The ‘S’ has been an integral part of UNESCO from its foundation in 1945. In 60 years of existence, UNESCO has acted as a catalyst for the establishment of many, now leading scientific unions and bodies such as the World Conservation Union (IUCN, 1948), and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN, 1954) which saw the development of the internet. Initiatives with far-reaching implications for sustainable human security and well-being – such as the Man and the Biosphere programme, the World Heritage sites and the International Hydrological Programme – were launched in the first thirty years of UNESCO’s history.

The UNESCO Liaison Office in Washington opened in May 1978 and closed down on March 31, 1986, in consequence to the withdrawal of the United States from UNESCO.

Between 1963 and 1965 there had already been a Liaison Office in Washington which mainly served to establish a co-operation programme between UNESCO and the World Bank. In 1965 this office had been transferred to the New York Liaison Office.

The Office was established in 1951 as the UNESCO Field Office for Southeast Asian Science Co-operation (SEASCO). In 1967, it became the Regional Office for Science and 1967 Technology for Southeast Asia (ROSTSEA). In 1993, it was renamed the UNESCO Jakarta Office in keeping with the house-wide policy on office names.
In 2001, the UNESCO Office in Jakarta became Regional Science Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, and Office of the UNESCO Representative to Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines
In 2002, the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (East Timor) signed the Instrument of Acceptance for Membership of UNESCO (31 October 2002).

The International Exchange Service was created in 1961 as approved in the 11 C/5 Programme and Budget. It continued the activities of its predecessor, the Exchange of Persons Service (EXP), along with new added responsibilities for the briefing centre for international experts at Bois du Rocher. In 1965, as part of larger organizational changes, the Service and the Department of Mass Communications were merged to form a unit initially called Mass Communication and International Exchanges. In the Proposed Budget and Programme, the Director-General explained that international exchange was a form of communication by movement of persons and that the two units had similar ancillary activities such as adult education and publicity work to spread knowledge and understanding of the work of the organization. At first there was a separate Department of International Exchanges (IE), but in the following biennium when the Sector for Communication was more fully established, IE disappeared and there was an Office of Free Flow of Information and International Exchange with an International Exchanges Section which performed research and clearing house activities on international exchange. Fellowship administration was performed by a newly created Office of Training Abroad and Fellowship Administration until this function was transferred to the Education Sector beginning in 1967.

William D. Carter was Chief and then Director of IES from 1961 to 1964. Following the merge into the future Sector for Communication, the post of Director was vacant, with A. Elliot continuing as Chief of the Division of International Relations and Exchanges (1965) and I. Dandolo continuing as Chief of the Division of Fellowship Administration (1965).

IES and IE had the following units: Office of the Chief/Director (1961-1965); Division of Promotion of Study, Training and Teaching Abroad (1961-1962?); Clearing House (1961-1964); Travel Grants to Workers, Youth and Women Leaders for Study Abroad [unit?] (1961-1965); Division of UNESCO Fellowship Administration (1961-1965); Briefing Centre (1961-1962?); Division of International Relations and Exchanges (1963?-1965).

The first session of the General Conference opened on 20 November in Paris with a solemn ceremony at the Sorbonne. It worked until 10 December in the Hotel Majestic with the participation of representatives from 30 governments entitled to vote. The first Director General of UNESCO, Julian Huxley, was elected on 6 December 1946.
From 1946 to 1952, the General Conference took place every year, since 1952 every second year.

The Funds-in-Trust (FIT) co-operation modality was initiated in 1963, following on the approval of the the 1961-1962 Budget and Programme at the 11th General Conference which featured a new clause in the Appropriation Resolution covering the receipt of ‘other funds’. The first two projects were funded by France, for the training of educational administrators in Africa, and by Sweden, for the development of education for girls and women in Africa. Funds-in-trust are cash contributions made available by Governments, organizations, private companies or individuals to enable UNESCO to carry out specific programmes and projects on behalf of the donor within the Organization’s fields of competence. Funds-in-trust contributions may be self-benefiting, if they are intended for activities within the donor’s own territory; if they are intended for activities elsewhere, they are called donated funds-in-trust. Funds-in-trust are operated on the basis of a specific agreement between the donor and UNESCO, or of a specific agreement between the donor and UNESCO on the one hand, and the benefiting Government and UNESCO on the other. Projects and programmes are proposed by member states or by UNESCO acting as a link between member states requesting assistance, and member states and organizations willing to provide the assistance. FIT is said to represent an amalgamation of bilateral and multilateral aid. Implementation of a funds-in-trust project is the responsibility of the project officer, whether at Headquarters or in a field office. Project officer reports are submitted to donors after review by the relevant programme sector. UNESCO’s services may consist of provision of personnel assistance, analysis and advice, the organization of training activities (including the administration of fellowships), the procurement of equipment, or other services consistent with the Organization’s mandate and requested by the donor. The associate expert scheme, under which young professionals are made available to UNESCO for two or three years, is operated as a funds-in-trust arrangement. FIT was most recently evaluated in 2012 and was studied by a Special Committee of the Executive Board in 1974.

The first General Conference decided in 1946 to establish four Science Co-operation Offices in China, India, Middle East and Latin America. These offices were set up in 1947 and the network of what were later to be called “regional offices” has been extended ever since to cover all regions in the world. After 40 years of existence, in 1986, there were 27 offices of UNESCO Representatives, 2 Regional Coordinators and 23 Regional and Sub-Regional Advisers. In 2009, about 700 staff members work in UNESCO's 58 field offices around the world.

In addition to regional offices, UNESCO has helped to set up or supported otherwise numerous Centres with an international or regional character, and also centres and institutes working on the national basis, in agreement with the host country or countries or the region.
From the very beginning, UNESCO’s presence in the Field was also assured by temporary missions sent out from Headquarters or Field offices. They consisted either of a team of experts and consultants or individuals, who travelled to Member States upon their invitation to study questions in UNESCO’s competence, to work on the execution of a development project and formulate recommendations to be addressed to the Governments in the name of UNESCO.

In 1961, the Executive Board decided to designate posts of UNESCO Chiefs of Mission to be counterparts to Resident Representatives of the Technical Assistance programmes and to co-ordinate and be responsible for all UNESCO projects in a country (60 EX/Dec.9.1). In 1976, these posts were changed into UNESCO Representatives: they were usually responsible for a group of countries or a subregion. In the budget for 1981-1983 posts of “Regional Co-ordinators” were established, who were to be high-level officials responsible for a whole region. The post was tied usually with the post of the Director of a Regional Office.

Since 1951, but especially during the 1970ies, the Regional Offices were developed in a multidisciplinary direction since posts of regional or sub-regional advisors were attached to them in field which were not originally in the competence of the Office in question.

Since 1970, when the General Conference adopted a resolution on it (16 C/Res.10), decentralization became a constant subject of debate. UNESCO's decentralization policy seeks to ensure that UNESCO designs and implements programs that, although global in scope, are adapted to the needs and specific circumstances of Member States. UNESCO's Decentralization Action Plan groups Member States for service by a global network of multi-disciplinary Cluster Offices, National Offices, Regional Bureaus and Liaison Offices. The Bureau of Field Coordination is responsible for ensuring the smooth implementation of this new field network and provides a clear, single line of management.

While fellowships and grants were awarded as part of programme activities during the first year of UNESCO’s existence, the centralized unit for administering the programme and the programme regulations took form in 1947. The purpose of the UNESCO fellowship programme is to give highly qualified specialists in the fields of UNESCO’s competencies opportunities for further intensive studies, research or observation abroad, so that by improving their own knowledge and professional competence they may contribute to the advancement of their home countries. Fellowships are financed as part of the Regular Programme, under the Participation Programme, under the auspices of UNDP or other UN organizations, under Funds-in-Trust agreements or other sponsorship agreements. Areas for study for regular programme fellowships are decided by the General Conference. UN system fellowships are funded with an overall view to promoting technical and social development in the areas where such assistance is most needed. Participation programme fellowships are requested by member states as part of UNESCO assistance to projects undertaken. Sponsored or Funds-in-Trust fellowships support activities consistent with UNESCO purposes and principles.

After the approval of new fellowships in the General Conference or the signing of an agreement, the workflow is generally as follows: 1) member states alerted to new fellowships, traditionally by means of a Circular Letter; 2) up until 1995, applications could be sent by an individual candidate with a formal letter of support from the government concerned; since 1995, all nominations must be transmitted through the National Commission of the member state; 3) selection of candidates by UNESCO; or in the case of co-sponsored fellowships or the Participation Programme, by the co-sponsor or member state in consultation with the Secretariat; 4) notification, acceptance, and approval of study plan by programme sector if not specified in an agreement; 5) agreement with administering agency (if applicable); 6) fellowship under immediate supervision of administering agency, field office, specialized institute or fellowship section with technical supervision by the programme sector, field office or specialized institute; 7) submission of preliminary and final report after fellowship; 8) evaluation of the effectiveness of the fellowship by programme sector, field office or specialized institute, and 9) follow-up and compilation of Directories of UNESCO fellows.

