UNESCO

American  

[yoo-nes-koh] / yuˈnɛs 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

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

Architecture student Doha Abdelaziz Mohamed is part of the crew bringing the mosque back to life with funding from the British Council and support from UNESCO.

From Barron's • Feb. 1, 2026

At that point, he’ll send the petition to the Korean government’s Ministry of Culture to then resubmit to UNESCO.

From Salon • Oct. 26, 2025

The list identifies what UNESCO, the United Nations cultural organization, calls “fragile” nonphysical elements that play a crucial role in “maintaining cultural diversity in the face of growing globalization.”

From New York Times • Jan. 20, 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