Today (16 November 2025) marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in London.

Born directly from the lessons of the Second World War, UNESCO was created to build peace through international cooperation in education, science, culture, and communication. Meeting at the Institute of Civil Engineers in Westminster in November 1945, representatives of 44 nations agreed that lasting peace must be built not only through political and military means, but through understanding and collaboration among peoples. The UK ratified UNESCO’s Constitution in February 1946, and the Organisation came into force later that year.

The UK is home to a diverse portfolio of UNESCO designations, places and networks that embody UNESCO’s global mission at a local level. There are over 60 UNESCO-designated sites and cities, and Northumberland is proud to be home to one of them, boasting the longest stretch of Hadrian’s Wall. Stretching across Northumberland’s staggering rural landscapes, this ancient Roman frontier features a variety of ruins like forts, milecastles, and bathhouses. Hadrian’s Wall Country provides endless chances to create lasting memories and meaningful experiences, the vastness of this World Heritage Site—shaped by the changing seasons, the surrounding landscape, and the people who live, work, and explore here—makes it a constantly shifting scene. It’s a place where history is within everyone’s reach, where both adults and children come to learn, and where the presence of the Romans is still felt more than 1,600 years after their departure.

Anna Nsubuga, UK Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, said:

"As we mark 80 years of UNESCO, we are also honouring the extraordinary work being led today and over the last 80 years by the UK’s UNESCO sites, programmes, experts and practitioners. Their contributions, from safeguarding culture, nature and heritage to advancing science and promoting education, creativity and sustainability, are at the heart of the UK’s engagement with UNESCO.

By sharing ideas, knowledge and innovation with partners across the globe, these networks not only showcase the UK’s strengths, but also build the trust, cooperation and long-term partnerships that UNESCO was created to inspire."

James Bridge, Chief Executive and Secretary-General of the UK National Commission for UNESCO (UKNC), said:

"UNESCO was founded in London amid the ruins of war, as nations came together to build peace through knowledge and understanding. Eighty years later, that vision is as important and inspiring as ever. The UK's UNESCO network, from World Heritage Sites to Biospheres, Creative Cities, and UNESCO Chairs, shows how international cooperation can begin in local places, and how peace can be built not only between governments, but between individuals, communities and cultures.”

Professor Anne Anderson, Chair of the UK National Commission for UNESCO, said:

"In its 80th anniversary year, UNESCO continues to demonstrate its value locally, nationally and globally. It inspires action in communities across the 60+ UNESCO sites in the UK; it encourages innovations like the UNESCO Scotland Trail; and showcases academic excellence in our UK universities via UNESCO Chairs in issues like blue ocean governance, artificial Intelligence, water science, and multi-hazard risk reduction.

The UK continues to play its role at the heart of multilateralism - creating global networks, opportunities, understanding and cooperation.”

UNESCO designations serve as one of the UK’s most effective and values-driven instruments of international influence – rooted in local places, powered by global exchange, and built on mutual respect. They illustrate that in a time of complex global competition, the UK’s enduring strength lies not only in what it can show the world, but in the partnerships it builds with it.