Athelstan Spilhaus: First U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO

The new highlight on the website of Americans for UNESCO begins a series on the pioneers in the creation of the organization and on the establishment of linkages between the United States and UNESCO.

The first person to be profiled is Athelstan Spilhaus, a distinguished scientist, inventor, educator, and popularizer of science who was the first U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO and who served on its Executive Board. Late in his life, when he accurately described himself as a "retired genius", he established a world class collection of more than 3,000 mechanical toys.

Read more about this fascinating man!

UNESCO BPI Memos

The Bureau of Public Information of UNESCO publishes a series of memos, called Memobpi. Here are links to a few of them:

Peacebuilding

A commitment to peace implies a way of resolving conflicts, not according to the force of might, but by respecting internationally accepted norms, the rule of law and negotiation, with the aim of achieving a fullness of life for each and every one. By its Constitution, UNESCO is called upon to “build the defenses of peace in the minds of men.”

Distance learning

Open and distance learning is one of the most rapidly growing fields of education. It is fast becoming an accepted and indispensable part of the mainstream of educational systems in both developed and developing countries, with particular emphasis for the latter.

Open content: Towards equal learning opportunities?

The number of open collaborative technologies has exploded over the last years. What impact have they had on access to and quality of education worldwide? Can developing countries afford these expensive technologies and thus avoid remaining on the sidelines of the digital revolution? What about copyright issues? What role for UNESCO?

UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs programme: Towards New Strategic Orientations and New Tools.

UNITWIN which is the abbreviation for university twinning and networking, was launched in 1991, as an international plan of action aimed at strengthening training and research through inter-university co-operation, with particular emphasis on support to higher education in developing countries, more importantly, in the least developed ones.