President Pahor's address at the ceremony marking UNESCO's 75th anniversary

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, is paying an official visit to France. After he attended, at the invitation of President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron, the opening of the Paris Peace Forum and a gala dinner for the heads of states and governments invited to the Forum, President Pahor met today with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.

In the late afternoon, the Slovenian President attended a high-level meeting on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation and delivered an address.





Photo: Matjaž Klemenc/UPRS

Below is the text of the address by President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor. Check against delivery!

Madame Director General, Ms Audrey Azoulay

President of the Host Country of UNESCO, Mr Emmanuel Macron,

Excellencies,

I see UNESCO as the global leader in building peace through international cooperation in education, science and culture.

UNESCO was born out of a realisation that political and economic cooperation is not enough for achieving a lasting peace.

Wise politicians and decision makers realized, those 75 years ago, that people needed to be brought together through dialogue among cultures, and through cooperation in science and education.

From the very beginning, UNESCO mobilized the brightest minds to develop innovative projects that changed the world.

With its many programmes of heritage protection, it has become the crucial international player in helping to find a balance between the past and the future.

With UNESCO, we are establishing common standards on open science.

We are developing the ethics of artificial intelligence.

Allow me to mention that together with Madame Director General, we opened in Slovenia, earlier this year, the first International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence, under the auspices of UNESCO. This is a great example of how to enhance global cooperation in this field.

With UNESCO, we are developing new tools to fight new forms of racism and hate speech.

We are jointly searching for a more sustainable relationship between humans and the environment.

Today, UNESCO is also facilitating global reflections on education, science and culture in a post-COVID world.

In short, UNESCO has a pioneering role in searching for solutions to the world´s most pressing problems and challenges.

This is crucial for preserving peace and achieve Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030.

That is why it is important to be part of UNESCO.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me conclude by sincerely congratulate all who contributed to its mission through those 75 years.

I assure you that Slovenia will continue to be its active and constructive member.

Thank you for your attention.