What is the International Baccalaureate Organization? *

It is a non-profit educational and non-governmental (NGO) organization of UNESCO. The IB’s alliance with UNESCO encourages the integration of its educational goals into the IB curriculum. It was established in 1968 in Geneva, Switzerland. It is governed by a 16-member council and is funded by fees from IB World Schools. The IBO offers three programs of international education for students aged 3-19 years old:

 o The Diploma Program at the high school level (grades 9-12).

 o The Middle Years Program (MYP) (students 11-16 years old). 

o The Primary Years Program (PYP) (for students 3-12 years old). 

There are 1,950,000 IB students and 5,600 authorized IB schools in 159 countries. 

International Baccalaureate Mission Statement*

The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

*Further information can be found on the official IBO website.

What’s the story behind the IBO? 

Marie Therese Maurette created the framework for what would eventually become the IB Diploma Programme, in 1948, when she wrote Is There a Way of Teaching for Peace?, a handbook for UNESCO. In the mid-1960’s, a group of teachers from the International School of Geneva (Ecolint) created the International Schools Examinations Syndicate (ISES), which would later become the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). The IB headquarters were officially established in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1968, for the development and maintenance of the Diploma Programme, which provided an internationally acceptable university admission qualifications for young people whose parents worked as diplomats or with international and multi-national companies.