The UNESCO Office in Pakistan was established in Karachi in 1958 as the ‘UNESCO Regional Centre for Reading Materials in South Asia’. In 1969 it was renamed as the ‘UNESCO Regional Centre for Book Development in Asia’, with a mandate, which included book promotion and development of infrastructures for the book publishing industries in the region. By 1972 the Centre’s activities covered 21 UNESCO Member States in Asia. In the same year it was also designated as the field office for UNESCO’s International Copyright Information Centre. In October 1989 the office was moved to Islamabad to function as the ‘Regional Office for Book Development in Asia and the Pacific.’ The UNESCO Islamabad Office has broadened its scope of work in the fields of education, social and human sciences and culture within the context of the global programmes of UNESCO. The team at UNESCO Islamabad is headed by the Director and assisted by Programme Specialists and National Programme Officers. UNESCO Islamabad Office also serves as the UNESCO Publications Centre in Pakistan, where the Organisation’s publications may be viewed and purchased. UNESCO Islamabad’s mission as a catalytic agent is to stimulate and inspire change and development in the spheres of education, natural and social and human sciences, culture and communication through collaborative actions among and between national and international development partners supported by a wide range of institutional networks. UNESCO Islamabad promotes a wide range of collaborative national, sub-regional and regional programmes and activities in education, social and human sciences and culture. The office promotes programmes on the ‘culture of peace’ through the development and implementation of transdisciplinary projects, principally through the network of the UNESCO Associated Schools Project (ASP).