Robert Charles Wallace
It was during his tenure at Queen’s that Wallace became highly regarded nationally (and internationally) as an extremely effective and efficient academic administrator. He was one of just three Canadians chosen to represent the country at the United Nations Conference for the establishment of an educational and cultural organization (ECO/CONF) held in London in November 1945. It was at this conference that the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Educational Organization (UNESCO) was created. Additionally, Wallace received honorary degrees from twenty different universities.
World Conference against Racism
The World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) is a series of international events organized by UNESCO to promote struggle against racism ideologies and behaviours. Four conferences have been held so far, in 1978, 1983, 2001, and 2009. Founded after World War II and the Holocaust as a dependent body of the United Nations, UNESCO started as soon as it was created to promote scientific studies concerning ethnic groups and their diffusion in public opinion to dispel pseudo-scientific rationalizations of racism. One of its first published works was "The Race Question" in 1950, signed by various internationally renowned scholars.