Press release
Audrey Azoulay re-elected at the head of UNESCO with massive support
Audrey Azoulay was re-elected Tuesday to the post of Director-General of UNESCO with the massive support of the Organization’s 193 Member States.
Ms Azoulay’s re-election took place in a spirit of consensus with the overwhelming backing of UNESCO Member States, obtaining 155 votes out of a total of 169 ballots cast.
Over the past four years, UNESCO has undergone a significant modernization process to improve the efficiency of its actions. The Organization notably embarked on the reconstruction of the old city of Mosul (Iraq), launched in 2018 and currently underway.
Since the tragic double explosion in the port of Beirut in August 2020, UNESCO has rebuilt close to 90 schools in the Lebanese capital where it is also pursuing activities in the fields of heritage and culture.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, while hundreds of millions of children and adolescents were deprived of their right to learn, UNESCO once again proved its ability to step in, establishing the Global Education Coalition which made it possible to ensure educational continuity in 112 countries.
This new momentum has led to a consolidation of UNESCO’s budget. On the twin pillars of national and voluntary contributions, funding for 2020-21 totalled US$1.4 billion. Voluntary contributions increased by 50% over the 2017-2021 period, compared to the previous four years.
Media contact: Matthieu Lamarre, m.lamarre@unesco.org(link sends e-mail) +33 (0)1 45 68 19 13