In accordance with its statutes, the Austrian Commission for UNESCO shall perform the following activities:
- Advising the federal government, the federal states and other national and non-governmental organisations on the implementation of UNESCO’s goals in Austria
- Establishing and fostering contacts between UNESCO and interested institutions and parties in Austria
- Cooperating in handling UNESCO enquiries
- Collaborating with regional initiatives that are relevant to UNESCO
- Participating in preparing the UNESCO General Conference and the Executive Board
- Providing information to the general public on UNESCO’s goals and their implementation as well as responding to queries about UNESCO
- Collaborating with the Commissions for UNESCO in other countries
In carrying out these activities, the ÖUK relies on a network of experts, institutions and specialist organisations that are involved in implementing the UNESCO programme and, in turn, convey UNESCO’s activities and goals to the general public. The programmes falling into the UNESCO areas of expertise (education, natural sciences, culture, communication and information) are in line with the Organization’s current four-year programme and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The ÖUK represents UNESCO as the owner of rights to the UNESCO names and logo for Austria and is therefore authorised to award the UNESCO logo.
The adoption of sponsorship for events in Austria constitutes a particular form of time-restricted collaboration between the Austrian Commission for UNESCO (ÖUK) and third parties.
The governing structure of ÖUK corresponds to its legal structure as a registered society (eingetragener Verein) in accordance with Austrian law. Advisory committees and working groups offer the ÖUK support from experts in the relevant fields. There are currently six such specialist committees:
- Advisory Council on Transformative Education
- Advisory Committee on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
- Youth Advisory Committee
- Advisory Panel on Cultural Diversity
- Working Group on Cultural Diversity
- Advisory Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage
- Austrian Memory of the World National Committee/Advisory Panel
Since January 2007, ÖUK has continuously offered two voluntary positions .
The activities of the Austrian Commission for UNESCO are predominantly carried out with the financial support of the federal government:
