Short answers, pulled from the story.
UNESCO was officially founded on the 16th of November 1945 when the Constitution of UNESCO was signed by 37 countries in London. The organization was established to advance peace, sustainable development, and human rights by facilitating collaboration among nations.
UNESCO launched the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia in 1960 to prevent the Great Temple of Abu Simbel from being swamped by the Nile after the construction of the Aswan Dam. During the 20-year campaign, 22 monuments and architectural complexes were relocated, setting a precedent for future heritage preservation efforts.
The United States withdrew its contributions in 1984 and the United Kingdom withdrew in 1985 due to intense controversy regarding the New World Information and Communication Order. Critics from these nations condemned the initiative as an attempt to curb freedom of the press and viewed the MacBride report as a tool for communist and Third World dictators to attack the West.
Israel formally left UNESCO on the 1st of January 2019 and the United States followed suit in 2018 citing continuous anti-Israel bias and geopolitical disputes. The conflicts escalated in 2016 when UNESCO passed a resolution on East Jerusalem that referred to the sacred hilltop compound only by its Muslim name, Al-Haram al-Sharif.
The first Director-General of UNESCO was Julian Huxley, a British biologist and writer who served from 1946 to 1948. The role of the Director-General is to serve as the chief administrator of the organization, appointed every four years by the General Conference.
UNESCO has 194 member states and 12 associate members, as well as partners in the non-governmental, intergovernmental, and private sector. The organization operates with 53 regional field offices and 199 national commissions to improve literacy, provide technical training, advance science, and protect independent media.