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Cluster Office to Egypt, Sudan and Yemen in the Red Sea Cluster
The UNESCO Cairo office is a Regional Bureau for Science for the Arab States. In addition, it serves as well as a Cluster Office for UNESCO’s other fields of competence in Egypt, Sudan and Yemen.
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Description |
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UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and is a United Nations specialized agency. It was established in 1946 with a total of 20 member states which grew to 185 member states in 1995. The UNESCO Cairo Office, Regional Office for Science and Technology for the Arab States, is one of 60 field offices and units world wide. It was originally established in 1947, and currently serves 17 Arab States.
Its mission, like all other UNESCO field offices and units, is to contribute to peace and security in the world by promoting intellectual cooperation among nations through education, science, culture, and communication.
The main objective of the Cairo Office is to implement UNESCO regional programmes in Science and Technology as well as an increasing number of activities in Egypt in other fields of competence of UNESCO, which are decentralized to the office.
Apart from his representational functions in Egypt, the Director of the Cairo Office is also UNESCO representative to Sudan and Yemen.
The office provides advisory services to Member States in the Organization's various fields of competence; provides supervision and support for regional, sub-regional and national projects and promotes cooperation by appropriate national institutions in the implementation of regional projects.
The UNESCO Cairo Office's policy is to maintain close liaison with the UNDP Offices and the Specialized Agencies of the United Nations in the Arab region, and with regional banks and regional organizations cooperating with UNESCO; and further to collaborate closely with the National Commissions as well as providing them with assistance in carrying out their tasks.
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History |
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Egypt was among the first 20 founding countries to ratify UNESCO's constitution on the 16th of July 1946.The UNESCO Office in Egypt was first established in Cairo in 1947 as the Middle East Science Corporation Office (MESCO). This came as an implementation to a decision of the General Conference at its first session in 1946. Its function in the Middle East as assigned by the General Conference was as follows:
(1) Provide personal contact with and aid to the scientists and technologists of the region and maintain liaison between the region and the main centers of science and technology;
(2) Supply suggestions and existing scientific information bearing on problems arising in the region;
(3) Assist in the exchange of scientific correspondence, manuscripts, articles and reviews, and arrange for their publication;
(4) Facilitate the supply of scientific literature and essential equipment and material to the region;
(5) Assist in problems of translation, abstracts, microfilms, reprints, fellowships, etc.;
(6) Facilitate the distribution of scientific information in the region;
(7) Provide advisory functions in the region, as requested.
The early years of MESCO in Cairo were dedicated mainly to the re-establishment of international and inter-regional scientific cooperation disrupted during the second World War. The countries served at that time were: Afghanistan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey. Progressively, the activities of MESCO were broadened to promote the main parts of UNESCO's programmes and further to concentrate on its major projects and/or on special needs of the region.
In 1966, following a decision of the General Conference at its fourteenth session, the title of the Office became the Regional Center for Science and Technology for the Arab States (RCSTAS). As RCSTAS, the office was responsible for the promotion, planning execution and supervision of UNESCO's regional programme in science and technology. It also occasionally assisted Governments of the region in the planning of their national projects.
Effective January 1st, 1969, RCSTAS then became the Field Office for the Arab States FOAS. This was approved in 1968 by the General Conference at its fifteenth session so as to provide a name more in keeping with the Office's nature and legal status. FOAS's responsibilities were thus redefined as follows:
To plan and execute regional projects, including the preparation, organization and follow-up of regional conferences at the ministerial level, and regional expert meetings;
To prepare and execute the national projects;
To plan and execute certain selected activities specifically designed by the Assistant Director General for Science.
By this time, the countries served were: Algeria, Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, People's Republic of Southern Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, and Yemen Arab Republic.
On January 1st, 1975, the Office was again renamed the Regional Office for Science and Technology for the Arab States ROSTAS, pursuant to a decision taken by the General Conference of UNESCO at its eighteenth session. By this time, however, Cyprus and Turkey, originally served by FOAS, opted to join the Scientific Cooperation Bureau for Europe located at UNESCO Headquarters. The countries served by ROSTAS then became: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and the Republic of Yemen. This is in addition to Djibouti, Somalia, and Mauritania which can participate in the Arab Regional activities of ROSTAS.
In 1994, ROSTAS was finally renamed as the UNESCO Cairo Office - Regional Office for Science and Technology for the Arab States, and remains unchanged to this date. This came in conjunction with ROSTAS becoming an integrated office to support fields other than those of Science and technology; which include Education, Culture, and Communication, Information and Informatics.
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