The UNESCO Office in Harare was initially established in 1986 as a sub-regional office for education in Southern Africa, with a special emphasis on higher education, following a recommendation of the 5th UNESCO Conference of Ministers of Education in Africa (1982). Since then, it has also played the role of cluster office, covering four countries (Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and, following the most recent restructuring, has since 2014 regained a regional role as the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa, covering all of UNESCO’s programme sectors: Education, Sciences, Culture, and, Communication and Information, in nine countries, namely Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe, with national offices in Mozambique and Namibia.
UNESCO pursues its objectives through five sectors in education, natural sciences, social human sciences, culture, and communication and information.
