UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to build peace through international cooperation in education, the sciences and culture. UNESCO’s programmes contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As the only United Nations agency with a mandate in higher education, UNESCO supports national efforts to enhance quality higher education provision in favour of equity and the equal distribution of opportunities for all learners in support of SDG 4.3. UNESCO’s work in higher education is guided by the roadmap of the 2022 World Higher Education Conference, which underpinned that higher education is a human right and public good, and spelled out key principles and transitions to reorient higher education to 2050 and beyond.

UNESCO supports countries to design robust higher education policies, develop their higher education capacities and provides data, research and foresight to inspire thinking and inform decision-making. The Organization promotes recognition, mobility and inter-university cooperation among countries namely through the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education and regional recognition conventions. It also monitors the implementation of two higher education related instruments – the 1993 Recommendation on the Recognition of Studies and Qualifications in Higher Education and 1997 Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher Education Teaching Personnel (under revision).

Within the Bologna Follow-up Group, UNESCO serves as the co-chair of the Coordination Group on Global Policy Dialogue for the 2024-2026 period and participates in other working structures.

Key resources

A full list of UNESCO publications related to higher education is available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/search/N-c8078a0e-471f-4336-b24f-b2f83cf4638e

General information

Website
www.unesco.org