Under the slogan “UNESCO for the People”, Egyptologist and former minister of tourism and antiquities Khaled El-Enany unveiled his electoral vision, founded on transparency, inclusivity, and active dialogue, during the 221st session of UNESCO’s Executive Board, held two weeks ago in Paris.
Following a 90-minute presentation during which he articulated his vision during the UNESCO plenary session, El-Enany called for a more inclusive and proactive organisation equipped to tackle global challenges. His ambitious campaign seeks to unite the international community around a forward-looking vision in which peace, diversity, intercultural dialogue, and innovation play a central role.
Responding to member states’ questions, El-Enany highlighted a pragmatic and human-centred approach, attentive to people’s needs and priorities. His candidacy reflects the ambition for a more united and people-focused multilateralism.
“The world urgently needs a UNESCO that serves one goal, peace, and one ultimate objective, people. It is time to adopt a bold, fresh approach to shape the UNESCO of tomorrow,” said El-Enany. He spoke in Arabic, English, and French as he outlined how he would enhance UNESCO’s role in fostering mutual understanding among nations and transcend borders and political divides to serve humanity as a whole.
“With my slogan ‘UNESCO for the People’, I aim to break down barriers, give a voice to the marginalised, and bring about concrete and measurable change that is felt in villages, classrooms and at the very heart of communities,” said El-Enany.
He emphasised how UNESCO for the People is anchored in the belief that the organisation must serve humanity at every level, through inclusive policies, tangible results and a people-centred approach. At the heart of this vision is a commitment to delivering on UNESCO’s mission across its core mandates: education, science, culture, and communication.
El-Enany called for quality, inclusive education that promotes peace, human rights and sustainable development, and equitable access to ethical science and technologies that serve humanity. Environmental priorities also featured strongly, with a focus on climate action, biodiversity conservation, water security and ocean preservation.
Culture and arts, said El-Enany, should be accessible to all, empowering communities and preserving both natural and cultural heritage. He stressed the need to elevate vulnerable groups and global priorities, ensuring no one is left behind.
If elected, he intends to serve as a cultural bridge, committed to an open-door policy and fostering consensus, constructive dialogue grounded in mutual respect and trust with UNESCO’s member states and governing bodies. “My guiding references will be the constitution, the standard-setting instruments and strategies, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” he said.
“The message I am conveying is clear, to reduce UNESCO’s political dimension and focus on its technical mandate, on building genuine consensus among member states while implementing their decisions with the highest standards of impartiality, transparency and efficiency. Any proposals I submit must be neutral, grounded in technical expertise.”
“If a child is denied access to education, their nationality is irrelevant. If a woman is deprived of her rights, her nationality does not matter, she is entitled to those rights. That, to me, is the true meaning of depoliticisation.”
Drawing on years of experience, El-Enany emphasised that bold visions must be backed by sound governance and sustainable resources. He underscored his commitment to leading UNESCO in a transparent and accountable manner, with a focus on improving efficiency, combating bureaucracy and modernising internal systems through the use of new technologies. Strengthening coordination across sectors, field offices and national commissions will be key to ensuring cohesion within the organisation. El-Enany also highlighted the need to reform human resource policies, promote merit-based recruitment and champion gender equality and geographical diversity.
He underlined the importance of a strong communication strategy that reflects UNESCO’s full scope of work. Financial sustainability, he added, will be a central pillar of his leadership, with efforts to diversify resources, expand partnerships and explore innovative funding mechanisms, all while safeguarding UNESCO’s core values.
Central to El-Enany’s agenda is a comprehensive roadmap for all delegations and a strategy that aims to modernise UNESCO and position it to meet the challenges of the future. With a focus on engagement, collaboration and modernisation, his vision is rooted in a commitment to collective progress.
“If entrusted with this responsibility I will work hand in hand with all stakeholders to elevate UNESCO and bring to life a truly people-centred organisation,” he said.
Since being nominated in April 2023, El-Enany has visited more than 45 countries, engaging directly with officials, students, academics, artists, journalists and members of civil society, encounters that have allowed him to understand the needs and priorities of people around the world.
“After these thoughtful exchanges, I am more determined than ever to continue my transparent and inclusive journey to get in touch with the hopes and aspirations of every member state,” he wrote on his website.
El-Enany’s candidacy for the post of UNESCO director-general has garnered widespread international support, with official endorsements from the African Union, the Arab League and a diverse array of countries including Turkey, Brazil, France, Gabon, Germany and Spain. This broad coalition of support reflects growing global confidence in his vision to transform UNESCO into a truly inclusive institution, one that champions equitable access to education, safeguards endangered cultural heritage and advances sustainable development for all.
In November 2024, El-Enany was selected as UN tourism special ambassador for cultural tourism. Secretary-General of UN Tourism Zurab Pololikashvili expressed his support, saying his dedication to education, science, and culture is admirable and wishing him the best of luck on his journey to lead UNESCO. More recently, El-Enany was designated Patron of the African World Heritage Fund.
El-Enany is Egypt’s third candidate for the post of UNESCO director-general. In 2009 Egypt nominated former minister of culture Farouk Hosnu to the post but he lost his bid to Bulgarian former foreign minister Irina Bokova. Egyptian politician and diplomat Moushira Khattab was Egypt’s candidate in 2017. Khattab, who served as minister of state for family and population between 2009 and 2011, lost her bid to Audrey Azoulay, the former French minister of culture who is the current UNESCO director-general.
The election is scheduled for October 2025 in Paris. If elected, El-Enany will become the first Arab and the second African to lead UNESCO since it was established 80 years ago.
El-Enany is a professor of Egyptology in the Tourism Guidance Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, Helwan University. He has wide-ranging academic, scientific, administrative, and executive experience in Egypt and abroad. Over the course of his career he has developed a strong international network with governments, institutions and organisations.
During his six-and-a-half-year tenure in government he supervised numerous major projects, boosting tourism and archaeology across Egypt. More than 20 museums, including the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation, developed in collaboration with UNESCO, were opened, and work on the Grand Egyptian Museum, one of the largest museums in the world, neared completion.
More than 50 restoration and development projects at archaeological sites were inaugurated, and more than 20 restoration projects of historical mosques, monasteries and churches (including five locations on the Holy Family Trail) and Eliahu Hanavi Synagogue in Alexandria were opened. He inaugurated five ground water lowering projects at archaeological sites, and the number of archaeological missions, particularly Egyptian ones, increased significantly. He also secured the return of 7000 smuggled artefacts from more than 20 countries.
El-Enany has played a key role in strengthening Egypt’s international relations through his cultural diplomacy skills, collaborating closely with many countries, academic institutions and international organisations. He has hosted and chaired major conferences and concluded many memoranda of understanding.
El-Enany oversaw the Pharaoh’s Golden Parade and Luxor: The Sphinx Avenue Parade, and was instrumental in mitigating the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war on Egypt’s tourism sector. He has received many international awards. France named him a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2015. In 2020 he received the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, and in 2021 was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by Japan. In September 2024, El-Enany received an honorary doctorate from the University of Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 24 April, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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