off Australia, and in Botswana, the Okavango Delta and Tsodilo Hills. In 1960, these efforts began with campaigns to save the Great Temple of Abu Simbel in Egypt. Similar campaigns have supported efforts at preservation in Havana, Cuba; Fez, Morocco; Katmandu, Nepal; and the Acropolis, Greece. In 2001, member states adopted a "Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity" to help sustain and preserve cultural pluralism. UNESCO is building a global alliance for cultural diversity. Between 1950 and 2001, eight legal instruments have been adopted designed to preserve cultural heritage and cultural property. In science, UNESCO has spearheaded efforts to peacefully study and manage water resources. They have listed over 400 places on the globe labelled "Man and the Biosphere". Botswana is now the host to two significant UNESCO initiatives: 1) a Centre for Culture and Peace Studies at the University of Botswana to develop peace and conflict resolution studies and training across the SADC region (this was originally approved in 1988, but only reached Senate last week); and 2) SIMDAS or the Programme on Sustainable Integrated Management and Development of Arid and Semi-Arid Regions of Southern Africa. There are two UNESCO chairs (professorships) at the University of Botswana, one in Open and Distance Learning based at the Centre for Continuing Education and one proposed on Remote Sensing and the Management of Water and Ecosystems. In the social and human sciences, UNESCO has focused on ethics and human rights. UNESCO places an emphasis on human rights and the struggle against discrimination and intolerance and both are seen as vital components of research and policy-making. UNESCO's purpose-built headquarters in Paris, France, opened in 1958. UNESCO has been caught in political turmoil, with countries withdrawing in protest over its policies. The first was South Africa in 1956, then the United States in 1984 and the United Kingdom and Singapore in 1985. South Africa rejoined UNESCO following independence in 1994; the UK returned in 1997, followed by the United States in 2002. Its membership of major countries impacts on its budget. The budget for 2004-2005 was US$ 610 million, which does not include extra-budgetary programmes. UNESCO has been asked by the United Nations to be the lead agency in a number of "International Decades". Three currently run by UNESCO are: the "UN Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World" (2001-2010), an initiative that originally came from the Nobel Peace Prize laureates; the "UN Literacy Decade" (2003-2012); and the "UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development" (2005-2014). There has been some activity in Botswana to further participation in each of these decades. UNESCO's major thrusts have been in education. There are nearly a billion illiterate citizens in the world. One in five children between six and eleven are not in school. Gender equality is not being achieved, particularly in Africa. The world community has pledged itself to achieve "Education for All" by 2015. In future "Issues", we will look at what UNESCO has been doing to develop education in Africa and then what has been happening in Botswana.
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