young girl learning with a molecular model
© Getty images

Areas of expertise

UNESCO works to advance science in the interests of peace, sustainable development and human security and well-being, in collaboration with Member States and partners.
Last update:26 August 2024

Global priorities

hero-hub_gender.png
Gender Equality
Travailler ensemble
Africa
Natural Sciences Sector : Priority Gender Equality
UNESCO
2023
UNESCO
0000385171
Natural Sciences Sector: Priority Africa
UNESCO
2023
UNESCO
0000385167

Priority groups

Masai Sheperds in Amboseli National Park, Kenya
Indigenous Peoples
SIDS
Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
Young people
Youth
Natural Sciences Sector: Small Islands Developing States
UNESCO
2023
UNESCO
0000385169

Crosscutting areas

Jeweled Chameleon (Furcifer lateralis), Madagascar
Biodiversity
Floods in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2020, climate change, hazards, disaster risk
Climate change
Camposto in Abruzzo, Italy, following an earthquake in 2017
Disaster risk reduction
M’Bororo pastoralists draw upon their indigenous knowledge of weather to understand when and where to bring their herds to new pastures
Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS)
UNESCO’s actions for biodiversity: making peace with nature
UNESCO
2022
UNESCO
0000383600
Natural Sciences Sector: disaster risk reduction
UNESCO
2023
UNESCO
0000385054
Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS)
UNESCO
2023
UNESCO
0000385181

Environmental challenges and natural resources

School children look for fossils during an educational activity in Khorat UNESCO Global Geopark, Thailand
Geological sciences
International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme (IGGP)
Toson-Khulstai Biosphere Reserve, Mongolia
Ecological sciences
Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB)
Water sciences
Inter-governmental Hydrological Programme (IHP)
Lakes in Finland
Water sciences
World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP)
Picture of a woman smiling holding a lettuce, standing in the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve
Biosphere reserves
Yizhuxiang karst stone pillars, Enshi Grand Canyon-Tenglongdong Cave UNESCO Global Geopark
UNESCO Global Geoparks
Earth sciences
UNESCO
2023
UNESCO
0000385071
Ecological sciences
UNESCO
2023
UNESCO
0000385172
Water sciences
UNESCO
2023
UNESCO
0000385053

Science policy and partnerships

Sharing data, collaboration in science
Science, technology and innovation policy
Recommendation on Open Science
Open science
A doctor in South Africa
Gender equality in science
A woman engineer is working on a Turbine/ Engine Project in 3D
Global Observatory of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Instruments (GO-SPIN)
Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy
UNESCO
2023
UNESCO
0000385168

Capacity building in science and engineering

Basic Sciences, Research, Innovation and Engineering
scientific research , scientists in a lab
International Basic Sciences Programme (IBSP)
A women engineer, wearing a safety helmet and glasses, is operating a machine
Engineering
young scientists, green chemistry
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
Basic sciences and engineering
UNESCO
2023
UNESCO
0000385060

Global reports

UNESCO Science Report
UNESCO Science Report
Artwork by D. Bonazzi to illustrate Partnerships and cooperation
World Water Development Report
UNESCO Engineering Report

Natural sciences prizes

UNESCO Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science
L'Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Programme
UNESCO Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation
UNESCO-Russia Mendeleev International Prize in the Basic Sciences
UNESCO-Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology
UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences
UNESCO-Al Fozan International Prize for the Promotion of Young Scientists in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
UNESCO Avicenna Prize for Ethics in Science

Related items