International organizations aiming to promote peace and development throughout the world rose from the ashes of World War II. In a world troubled by conflicts and gaps between rich and poor, UNESCO faced many challenges and used different strategies in its struggle to shape a better world, many of them highlighted in this book.
This chapter shows how history education became an important part of UNESCO’s mission to promote international understanding, unity in diversity and safeguard world heritage. It also highlights how UNESCO was more successful than the League of Nations and the Council of Europe in reforming history education in Sweden, and how UNESCO’s efforts impacted the way students after World War II started to write a more peaceful, global and multicultural history.