Election to the Executive Board.-Election to the Executive Board of UNESCO is held on the basis of geographical regions. For the Asian region, there were two vacancies. The General Conference decided on an increase in the number of members of the Executive Board from 40 to 44 with the result that the number of vacancies increased to 3. Against the 3 vacancies, candidates were put forward by China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Pakistan later withdrew in favour of Bangladesh. China with 103, India with 98 and Indonesia with 94 votes were elected to the Executive Board.

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Tributes to Shri Parthasarathi.--Shri G. Parthasarathi, Chairman of the Policy Planning Committee of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, who retired as the Indian Member of the Executive Board of UNESCO on 24th November, 1976, was presented with a medal and a scroll by the Director-General of UNESCO. The presentation was made at an impressive ceremony organised to bid farewell to retiring members and to welcome the new members. Speaking on the occasion, the Director- General referred to Shri Parthasarathi's brilliant career and des- cribed him as 'discreet, modest, but with a will always bent towards seeking solutions and capable of rallying all members of the Board even in the face of most complex problems'. Welcoming Dr. Gopal, the Chairman of the Board referred to the time when Dr. Gopal's father, late Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, former President of India, served on the Executive Board. He said that for the first time in 30 years a distinguished son of a most distinguished father had succeeded to the Executive Board.

30th Anniversary of UNESCO.-The 30th Anniversary of UNESCO was celebrated on 4th November 1976. The DirectorGeneral of UNESCO, the President of the 19th session, the Chairman of the Executive Board, the Foreign Minister of Kenya and the President of the Republic of Seychelles spoke on the occasion. The Director-General held a reception in the evening to which all members of the delegations were invited.