The Fellowship Programme was evaluated a number of times. In 1962, UNESCO prepared an evaluation for the Technical Assistance Board for later submission to the Technical Assistance Committee of ECOSOC. In 1972, an International Committee of Experts looked at UNESCO’s programme and policies on Training Abroad. There were more specific reports on the programme with respect to specific countries or specific fields, such as a 1978 report with particular reference to women. Most recently, in 2001 the programme UNESCO initiated an external evaluation which had the broad finding that fellowships are an effective and positive tool in enhancing national capacity-building in the Organization’s fields of competence.

The centralized administration of the programme has been carried out by the following units over time: Office for the Exchange of Persons/Department of Exchange of Persons, 1947-1950; Fellowship Administration Division/Fellowship Division in the Exchange of Persons Service (EXP), 1951-1960; Division of UNESCO Fellowship Administration in the International Exchange Service (IES), 1961-1965; Office of Training Abroad and Fellowship Administration in the Sector for Communication (COM), 1966; Division of Training Abroad in the Education Sector, 1967-1975; Fellowships Division in the Co-operation for Development and External Relations Sector (CPX), 1975-1985; Division for Training, Development of Human Resources and Fellowships, Bureau of Studies, Action and Coordination for Development (DEV), 1985-1989; Fellowships Management and Information Section in the Bureau for Coordination of Operational Activities (BAO), 1989-1993; Equipment and Fellowships Division in the Bureau for Extrabudgetary Funding (BER), 1994-2000; Fellowships Section in the Sector for External Relations and Cooperation (ERC), 2000-2011; and the Fellowships Programme Section, 2011-2013, followed by the Participation Programme and Fellowships Section, 2013-, in the Sector for External Relations and Public Information (ERI).

The Special Committee is a permanent body of the Executive Board that addresses the methods and machinery of the evaluation of UNESCO's activities, relations with the UN Joint Inspection Unit, and the organization of the work of the General Conference and the Executive Board.

Prior to its establishment as a permanent body, ad hoc committees were established at sessions from 1957 to 1967.

It is currently composed of 18 members, three from each electoral group of member states as defined by the General Conference. The Special Committee meets as frequently as needed to fulfill the duties required of it by the Board.

The Special Committee has had the following chairmen: F. Sarrûf (1969-1970); A. Wagner de Reyna (1971-1972); N. Leblanc (1973-1974); L. Boissier-Palun (1975-1976); J. Ki-Zerbo (1977-1978); A. Porter (1979-1980); H. Søndergaard (1981-1983); I. Margan (1984-1985); J. Israel Vargas (1986-1987); M. El-Khatib (1988-1989); A. Sayyad (1990-1991); C. Bernheim (1992-1993); L. Todd (1994-1995); A. Ahsan (1996-1997); H. Nachabé (1998-1999); K. Mokhele (2000-2001); L. Despradel (2002-2003); L. Singhvi (2004-2005); S. Hanna-El-Daher (2006-2007); S. Ali (2008-2009); and, I. Rabenoro (2010-2011).

Chairman: A. Matsui.

At its 65th, 70th and 75th sessions, the Executive Board formed ad hoc committees to study the functions, responsibilities and methods of work of the organs of UNESCO. The terms of reference of these commissions (with names that varied slightly) ended when the report was submitted to the Board at a specified session. In 1967, one of the recommendations of the Special Committee was for the Board to delegate certain preparatory tasks to a small subsidiary body to be created. During its 77th session, the Board voted to establish the Special Committee for such work on an experimental basis. It was established as the permanent Special Committee in a vote at the 81st session. The Chairpersons of the ad hoc committees were: R. Barón Castro (1961-1962); H. Eek (1965-1966); M. Smieton (1967-1968).

Chairman: B. Thomas.

The first session of the Executive Board took place in 1946, from 26 November to 10 December.

At the outset, the Executive Board had 18 members, elected in their personal capacity, they were intellectuals chosen for their outstanding abilities and their independent outlook. While not representing their respective governments, they exercised collectively the powers delegated to them by the General Conference on behalf of the Conference as a whole.

Since 1952 five important amendments have been made to the constitutional provisions governing the Executive Board:

1954: Conferment on each member of the Board the status of representative of the government of the state of which (s)he was a national. Meanwhile, the Members of the EXB were still not states but persons designated by name. (The Ex. Board of UNESCO, I, 6)

1968: New method of election of members by the General Conference and modification of the duration of their term of office. In order to correct an imbalance in the distribution of seats on the Board, a system of electoral groups was introduced. Member States of the EXB were thus divided into five groups. In order to speed up the rotation of seats among nationals of the different Member States, the term of office of the members of the Board would be reduced to six years and would not be renewable. (The Ex. Board of UNESCO, I, 8)

1972: Reduction of the term of office from six to four years (without immediate re-eligibility). (The Ex. Board of UNESCO, I, 9)

1976: Change of Article V.A.4 of the Constitution, relating to the procedure for replacing members of the Board during their term of office. From now on, in exceptional circumstances, in the opinion of the represented state, it would be indispensable for its representative to be replaced even if that representative did not tender his resignation. (The Ex. Board of UNESCO, I, 10)

1991: Modification of Article V of the Constitution, with respect to the status of members of the Board, which with effect from the 27th session of the General Conference (1993) consists of Member States rather than of persons. (The Ex. Board of UNESCO, I, 11)

The number of Members of EXB has also increased. It rose from 20 in 1952 to 40 twenty years later and then to 58 in 1995. (The Ex. Board of UNESCO, I, 1)

The International Institute for Intellectual Co-operation carried out a successful international exchange service prior to the Second World War and Member States were interested in seeing these activities continued by UNESCO. It was suggested at the first General Conference that the Organization create a programme similar to the fellowship programme administered by UNRRA. While fellowships and grants were awarded as part of programme activities during the first year of UNESCO’s existence, the centralized unit for administering the programme and the programme regulations took form in 1947. The possibility of assuming responsibility for the UNRRA programme was examined. However, the draft regulations and idea for a Bureau for the Exchange of Persons were put in motion by John Marshall, Associate Director for the Humanities at the Rockefeller Foundation, who came to UNESCO for six weeks on loan in April-May 1947. The first focus of the programme was to be reconstruction and rehabilitation. The objectives of the Bureau were not only to administer the UNESCO fellowship programme, but also to research and act as a clearing house for information on other exchange possibilities available throughout the world. The fellowship programme was to have twin benefits – to advance the human resources capacity of the state sending the fellow and to promote mutual understanding through the mechanism of exchange.

When William D. Carter started as Head in September 1947, the unit was not a bureau but a Section for Exchange of Persons. The following year, in the context of larger organizational restructuring, the unit was called the Office for the Exchange of Persons before being upgraded temporarily to the Department of Exchange of Persons in August 1948. This name lasted until 1950 when the use of the term department was revised in UNESCO, leading to it finally being named the Exchange of Persons Service (EXP). Beyond the scope of the UNESCO fellowship programme, the Service also administered an increasing number of travel grants and study tours targeting in particular workers, youths, and teachers. The service issued the publications Study Abroad, Vacations Abroad, and Travel Abroad, among others. Carter’s title was changed to Chief in 1956 and the staff increased steadily over time. In 1960, again amidst larger structural changes in the Organization, the Service were renamed the International Exchange Service (IES) to reflect the expansion of activities of its Clearing House and the added responsibility for the newly-created briefing centre for international experts at Bois du Rocher. Carter continued as Chief and then Director of IES.

Over time, the Service had the following units: Office of the Head/Chief (1951-1960); Fellowship Administration Division (1951-1959), renamed the Fellowships Division (1959-1960); Clearing House and Promotion (1951); Clearing House and Research [unit] (1952-1953); Projects and Promotion [unit] (1952-1953); Information and Promotion Division (1952-1955) with Information and Research Section (1954-1955) and Promotion and Special Projects Section (1954-1955); Clearing House and Advisory Services Division (1956-1958); Promotion of Exchange of Persons Division (1956-1960) with Workers and Young People [unit] (1956-1960) renamed Workers [unit] (1960), Teachers [unit] (1957-1960), Clearing House [unit] (1959-1960).

