Art performance at the award ceremony of the UNESCO Confucius Prize in Qufu, East China's Shandong Province on Monday Photo: Pang Yue/GT

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is set to establish a Category 1 Institute on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in Shanghai, according to a resolution adopted on Monday.

The 216th session of the UNESCO Executive Board said that establishing such an institute will strengthen the organization's leadership in the field of STEM education. It will also contribute to the implementation of UNESCO's mission and the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.

Various members of the executive board expressed their appreciation and gratitude to China for its support to UNESCO.

Chen Jie, vice minister of education, chairperson of the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO and head of the Chinese delegation, declared that this decision would go down in history. Chen, speaking on behalf of China, expressed sincere respect and appreciation to all Member States and the UNESCO Secretariat, vowing that China will fulfill its promises and collaborate with the Secretariat in the decision's implementation. 

UNESCO's Category 1 Institutes build scientific capacity in member states.

The adopted resolution to establish an institute in China still needs to be approved by the upcoming 42nd session of the UNESCO General Conference in November. 

Once approved, it would be the first in China, as well as the first outside Europe.

Xinhua - Global Times