Partnerships are one of the instruments used by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to achieve its objectives.
UNESCO thereby participates in the implementation of activities carried out by Member States or Associate Members, regions, organizations and institutions within the scope of UNESCO’s activities. This type of partnership is designed to strengthen relations between UNESCO and its Member States and to increase the effectiveness of these relations through mutual cooperation.
Under this programme, priority is given to projects from least developed countries (LDCs), developing countries and countries in transition. Requests from Member States will be submitted to the Director-General through their National Commissions.
The projects or operational programmes submitted by Member States under the Partnership Programme must be relevant to the activities of the Organization, in particular its major programmes, cross-cutting projects, activities relating to Africa, least developed countries, youth and women, or the activities of UNESCO National Commissions. The selection of each partnership programme will be made by the Organization taking into account the priorities set by the Organization’s departments and bodies within the scope of UNESCO’s regular budget.
How the organization participates
– Providing consulting and expert services by specialists and consultants, excluding administrative and personnel costs
– Granting scholarships and educational grants
– Publications, compiling quarterly journals and collecting and registering documents
– Providing necessary equipment (except vehicles)
– Helping to organize conferences, meetings, seminars and training courses by providing services in the field of written and oral translation, covering the travel expenses of participants, providing consulting services and other required services at the discretion of the interested parties (other than UNESCO staff)
– Financial assistance
Approval of requests
In deciding on the requests submitted, the Director-General will take into account:
– the total amount set by the General Conference for the Partnership Programme
– the assessment of the request submitted by the relevant department or departments of the Organization
– the recommendation of the Inter-Sectoral Committee, chaired by the Under-Director-General for Partnerships and External Relations, which is also responsible for examining requests submitted under the Partnership Programme. These requests must be in full compliance with the priorities, criteria and procedures established for the Partnership Programme.
– the impact of such participation in helping Member States achieve their objectives, which must be within the scope of UNESCO’s activities and within the framework of the main priorities of the Organization’s Medium-Term Strategy Document (C/4) and the Programme and Budget Document (C/5). Both of these documents have been approved by the General Conference and any participation must be made within their framework.
– the need for equitable distribution of financial resources, giving priority to the needs of developing countries, countries in transition, African countries, least developed countries, women and youth. It is essential that the above-mentioned matters be taken into account in the development of all the organization’s programs.
– The necessity of ensuring that the budget allocation determined for each of the approved projects must be made no later than thirty days before the start of the project’s implementation and in accordance with the conditions set forth.
Implementation
– The Partnership Programme will be implemented during the biennial programme period of the Organization. The implementation of each project is the responsibility of the Member State or any other applicant for a project. The request submitted to the Director-General must include the exact start and end dates of the project, a detailed breakdown of costs and a description of how the project will be financed (indicating the amounts expected or promised from Member States or private entities).
– The achievements of the Partnership Programme will be widely disseminated, with the hope that they will be useful in the formulation and implementation of future programmes and activities of the Organization. During the biennial period of operation of the Organization, the impact and results of the Partnership Programme in Member States and its consistency with UNESCO’s objectives and priorities will be reviewed. For this purpose, the Secretariat will use evaluation reports prepared and submitted by Member States after the completion of each project. An evaluation may also be carried out during the implementation of the project.
– Using the UNESCO logo and name for activities approved within the framework of the Partnership Program and in accordance with the guidelines of the Organization’s institutions is effective in attracting wider participation for the implementation of projects at various national, subregional, regional or interregional levels and adds to the importance of the project.