“A Marriage of Convenience” with UNESCO?

In 1946, the foundation of UNESCO as a new international organisation acting in the field of education changed the context of the IBE’s activity fundamentally. Thanks to difficult negotiations—they began before UNESCO was set up thanks to the general secretary Marie Butts—the IBE succeeded in remaining autonomous. It became a specialised institution within UNESCO working exclusively on technical problems from a neutral point of view. It maintained its activities, with an enhanced legitimacy which also allowed it to increase the number of its member states and to approach its ideal of universality.