12-10-2009 | The Faroes become associated member of UNESCO

The Faroe Islands have today been admitted  as  associated member to UNESCO.

During proceedings of UNESCO’s  General Conference in Paris this morning, the chairman announced that there had been no objections and that the General Conference unanimously accepted Faroese associated membership.

The admission of the Faroes into UNESCO brings the number of countries that are members of  UNESCO to 200, thus making it the largest UN specialised agency today   (193 full members and 7 associate members).

In his speech, Jørgen Niclasen, Minister of Foreign Affairs, thanked the General Conference for the confidence and  trust shown by UNESCO  in accepting the Faroe Islands. Mr Niclasen underlined the value for the Faroe Islands of direct participation in the work of UNESCO:  “Associated membership is an important means to strengthen the capacity of the Faroes – both in public administration, in the research community, international educational programmes and networks – to contribute both to the common goals of humanity and to raise our own standards in the areas of culture, education and science”  

While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for the formal membership of such international organisations, most matters pertaining to  UNESCO membership are within the purview of the Ministry of Education, Research and Culture.