An Education Section was established with the formation of UNESCO in 1945 and education-related projects commenced in 1946. The section has evolved and expanded since to become what is now the Education Sector (ED) of UNESCO. The Education Section of UNESCO was first referred to as “Sector” in 1967. The gradual evolution of the organizational structure of the sector historically occurred on an annual to biennial basis, often reflecting particular themes or focuses of the sector at the time. As of 2016, the sector encompasses the following divisions: Divisions for Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems; Division for Inclusion, Peace and Sustainable Development; Division for Education 2030 Support and Coordination; Executive Office; Global Education Monitoring Report Team. The Education Sector further encompasses 53 field offices around the world, along with six institutes and two centres, including: the International Bureau of Education (IBE); International Institute for Education Planning (IIEP); UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL); Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE); International Institute for Higher Education in Latin American and the Caribbean (IESALC); International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA); Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP); International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (UNESCO-UNEVOC) and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS).

The Education Sector is at the core of UNESCO operations and, accordingly, is the largest sector in the organization. The Sector adheres to the institutional mission to promote peace and the universal right to education. Shortly following UNESCO’s formation, in 1946 the purposes of the sector were noted as twofold, to provide a minimum standard level of education for all, and to remove illiteracy. The campaign against illiteracy and promotion of universal education both continue to be primary focuses of the Education Sector. Other campaigns directed by the Education Sector include, refugee and migrant education programs, adult education programs, guidance on teaching methods and materials, research into educational activities, promotion of international understanding and peace, equal educational opportunities and primary education. The Education Sector also implemented a number of programs over the years in response to emergencies or special circumstances, often specific to a particular region, such as field assistance for refugees from Arab states and a 1950 program to aid “war-handicapped children” following the aftermath of World War II. In more recent times, at the World Education Forum in Dakar in 2000, 164 member states pledged to achieve Education For All and identified six goals to be met by 2015, an initiative eventually coordinated by the Sector's EFA International Coordination Team.

As of July 2019, the Education Sector is focused on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4, Quality Education, which “ensure[s] inclusive and equitable quality education and promote[s] lifelong learning opportunities for all.”

The Division of Youth and Sports Activities (SHS/YSA) was created in 1990. SHS/YSA inherited responsibility for activities on youth and physical education and sports - such as, for example, the International Fund for the Development of Physical Education and Sport (FIDEPS). Prior to this, the Division of Youth (SHS/YTH), also in the Sector of Social and Human Sciences, had carried out activities for and about youth. Activities on physical education and sport, including the secretariat for FIDEPS, were previously structured under the Education Sector, carried out by the Division of Structures, Content, Methods and Techniques of Education (ED/SCM).

The work of SHS/YSA over time included preparatory work for an international instrument for education, prevention, co-operation and information relating to the fight against doping in sport; assistance to Member States in formulating and implementing national strategies for the development of physical education in schools and universities; acting as secretariat for both FIDEPS and the Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport (CIGEPS); fostering awareness of the ethical dimension of sports activities by disseminating the International Charter of Physical Education and Sports; maintenance of the International Youth Clearing House and Information Service (INFOYOUTH) in support of efforts to enhance awareness of the situation, problems and aspirations of young people in different societies; organization of youth forums, regional consultations with researchers, youth NGOs and government officials for the purpose of identifying issues affecting young people and drawing up suitable strategies, and to encourage young people to play their part in development. SHS/YSA was also responsible for UNESCO’s contribution to the UN World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, as adopted by the General Assembly in 1995.

The 27th Session of the General Conference expressed the wish “to infuse strong new life into UNESCO’s action in physical education and sports, particularly within the framework of the fourth Medium- Term Plan” (UNESCO, 1993, 27C/Resolution 5.16). Also in the Medium-Term Plan for 1996-2001, youth was identified as one of the priority groups to be addressed throughout the programme of the Organization. Round tables on youth were held at the 29th Session of the General Conference and based on the resulting recommendations, an external advisory body called the Youth Council was established. The Secretariat was restructured soon after in 1998 - SHS/YSA was dissolved and a Youth Co-Ordination Unit (UCJ) was created in the Directorate. UCJ moved the following year to the Bureau of Studies, Programming and Evaluation. An internal ‘Priority Youth’ Committee was also established to make proposals with regard to possible actions and activities in this area. After SHS/YSA was dissolved, responsibility for physical education and sport activities was transferred to the Education Sector, and first overseen by the Section for Humanistic, Cultural and International Education, then by the Department of Education for a Culture of Peace upon its creation in 1999. In 2000, the responsibility was moved to the Division for the Promotion of Quality Education.

The Secretariat as a whole was reorganized in 2000 and the coordinating responsibility for youth activities was transferred to a Division of Women, Youth and Special Strategies (WYS) in the new Bureau of Strategic Planning (BSP). The Division was dissolved in 2002, but there remained a Section for Youth (YTH) in BSP until this unit was shifted along with physical education programming to the Division of Social Sciences Research and Policy in the Sector for Social and Human Sciences in 2006. The combined unit created was called the Section for Youth, Sport and Physical Education. In April 2010, a Thematic Working Group on Youth was established in the Secretariat. The following year, the Social and Human Sciences Sector was restructured and a Division for Youth and Sport was created. In 2012, the structure was adjusted again creating a Division for Social Inclusion and Youth. The Sector was reorganized in 2014, creating a Youth and Sport Section (YSS) in the Division of Ethics, Youth and Sport.

SHS/YSA had the following heads: Pierluigi Vagliani, 1990-1992; and, Arthur L. Gillette 1992-1998.

Within the Secretariat in the 1950s, UNESCO had a specific section in the Department of Education responsible for activities on youth. In the 1960s, youth activities continued to be included in the Programme and Budget, but were overseen by larger units such as the Education Out of School Division. Beyond the Secretariat, in the Federal Republic of Germany UNESCO’s Institute for Youth in Gauting and then Munich operated from 1951 to 1965. At the 78th Session of the Executive Board in 1968, members noted the “extent and gravity of the problems of youth and of the movements in which those problems are finding expression throughout the world” and asked the Director-General to prepare proposals to reinforce UNESCO’s youth programme (UNESCO, 1968, 15 C/65). The Programme and Budget for 1969 to 1970 indicates the efforts that were to be made to enlarge UNESCO’s work for youth. One effort was to improve coordination of the planning and execution of activities by the creation of an internal Secretariat Working Party, chaired by the Director of the new Department of Out-of-School Education. Whereas previously UNESCO had confined itself to assisting and sometimes stimulating the projects undertaken by Member States and international non-governmental organizations, UNESCO’s new policy was to take more direct action through analysis of youth problems, seeking solutions to these problems with Member States, and by securing the active participation of youth in this work on a national and international level (UNESCO, 1968, 15 C/65).

Upon its creation in 1973, the Division of Youth was placed within the Education Sector, within the Office of the Assistant-Director General, and was to take on a coordinating role. The Division was also responsible for the realization of certain programme activities already planned for in the Programme and Budget, as well as for participating in or consulting on other activities in progress carried out by other units, and the development of future projects and programmes. The activities for which it had primary responsibility included: changing education, culture and scientific development by the action and thoughts of youth; the role of youth in the promotion of peace; the promotion of a better understanding of the problems and attitudes of youth; and, the involvement of youth in the development and execution of development projects at a local level. The creation of the Division corresponded to a shift in focus in the programming. According to the Report of the Director-General for 1973, UNESCO was to shift from activities for youth and towards “more and more emphasis on activities to be carried out with and increasingly by youth” (UNESCO. General Conference, 18th Session. 1974, 18 C/3-2).

In 1975, the Secretariat as a whole was reorganized and the Division of Youth was moved to the newly created Sector for Social Sciences and their Applications. The reasoning for the move was stated as follows: “a knowledge of the social phenomena in question, as they manifest themselves in the different kinds of society, is imperative if one is to guide youth activities and help young people to play a more fruitful part in social life and schemes for development” (UNESCO. General Conference, 18th Session. 1974, 18 C/3-2). The Division’s structure remained stable through to 1990, though the sector’s name was changed to the Sector of Social and Human Sciences in 1984. In 1990, responsibility for activities on physical education and sports - such as, for example, the International Fund for the Development of Physical Education and Sport (FIDEPS) - was transferred to the Division and it became the Division of Youth and Sports Activities (SHS/YSA).

SHS/YTH and its immediate predecessors had the following heads: Ehsan Naraghi, 1973-1975; and, Pierluigi Vagliani, Acting 1975-1981, 1981-1990.

