Publications
UNESCO’s publications contribute to accomplishing the Organization’s goals. They are an important means of maintaining, advancing and sharing knowledge, between and across all parts of the world.
While some aim to inform the general public, many provide specialists with expert knowledge drawn from UNESCO’s fields of competence.
These diverse publications and co-editions, translated into over 70 languages, all serve the common goal of bringing about positive change.
A selection of titles on the subject:
Showcasing the role and legacy of the Arabic Language along the Silk Roads
The Arabic language has been pivotal in the ancient Silk Roads, since the 8th century CE, serving as a vital medium for cross-regional interactions from southern Europe to East Asia.
For the first time, a publication explores Arabic’s crucial role in fostering connections among scholars, merchants, and travellers along these routes, emphasizing its lasting impact on contemporary societies.
The UN World Water Development Report 2025: Mountains and glaciers: water towers
The water resources we receive from mountains are literally melting away before our eyes.Mountains and alpine glaciers – often referred to as the world’s ‘water towers’ – are becoming increasingly vulnerable to climate change and unsustainable human activities, threatening the water resources upon which billions of people and countless ecosystems depend.
The United Nations World Water Development Report 2025 – Mountains and glaciers: Water towers calls attention to the essential services and benefits mountain waters and alpine glaciers provide to societies, economies and the environment.
Bintou & Issa in Mauritius
In this second title in the Bintou & Issa series of illustrated books, the twins, their grandparents and closest friends visit Mauritius in the footsteps of distant ancestors who worked on the sugar plantations there.
This new story plunges readers into an incredible adventure on this magnificent island, its history and its cultural heritage, and in so doing invites them to learn about slavery.
Developed within the framework of UNESCO’s Routes of Enslaved Peoples project, this series is designed to raise awareness among young readers (5-9), in an entertaining and accessible way, about the history of slavery and its contemporary consequences.
The UNESCO Global Geoparks
UNESCO Geoparks are places with outstanding geological and landscape features, where there are strong local efforts to make the most of Earth heritage through education, conservation and tourism.
This publication highlights the Geoparks’ stunning beauty while taking the reader on an entertaining and insightful journey that unravels the mystique behind each site.
From the significance of the rocks and fossils to fun facts and tourism tips, this book showcases nature in its most glorious form, in an aesthetically pleasing way.
Just published
Eating is not just a physiological act, it's also a journey through cultures, traditions and history. Behind every dish, every ingredient, lie centuries of exchange, adaptation and cultural blending. How have our eating habits been transformed by globalization and the expansion of the food industry? What are the consequences for our health, our environment and our way of living together?
In this issue, The UNESCO Courier explores the many dimensions of food. Because eating is also about sharing, transmitting and dialoguing.
Antisemitic hate speech, disinformation, and conspiracy theories thrive during crises, making it vital for teachers to address these issues in school curricula. Social media has significantly amplified the spread of such harmful content, including Holocaust denial and distortion. These falsehoods, rooted in antisemitic prejudice and conspiratorial thinking, threaten our shared historical memory and promote hatred.
The guide provides teachers with the necessary tools and guidance to prevent the spread of Holocaust denial and distortion. It equips teachers with knowledge, teaching principles, and strategies to foster digital literacy, historical understanding, and critical thinking in learners.
This lush, photo-driven guide introduces 50 of the most magnificently biodiverse places around the world, revealing not only their physical beauty but also celebrating the flora and fauna that make them unique.
Over 900 color images and evocative, accessible text reveal the outstanding universal value of each site, through an exploration of its natural history. This is awe-inspiring natural beauty that belongs to us all.
Our world is full of wonders. From historic cities, castles and cathedrals to magnificent mountains, rainforests and oceans, the world’s greatest treasures belong to all humankind. This is our world heritage.
But our heritage is constantly under threat – from natural disasters, wars, climate change, construction, pollution and mass tourism.
In this book, co-published with Hachette, we visit over 70 World Heritage Sites in 52 countries.
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Archivos: Latin American and Caribbean identity (1988–2003)
- As the world started to discover Latin American literature, the absence of dialogue between the readers and specialists from the different countries in the region was made evident. In October 1988, the first 12 volumes of the Archives of 20th-century Latin American and Caribbean Literature, a collection launched in 1983 with the assistance of UNESCO, were published.
- Over the years, a total of 58 titles were produced, featuring the major works in Spanish, Portuguese and French from some of the best writers in Latin American and the Caribbean, along with critical essays, chronologies and background papers produced by the top specialists at the time. This collection remains unparalleled today.
Creative Cities of Literature
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.
The Network covers seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Arts, Media Arts, Film, Design, Gastronomy, Literature and Music.
The 246 cities which currently make up this network work together towards a common objective: placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level.
La collection Bouba et Zaza
La collection « Bouba et Zaza – Cultures d’enfances », en partenariat avec les éditions Michel Lafon, aborde des thèmes sensibles comme l’environnement, l’illettrisme, l’éducation des filles ou le SIDA pour rompre les tabous et sensibiliser les enfants. Ces albums éducatifs et ludiques sont destinés aux enfants de trois à huit ans et se déclinent en plusieurs langues.
The Bouba & Zaza Collection
The "Bouba & Zaza - Childhood Cultures" Collection, in partnership with Michel Lafon Publishing, tackles sensitive issues such as the environment, illiteracy, girls' education and AIDS to break taboos and raise children's awareness. These educational and entertaining albums are aimed at children aged three to eight, and are available in several languages.
Open Access policy
In order to help reduce the gap between industrialized countries and those in the emerging economies, UNESCO decided in 2013 to adopt an Open Access Policy for its publications by making use of a new dimension of knowledge sharing.
Open Access means free access to scientific information and unrestricted use of electronic data for everyone.
For UNESCO, adopting an Open Access Policy means to make thousands of its publications freely available to the public.