Singapore Rejoins the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

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Singapore Rejoins the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

1. Singapore rejoined the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today as a Member, after being an Observer for the past two years.

2. As a member of UNESCO, Singapore looks forward to collaborating with and learning from other UNESCO member states in the key areas of education, science and culture. Singapore also hopes to contribute to UNESCO through the sharing of experiences with others.

3. Singapore’s National Commission for UNESCO, comprising three Sub-Commissions focusing on Education, Science and Culture & Information, will be set up by the end of the year. It will plan and coordinate Singapore’s activities and programmes in UNESCO. Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister of State for Education and Manpower, will be appointed Chairman of the National Commission.

4. Mr Gan will lead the Singapore delegation to attend the 34th session of the UNESCO General Conference in Paris, France. The General Conference, usually represented at the ministerial level, meets every two years to determine the policies and main lines of work of UNESCO. It will be held from 16 October – 3 November this year.

5. Mr Gan will be accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Information, Communications and The Arts, Ministry of The Environment and Water Resources, as well as other Government agencies and institutions.

6. UNESCO was founded on 16 Nov 1945. It currently has 192[1] member states and 6 Associate Members. The main objective of UNESCO is to contribute to peace and security in the world by promoting education, science and cultural collaboration and communication among nations. It aims to achieve these through activities like conducting studies and sharing knowledge among member states through research, training and teaching programmes; preparing and adopting international instruments and statutory recommendations; and providing technical assistance to member states in need of it. UNESCO also serves as a clearinghouse for the dissemination and sharing of information and knowledge and assists member states in building their human and institutional capacities in diverse fields.