The International Bureau of Education (UNESCO-IBE)
The International Bureau of Education (IBE) was created in Geneva in 1925 as a private non-governmental organisation and became an international organisation in 1929. In 1969, the IBE became part of UNESCO as an international center of comparative education. Since then, the IBE mandate has evolved but remained focused on educational content, methods, and teaching/learning strategies through curriculum development. The IBE is the world’s only central repository of global curriculum-related documentation and history.
Access policy: the "IBE History Archives" are open until 1969. Please contact the archives for more information.
Consultation: the Documentation Centre is open a few days per month. Researchers are required to book an appointment in advance. Contact the IBE Documentation Centre. The Historical collections are available online.
IBE UNESCO's Documentation Centre has divided its digital collections into two main categories:
The UNESCO Archives hold documents related to UNESCO’s activities and programs since 1946, and those of its predecessor bodies since the creation of the International Institute for Intellectual Cooperation in 1925. The holdings of the Archives consist of more than 10,000 linear meters of documents and publications, photographs, sound recordings, film, and 120,000 microfiches.
Since 2004, the archives and records management unit has also captured emails, electronic records, and web archives.
Access policy: as a general rule, Secretariat correspondence and administrative files are opened for consultation after 20 years. Some records are open after 50 years.
Consultation: some archival material is available online. The UNESCO Archives is open for archival research and consultation by appointment: contact.