Gabi Tankersley

New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO

We represent New Zealand to UNESCO, and take relevant UNESCO collective resources, networks, programmes and connections and apply them in a way that benefits Aotearoa New Zealand. UNESCO stands for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. It is a specialised agency of the United Nations, aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, the sciences and culture. It was established after WWII on the belief that ‘political and economic arrangement will not produce lasting peace and the only certainty for world security is intellectual and moral solidarity'. The National Commission for UNESCO was established to serve as a first point of contact for UNESCO in New Zealand and to provide expert advice on UNESCO related issues. We are funded by the Government and are made up of a Secretariat, Chair, Commissioners with expertise areas of education, natural science, social sciences, culture and communications and information and a group of UNESCO Aotearoa Youth Leaders. Everything we do aims to build resilient communities, improve the health of our environment and foster a culture of peace in New Zealand and the Pacific.