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UNESCO: Kuwait plays leading role in promoting, preserving knowledge in Arab region

Date: 12/02/2025     Time: 8:04 AM

he UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) affirmed Kuwait's worth of being the capital of Arab culture, especially considering the leading role it plays in promoting, preserving and advancing humanity and building fortresses of peace and prosperity. In an interview with KUNA, UNESCO Assistant Director-General Firmin Edouard Matoko praised Kuwait's effective role in enhancing education and culture in the Arab region. The UN official also stressed the importance of the effective role of Kuwait through its various initiatives in several wide-ranging activities, which embodies its leadership in enhancing regional and international cooperation. He pointed out Kuwait's ability to coordinate regional and international efforts to advance the various activities of the UN, especially in building the capacities of educational systems, preserving and enhancing cultural heritage, protecting the media, and freedom of expression. "In the cultural sector, Kuwait's commitment was reflected in various initiatives and the ratification of major agreements, including the 1954 Hague Convention, the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, and the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property," said Matoko. He pointed out that Kuwait provided "great support" to the efforts to respond to contain the repercussions of the Beirut port explosions in 2020 by funding UNESCO activities in the Lebanese capital. The funding greatly helped in completing a project in 2021 to revive cultural life within affected communities and enhance creativity and cultural production in the context of reconstruction, he added. Further, Kuwait has also allocated USD five million to finance UNESCO's program from 2016 to 2021, related to spreading educational opportunities for youth affected by the crisis in Syria, based on its programs in Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon, as well as inside Syria, which was deeply appreciated by the organization towards Kuwait. These allocations helped UNESCO's programs to rehabilitate nearly 4,000 refugee youth and help them continue their secondary education by covering their registration fees, providing school materials and developing an activation program to encourage them to continue their education, he added. The UN official also stressed that the partnership between UNESCO and Kuwait covers all areas of the work of the UN organization, saying, "As a member of the organization since 1960, Kuwait, represented by its permanent delegation and its national commission, plays a major role in cooperation with the organization." He affirmed that this cooperation was strengthened in 2021 when Kuwait was elected to the UNESCO Executive Board, indicating that "this election not only shows the effective role that Kuwait plays in the governance of the organization but also reflects its commitment to formulating international policies and programs consistent with UNESCO's mandate." He pointed out that Kuwait "effectively" supports initiatives that benefit the Arab region, which reflects its leadership in enhancing regional cooperation, as is also evident from its participation in the UNESCO initiative launched on August 27, 2020 under the slogan (For Beirut) to support reconstruction and recovery efforts by mobilizing the education, culture and media sectors in the Lebanese capital. The award of His Highness the late Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, for empowering people with disabilities through digital technologies "embodies Kuwait's commitment to social inclusion," said Matoko.