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INTRODUCTION New Zealand was represented by four delegates— R. G. Ridling, Principal of the Wellington Technical College (Chairman of the Delegation). D. Cairns, Secretary and Executive Officer of the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO. M. H. Holcroft, Journalist and Writer. H. N. Parton, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Canterbury University College. Mrs. E. Beswick, a member of the staff of the High Commissioner's Office in London, accompanied the delegation as Secretary. Her services were much appreciated, and fully justified the views of the National Commission that the work of a delegation can be made more effective if secretarial assistance is provided at a General Conference. ORGANIZATION OF THE CONFERENCE The work of the Conference was divided between plenary meetings, Commissions, Sub-Commissions, and' Committees. Controlling the administration of the Conference were the following organs : General Committee (Chairman : M. Hamid Bey Frangie, Lebanon) This was the steering Committee of the Conference, composed of the President, Vice-Presidents and Chairmen of Commissions and Committees. New Zealand was not represented. The plan for the organization of the Conference showed that notice had been taken of the experience gained in Mexico in 1947. Both in the budget estimates and in the programme recommended by the Executive Board there was an admirable clarity of presentation. It was possible to compare, without difficulty, the resolutions passed at Mexico City and the changes or modifications recommended by the Executive Board for the 1949 programme. Credentials Committee (Chairman : M. Camille Huysmans, Belgium) New Zealand was represented by Mr. Holcroft. This select Committee of nine members was concerned mainly with formalities ; but at one of its three meetings it was obliged to discuss a question of unusual delicacy. An application was received from Prague for the recognition of a Czechoslovak delegation which would not be present at the Conference. The credentials were accepted after a report sent to the General Committee had been referred to a plenary meeting. Procedural questions arising out of this application were later discussed by the Procedure Committee (see page 23).