Search | UNESCO

Official launching ceremony of the project "General History of Africa " in Côte d'Ivoire

Slovenia's education response to the influx of Ukrainian students

Denmark's education response to the influx of Ukrainian students

Copenhagen named UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture for 2023

The city of Copenhagen has been officially designated as World Capital of Architecture for 2023 by the DirectorGeneral of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay on the recommendation of the General Assembly of the International Union of Architects UIA This decision is in keeping with the partnership agreement established between UNESCO and the UIA in 2018 through which UNESCO designates the host cities of UIAs World Congress as World Capitals of Architecture We are very happy to see the torch of the World Capital of Architecture title pass to Copenhagen from Rio de Janeiro Audrey Azoulay said The inaugural World Capital of Architecture in Rio was a real success underlining the important role of urban planning notably in the pandemic context she noted adding that Copenhagen will build upon Rios achievements by continuing to show the way in which architecture and culture can respond to the challenges of our time especially in the environmental field UNESCO and the UIA launched the World Capital of Architecture initiative to highlight the key role of architecture city planning and culture in shaping urban identity and sustainable urban development Every three years the city designated as World Capital of Architecture becomes a global forum at the forefront of discussions on contemporary urban planning and architectural issues As the World Capital of Architecture for 2023 Copenhagen will host a series of major events and programmes on the theme Sustainable Futures Leave No One Behind In cooperation with the Danish Association of Architects and various Nordic professional bodies the municipality will examine how architecture and urban design contribute to meeting the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals From 18 to 22 July 2021 Rio de Janeiro will host the World Congress of Architects online Following Copenhagen in 2023 Barcelona and Beijing are the two contenders looking to claim the World Capital of Architecture title in 2026 and host the next World Congress The official decision will be made later this year

Denmark to strengthen UNESCO’s work on safety of journalists in Africa and the Arab Region

The Ambassador of Denmark to UNESCO Carsten Staur met with UNESCO DirectorGeneral Audrey Azoulay to discuss Denmarks collaboration with UNESCO and strengthening the organizations work in the field of safety of journalists in particular in Africa and the Arab Region

Museums in Slovenia show culture is positive and meaningful in the time of COVID-19

Kaja Širok is the Director of the National Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia and a research fellow at the Faculty of Arts Department for Sociology in Ljubljana A historian by training her PhD in Cultural studies focused on contested memories and identity making in the border areas She discusses with us in this interview the impact of the pandemic crisis on culture and the mitigation of its effects Ms Širok serves as a member of the International Council of Museums ICOM Ethics Committee and the International Committee of Memorial Museums in Remembrance of the Victims of Public Crimes ICMEMO She is the president of the ICOM Slovenia and a member of the Academic Committee of the House of European History museum

December 23, 2020

Discussion between the President of Slovenia and the Director-General of UNESCO

November 20, 2020

Corona Virus Media Watch launched by UNESCO’s International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence in Slovenia

The global COVID19 outbreak has been described as a pandemic by World Health Organization WHO following almost 125000 cases that have been reported to WHO from 118 countries and territories World leaders including UNESCO DirectorGeneral Audrey Azoulay have called for solidarity and action to address emerging challenges due to the spread of COVID19

Agreement to establish the International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence in Ljubljana signed

AI has the potential to accelerate the achievement of sustainable development goals but also contribute towards new challenges that we must anticipate Aggressive deployment of AI is raising many ethical questions across the globe as its configuration rapidly transforms various spheres of human agency This underlines the importance of a humancentred approach to maximize benefits and counter challenges and the significance of plans to create an International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence IRCAI as a UNESCO Category 2 centre in Ljubljana Slovenia The Agreement was signed on distance by Slovenias Minister of Education Science and Sport and Deputy Prime Minister Dr Jernej Pikalo and UNESCOs Assistant DirectorGeneral for Communication and Information Mr Moez Chakchouk as the representative of the Director General on 5 March 2020 During the ceremony Mr Pikalo expressed his confidence in the Governments partnership with UNESCO and noted This agreement between UNESCO and the Government of Slovenia illustrates a strong foundation for the future activities of IRCAI and represents a direct response to the challenges many member states are faced with in view of emerging AI technologies For his part Mr Chakchouk thanked the Government of Slovenia and the Deputy Prime Minister and noted that AI can help to pave the way for new opportunities for sustainable development and help in constructing knowledge societies This Centre represents a shared vision by the Government of Slovenia and UNESCO to better understand AIs role for humanity The establishment of IRCAI was debated during UNESCOs Executive Board at its 206th session and was subsequently approved during the 40th session of the UNESCO General Conference This validated the proposal and authorized the DirectorGeneral to sign an agreement between UNESCO and the Government of Slovenia concerning the establishment and operation of the Centre The Centre will not only maximize the benefits of AI to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals but also expedite a multistakeholder mechanism to put AI under the litmus test of ethical legal openness and policy challenges The Centre will also add a unique focus and further expertise on UNESCOs AI programmes In particular it will leverage the power and capability of AI across various areas of competence of UNESCO by generating relevant statistics on AI AIrelated applications and associated technological innovations The creation of the Centre also takes place against the backdrop of a recentlylaunched UNESCO publication Steering AI and Advanced ICTs for Knowledge Societies This publication highlights some of the challenges and opportunities of AI from a human rights openness inclusive access and multistakeholder perspective It advocates for steering clear of both technological utopianism and dystopian thinking while giving attention to the role of human agency and humancentred values in the development of AI Category 2 centres under the auspices of UNESCO are established and funded by Member States to contribute to the achievement of UNESCOs objectives Though not legally part of the Organization these Centres are associated with UNESCO through formal arrangements approved by the General Conference More information about UNESCOs work on humancentred AI is available at httpsenunescoorgartificialintelligence For more information on this article please contact Bhanu Neupane bneupaneunescoorg

Slovenia's No Excuse network pushes youth to change the world

January 30, 2020