UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization

Vienna Conference on Journalist Safety 2022

On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists, the Austrian Foreign Ministry, together with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, hosted the Vienna Conference on the Safety of Journalists. The conference, entitled "Safety of Journalists: Protecting media to protect democracy" was attended by more than 400 representatives of governments, international organizations, media and civil society.

November 6, 2022

Weekly Briefing: Austria Celebrates Its National Day

The Find out more about this week's developments. Austria celebrated its most important national holiday. Diplomacy and some international organizations celebrate their anniversaries. Read about the latest developments in diplomacy in Vienna and Austria.

October 27, 2022

UNESCO Celebrates "50 years of World Heritage - 30 Years of Ratification by the Republic of Austria".

At the invitation of the Austrian Commission for UNESCO, the celebrations of this year's double World Heritage anniversary took place. The motto of the event was "50 years of World Heritage - 30 years of ratification by the Republic of Austria" and took place in the historic Kursaal of the town of Baden near Vienna, itself part of the transnational World Heritage site "Great Spa Towns of Europe".

October 24, 2022

Vienna Conference on Journalist Safety in November

The Vienna Conference on Journalist Safety will be held on November 3 and 4. The event will be held under the title "Safety of Journalists: Protecting media to protect democracy", in cooperation between the Austrian Foreign Ministry, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at Palais Niederösterreich and online.

September 29, 2022

"Milky Way in the Salzkammergut" Photo Wins Sony World Photography Award 2022

An amateur photographer from Vienna won the Sony World Photography Award 2022 for Austria. Read more about the talented young photographer and see her incredible photo of the Milky Way in the Salzkammergut.

February 24, 2022

#WeRemember: Heads of Austrian, German, and Israeli Parliaments Meet Ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day

German Bundestag President Bärbel Bas and Israeli Knesset President Mickey Levy recently met with Austrian National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka in Berlin to discuss the fight against anti-Semitism and the #WeRemember campaign. Read about their meeting and this important campaign ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

January 26, 2022

UNESCO: Austria Elected to the Executive Board for the Fourth Time since 1948

Austria was elected to the Executive Board of UNESCO for the fourth time since it joined the organization in 1948. Read about Austria's election and what it plans to focus on during its term from 2021-2025.

November 23, 2021

Danube Limes to Become a World Heritage Site

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has decided to include a section of the Danube Limes located in present-day Austria, Bavaria and Slovakia in the list of World Heritage Sites under the name Frontiers of the Roman Empire - Danube Limes (Western Segment).

August 1, 2021 · Updated: August 2, 2021; 09:38

Peace in Hard Times: Global Peace Photo Awards Ceremony

After canceling the event last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Global Peace Photo Awards Ceremony 2020 was recently held in Baden. The Global Peace Photo Awards Ceremony 2021 will be held later this year. These awards honor the images that best capture the theme of peace each year. Read about the ceremony and who won the awards for 2020.

July 30, 2021

Vienna International School Leads the Way for Sustainable Development

Only recently, the Vienna International School (VIS) has joined a campaign, which focuses on limiting waste production and thus guaranteeing sustainable development. The reasons behind why VIS has joined and what the label exactly is can be found below.

May 6, 2021

Day Against Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists: Schallenberg Commits to Safety

On the occasion of the International Day against Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, Foreign Minister Schallenberg calls for more decisive action by the international community. He demands an increase in effort by every country to protect journalists around the world.

November 3, 2020

UNESCO Honors Vienna with "Smart City" Award

The city of Vienna was recognized by UNESCO fo its "innovative, intelligent, networked and explicitly sustainable" housing policy. Besides Vienna, other cities, such as Shenzhen (China), Dakar (Senegal) and Singarpore, have received other awards.

September 30, 2020

Cooperation Between Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Laxenburg Research Institute IIASA

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has joined IIASA as a prospective member through the Royal Scientific Society of Jordan. The two potential partners are testing a two-year trial membership.

September 9, 2020

The Lipizzaners - What Links Austria and Slovenia Together

The Lipizzan horses are to become cultural heritage. After decades of dispute, Slovenia and Austria submit the Lipizzaner breed to UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage. This was declared by Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl and her Slovenian colleague Miro Cerar after signing a joint declaration in Going in Tyrol. The application should be submitted by March 2020 with the aim of enrolment by 2021.

May 7, 2019

UNESCO - Austria Awarded Two More World Heritage Sites

In addition to the currently troubled "Historical Centre of Vienna", which is to be preserved as a World Heritage Site, two other Austrian sites will be added to the World Heritage List at the next UNESCO meeting in Baku at the end of June. The "Danubian Limes" (Donaulimes), part of the former border of the Roman Empire, and the "Grossglockner High Alpine Road", the highest surfaced mountain pass road in Austria. Thus Austria will have 12 World Heritage Sites starting in summer 2019.

May 6, 2019

Austria was Elected to Five UNESCO Bodies

During the current General Conference of the Organization for Education, Science and Culture of the United Nations (UNESCO) Austria was elected to five steering committees. The successful candidacies prove the credibility of Austrian experts worldwide.

November 13, 2015

Press Freedom: Every Fifth Day a Journalist is Killed at Work

According to a report from Unesco, worldwide more than 700 reporters have been killed from 2006 to 2014 in the exercise of their profession. On International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, the OSCE Representative calls on participating States to step up their investigations.

November 2, 2015