Khaled El-Enany, Egyptian professor and French alumnus, to head UNESCO
UNESCO is about to change its head. The Egyptian candidate, Khaled El-Enany, will succeed the French Audrey Azoulay. This Egyptian Egyptologist and politician has been a minister several times and is a professor of Egyptology. During his higher education, after obtaining a scholarship, Khaled El-Enany continued his studies in France, at the Université Montpellier 3 - Paul-Valéry.
"France congratulates Khaled El-Enany, Egyptologist and former Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, on his appointment by UNESCO's Executive Board as Director-General of the organization . This is how the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the appointment, pointing out that France, as the country where UNESCO has its headquarters, reaffirms on this occasion "its full support for the organization and its missions, as well as its attachment to multilateralism".
A two-stage appointment
According to the UNESCO website, this nomination "will be put to the vote of all UNESCO member states on November 6", at the Organization's General Conference in Samarkand (Uzbekistan), where it will be ratified.
Once elected by the General Conference, Khaled El-Enany will succeed Frenchwoman Audrey Azoulay, in office since 2017, for a four-year term in mid-November . He will thus become the first Director-General from the Arab world and the second from Africa since the creation of UNESCO eighty years ago.
A Francophile and Francophone alumnus
Concerning its future Director General, the UNESCO website reports that Khaled Ahmed El-Enany Ali Ezz, born in 1971, is an eminent Egyptologist and Professor of Egyptology at the University of Hélouan, where he has taught for over thirty years. He holds a PhD in Egyptology from the Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 and speaks perfect French.
More precisely, according to the biographical note published on his own website, Khaled El-Enany reports that after starting his career as a tourist guide, a profession that awakened his curiosity and appreciation of cultural diversity, he completed a master's degree at the University of Hélouan, then a doctorate in Egyptology at the Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, where he arrived in 1997. Having been awarded an Egyptian scholarship to study in France, it was in Montpellier that he completed his DEA and doctorate in 2001.
Between 2006 and 2023, he was invited eight times as a guest professor at the university, where he has since been awarded an honorary doctorate. He also collaborated for some fifteen years with theFrench Institute of Oriental Archaeology in Cairo, "testifying to his significant contribution to scientific research and his commitment to the training of young researchers". He is an honorary member of the Société française d'égyptologie.
A new roadmap
As reported by France 24, Khaled El-Enany promised before the Executive Board "to work hand in hand with all Member States to build together a roadmap to modernize UNESCO and project it into the future". Today, UNESCO works within a framework of action around strategic objectives in the fields of education, the environment, social cohesion and technology.
With 194 member states, reports the official website, UNESCO contributes to peace and security by promoting multilateral cooperation.
UNESCO coordinates :
- a network of more than 2,000 world heritage sites, biosphere reserves and "global geoparks";
- several hundred "creative, learning, inclusive and sustainable cities";
- more than 13,000 associated schools, university chairs, training and research centers;
- a worldwide network of 200 National Commissions.
Headquartered in Paris, UNESCO has offices in 54 countries and employs over 2,300 people.
No comment
Log in to post comment. Log in.