UNESCO Director-General to visit Egypt to celebrate the country’s millennial heritage and support its conservation

Paris —The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, will carry out her first official visit to Egypt from 3 to 5 April to celebrate the country’s rich heritage and support its safeguarding, notably with regard to the challenges of urbanization and sustainable tourism.

The Director-General will attend a ceremony marking the transfer of mummies from the Museum of Cairo to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. “Seeing the mummies enter the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, knowing they are now more accessible, marks the end of much work to improve their conservation and exhibition. This raises emotions that go much further than the mere relocation of a collection. We will see the history of Egyptian civilization unfold before our eyes,” declared Ms Azoulay.

After a visit to Cairo and its landmarks, the Director-General will travel to Aswan.

Relations between UNESCO and Egypt have been particularly strong since the campaign to safeguard the Nubian monuments of Abu Simbel (1963-1968), which lay the ground for UNESCO’s World Heritage Convention of 1972. Egypt is a sound partner of the Organization in all its fields of competence: culture, science and education. It is an active participant in work to meet the challenges of the future, such as artificial intelligence, open science and Priority Africa.