UNESCO is the United Nations’ specialized agency for education, science and culture. Since its creation in 1945, the Organization has worked to promote knowledge and education worldwide. Its close links with professional and academic communities and other partners in 193 countries put it in a key position to press for action. UNESCO works to create the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values. It is through this dialogue that the world can achieve global visions of sustainable development, encompassing observance of human rights, mutual respect and the alleviation of poverty, all of which are at the heart of UNESCO’S mission and activities. UNESCO’s mission is to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.
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- The Sendai Framework for disaster Risk Reduction recognizes the need to invest in disaster risk reduction for resilience as one of its Priorities for Action.
- In line with this recommendation, UNESCO has been actively involved in shaping UNDRR's new Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient, a self-assessment tool for building capacities for resilience at the city level.
- By co-leading the development of ‘Essential 7: Understand and strengthen societal capacity for resilience’, UNESCO advocates for risk- aware and inclusive societies.
- Furthermore, the Organization has built a strong expertise in the development of metrics for disaster resilience assessment and on capacity-building for resilience through the implementation of international projects, such as the Enhancing Natural Hazard Resilience in South America (ENHANS) project, which seeks to train a critical mass of experts on disaster risk and resilience assessments.