To our profound sorrow and chagrin, we have been forced to realize that peace is not a matter of circumstance or even of politics, but requires, in the words of the Constitution, 'the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind' . In a world in which our destiny is increasingly a collective and planetary one, no task is more vital than promoting, through education and culture, an active sense of tolerance and mutual understanding. For this is the only basis upon which a lasting peace can be established between nations and peoples. If I have chosen to speak of education in a broad and abstract sense, it is because these are the terms in which the Organization's founders conceived its role. But they also realized that education has a very practical side and denial of education very tangible consequences, as the plight of the world's over 900 million illiterates attests.
Education is the sine qua non for effective participation in modern society.
This mission is as vital today as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow.