UNESCO – Conversation between Catherine Colonna and UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay (23 Jun. 2022)

Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna spoke with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay on June 23 at the Quai d’Orsay.

They commended the excellent partnership between France and UNESCO.

They discussed the consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine on UNESCO’s efforts to protect heritage sites and ensure the safety of journalists.

The minister also reaffirmed France’s priority commitment to education, and especially girls’ education, ahead of the Transforming Education Pre-Summit taking place at UNESCO headquarters on June 28-30, which will lay the groundwork for the summit hosted by the UN Secretary-General on September 19 in New York.

France intends to continue its full support for expanding UNESCO’s activities, as evidenced by the fact that the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs has doubled its voluntary contributions to the organization since 2018.