Malcolm Adiseshiah
From 1 to 16 November 1945 a United Nations Conference was convened in London for the establishment of an educational and cultural organization (ECO/CONF). In the conference, a new organization was created to establish the “intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind” and thus prevent the outbreak of another world war. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded by thirty-seven countries. Its Constitution to promote collaboration between member states in the fields of education, science and culture was signed on 16 November 1945 and came into force on 4 November 1946. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, former President of India, was a former student of Adiseshiah’s father. He made a referral to Sir Julian Huxley, then Director-General of UNESCO, who invited Adiseshiah to the organization in 1948. He was posted as Deputy Director of the department of exchange of persons. In that capacity Adiseshiah signed the UNESCO Fellowship letter in 1949 to M. S. Swaminathan, eminent scientist and administrator, to pursue research at the Agricultural University in Wageningen, the Netherlands which was the starting point of his illustrious career.
Arts integration
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a special agency of the UN that operates from Paris, France, advocates the need for the integration of arts, culture, and creativity in all educational platforms worldwide. This agenda is in line with the structure of “Quality Education” and “Education for All” to support methodologies for promoting and protecting diversity of cultural manifestation. For example, UNESCO Bangkok took the initiative of upholding research activities related to Arts Education and swap of information along with case studies among educators, artists, and other stakeholders within Asia and the Pacific. The very first international congress on arts education was held in Seoul (Korea) in 2006 and the second in 2010.