United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

The General Conference of UNESCO at its 28th session in 1996 established the intersectoral Coastal Regions and Small Islands (CSI) Platform, to serve as a coordinating unit for SIDS within UNESCO as well as to develop and implement distinct interdisciplinary activities in support the sustainable development of UNESCO’s SIDS member states. Now renamed the Section for Small Islands and Indigenous Knowledge, this unit continues to serve this dual role.
UNESCO’s current (2009-2013) medium-term strategy identifies SIDS as a priority across the full range of its mandate. With the adoption of UNESCO’s medium-term strategy for 2008-2013, the Organization’s intersectoral work in support of the Mauritius Strategy for the Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action was given new impetus through the establishment of the Intersectoral Platform on UNESCO’s contribution to the Mauritius Strategy to coordinate and advance UNESCO’s work in SIDS.