Havana, Cuba.- The Director of the UNESCO Regional Office, Katherine Muller-Marin, reiterated today that the Casa de las Americas will receive here on January 24 the UNESCO Award -UNAM Jaime Torres Bodet.

She recalled that the award was given two years ago, thanks to an agreement between the Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The award recognizes House of The Americas’ support for the development of the knowledge society and through teaching and research in the social sciences and humanities, said the official at a press conference.

UNESCO, which recognizes for the first time an institution with the Jaime Torres Bodet Award, also highlights the crucial role played during decades by the Cuban headquarters in favor of the creators of Latin America and the Caribbean in the field of the arts.

Nelson Mandela and House of The Americas, she said, are the only two awarded by the UN specialized agency, which awarded the Simón Bolívar prize to the cultural center in 2004.

At the meeting Muller-Marin also highlighted the role of the institution in relations between Cuba and the organization it represents, links that have been reinforced in these six decades, she said.