President Gitanas Nausėda met with Director-General Audrey Azoulay of UNESCO in Paris. At the meeting, the President and Azoulay discussed the importance of UNESCO’s monitoring in annexed Crimea and topical issues in education. They also talked about Lithuania’s aspiration to add Kaunas modernist architecture to the World Heritage List.

“We are convinced that we can respond to global challenges and find sustainable solutions only through multilateral cooperation. It is the right time to increase UNESCO’s importance and credibility in education, science, culture, information, and communication sectors after the COVID-19 pandemic. We would also encourage UNESCO to continue monitoring the situation in illegally annexed Crimea,” the President said at the meeting. He also pointed out that Lithuania had consistently adhered to the strategic goals outlined in the Education 2030 Framework for Action, coordinated by UNESCO, to ensure equal access to quality education for all children, to implement inclusive education in a targeted manner and to promote lifelong learning.

According to Gitanas Nausėda, Lithuania, as a newly elected member of UNESCO’s Executive Board, will contribute to building a strong, modern and resilient organization while also supporting the organization’s vital role in education.

Following Lithuania’s recent ratification of the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education, we will remain committed to strengthening international cooperation in the field of higher education and raising its quality in Lithuania and worldwide, the President noted.

Gitanas Nausėda congratulated Audrey Azoulay on her re-election as Director-General of UNESCO for a second term and invited her to come to the inaugural event of the European Capital of Culture programme to be held in Kaunas in 2022.