G20: Audrey Azoulay in Rio de Janeiro to attend the Foreign Ministers' Meeting

As UNESCO has witnessed a new dynamism in recent years, the G20 decided to link it more closely to its work. Since 2020, UNESCO has been invited to participate in several working groups or participate, and has been able to contribute to raising the level of education, culture, science and information in the final declarations.

This cooperation reaches a new stage in 2024 at the initiative of the Brazilian Presidency: for the first time, UNESCO is included in the list of distinguished partners of the G20 and participates in the entire process. Following Sherpa's first meeting with President Lula last December in Brasilia, the Director-General of UNESCO will participate in the foreign ministers' meeting to be held this week in Rio de Janeiro.

On Wednesday 21 February, Audrey Azoulay will address ministers to discuss the current response to international tensions. It will present how UNESCO has intensified its work in recent years to address conflict situations (Yemen and Ukraine) and support post-conflict recovery (Iraq). It will also explain how the organization has been able to strengthen the cohesion of its member states around its mandate and move towards greater universality, with the welcome return of the United States to UNESCO in 2023.

On Thursday 22 February, the Director-General will speak about global governance reform. It will detail the role that UNESCO plays in coordinating efforts to achieve quality education for all, one of the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. It will also present the organization’s work in the field of new technologies, with the establishment of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNESCO) in 2021. The first global ethical framework To use artificial intelligence and publish the UNESCO Global Principles for the Reliability of Online Information in November 2023.

Audrey Azoulay will also hold bilateral meetings with several foreign ministers.