UNESCO is preserving Somalia’s Radio Mogadishu archive, safeguarding decades of the nation’s history, music, and voices for future generations through digital preservation.

UNESCO is expanding scientific collaboration through global partnerships, remote laboratory access, STEM training, and crisis support to make research more inclusive and impactful worldwide.

UNESCO’s Virtual Science Museum lets visitors explore global science through interactive exhibitions, inspiring stories, and educational resources that connect cultures, traditions, and innovation.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee meets annually to decide which cultural and natural sites deserve World Heritage status and to monitor the conservation of existing sites. At its 48th session in Busan, Republic of Korea, the Committee inscribed 25 new sites on the World Heritage List, including Wadi Wurayah (pictured), recognised for its ecological distinctiveness and biodiversity. The Committee adopted measures to strengthen the protection of heritage threatened by conflict and climate change, and reinforced efforts to make the List more representative, reaffirming a shared global commitment to safeguarding humanity’s cultural and natural heritage for future generations.

The world’s scientists are mobilizing against climate disruption, inequality and emerging technologies—but the benefits are far from evenly shared. UNESCO data spanning 397 initiatives in 79 countries reveals that Africa hosts fewer than 10% of projects despite representing 17.5% of the global population. Funding has surged, yet weak coordination, limited infrastructure and gaps between researchers and policymakers still block progress. With open-science commitments often lacking action plans or oversight, the next breakthrough may depend less on discovering new knowledge than on ensuring every nation can access, shape and use it.

In Peru's Oxapampa–Asháninka–Yánesha Biosphere Reserve, Indigenous and rural women are protecting native stingless bees while strengthening biodiversity, food security, and local livelihoods. Through UNESCO and Guerlain's Women for Bees project, participants receive training and resources to practice sustainable meliponiculture, combining traditional knowledge with modern techniques. The initiative empowers women with new skills, income opportunities, and leadership roles while helping conserve vital pollinators threatened by habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change. 

Stories endure through the people who carry them forward. In AlUla, Rawis preserve living memory through oral storytelling, connecting generations and keeping history alive.

UNESCO’s biosphere reserves reverse the traditional conservation model by treating local communities as partners rather than obstacles. With more than 700 reserves in 142 countries, covering 7.5 million square kilometers, these “living laboratories” integrate biodiversity protection, scientific research, and sustainable livelihoods. Last week, 250 experts from 34 countries gathered in Paraguay for the Man and the Biosphere Programme’s International Coordinating Council. The host, Paraguay’s Itaipu Biosphere Reserve, protects the country’s largest remaining Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest corridor while supporting 250,000 residents. Through restoration efforts, nearly 4 million trees have been planted. The meeting also welcomed 14 new reserves, including the first in Montenegro and Timor-Leste.

UNESCO is urging governments to prioritize early childhood education, warning that millions of children risk falling behind before they even begin primary school. Experts say the years from birth to age five are critical for brain development, learning, and long-term well-being, yet early education remains underfunded and overlooked in many countries. With less than five years left to meet global education goals for 2030, UNESCO says urgent investment in teachers, access, and quality pre-primary education is needed to prevent deepening inequality and learning gaps worldwide.

A silent revolution has filled lecture halls worldwide—but not everyone has a seat at the table. Global higher education enrolment has more than doubled in two decades, rising from about 100 million students in 2000 to 269 million in 2024, reflecting surging demand and expanding access. Women now outnumber men in higher education but lag behind at doctoral level, and international student mobility has tripled, though it still involves only a small share of learners. Yet this rapid growth masks deep inequalities: participation ranges from around 80% in Western Europe and North America to just 9% in sub-Saharan Africa. Completion rates fall behind enrolment gains, and many countries lack free public education. A new report from UNESCO urges stronger investment and inclusive policies.

The Village Vanguard is the oldest jazz club in New York City, founded by Max Gordon in 1935. The club worked as a platform to present all kinds of cultural and political events and became primarily a jazz music venue in 1957. Since then, the club has hosted many renowned jazz musicians from around the world, including Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and Thelonious Monk. UN News and UN Video interviews the current owner of the club, Deborah Gordon and three-time Grammy Award-winning American jazz pianist Sullivan Joseph Fortner for the International Jazz Day on 30 April. The Day was proclaimed by UNESCO in 2011 to celebrate the power of jazz as a force for peace, dialogue and mutual understanding.

In “Nab’d AlUla,” women artisans in AlUla pass on heritage through Sadu weaving and stone engraving, blending tradition and innovation while empowering future generations to preserve the region’s cultural legacy.

Across more than 2,260 UNESCO-designated sites worldwide, communities and ecosystems remain deeply interconnected, offering powerful lessons for protecting biodiversity, sustaining livelihoods, and confronting climate change.

The number of children and young people out of school has risen for the seventh consecutive year, up to 273 million, driven by population growth, crises, and shrinking budgets. This is the main finding of UNESCO’s 2026 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, the world’s reference on the state of education. One in six children of school age worldwide are excluded from education, and only two in three students complete secondary school. Yet, many countries are making significant progress.

Across Africa, women innovators are reshaping the future of technology, not only by building businesses, but by designing solutions to some of the continent’s most pressing challenges - from water management to digital rights. With support from UNESCO’s African Women in Tech and AI initiative, they are turning ideas into impact, breaking barriers and shaping a more inclusive digital future. As International Women’s Day highlights the importance of rights, justice and action, stories like these remind us that equality in innovation must be sustained year-round.