UNESCO and United Nations Awards: Prizes and Dates

The correct answer is B, Paris. UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, has its headquarters at Place de Fontenoy in Paris, France. Its Constitution was signed in London in November 1945 and came into force in November 1946, and India was among the founding members. Option A is wrong because Geneva hosts the World Health Organization, the International Labour Organization and the office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, but not UNESCO. Option C is wrong because New York is the seat of the United Nations headquarters itself, with the General Assembly and the Security Council, as well as of UNICEF. Option D is wrong because Vienna houses the International Atomic Energy Agency and the office on drugs and crime. Keep the four cities apart, because papers list them together in a single question.

The correct answer is A, popularisation of science. The Kalinga Prize honours writers, editors, lecturers, film makers and broadcasters who explain science, research and technology to the general public, and it is awarded by UNESCO. The fund for it was endowed in 1951 and the first prize was given in 1952 to the French physicist Louis de Broglie. Option B is wrong because peace work is recognised by the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize of UNESCO, created in 1989. Option C is wrong because heritage sites are protected under the World Heritage Convention of 1972, which is a listing system and not a prize. Option D is wrong because literacy is rewarded by the King Sejong Literacy Prize and the Confucius Prize for Literacy, presented on International Literacy Day.

The correct answer is A, Biju Patnaik. Biju Patnaik, the aviator and industrialist who later became Chief Minister of Odisha, gave the endowment in 1951 that allowed UNESCO to create the prize, and it was named after the ancient kingdom of Kalinga in that region, where the Mauryan emperor Ashoka fought the war that changed him. Option B is wrong because Madanjeet Singh, the Indian artist, writer and diplomat, endowed the separate UNESCO prize for the promotion of tolerance and non-violence, created in 1995. Option C is wrong because J R D Tata, the aviation pioneer and industrialist, is connected with the United Nations Population Award, which he received in 1992. Option D is wrong because Homi Bhabha built India's atomic energy programme and endowed no UNESCO prize.

The correct answer is B, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO is the specialised agency of the United Nations for education, the sciences, culture, communication and information, with its headquarters at Paris. Its Constitution declares that since wars begin in the minds of men, the defences of peace must be built in the minds of men. Option A is wrong because economic and social matters are handled by the Economic and Social Council, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. Option C is wrong because the environment is the responsibility of the United Nations Environment Programme, which has its headquarters at Nairobi in Kenya. Option D is wrong because it is simply a rearranged form that does not match the agency's real name, and such near-miss expansions are the usual distractors.

The correct answer is A, press freedom. The UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize was instituted in 1997 and honours a person or an organisation that has defended freedom of the press, often at great personal risk. It is named after a Colombian journalist who was killed for his reporting, and it is presented every year on World Press Freedom Day, which falls on 3 May. Option B is wrong because child welfare is the work of UNICEF, which gives the Maurice Pate Award. Option C is wrong because disaster risk reduction is recognised by the Sasakawa Award of the United Nations disaster risk office. Option D is wrong because conservation work is recognised through Champions of the Earth, the environmental honour of the United Nations Environment Programme. Fix the date 3 May with this prize.

The correct answer is A, tolerance and non-violence. The prize was created in 1995, a year that marked both the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations and the hundred and twenty fifth birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, and it is named after Madanjeet Singh, the Indian artist, writer and diplomat who endowed it. It is awarded every two years on 16 November, the International Day for Tolerance. Option B is wrong because adult literacy is rewarded by the King Sejong and Confucius literacy prizes. Option C is wrong because scientific research as such is not the subject; UNESCO's science prizes reward the popularisation of science and ethics in science. Option D is wrong because freedom of information belongs with the Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, given on 3 May.

The correct answer is C, five years. The prize was instituted by the General Assembly in 1966 and first awarded in 1968, which was observed as the International Year for Human Rights and marked twenty years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since then it has been given once every five years, and the ceremony is held on 10 December, which is Human Rights Day, the anniversary of the Declaration. Option A is wrong because a two-year cycle belongs to the UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Prize for tolerance. Option B is wrong because no United Nations human rights prize follows a three-year cycle. Option D is wrong because ten years is twice the correct interval, and it is included because candidates who know the prize is rare often over-estimate the gap.

The correct answer is B, the United Nations Environment Programme. Champions of the Earth was launched in 2005 by the United Nations Environment Programme, whose headquarters are at Nairobi in Kenya, and it recognises leaders from government, civil society and business whose work protects the environment, in categories such as policy leadership, entrepreneurial vision and science and innovation. Option A is wrong because UNESCO's work on nature runs through biosphere reserves and natural World Heritage Sites rather than this award. Option C is wrong because the World Health Organization, based at Geneva, gives awards in public health. Option D is wrong because the Food and Agriculture Organization, based at Rome, works on food security and hunger. A related honour for young people is the Young Champions of the Earth award.

The correct answer is C, Indira Gandhi. The United Nations Population Award was instituted by the General Assembly in 1981 and first presented in 1983, when Indira Gandhi of India was one of the two individual laureates, honoured for India's early work on population policy. The Indian industrialist J R D Tata received the same award in 1992. Option A is wrong because Jawaharlal Nehru died in 1964, long before the award existed. Option B is wrong because Lal Bahadur Shastri, Prime Minister from 1964 to 1966, also died before the award was created. Option D is wrong because Morarji Desai, Prime Minister from 1977 to 1979, is remembered for receiving Pakistan's highest civilian honour, the Nishan-e-Pakistan, rather than this award. Keep the two Indian names of this award together, Indira Gandhi in 1983 and J R D Tata in 1992, because a paper may ask for either.

The correct answer is A, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The award has been given since 1954 by the refugee agency of the United Nations to a person, group or organisation that has served refugees, displaced people or those without a state. It is named after Fridtjof Nansen, the Norwegian explorer and scientist who became the first High Commissioner for Refugees under the League of Nations and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922. Option B is wrong because the Development Programme publishes the Human Development Report rather than this award. Option C is wrong because UNICEF works for children and gives the Maurice Pate Award. Option D is wrong because the International Labour Organization, based at Geneva, deals with working conditions and labour standards.

The correct answer is A, International Literacy Day, 8 September. UNESCO presents the King Sejong Literacy Prize and the Confucius Prize for Literacy every year on 8 September, the day it observes as International Literacy Day, and the prizes reward governments, organisations and individuals whose programmes have spread reading and writing. Option B is wrong because 3 May, World Press Freedom Day, is the date of the Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. Option C is wrong because 16 November, the International Day for Tolerance, is when the Madanjeet Singh Prize is presented; the same date is also the anniversary of the signing of the UNESCO Constitution. Option D is wrong because 10 December, Human Rights Day, is the date of the United Nations human rights prize, given once in five years.

The correct answer is C, 1972. The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in 1972, and countries that join it nominate sites of outstanding universal value, which a committee then inscribes on the World Heritage List as cultural, natural or mixed sites. Option A is wrong because 1946 is the year the UNESCO Constitution came into force. Option B is wrong because 1954 is the year of the Hague Convention on protecting cultural property during armed conflict, a related but different treaty. Option D is wrong because 2003 is the year of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which covers living traditions such as dance, music and craft rather than monuments and natural sites.