On 18 February 2009, the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, and the Rector of the University of Peace, Mr John J. Maresca, met at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris to discuss ways of strengthening cooperation between the two organizations.
Headquartered in Costa Rica, the University for Peace (UPEACE) was established in December 1980 as a Treaty Organization by the United Nations General Assembly. Its mission is: “to provide humanity with an international institution of higher education for peace with the aim of promoting among all human beings the spirit of understanding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence, to stimulate cooperation among peoples and to help lessen obstacles and threats to world peace and progress, in keeping with the noble aspirations proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations.”
The Director-General indicated that UNESCO would rapidly examine practical opportunities for collaboration based on these common competencies and interests.