Organizational structure (main bodies): General Conference, Executive Board, Secretariat, national commissions in member countries.
The General Conference is composed of representatives of the Member States of the Organization. It meets every two years in the presence of Member States, Associate Members, non-member States with observer status, as well as intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. Each Member State has the right to vote with equal weight (1 State = 1 vote), regardless of its geographical area and the amount of its contribution to the UNESCO budget. The General Conference establishes the basic policies and lines of action of the Organization. Its task is to define the programs and decide on the budget of UNESCO, as well as to elect the members of the Executive Board and to appoint the Director-General of UNESCO every four years.
The Executive Board is the executive organ of UNESCO. It prepares the materials for the work of the General Conference and supervises the proper implementation of its decisions. The functions and competences of the Executive Board are primarily established by the Constitution of UNESCO, and the rules or guidelines for the work of the Board are further determined by the General Conference. Every two years, the General Conference assigns specific tasks to the Executive Board. Other functions of the Executive Board result from agreements concluded between UNESCO and the United Nations, the specialized agencies of the United Nations or other intergovernmental organizations. The Executive Board consists of 58 members elected by the General Conference. The selection of representatives to the Executive Board is based on a geographical and cultural key, the aim of which is to ensure the greatest possible diversity in its composition.
The Secretariat is the executive body of UNESCO. It consists of the office of the Director-General and the staff appointed by him. Currently, more than 700 staff members work in 53 UNESCO offices around the world.
UNESCO is the only international organization in the world that is based on a network of national commissions and has an impact on civil society, a wide professional and lay public - the scientific, intellectual, artistic and cultural community. National Commissions for UNESCO were established with the aim of involving national governmental and non-governmental institutions and organizations in UNESCO's activities and achieving UNESCO's goals at the national, subregional, interregional and regional levels in the fields of education and training, culture and science. National Commissions for UNESCO have an advisory function to representatives of UNESCO Member States at meetings of the UNESCO General Conference and the UNESCO Executive Board and act as advisory bodies to governments and parliaments of UNESCO Member States.