Prior to 1952, the structure of the Department of Social Science was not fixed. In 1950, after Dr. Alfred Métraux finished his work on the Fundamental Education project in the Marbial Valley in Haiti, he was to take up a position at headquarters in the Department of Social Sciences to lead UNESCO’s studies on racial questions. The administrative unit which he led had the title of Division of the Study of Racial Questions until the end of 1950. During 1950, the unit’s work was focused on the production and dissemination of a series of publications on race and the promotion of the 1950 Statement by experts on race problems. By the end of 1950, the Division’s activities were described as taking on the character of a Clearing House on race questions (Rapport, 1950). People with questions on the Statement were writing the Division for clarifications. The Division also made regular contributions to the UNESCO Radio programming and to the UNESCO Courier, and prepared for a special issue of the Social Sciences Bulletin. In 1951, studies on race were combined with other studies undertaken by the Department and Métraux became one of several programme specialists in a Division of Studies of Social Tensions. By 1952, the Department took on a more permanent structure and the unit became the Division of Applied Social Sciences.

The Organization’s mandate in the field of statistics can be traced to Article VIII of the Constitution which requests each Member State to report periodically to the Organization concerning its statistics on educational, scientific and cultural life and institutions. It also comes from a general United Nations (UN) system context where the 1946 Agreement between the United Nations and UNESCO called for the secretariats to exchange statistics within their own spheres. The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) had further recommended that UN specialized agencies develop social statistics. The Population Commission had also recommended that UNESCO collaborate with international agencies in the collection of social and cultural statistics. Finally, the UN Statistical Commission and ECOSOC had urged UNESCO to assume primary responsibility for an international programme of education in statistics, in collaboration with the International Statistical Institute (ISI) and other appropriate agencies (UNESCO, 5 C/5 (II), p. 300).

UNESCO first created a statistical service in 1947 when the UNESCO Documentation, Library and Statistical Services unit was created. In 1949, the Organization’s mandate in the statistical field was defined further by the Report of the Expert Committee on Educational, Scientific and Cultural Statistics. Following the 1949 Report, the Statistical Service was separated from the other information services and made a distinct service unto itself. The focus of the statistical work at UNESCO for early years was the collection of education statistics (all levels of schooling) as well as the further development of social and cultural statistics. The Statistical Service initially reported directly to the Office of the Director-General, as was the case with other general administration services like the Legal Service of the Bureau of Personnel. Although the Organization’s statistics were supposed to be centrally managed by the service, both the Statistical Service and programme departments were collecting statistical data from published sources and sending out questionnaires to member states. However, by 1951, the service was renamed the Statistics Division and its central role was reaffirmed: all statistical data were to be centralized and managed by the Division. On 1 January 1952, the Division was incorporated into the Department of Social Sciences and renamed the Statistical Division. In the Programme and Budget for 1953 and 1954, it was noted that the move did not prevent the Division “from being of service to the Secretariat as a whole, in addition to promoting the teaching of statistical science” (UNESCO, 7 C/5, p. 274). During this period, collaboration with ISI in the promotion of teaching of statistical science resulted in the creation of an international statistical training centre in Calcutta, as well as an ISI Statistical education advisory service. In addition to this, UNESCO was granting fellowships in educational statistics under the Exchange of Persons programme and offering technical assistance for regional seminars and expert missions.

In addition to supplying statistics for other UN and UNESCO publications, the Division was responsible for the publication of statistical reports and studies. The first Basic Facts and Figures was published in 1952. Both the Statistical Reports and Studies series and the Current School Enrolment Statistics periodical first appeared in 1955. These publications were consolidated in 1963 with the launch of the UNESCO Statistical Yearbook.

Work on the international comparability of statistics in education, culture and mass communications resulted in the adoption of eight recommendations at UNESCO’s General Conference over time: the Recommendation concerning the International Standardization of Educational Statistics (10th Session, 1958); the Recommendation concerning the International Standardization of Statistics Relating to Book Production and Periodicals (13th Session, 1964); the Recommendation concerning the International Standardization of Library Statistics (16th Session, 1970); the Recommendation concerning the International Standardization of Statistics on Radio and Television (19th Session, 1976); the Revised Recommendation concerning the International Standardization of Educational Statistics (20th Session, 1978); the Recommendation concerning the International Standardization of Statistics on Science and Technology (20th Session, 1978); the Recommendation concerning the International Standardization of Statistics on the Public Financing of Cultural Activities (21st Session, 1980); and, the Revised Recommendation concerning the International Standardization of Statistics on the Production and Distribution of Books, Newspapers and Periodicals (23rd Session, 1985). The Statistical Division was responsible for the preparatory and follow-up work for these instruments.

In the 1960s, in the general context of decolonization, there was an increased focus on compiling and analyzing statistical data required for the quantitative assessment of human resources in member states in the fields of UNESCO’s competence, particularly in relation to educational planning. UNESCO through the Statistical Division worked with the International Labour Organization on manpower surveys at this time. This work took place also in a context where both the Statistical Office of the United Nations and the World Bank were creating large primary socio-economic data banks (Lengyel, 1986).

The UNESCO Secretariat was reorganized as of January 1967 and services concerned with the free transmission of knowledge at the international level were merged to form the Communication Sector (COM). The newly named Office of Statistics was moved to this new Sector, as well as the Office of Free Flow of Information and International Exchanges, the Department of Mass Communications, the Department of Documentation, Libraries and Archives and the Office of Public Information. The Director of the Office of Statistics reported directly to the Assistant Director-General for Communication. At this time, the Office had the following units: Office of the Director, Division of Statistics on Education, Division of Statistics on Science and Technology, Division of Statistics on Culture and Communication, Statistics Tabulation Unit, Computation and Documentation Unit, and Data Processing Unit. This organization remained relatively stable except for the gradual consolidation of the smaller units into one Statistical Operations Unit. A Statistical Education Projections unit was also created under the Division of Statistics on Education. In 1970, a new document series called Current Surveys and Research in Statistics was launched. The Office was providing assistance to member states for the development of their statistics through the Participation Programme and UNDP-financed projects. Funds-in-Trust financing was also used for this purpose beginning in the 1980s.

With another large-scale reorganization of the Secretariat from1975 to 1976, the Office of Statistics was moved to the Sector for Programme Support and Administration (ADS). In 1978, this Sector was split and the Office of Statistics was moved to the new Sector for Programme Support (PRS). During this time, two divisions in the Office were merged to create a Division of Statistics on science, technology, culture and communication and a new Unit for Operational Activities was created. A Statistical Documentation Centre was also created. In 1990, when the Sector was downgraded in 1990 to first initially a Bureau for Progamme Support and Administration (BSA), then the Bureau for Programme Support (BPS), the Office was also downgraded to a Division of Statistics (BSA/ST then BPS/ST). The Division was transferred to the Bureau of Studies, Programming and Evaluation in 1992 (BPE/ST). The units within the Division were reorganized at this time, creating a Section for the Development of Statistical Services (ST/DEV), and a Section on Data Collection and Analysis (ST/DAT).

By the mid-1990s, there were calls to improve statistical products and services, both in quantitative and qualitative terms, from different stakeholders. To meet the aim of opening up UNESCO’s data bank to all constituencies, the Organization began consultations in 1995 and the resulting proposal for a UNESCO Institute for Statistics was presented to the 29th Session of the General Conference in 1997 (UNESCO, 29 C/5, 1997). The 29th Session authorized the Director-General to start on an experimental basis the measures aimed at transforming the Division of Statistics into the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). UIS was formally established and its Statutes approved at the 30th Session of the General Conference in 1999. The location of the Institute was decided in 2000 at the 159th Session of the Executive Board. During this transitional period, the Division of Statistics continued to exist within the Bureau of Studies, Programming and Evaluation until 30 June 1999 when UIS began its existence in Paris, moving to Montreal, Canada, in September 2001.

The Division of Statistics and its predecessors had the following heads: B.A. Liu, 1950-1963; J. Kappel, 1963-1966; Karl Gunnar Brolin, 1967-1974; Hassouna Ben-Amor, 1975-1987; Gabriel Carceles, 1988-1991; Farid El Boustani, 1991-1995; and Geraldo A. Nascimento Filho, 1995-1999.

In 1994, the Division of Social Science, Research and Policy (SHS/SRP) was created as part of a larger reorganization of the Social and Human Sciences Sector. SHS/SRP replaced the former Division for the International Development of the Social and Human Sciences (SHS/IDS) and the former Division of Population, Human Habitat and Development Studies (SHS/PHD). SHS/SRP continued activities on establishing UNESCO Chairs and University Twinning and Networking Programme (UNITWIN) networks in the social sciences and support of the International Social Science Journal. It was also responsible for publication of the World Social Science Reports.

