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The Preparatory Commission completed its work in six meetings held between November, 1945, and November, 1946. At the earlier meetings, held between November and January, New Zealand was represented by A. E. Campbell, from February until October by Lorna McPhee, and at the final meeting held in Paris on 14-15 November by C. E. Beeby with Lorna McPhee as alternate delegate. As its name implies, the principal function of the Commission was to prepare for the establishment of the Organization pending the coming into force of the Constitution on its acceptance by twenty nations. The Commission was charged with the duties of convoking the First General Conference, and drawing up the provisional agenda and making studies and preparing recommendations for the programme, budget, and secretariat of the Organization. An important duty was the negotiation of an agreement with the United Nations for approval by the First General Conference and arrangements for co-operation with other international agencies in UNESCO's field. The Preparatory Commission was further charged with the duty of providing without delay for immediate action on urgent needs of educational, scientific, and cultural reconstruction in devastated countries by the establishment of a special Technical Sub-committee, which was not, however, to be an operative relief agency. During 1946 it acted as a stimulating and co-ordinating agency in the provision of relief to devastated countries. An agreement with UNRRA was negotiated on 21 March, under which UNRRA undertook to act as a main operating agency for the distribution and international administration of special funds and supplies made available for educational relief, while UNESCO, with its experience of educational matters and contacts with experts in education, had the duty of evaluating needs. A joint UNRRA-UNESCO Committee was set up, and a special trust fund established for handling gifts of money. A co-ordinating committee of voluntary relief organizations was created and contacts established with public and private agencies in various donor countries, and, in particular, working plans developed between the sub-committee and the InterAllied Book Centre, the American Book Centre, and the United States Commission for International Educational Reconstruction. It must be admitted, however, that the work of the UNESCO Technical Sub-committee, and of other organizations working in this field since the end of hostilities, has only touched the surface of the problem. The need for relief and reconstruction continues to be crucial, and a report on this subject with recommendations for future action, was prepared for submission to the First General Conference. The primary task of the Preparatory Commission was the workingout of a detailed programme of activities for the Organization for submission to the First General Conference. Governments were invited to submit recommendations on the programme, and at the

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