Sweden joined UNESCO in January 1950, thereby becoming member state number 52. The Swedish National Commission for UNESCO was established in the autumn of 1951.

The Swedish National Commission for UNESCO is seated within the Swedish Ministry of Education and Research. The members of the Commission are appointed by the Government for a period of four years. The Swedish National Commission for UNESCO provides advice to the Swedish Government on UNESCO-related matters and raises awareness in Sweden about UNESCO and its work.

There are many actors working with UNESCO-related matters in Sweden: NGOs, individuals who perform expert tasks within UNESCO or are involved with, for example, the World Heritage sites, Creative Cities or UNESCO academic chairs.

Programs

Education

UNESCO’s work in education covers everything from pre-school education to tertiary and adult education.  The aim is to ensure quality lifelong learning for all, assist countries with expertise in education, capacity-building at the national level and spreading information on good practices.

UNESCO’s work in education also includes the teaching of human rights, environmental education, promotion of science and technology, sexual rights and sexual health, information technology in education, renewal of secondary schools and improved training. Sweden shares UNESCO’s vision of education for all and also the need for education for sustainable development.

Science

UNESCO’s scientific work is conducted through international cooperation between countries and researchers, as well as through advice to decision makers on scientific matters. UNESCO also develops guidelines and ethical principles, and disseminates research findings to the least developed countries. However, UNESCO is not a research funding organization: the work is done primarily through networking and partnerships between researchers.

Sweden shares UNESCO’s vision that scientific cooperation contributes to the creation of inclusive knowledge societies for sustainable development. Sweden is working to ensure that UNESCO fosters knowledge-building in the least developed countries and facilitates interdisciplinary research through cooperation between the natural and social sciences. Sweden also emphasises gender equality as a catalyst for sustainable development, and encourages UNESCO to take a normative role in this area, for example by formulating global guidelines for research.

Culture

UNESCO’s cultural program is dominated by the implementation of several inter-governmental conventions where heritage, culture and sustainable development are important themes.

UNESCO also runs programs to strengthen museums, language and creativity as well as developing methods to protect cultural heritage in disasters and armed conflicts. UNESCO publishes books, reports and journals in the field of culture, such as the World Heritage Review.

Communication

Free speech and the right to information are key elements in the construction of modern knowledge societies. Therefore they are the overall objectives for UNESCO’s work in communication and information.

Sweden shares UNESCO’s vision of building knowledge societies based on freedom of expression and access to knowledge and information for all. This includes also the safety of journalists.

”Can I apply for an internship?”

We offer one or two internships per semester (starting in January and September) for students at Swedish institutes of higher learning. Interns need to be fluent in Swedish. Find more information here.

Those who want to apply for an intership at the UNESCO secretariat in Paris, or at UNESCO field offices, can find information on UNESCO’s website.

Publications

Swedish National Commission for UNESCO has published books and pamphlets that can be downloaded from our library.