Initially the Division of Social Science, Research and Policy was composed of two units: the Management of Social Transformations (MOST) and Capacity Building Unit (SHS/SRP/MOST) and the Human Habitat Unit (SHS/SRP/HH). SHS/SRP/MOST was responsible for institutional capacity building, data and information dissemination, policy-relevant activities concerning the MOST Programme, social transformations, exclusion and integration, sustainable human development, socio-cultural dimensions of environment, population and migrations, and coordinating the interdisciplinary and inter-agency project “Environment and population education and information for development .” SHS/SRP/HH was responsible for activities concerning the socio-cultural dimensions of human settlements and the implementation of projects on urban rehabilitation, especially concerning marginalized urban populations and the promotion of rural areas. In 1997, a Population and Migration Unit (SHS/SRP/POP) was added. The Human Habitat Unit was renamed the Cities and Human Habitat Unit (SHS/SRP/VHH) in 1999. In 2000, a Poverty, Micro Finance and Development Unit (SHS/SRP/MFU) was introduced. All these units had been dissolved by 2003 and replaced with units with slightly different areas of focus: Urban Development Section (SHS/SRP/URB); International Migration and Multiculturalism Section (SHS/SRP/MIG); Democracy and Governance Section (SHS/SRP/DEM); Policy and Cooperation in Social Sciences Section (SHS/SRP/POL). The Democracy and Governance Section was dissolved in 2004, but re-established in 2006, temporarily in SHS/SRP, before its activities were moved to the new Division of Human Rights, Human Security and Philosophy (SHS/RSP).

At the beginning of 2006, responsibility for the programme on physical education and sport, including the International Convention against Doping in Sport was transferred to the Division, creating a Physical Education and Sport Section (SHS/SRP/PES). Later that year, responsibility for activities relating to youth was also transferred, and a new Section for Youth, Sport and Physical Education was formed in the Division (SHS/SRP/YSPE).

In 2007, the International Migrations and Muticulturalism Section and the Urban Development Section were merged to form the Urban Development and Migration Section (SHS/SRP/URB-MIG).

The Division itself was dissolved in 2011 in the context of a reorganization of the Social and Human Sciences Sector. SHS/SRP activities were mostly absorbed by the Sector’s three new divisions: the Division for Inclusive Societies and Social Innovation, the Division for Ethics and Sustainable Development, and the Division for Youth and Sport.

SHS/SRP had the following heads: Ali Kazancigil, 1994-2002; [Acting Interim] Timothee Ngakoutou, 2002-2003; Chaibong Hahm, 2003-2005; [Acting Interim] Assistant Director-General Pierre Sané, 2005-2006; Wataru Iwamoto, 2006-2007; and, Elizabeth Longworth, 2009-2011.

Over time, UNESCO’s way of differentiating the fields of social sciences, humanities and philosophy, has shaped the related administrative structure. Philosophy has both occupied its own distinct space in the Programme of the Organization and has been integrated into the Culture Programme or the Social and Human Sciences Programme. The first list of personnel published in January 1947 after UNESCO formally came into existence in November 1946 showed a unit called Social Sciences and Philosophy. Later in 1947, there was rather a Philosophy and Humanities Section. When departments were introduced in 1948, a Division of Philosophy and Humanistic Studies appeared in the Department of Cultural Activities. By 1952, however, the Division was replaced by a more general Division of Development of International Cultural Cooperation. In 1956, a smaller Philosophy and Humanistic Studies unit appeared under what was called then the International Cultural Exchanges Division. By 1959, the Section of Philosophy and Humanistic Studies was moved under the Office of the Director and by the beginning of 1962, it was renamed the Section of Humanistic Studies. In 1963 there was a brief resurgence when a new Division of Philosophy and Humanistic Studies and the Major Project on the Mutual Appreciation of Eastern and Western Cultural Values was created. This unit with the long name did not last, being replaced by the Division of Cultural Studies in 1964.

Philosophical reflection as a programme activity was given renewed focus in the Draft Programme and Budget for 1965-1966, also the time when Sectors were introduced as the largest structural unit at UNESCO. In the Director-General’s introduction, he writes: “there is no doubt at all that it is to philosophical reflection that we must look for the development of that humanistic thought whose influence must gradually converge the whole body of Unesco’s activities” (UNESCO, General Conference, 13th Session, 1964). He further wrote: “I hope that the Division of Philosophy may be able, over the years, methodically to bring about the elucidation of the ethical imperatives which such [economic] development must satisfy in respect of education, science, culture and information if it is to be authentic development from the human standpoint” (UNESCO, General Conference, 13th Session, 1964). The Division was created in 1965 directly under the Office of the Assistant-Director General for Social Sciences, Human Sciences and Culture in order to emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of philosophical reflection. Without a Director for its first two years, it was called the Division of Interdisciplinary Co-operation and Philosophy in the Draft Budget for 1967-1968, but was renamed the Division of Philosophy in the Approved Budget. Its work for the first years was centered on three studies: society and education; the diversity of cultures as against the universality of science and technology; and, human rights and the identification of universal human values.

The Division supported programme sectors by producing studies in UNESCO’s fields of competence based on philosophical and interdisciplinary inquiry. The Division further collaborated with the International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies and the International Centre for the Humanities and Development in Byblos. When the Secretariat as a whole was reorganized in 1975-1976, Director-General M’Bow first proposed that the Division merge with the Human Rights Coordination Unit to form a Division of Philosophy, Human Rights and Peace. Instead two separate divisions were created within the new Sector for Social Sciences and their Applications. The structure remained stable even as the Sector was renamed the Social and Human Sciences Sector (SHS) in 1984. In 1990, the Secretariat was restructured and the Division of Philosophy was moved with other interdisciplinary and intersectoral programs to the Directorate, reporting to the Deputy Director-General for Programme. The Division was moved back to SHS in 1993. The Programme and Budget for 1994-1995 added the study of the ethical implications of contemporary problems to the philosophy programme, and the Division was renamed the Division of Philosophy and Ethics (SHS/PHE). At this time, the series of Philosophy Forums was launched. When SHS was reorganized shortly after in 1994, the Division was moved directly under the Directorate.

The Division moved back to SHS in 1999 upon the streamlining of services attached to the Director-General. The following year, during an organization-wide restructuring, it was renamed the Division of Human Sciences and Philosophy (SHS/HSP). The decade saw the philosophy programme being paired first with foresight activities, with a Philosophy and Human Sciences Section (PHS) within the Division of Foresight, Philosophy and Human Sciences (SHS/FPH) from 2002 to 2006; then with human rights activities in the Division of Human Rights, Human Security and Philosophy (SHS/RSP) from 2006 to 2010. The Division of Human Rights, Philosophy and Democracy (SHS/HPD) existed from 2010 to 2011. After the restructuring of the Sector in 2011, philosophy activities were integrated into the work of the new Division for Inclusive Societies and Social Innovation (SHS/SII) and the Division for Ethics and Sustainable Development (SHS/ETD). Philosophical reflection was considered a cross-cutting activity by 2012 and integrated into the policy work of the Sector.

The Division of Philosophy and its immediate successors had the following heads: Jeanne Hersch, 1966-1968; Marie Pierre Herzog, 1970-1973; René Habachi, 1974-1976; Mohammed-Allal Sinaceur, 1977-1993; Yersu Kim, 1996-2000; Georges Kutukdjian, 2000-2001; Jérôme Bindé, 2002?-2006; Assistant Director-General Maria del Pilar Álvarez-Las, 2006-2009; and, Angela Melo, 2009-2011.

From 1950 to 1952, there was a unit for Aid to International Scientific Collaboration within UNESCO’s Department of Social Sciences. The aim was to encourage the development of social sciences and their applications in every part of the world. Early efforts culminated in the creation of the UNESCO Institute for Social Sciences in Cologne, Germany, in 1951 and the establishment of the International Social Science Council in 1952. The UNESCO Secretariat unit was expanded to the Division of International Scientific Collaboration in 1953, and then renamed the Division of International Development of Social Sciences in 1955. The programme of UNESCO in the Social Sciences at this time was said to have two distinct but complementary aims: 1) to develop international organizations suited to carry out studies of social problems at an international level; and 2) to encourage the use of social science methods for practical solution of a number of these problems. The Division of International Development of Social Sciences was concerned with the first aim, and the Division of Applied Social Sciences was concerned with the second aim. The work of the Division of International Development of Social Sciences was organized around three principal tasks: cooperating with international social science organizations and institutions, including national bodies in member states; acting as a Clearing House for information and advisory services, including financing the publication of the International Social Science Bulletin/Journal (ISSJ, published since 1949); and, the improvement of social science documentation and terminology. By the early 1960s, the Division was also working on Participation Programme and Technical Assistance requests, as well as programme activities on the teaching of social sciences and the development of social science research methods and techniques. The latter activity was eventually expanded so that a Division for Social Science Methods and Analysis was created in the early 1970s. The Division’s work for this period also concentrated on the preparation and publication of the two volumes of Main Trends of Research in the Social and Human Sciences that appeared in 1970 (Part One) and 1978 (Part Two).

