2009 - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec

2008 - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec

2007 - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec

19 December

• Opening ceremony of the International Year of Astronomy
  The Opening ceremony of the International Year of Astronomy will take place in Paris, January 15-16, 2009, under the aegis of the UN, the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), the IAU (International Astronomical Union). It is also supported by a number of sponsors including French and international organizations and institutions . About 400 people will be invited, including at least 150 young people (18-21 yrs old) from the 100+ IYA09 participating countries. Attendance will be by invitation only.

• Sixty years of views on the world - The UNESCO Courrier Nº 10-2008
  The UNESCO Courier is celebrating its 60th anniversary. An opportunity to explore the present while looking back at the past. A way, also, to highlight some developments in how we view and think about the world - each paper refers to an article from a back issue of the magazine. You can read interviews with Wangari Maathai (Kenya), Martti Ahtisaari (Finland), Luc Montagnier (France), just to mention the three Nobel laureates who have contributed to this special issue, alongside other distinguished personalities.

18 December

• The Gender Equality Fund
  The Gender Equality Fund builds on the agreed conclusions of the 52nd Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women on Financing for Gender Equality to accelerate progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment. The Fund will support governments and civil society organizations in developing countries to fast track national actions in support of the economic and political empowerment of women. The Gender Equality Fund will also undertake regular reviews of gender equality policies, plans and strategies worldwide, and will support countries to strengthen these. The reviews will highlight successful national plans that merit further investment, and encourage ongoing learning.

16 December

• UNESCO signs partnership agreement with the StratREAL Foundation in the area of entrepreneurship education
  On Friday 12 December 2008, the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, signed a partnership agreement with Mr Pierre N. Rolin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the StratREAL Foundation to cooperate in the field of Entrepreneurship Education in the Arab States Region. The StratREAL Foundation works to improve the lives of young people around the world. Since its inception in 2003, the Foundation has focused on investing in the welfare of children and young people, particularly in education, health and housing.

11 December

• Colloquium “the Government and the sea: environment and uses, from Ancient times to our days, from the Rhone to the gulf of Genoa”, from November 20 to 22 2008, Monaco
  The topics discussed in these meetings will surely emphasize once again the pressures undergone by marine environment, its fauna and its flora. Multiple pressures linked to human activities, overfishing, all types of pollution, accidental or voluntary.

8 December

• Commonwealth Foundation's Culture and Diversity Programme : Putting Culture First
  In March 2008, the Commonwealth Foundation's Culture and Diversity Programme launched a major research project into culture, cultural policy and development, called "Putting Culture First". The report is available for download at the website. The primary research material can also be downloaded. Protecting and promoting one's own culture while recognising and valuing the existence of others has been a fundamental challenge through much of the Commonwealth's history. Maintaining cultural diversity, though, is more than an end in itself, and in recent decades global efforts have increasingly been made to recognise the other numerous connections between culture and development.

2 December

• Cross fertilization from one shore of the Mediterranean to the other - UNESCO Conference
  A conference, entitled “Intercultural Encounters on the Shores of the Mediterranean, the Alchemy of an Uninterrupted Dialogue,” will take place at UNESCO Headquarters on 4 and 5 December. Its objective is to highlight how the Arab-Islamic and Western worlds have influenced each other over the centuries.