UNESCO's role in emergency situations: What difference can soft power make in times of crisis?

• Author: Bokova, Irina
• Position: Essay

In conflicts and disasters, the continuity of the educational system and respect for heritage should be a top priority. This will accelerate recovery and sustain cohesion and resilience. The soft power of education, culture, the sciences, communication, and information is a lifeline in times of trial. These are what determine the capacity to resist, to anticipate, and to adapt to a changing or dangerous environment, when institutions and infrastructures are jeopardized or weakened.

In the wake of World War II, the United Nations Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) was created on a clear yet audacious principle: since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed. "A peace based exclusively upon the political and economic arrangements of governments would not be a peace which could secure the unanimous, lasting and sincere support of the peoples of the world, and that the peace must therefore be founded, if it is not to fail, upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind." (1)

Such a vision may seem lofty and somehow disconnected from the emergencies and violence of the world today, marked by violent extremism and destruction, among other challenges. How can a wider diffusion of culture and quality education aimed toward a better understanding of each other's way be an adequate and effective response to the violence of modern conflicts? To answer this question, we need to go back to the founding moments of the United Nations, and the diagnosis that was made in a context of the World War, including the genocide of 6 million Jews. The idea of creating UNESCO emerged in 1942, when the United Kingdom organized regular Conferences of Allied Ministers of Education. At that time, the war was far from won. Nonetheless, despite everything, they decided to promote cooperation in education as a force for a more lasting peace, and in many respects this is precisely the audacity we need today.

UNESCO is known for its long-term work to protect and pass on world heritage to future generations. It is less known for its action to strengthen societies in times of emergencies. This needs to change. The soft power of education, culture, the sciences, communication, and information is a lifeline in times of trial. These are what determine the capacity to resist, to anticipate, and to adapt to a changing or dangerous environment, when institutions and infrastructures are jeopardized or weakened, in conflict or disaster situations. This is why UNESCO is present in 20 of the 52 countries and territories worldwide considered as crisis affected, and carries direct activities in all six Level 3 emergencies declared by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs since 2012 (Iraq, the Philippines, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and the Central African Republic). The organization is adapting its unique mandate to new challenges by providing complex solutions to increasingly multifaceted and complex problems.

When an earthquake strikes, as in Haiti in 2012 or in Nepal in 2016, it is absurd to wait for the return of stability and normality to restore education facilities and heritage. No society can wait to bring its children back to school--on the contrary, the continuity of the educational system and respect for heritage should be a top priority, to accelerate recovery and sustain cohesion and resilience.

The same is true for peacebuilding. It is obvious that education and heritage have become a direct target at the frontline of many modern conflicts. In Iraq, Syria, Libya, or Yemen we see schools and universities destroyed, cultural heritage targeted, journalists silenced, books burnt, and scientific...