The Secretariat as a whole was reorganized in 1975-1976 and the Sector for Social Sciences, Humanities and Culture was dissolved and in its place a Sector for Social Sciences and their Applications and a Sector for Culture and Communication were created. At this time, the Division “held responsibility for two rather distinct parts of the program: fully international and regional projects, incuding relations with the professional associations, FLACSO, the Vienna Center and certain other institutions and documentation and information activities, including the Social Science Documentation Centre with its DARE Data Bank, the ISSJ and projects in terminology and primary data fields” (Lengyel, 1986). The Division of International Development of Social Sciences (SS/IDS) remained steady until 1984 when the Sector was renamed the Sector of Social and Human Sciences and the Division was dissolved. Activities on research, training and international co-operation in the social and human sciences were distributed between all divisions in the Sector as well as to field offices in the Programme and Budget for 1986-1987.

In 1990, the Unit for the Institutional Development of the Social and Human Sciences (SHS/IST) was reintroduced directly in the Office of the Assistant Director-General. The Unit was: “responsible for fostering international co-operation with a view to the development of knowledge and, more specifically, for promoting the improvement of training and research programmes in Member States; improving and enhancing co-operation among specialized networks representative of the international intellectual and scientific community; and promoting information and documentation in the social and human sciences. In particular, it will have the task of developing co-operation with the relevant NGOs, especially ICPHS and ISSC” (UNESCO, 1990). The Unit became the Division of International Development of Social and Human Sciences (SHS/IDS) in 1993. When the Sector as a whole was reorganized in 1994, it was replaced by the new Division of Social Science, Research and Policy (SHS/SRP).

The Division of International Development of Social and Human Sciences and its predecessors and successors had the following heads: Kazimierz Szczerba-Likiernik, [Acting 1950-1956], 1957-1961; Georgi Skorov, 1961-1963; Samy Friedman, 1963-1967; Anatoli Glinkine, 1968-1972; Vladimir V. Mshvenieradze, 1972-1978; Ruben Santos Cuyugan, 1980-1984; and, Ali Kazancigil, 1990-1994.

The idea to strengthen coordination of intersectoral human rights programming was introduced in the 17 C/4 Draft Medium-term Outline Plan for 1973-1978. As a response, the Human Rights Coordination Unit was created 1 May 1973 in the Sector for Social Sciences, Humanities and Culture. The Unit’s functions were to coordinate and organize activities in the field of human rights that were already part of the programme at that time, as well as to propose future programmes for the short-term and medium-term future. Of the already ongoing programme activities, the Unit became principally responsible for the execution of work in the following areas: the organization of a Peace Forum; the UN Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination and study of the legal and technical aspects of the draft declaration on race based on the 1967 Statement on Race and Racial Prejudice; and, the assembling of information on the state of education and the cultural life of the population in the occupied Arab territories. The Director of the Unit was to form, along with the assistant director-generals of the programme sectors, an Intersectoral Committee on Human Rights which would meet once per month. As a director of one of the intersectoral projects, the Director of the Unit reported directly to the Director-General.

In 1974, the Executive Board confirmed that the Secretariat should have a division to coordinate and promote activities relating to matters of human rights and peace. Yet, with the change of Director-General in 1975, and within the context of the general reorganization of the Secretariat at the end of 1975 and continuing into 1976, Director-General M’Bow first proposed that the Division of Philosophy and the Coordination Unit become together a Division of Philosophy, Human Rights and Peace. When the reorganization of the newly named Sector for Social Sciences and their Applications was confirmed in March 1976, however, the unit remained the Division of Human Rights and Peace. The Division continued to coordinate UNESCO’s work in the fields of human rights and peace (normative action, research, publications, meetings, etc.) and to cooperate with the United Nations and its agencies. More specifically, during this early period the Division worked on the following matters: population phenomena, urbanization and the effect of rapid technological change; ethics in medical research; racial discrimination; rights and freedoms in multi-ethnic states; integration of immigrants; peace research, disarmament and the study of violence; the extension of specialized studies on human rights, including the publication of human rights handbooks, and the teaching of human rights; and, the role of women in the life of society and the International Women’s Year, followed by the UN Decade for Women. Responsibility in these areas was sometimes shared across Sector divisions or shifted altogether to newly-created units. This was especially true in the 1990s when inter-sectoral activities (such as gender equality, bio-ethics, and peace research) were moved to units reporting directly to the Directorate. In the Medium-Term Plans starting in 1977, the assurance of human rights and reinforcement of peace were described as two separate but related major programmes or Main Lines of Action (MLA). Study of situations of apartheid, for example, was considered an area of activity under the major programme for human rights beginning in the late 1970s and lasting to the early 1990s. The Division also acted as secretariat for the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education from its inception.

The next significant organizational change came in 1993 when a Unit on Democracy was created within the Division. This corresponded to work on the International Congress on Education for Human Rights and Democracy and the World Conference on Human Rights, both held in 1993. The following year, the Division was renamed the Division of Human Rights, Democracy and Peace, and was divided into two new units in addition to the Unit on Democracy: the Human Rights Unit and the Peace Unit. In response to work related to the United Nations Year of Tolerance, the Peace Unit became the Peace and Tolerance Unit in 1997. At the end of the 1990s, the Division’s work was primarily focused on activities tied into the Culture of Peace programme and human rights education. The Division was renamed the Division of Peace, Human Rights, Democracy and Tolerance in 1999 and its units were rearranged: Promotion of Human Rights and Actions to Combat Discrimination [Unit]; Peace and New Dimensions of Security Unit; Tolerance and Non-Violence Unit; Women and Culture of Peace Unit.

In the 2000s, emphasis was placed on facilitating research networks of regional or national institutions for ensuring the protection of human rights. Responsibility for intersectoral activities was largely moved back to the Sectors at this time. The Division was renamed the Division of Human Rights and Struggle against Discrimination in 2002 with three sections: the Human Rights and Development Section; Gender Equality and Development Section; and, the Struggle against Discrimination and Racism Section. Within UNESCO, there was an effort to introduce the ‘UN human rights approach to programming’ to all programme activities. The Division was renamed the Division of Human Rights, Human Security and Philosophy in 2006, and then the Division of Human Rights, Philosophy and Democracy in 2010. As part of a reorganization of the Sector for Social and Human Sciences in 2011, activities relating to human rights, poverty eradication, democracy, migration, dialogue and reconciliation, philosophy and sport were brought together under the mandate of the new Division for Inclusive Societies and Social Innovation.

The Division of Human Rights and Peace and its predecessor and successor units have had the following directors: Marie-Pierre Herzog (1973-1976); Karel Vasak (1976-1980); Pierre de Senarclens (1981-1982); [Deputy] Marion O’Callaghan (1987-1989); Janusz Symonides (1989-2000); interim ADG/SHS (2000-2001); Rudolf Joó (2001-2002) ; Eduardo Cifuentes Muños (2003-2005); interim ADG/SHS (2005-2009); Angela Melo (2009-2011).

In 2012, the divisions of the Social and Human Science Sector were consolidated to form two new divisions: the Division of Ethics and Global Change (SHS/EGC) and the Division of Social Inclusion and Youth (SHS/SIY). The Division of Ethics and Global Change was responsible for programme activities related to bioethics and to the ethical and social dimensions of global environmental change, as well as to anti-doping and sport. The Division was composed of three teams: Bioethics, Global Environmental Change, and Anti-Doping and Sport. The Division acted as the Secretariat for the following bodies: the Intergovernmental Bioethics Committee (IGBC), the International Bioethics Committee (IBC), the World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST), the Conference of Parties of the International Convention against Doping in Sport and the Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport (CIGEPS).

The Division was led by Elizabeth Longworth at the beginning of 2012, and then by Assistant Director-General for the Social and Human Sciences Sector Pilar Alvarez-Laso from 2012 to 2013. Phillipe Quéau was Director from February 2013 until the Division was dissolved as part of a larger reorganization of the Social and Human Sciences Sector in 2014.

The Programme and Budget for 1984-1985 announced the creation of the Division of Economic and Social Sciences (SHS/SES). The new division inherited many of the responsibilities of the former Division of International Development of Social Sciences. For its first two years, it also existed concurrently with the Division for Socio-Economic Analysis (SHS/SEA). While SHS/SES was responsible for training, support and cooperation at the international, regional, sub-regional, and national level, as well as for participating in several interdisciplinary activities, SHS/SEA was to reinforce member states’ capacity for the planning and evaluation of development. The Division for Socio-Economic Analysis was dissolved in 1985 and some of its activities were transferred to the new Bureau of Studies, Action and Coordination for Development (DEV).

