The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization was created in 1945, as one of specialized UN agencies.

The UNESCO Almaty Office (established in 1994) works in four countries, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It works through and in cooperation with the National Commissions for UNESCO in each country and partner networks in its fields of competence.

UNESCO’s mission is to contribute to peace and human development through Education, the Sciences, Culture and Communication.

Throughout its activities and projects, UNESCO performs the following range of functions:

• laboratory of ideas: UNESCO plays a key role in anticipating and defining the most important emerging problems in its spheres of competence, identifying appropriate strategies and policies to deal with them.
• standard setter: UNESCO serves as a forum for articulating the ethical, normative and intellectual issues of our time, working towards universal agreements on these issues.
• clearinghouse: UNESCO has a role in gathering, transferring, disseminating and sharing available information, knowledge and best practices in its fields of competence, identifying innovative solutions and testing them though pilot projects.
• capacity-builder in Member States: UNESCO organizes international cooperation to serve its stakeholders in building human and institutional capacities.
• catalyst for international cooperation: UNESCO as a technical multidisciplinary agency plays a catalytic role for cooperation.