UNESCO's Cultural Policy Role in Connecting Countries in the Cultural Iranian Civilization Sphere

Recognizing and introducing common cultural elements significantly affects convergence and divergence among nations. Cultural commonalities, or awareness of them, facilitate international collaboration and communication. UNESCO's primary mission is to promote international cultural cooperation and mutual understanding across cultures by developing institutional mechanisms. As one of the significant universal cultural spheres, the cultural Iranian civilization sphere has always had an excellent capability for developing cooperation among political units linked to it. In this regard, the question arises as to how UNESCO uses its cultural policies to create political-identity ties among countries within the cultural Iranian civilization sphere. This study employs a descriptive-analytical method within the theoretical framework of cultural diplomacy, drawing on library and statistical sources. It aims to investigate the current state of UNESCO's diplomatic mechanisms and to provide alternatives to their efficiency. According to the findings, UNESCO has taken steps to disseminate cultural convergence in the aforementioned civilization sphere by implementing cultural projects such as World Heritage, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Memory of the World Programme, Unitwin/UNESCO Chairs Programme, and Creative Cities Network. Although this procedure establishes multifaceted cultural relations among nations in this sphere, it has been affected by some executive, political, and social challenges.