The following biennium responsibility for the interdisciplinary activity of analysis of the international dimensions of development was transferred to SHS/SES. This responsibility was later shifted to the new Division of Development Studies (SHS/SDV) when it was created in 1989, after the dissolution of DEV. In 1990, SHS/SES itself was dissolved as part of a larger reorganization of the Secretariat. At this time, the Unit for the Institutional Development of the Social and Human Sciences (SHS/IST) was created within the Office of the Assistant Director-General. SHS/IST inherited some of SHS/SES’s activities.

The Division was led by Ruben Santos Cuyugan, 1985-1987, and by Abdellatif Benachenhou, 1987-1990.

In the context of larger organizational change, the creation of a Division for the Study of Development was announced in 1975 in order to ensure that UNESCO would be in the position to assume responsibility for the kind of reflection on the international system demanded by the New International Economic Order movement (UNESCO, DG/Note/75/36). The Division was to undertake activities dedicated to developing a global interpretation of development. The Division was also to study the socio-cultural conditions that favour endogenous development and to continue past activities of sociological analysis of certain problems of social adaptation connected to rapid change in contemporary society. It inherited some of these duties from the former Division of Applied Social Sciences as well as the former Division for Social Science Methods and Analysis.

The Secretariat was reorganized in 1985 and the Division for the Study of Development was merged with other social science divisions to form the Division of Study and Planning of Development (DEV/EPD) in the newly created Bureau of Studies, Action and Coordination for Development. The new Division also inherited activities from the former Cooperation for Development and External Relations Sector for the maintenance of country profiles or data bases.

In 1989, the Bureau of Studies, Action and Coordination for Development was dissolved and the Division of Study and Planning of Development was transferred back to the Social and Human Sciences Sector (SHS), and renamed the Division of Development Studies (SHS/SDV). The work of the Division at this time was focused on: collaboration between intergovernmental organizations on projects such as: the effects of AIDS on development strategies; the link between the environment and development; the participation of young people in national development; development-related prospective studies; and, the impact of technological change and population movements on social and cultural development processes.

The Division was later merged in 1993 with other SHS units to form the Division of Population, Human Settlements and Development Studies (SHS/PHD). This grouping was to integrate work on equitable and human-centered development and was charged with studying the interaction between environment, population and development. In 1994, the Social and Human Sciences Sector was reorganized and some activities of SHS/PHD were inherited by a new Division of Social Science, Research and Policy (SHS/SRP).

The Division of Development Studies and its predecessors had the following heads: Nicolas Bodart, 1976-1985; Cao Tri Huynh, 1985-1988; Erwin S. Solomon, 1988-1989; Abdellatif Benachenhou, 1990-1992; and, Wolfgang Tochtermann, 1993-1994.

UNESCO created a Division of Applied Social Sciences beginning in 1952. The programme of UNESCO in the Social Sciences at this time was said to have two distinct but complementary aims: 1) to develop international organizations suited to carry out studies of social problems at an international level; and 2) to encourage the use of social science methods for practical solution of a number of these problems. UNESCO’s work on the second aim prior to 1950 was through the Tensions Project and through the campaign against racial prejudice and discrimination following the experts’ 1949 Statement on race. (UNESCO, 6 C/3, 1951). In the early 1950s, UNESCO narrowed down the scope of the Tensions Project and expanded its work considering the application of social sciences to other problems of the international community. This shift was reflected in the creation of the Division. Beyond the causes of national and international tensions, UNESCO’s work in applied social sciences was also to address: adaption of national legal and administrative systems to current developments in the international community; technical aid for economic development and the social impact of industrialization; land reform; social and cultural aspects of population problems; campaigns against discrimination of race or sex; and, evaluation of international co-operation programmes. Activities addressing social impact of technological change also considered the peaceful uses of atomic energy and the social effects of automation.

By the first biennium in the 1960s, following the programme of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, UNESCO began to focus on the balance between economic and social development. The Division of Applied Social Sciences examined the social impact of economic development. However, as development programming was integrated within the overall programme of UNESCO by the next biennium, the Division’s work plan focused again on human rights, racial discrimination and peace research, as well as some aspects of the economic and social problems of newly-independent states. Following the creation of the new Department of Application of Science to Economic Development in 1963, the Division was moved to this Department in the Science Sector in 1964. The programme focus on the Division in the Science Sector shifted to the social impact of technological change. However, there remained a Section for Applied Studies in the Department of Social Sciences at this time which continued work on human rights, race relations, economic and social problems of newly-independent countries, disarmament and peace research. In the Programme and Budget for 1967-1968, the Division of Applied Social Sciences was again structured under the Department of Social Sciences. By this time, in addition to ongoing activities, the areas of study had expanded to include the access of women to education, demography and family planning, evaluation of UNESCO’s programme using social sciences, brain drain, rural development, and the human relationship to the environment.

In the early 1970s, in addition to the ongoing activities of applied social science work, new areas of study included youth activities and drug abuse. UNESCO’s secretariat as a whole was reorganized in 1975-1976 and the Sector for Social Sciences, Humanities and Culture was dissolved and in its place a Sector for Social Sciences and their Applications and a Sector for Culture and Communication were created. The Division of Applied Social Science was dissolved in the Sector’s new structure, with its former activities being divided between the Division for the Study of Development, the Division for the International Development of Social Sciences, the Division for Human Settlements and the Socio-Cultural Environment, the Population Division, and the Division of Human Rights and Peace.

The Division of Applied Social Sciences had the following heads: Franklin E. Frazier, 1952-1953; Otto Klineberg, 1953-1955; Eugene Jacobson, 1957-1959; Herbert Moore Phillips, 1959-1962; Jan D.N. Versluys, 1963-1966; George Kavadias, 1966-1969; Ernst F. Winter, 1969-1970; Pierre Clement, 1971-1972; Nicolas Bodart, 1974-1976.

In the Proposed Programme and Budget for 1959 and 1960, UNESCO introduced measures to help Member States bring the resources of the social sciences to bear upon questions tied to economic development. This followed shortly upon the expansion of United Nations programme of technical assistance with the creation of the Special Fund in October 1958 and subsequent resolutions of the Economic and Social Council calling for study of the problem of balanced social and economic development (UNESCO, 11 C/3, 1960). In past programming, UNESCO had already started to address some of these questions as part of the international development of the social sciences (training of social scientists) and applied social sciences (social impact of technological change). In the Secretariat in 1959, an Economic and Social Questions Unit was established in the Division of Applied Social Sciences. Both the UNESCO Research Centre on Social and Economic Development in Southern Asia (formerly the Research Centre on the Social Implications of Industrialization in Southern Asia) and the Latin American Social Science Research Centre studied these questions in their respective regions.

By the following biennium, emphasis was not only placed on the social impact of technological change, but also on evaluation techniques that would allow Member States to judge the efficacy of technical assistance projects and development strategies (UNESCO, 11 C/5, 1960). This work on economic indicators was continued by the Research Centres in Southern Asia and Latin America, but in the Secretariat, work on the balance between social and economic development and work on economic analysis of development were structured separately within the Department of Social Sciences beginning in 1960. Programme specialists within the Division of the Applied Social Sciences addressed the social questions of development, but an Economic Development Analysis Unit was formed within the Division and staffed by research economists. By 1962, the Unit was moved from under the Division of Applied Social Sciences to report directly to the Director of the Department. While it briefly was called the Division of Economic Development and Analysis at the end of 1962, the unit became the Office of Economic Analysis in 1963. The United Nations Research Institute for Economic Development was also established that year. When the Sector for Social Sciences, Human Sciences and Culture was created in 1965, the Office of Economic Analysis reported directly to the Assistant Director-General. The Office’s work was to feed into ongoing programme activities in the different UNESCO fields of competence through the analysis of the activities’ potential implications on development.

The Office was dissolved in 1968 when its Director retired. At this time there were also discussions on the future programme in the Programme Commission of the 14th General Conference where Member States agreed with the Director-General’s idea to clarify and consolidate programmes in the Sector of Social Sciences, Human Sciences and Culture. The Programme and Budget for 1969-1970 consequently incorporated economic analysis activities under the heading of the application of social sciences to development. Staff from the Office was absorbed into the Division for the Application of Social Sciences or transferred based on their specialty to other units throughout the Secretariat, such as the Division of Human Resources Analysis in the Office of Statistics, the Department of Planning and Financing of Education, and sections for Cultural Policy or Science Policy.

