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collaboration and networking 22 , its regional office in Bangkok Thailand was established in 1961.
In the beginning the function of UNESCO Bangkok office was limited to primary and
compulsory education but later on its circle was extended to all sectors of education and all
member countries of Pacific region also. In 1987 UNESCO Bangkok regional office was further
expanded and this growth included the incorporation of activities relating to the culture,
communication, and social and human science sectors which led to the eventual renaming of the
office as the Principal Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (PROAP). This Office as the Asia
and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, it is the technical advisory body to all field offices
and Member States of the region and the site of regional programs in most areas covered by the
Education Sector. UNESCO Bangkok also houses regional advisory units in Culture and Social
and Human Sciences and staff from the Communication and Information Sector and the Science
Sector. Bangkok office is very effective in continuing the role of UNESCO in Asia-Pacific
region by collaborating with the regional as well as international IGOs and NGOs and various
national organization and institutions of higher learning. This networking is resulting in the
sharing of experiences, knowledge and development of the society.
Bangkok Regional Bureau gives coherence and synergy to UNESCO programs by specifying
clearly a set of challenges, projects and activities. Six broad areas have been defined by this
Bangkok Regional Bureau: Poverty Reduction, Globalization, Information and Communication
Technology, sustainable Development, Control of HIV/AIDS, Establishment of a Culture of
Peace. Today UNESCO Bangkok is working actively in these areas, keeping in view both global
and regional dimensions of these specified areas.
In carrying out this mission in 46 Asia and the Pacific member states, UNESCO Bangkok takes
into account the immense size of the region, including almost two thirds of the world's
population, and its diversity and cultural pluralism, potentialities and also its major as well as
minor problems.
Along with the UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (PROAP) there are also
regional bureau, which function under the supervision of PROAP. They are;
22 UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education (2003). Higher education in Asia and the Pacific
1998-2003 : Regional report on progress in implementing recommendations of the 1998 World Conference on Higher Education.
Published by UNESCO Paris 2003.