This week the U.S. announced their intention to withdraw from UNESCO at the end of 2018. President of the AIA, Thomas Vonier, responded in support of the organisation.
Full release follows:
Washington, D.C. – October 16, 2017 –
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) today issued the following statement on the United States withdrawal from UNESCO. Please attribute to AIA 2017 President Thomas Vonier, FAIA:
“The American Institute of Architects has long supported the cultural mission of UNESCO, and especially its World Heritage Sites program, which seeks to identify and preserve buildings and places of exceptional importance to humankind. We hope and expect that the United States will continue to work with global stakeholders to protect such sites.
“In addition, UNESCO has recently agreed to join with the International Union of Architects (UIA) to designate a World Capital of Architecture every two to three years, choosing cities of outstanding character with the World Congress of Architects. This effort will reinforce the value and importance of architecture and design in human affairs. The AIA urges the Administration to lend its support to this initiative.”
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Thank you AIA.
Did the AIA make a public statement in 2011 when President Obama withdrew US funding of UNESCO?
In 2011, the United States stopped funding Unesco because of what was then a forgotten, 15-year-old amendment mandating a complete cutoff of American financing to any United Nations agency that accepts Palestine as a full member. Various efforts by President Barack Obama to overturn the legal restriction narrowly failed in Congress, and the United States lost its vote at the organization after two years of nonpayment, in 2013. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/12/us/politics/trump-unesco-withdrawal.html
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