The activities were centralized again in the Draft Programme and Budget for 1971-1972 under the heading of the Application of Social Sciences to Development. In the Introduction, the Director-General expressed his idea that the social sciences at UNESCO should radiate: “to associate themselves with, or even to become part of, a whole range of activities, both intellectual and operational that are being carried out in other fields” (UNESCO. General Conference, 16th Session, 1970). The Social Sciences Methods and Analysis Unit was thus created in 1971 and staff from the Division Human Resources Analysis in the Office of Statistics were transferred to the Unit. It was expanded to the Division for Social Science Methods and Analysis in 1973 In the Draft Programme and Budget for 1973-1974, the aim of the Division’s work was said to be the “strengthening of methods to make research a more effective instrument of planning (UNESCO, General Conference, 17th Session, 1972). The work for that biennium was focused on three activities: adopting an educational simulation model for broader use in out-of-school projects; organizing work on programme evaluation in co-operation with other sectors; and, extending work on socio-economic indicators of development, especially as related to the Second United Nations Development Decade (1971-1980).

As part of a larger reorganization of the Secretariat which created the Sector for Social Sciences and their Applications in 1976, the name of the Division was changed to the Division for Socio-Economic Analysis. At this time, training of national officers in the use of socio-economic indicators and dynamic systems analysis in national planning was added to the activities undertaken by the Division. These objectives and activities remained steady until the early 1980s.

A transition was signaled in the Draft Programme and Budget for 1984-1985. At this time, a Division of Economic and Social Sciences (SHS/SES) was created and existed concurrently with the Division for Socio-Economic Analysis (SHS/SEA). While SHS/SES was responsible for training, support and cooperation at the international, regional, subregional, and national level, as well as for participating in several interdisciplinary activities, SHS/SEA was to reinforce Member States’ capacity for the planning and evaluation of development. The Division for Socio-Economic Analysis was dissolved in 1985. Some of its activities were inherited by the Division of Study and Planning of Development in the Bureau of Studies, Action and Coordination for Development when it was created in 1985.

The Office of Economic Analysis was led by Herbert M. Phillips from 1962 to 1968. The Division for Socio-Economic Analysis and its immediate predecessors was led by Erwin S. Solomon from 1971-1985.

The Draft Budget for 1975-1976 (18 C/5) introduced UNESCO’s role in examining the definition of quality of life, or the “real inner landscapes of man, those conditions of his life (socio-cultural, ideological, spiritual) within which he feels that his life is, or is not, worth living” (UNESCO, 18 C/5, para. 3367). The Programme on ‘Man and his Environment’ was to be a counter-part to environmental programmes introduced to address the “outer landscapes.” The aim in the medium-term would be to address the environment in its widest sense at UNESCO as part of inter-sectoral programme. However, since activities on the physical environment were well developed in the Natural Sciences Sector, the idea in 1975 was to begin with an inter-departmental programme in the Sector for Social Sciences, Humanities and Culture. Thus a small coordinating unit, Man in his environment - human settlements, was created within the new Division of Human Rights and Peace. The unit was to coordinate joint activities of the Departments of Social Sciences, Cultural Activities and Cultural Heritage. It was also responsible for: liaising with other organizations interested in the same ends; ensuring the participation of UNESCO in the preparation of the 1976 United Nations Conference-Exposition on Human Settlements; encouraging the activities of Member States to carry out projects of their own, individually or jointly, consonant with the objectives of the programme; and providing the secretariat for the inter-sectoral committee addressing the interconnections between the programme and the Man and the Biosphere programme, as well as other ecological activities of the Natural Sciences Sector, and relevant activities in education and communication.

From 1975 to 1976, the Secretariat as a whole was reorganized, and the Sector for Social Sciences, Humanities and Culture was dissolved and in its place a Sector for Social Sciences and their Applications and a Sector for Culture and Communication were created. The coordinating unit became the Division for Human Settlements and the Socio-Cultural Environment (SS/ENV). The original idea of a coordinating role remained with regard to collaboration with the physical environment programmes. However, the cultural aspect of the Man and his Environment programme shifted away from collaboration with tangible heritage programming and towards activities for raising public awareness of the problems of the rural and urban world, as well as to training activities for engineers, urban planners, and architects. Beyond coordination within UNESCO, the Division worked with UNEP, the International Union of Architects, as well as the UN body that became UN-Habitat in 1977. The Medium-Term Plan for 1977-1982 confirmed ‘Man and his Environment’ as one of ten world problems which UNESCO would seek to address through its work.

The Second Medium-Term Plan, approved at the 4th Extraordinary Session of the General Conference in 1982, identified “The Human Environment and Terrestrial and Marine Resources” as a Major Programme for UNESCO for 1984-1989. This Major Programme emphasized the inter-sectoral approach in the environmental programming. There were some changes to the structure of the Organization during this time, beginning in 1984 with the sector’s name change to the Sector of Social and Human Sciences. The Division for Human Settlements and the Socio-Cultural Environment (SHS/ENV) was dissolved in 1985. Some of its former activities were transferred at this time to the Division of Study and Planning of Development (DEV/EPD) in the newly created Bureau of Studies, Action and Coordination for Development. The 1986-1987 Programme and Budget moved other responsibilities under the Major Programme to the Division of Economic and Social Sciences. In the 1988-1989 Programme and Budget, responsibility was reassigned to the newly created Division of Population and Human Settlements (SHS/POP). The Third Medium-Term Plan, 1990-1995, addressed environmental programming and the “inner landscapes” in multiple Major Programmes. Following a restructuring of the Secretariat in 1990, responsibilities for the activities of the former Major Programme were redistributed between SHS/POP, a new Division for Education for Quality of Life (ED/QAL) and the Bureau for Co-ordination of Environment Programmes (SC/ENV). Socio-cultural environmental activities were also woven into activities for the World Decade for Cultural Development.

A new Division for Population, Human Settlements and Development Studies (SHS/PHD) was created in 1993 and existed until 1994 when the Social and Human Sciences Sector as a whole was reorganized. PHD’s activities were then partly inherited by the Human Habitat Unit (SHS/SRP/HH) in the new Division of Social Science, Research and Policy. That year a transdisciplinary project on “environmental and population education and information for development” was also launched. In the Approved Budget and Programme for 1996 and 1997, the transdisciplinary project existed as a separate unit (EPD) reporting directly to the Office of the Director-General. The following biennium the Project was renamed Educating for a Sustainable Future (environment, population, development). The Human Habitat Unit was also renamed the Cities and Human Habitat Unit in 1998. In the Approved Programme and Budget for 2000-2001, EPD was moved to the Education Sector and became the Division for Educating for a Sustainable Future (ED/EPD). However, this move was soon revised in July 2000 when the Secretariat as a whole was restructured. Social science activities on the human environment from this point have fallen under the umbrella of sustainable development programming and capacity-building for social science research in general.

Programme Specialist Georges Fradier was head of the Man in his environment - human settlements coordinating unit from 1975 to 1976. Salvino Busuttil was appointed Director of the Division for Human Settlements and the Socio-Cultural Environment in 1977 and served in this capacity until the Division was dissolved in 1986. As acting Director of the Population Division, Raul Urzua continued as Director of the new Division of Population and Human Settlements when the two units merged in 1988 and served as Director of the Division and from 1989 as Coordinator of Population Programmes until 1993. Wolfgang Tochtermann was Director of the Division for Population, Human Settlements and Development Studies from 1993 until it was dissolved in 1994.

A Mass Communication Service was established with the creation of UNESCO in 1945. In 1947, the service was referred to as Mass Media before becoming definitively the Department of Mass Communication in 1950. First attached to the Office of the Director General, it passed under the supervision of the Assistant Director General for Communication in 1967. In 1974, it merged with the Office of Free Flow of Information and International Exchanges to form the Department of Free Flow of Information and Development of Communication.
The function of Mass Communication ensues from the mission of UNESCO for the development of knowledge and mutual understanding between peoples. In order to accomplish this, the unit both produces and supports the production of content through different types of popular media. Since its creation, the department has dealt with three main fields: press, film and radio, together with other media such as sound recordings and television. The press does not merely encompass the daily or weekly press; it comprises specialized reviews and serial literature addressed to special groups. Book publication is also concerned. Films of all genres are included in the programme, including educational and scientific films, documentary films, films designed for specialists and for non-commercial viewing, in addition to feature films, with all their social, cultural, and educational implications. Radio comprises such diverse questions as news, propaganda, public relations, advertising, entertainment, education, science, art, drama. The Mass Communication unit aims to develop the circulation of information around the world on topics such as peace, human progress, education, science and culture. It seeks to improve the means and techniques of communication and to remove obstacles to the free flow of information. From 1947 to 1951, the Mass Communication department realised an international survey on the state of mass communications in many member states. On these topics, UNESCO collaborates with national or international organizations and organizes international conferences.