UNESCO Coupons

Information for Coupon users

1. What can be purchased or paid for with the coupons?

2.Where and how can UNESCO Coupons be purchased?

1. What can be purchased or paid for with the coupons?

UNESCO Coupons can be used to pay for school or university registration fees; subscriptions to educational, scientific or cultural institutions; or copyright dues.

The coupons can also be used to purchase:

Publications:
Books, school textbooks, periodicals, medical or scientific journals, maps, copies of courses, reproductions of work of art, sheet music.

Computer materials:
Computers and computer hardware; storage devices; CDs and DVDs; printers, scanners, modems and other peripherals; operating systems and other software (i.e. for word processing, database management, spreadsheets, integrated software).

School materials:
Textbooks, exercise books, paper, ink, pencils, erasers, rulers, paints, demonstration apparatus, drawing tables, musical instruments.

Scientific materials:
Optical instruments and equipment, laboratory instruments and equipment, chemical products, electrical and acoustic measuring instruments, analytical and clinical testing apparatus, electrical and electro-technical equipment, hand and machine tools, meteorological and topographical instruments.
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2. Where and how can UNESCO Coupons be purchased?

The coupons are issued in denominations of $1000, $100, $30, $10, $3, and $1. Anyone can buy the coupons. Users pay for the coupons in their national currency at the official United Nations exchange rate applicable on the day of the purchase.

In every user country there is a distributing body responsible for the sale of Coupons; as a general rule, this is the National Commission for UNESCO. However, in certain countries the government has designated the UNESCO Field Office as the distributing body of the UNESCO Coupons.

The distributing body provides information, on request, concerning the purchase of Coupons, and deposits the coupons purchase requests on behalf of the individual purchaser.

See the list of distributing bodies for UNESCO Coupons.
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3. How does one use UNESCO Coupons?

Users pay for the Coupons in national currency at the official United Nations rate of exchange on the day of purchase. National distributing bodies may add a surcharge to cover handling costs, but this may not exceed 5 per cent of the value of the Coupons.

Coupon users should send the supplier their order with the Coupons corresponding to the price of the material, including where necessary, the cost of insurance and postage.

Many publishers, booksellers and firms which produce educational, scientific and cultural material will accept UNESCO Coupons in payment. The distributing bodies can give users some explanations about this.

Coupon users placing orders with firms unfamiliar with the UNESCO Coupons Program sometimes experience difficulty in getting them honored. When this happens, they can request assistance from the Coupons Office in the UNESCO Secretariat; the Office will then inform the supplier of the conditions governing the redemption of Coupons and will try to facilitate settlement.

UNESCO cannot intervene in the actual commercial transaction between user and supplier. It is therefore up to the users themselves in their correspondence with suppliers to explain exactly what they want in the way of goods, date of delivery, packaging, insurance and method of dispatch. It is likewise their responsibility to address any complaints direct to suppliers or transporters.
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4. What if a coupon is lost?

UNESCO Coupons are a means of payment and users should take all the usual precautions to prevent their loss, theft or misuse. In case of loss or theft, please inform the UNESCO Coupons Office immediately of the serial numbers of the missing Coupons. If the missing Coupons have not been presented for redemption within six months, the Coupons Office will replace them.
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5. Can expired coupons be exchanged?

UNESCO Coupons have been issued with a validity date since June 2001. Old UNESCO Coupons not bearing a validity date, or bearing an expired validity date, should not be accepted by suppliers as legitimate payment and should be returned to UNESCO for exchange.

Coupons bearing an expired validity date should be returned to UNESCO via the distributing body where there were purchased. Coupons returned for exchange will be replaced with new coupons bearing an updated validity date in the same values, and if possible, the same denominations as those returned.

Coupons are currently printed with a validity date of 31 December 2008.
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