This past year the United States rejoined UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, after a 19-year hiatus. The United States had been a founding member of the organization, established in 1945 in the wake of World War II. UNESCO's raison d'être is summed up in the words of American poet Archibald MacLeish included in its constitution: "Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed." Though active in UNESCO for almost four decades, the United States withdrew in 1984, claiming that the body was overly bureaucratic, biased against the United States, and hostile to a free press. Two decades ago, just before the split, Ralph Rinzler, the founding director of the Smithsonian's Folklife Festival, served as vice chair for culture of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO. Now, as the United States has re-entered UNESCO, the Festival--because of its philosophy, methodology, and national standing--has had an immediate impact upon UNESCO cultural programs and approaches