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From left to right: Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women, Asif Ali Zardari, President of Pakistan, Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General, French Prime Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, and UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown On 10 December, UNESCO and Pakistan launched the Malala Fund for Girls’ Education at a high-level event held as part of the celebrations for Human Rights Day. At the event – Stand Up for Malala, Girls’ Education is a Right – the President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari announced that his country would donate the first $10 million. Opened by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and President Zardari, the occasion was dedicated to 15-year-old Pakistani school girl Malala Yousafzai,  who was the target of an assassination attempt by the Taliban last October because of her defense of the right of girls to go to school. The aim was to give new momentum to the quest to provide access to school for all girls by 2015. Read more!

On the occasion of the Human Rights Day 2012, UNESCO's Director-General Irina Bokova and the Mayor of the City of Bilbao Mr Iñaki Azkuna will award the UNESCO/Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Culture of Human Rights to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu from South Africa. Read more !

This is an update on a recent post . The United States Government has withheld its funding from UNESCO since last year. It is now time to take action to encourage the government to fund UNESCO again. Write your Senator and Congressman. Sign this petition . The Problem Two parts of U.S. law are of specific concern ( US Code - Title 22: Foreign Relations and Intercourse / 22 USC 287 - Sec. 287e. Authorization of appropriations; payment of expenses ) : Pub. L. 101-246, title IV, Sec. 414, Feb. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 70: "(a) Prohibition. - No funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or any other Act shall be available for the United Nations or any specialized agency thereof which accords the Palestine Liberation Organization the same standing as member states." (b) Transfer or Reprogramming. - Funds subject to the prohibition contained in subsection (a) which would be available for the United Nations or any specialized agency thereof (but for that prohibition) are authorized...

U.S. libraries advancing programs that cut across at least three of UNESCO’s five sectors (education, natural science, social science, culture, and communication/information) may apply for recognition as a UNESCO Associated Library by the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO. Recognition through the UNESCO Associated Library program conveys to visitors and patrons that your library has a commitment to international engagement through communication, culture, education, and science. Libraries that receive this distinction may publicize their status as a UNESCO Associated Library and are eligible to display a special certificate issued by the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO. Moreover, becoming a UNESCO Associated Library enables an institution to tap into the network of UNESCO Associated Libraries in the U.S. and around the globe. Any U.S. Library interested in recognition as a UNESCO Associated Library should complete and submit an application, which can be found  here . For ...

From the statement as delivered on October 8, 2012: The United States remains a full and active members of the Organization.  President Obama is committed, and I am committed, to working with the U.S. Congress to seek a solution that would resolve the U.S. funding situation at UNESCO and restore our ability to pay our dues.   Read the full statement .