UNESCO Constitution Adopted

States agree on the founding principles of an international organisation for cooperation in education, science and culture.

On 16 November 1945 in London, the Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — UNESCO — was adopted. Its creation formed part of post-war efforts to build international mechanisms of cooperation.

The founding document stressed that lasting peace required not only political agreements but also mutual understanding, education and the intellectual solidarity of humankind. This reflected the attempt to draw lessons from the catastrophe of world war.

The Constitution defined the future organisation's areas of work and mechanisms for state participation. Adoption of the text did not mean that it entered into force immediately; the required number of acceptances had first to be deposited.

UNESCO gradually became an important forum for international cooperation in heritage, science and education. The event shows how the post-war world also tried to prevent future conflict through cultural means.

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