NBCC’s global status has reached a new level through its designation as an official non-governmental organization (NGO) partner with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

In the confirmation letter to NBCC President and CEO Dr. Tom Clawson, UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura said, “UNESCO looks forward to a fruitful working partnership in our converging endeavours in the service of international cooperation and development.”

NBCC Board Chair Dr. Dawna Jackson-Sanford welcomed the decision as a logical next step in an ongoing process.

“NBCC's partnership with UNESCO as an NGO is the culmination of a good deal of work and cooperation between the two organizations,” she said. “The Board of Directors and the staff of NBCC look forward to a productive partnership and the ability to work with UNESCO in achieving its missions and goals.”

The designation had the strong backing of UNESCO’s Education Sector, which noted in the nominaton fact sheet that “NBCC International collaborates with the Education Sector, which recognizes the importance of its partnership in the context of the sector’s new priority ‘from access to success.’ The Education Sector, therefore, has strongly endorsed its application.”

The new NBCC status, listed formally as “NGO in operational relations with UNESCO,” means that NBCC International is eligible to participate as an observer at a wide array of UNESCO meetings and conferences and may be asked by the Director-General to take on specific tasks deemed appropriate for NBCC’s capabilities.

The formal vote on NBCC’s status came at an April 13 meeting in Paris of UNESCO’s Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations in conjunction with a regular meeting of the agency’s Executive Board.

While attending that meeting, NBCC International Executive Vice President Ted Iliff learned that UNESCO is eager to enter a new phase of deeper relationships with NGOs.

“There was a lot of comment about how UNESCO is eager to revive or reinvigorate its work with NGOs,” Iliff said. “Some officials told me that UNESCO needs to be more proactive in its dealings with its partners. This will be a major theme of the General Conference later this year, and it is clear UNESCO is looking to NGOs for more involvement in fulfillment of its mission and goals.”

A key project that already involves UNESCO-NBCC cooperation is the Guidance, Counselling and Youth Development Centre for Africa in Lilongwe, Malawi. In a separate Paris meeting at UNESCO’s Basic Education and Literacy Division, Director Ann Therese Ndong Jatta told Iliff that her office is eager to boost the activities and awareness of the Centre, which officially opened in January.

The Centre was created by a committee of Ministers of Education from more than 30 southern African nations and receives financial backing from NBCC. An early UNESCO-NBCC project will be to establish a set of goals for the Centre, including a marketing and promotion strategy.