UNESCO

American  

[yoo-nes-koh] / juˈnɛs koʊ /

noun

1. an agency of the United Nations charged with instituting and administering programs for cooperative, coordinated action by member states in education, science, and the arts.

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UNESCO British  

/ juːˈnɛskəʊ /

acronym

1. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization: an agency of the United Nations that sponsors programmes to promote education, communication, the arts, etc

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Etymology

Origin of UNESCO

U(nited) N(ations) E(ducational) , S(cientific, and) C(ultural) O(rganization)

Example Sentences

On Dec. 5, 2023, UNESCO, the United Nation’s agency aimed at safeguarding social and cultural foundations, recognized the musical genre as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026

UNESCO, which participated at senior level in the May 2025 Washington D.C. meeting, is expected to host a follow-up session in Paris on March 3rd, 2026, at Assistant Director-General level.

From Science Daily • Feb. 14, 2026

According to UNESCO, by the end of 2024, 40 percent of schools worldwide have banned smartphone use to varying degrees, up from 30 percent a year earlier.

From Barron's • Dec. 2, 2025

She said mobile phones could help overcome the illiteracy that still affects 773 million people worldwide according to UNESCO.

From Seattle Times • May 18, 2024

Tensions that cause wars: common statement and individual papers by a group of social scientists brought together by UNESCO.

From U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1977 July - December by Library of Congress. Copyright Office