Priority Africa
UNESCO's global priorities are Africa and Gender Equality. As such, UNESCO and development partners are attentive to 54 African countries with a stronger and better-targeted strategy. The African Renaissance is underway, with the adoption of the African Union Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development paving the ground for the African Economic Community. To this end, regional communities are consolidating ties.
UNESCO pays tribute to Amadou Mahtar M’bow (1921 – 2024)
Amadou Mahtar M'bow left a profound mark not just on UNESCO, but on the world. He was the first African Director General of an International Organization. UNESCO joins the global community in mourning his death and celebrating his many achievements.
Transforming knowledge for Africa’s future
International Forum of UNESCO Chairs and Partners convened by the African Union Commission and UNESCO,
under the patronage of H.E. Sahle-Work Zewde, President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
30 September - 2 October 2024, Addis Ababa, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Nelson Mandela International Day 18 July
On the occasion of Nelson Mandela International Day 2024, the Organization celebrates the first and 1991 co-winner of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny-UNESCO Peace Prize “in tribute to his efforts to educate the South African people towards a better mutual understanding”.
“… permit me to express my profound and heartfelt appreciation of this honour that the Jury of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation for Peace Research has deemed fit to bestow on me. I accept this esteemed Prize in all humility and in full knowledge that it is not the individual, Nelson Mandela, who is being so honoured, but rather the struggle for freedom and democracy in South Africa, with which my life has been so intertwined.”
Mr Nelson Mandela
Co-Prizewinner 1991
Address at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize Award Ceremony
UNESCO, 3 February 1992
The Africa We Want
In Agenda 2063, the African Union renews its vision for “An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena”.
To achieve this pan-African vision, Africa will need to address innovatively the major challenges it faces, while seizing the opportunities they present.
News & Stories
Africa in numbers
News from fields offices
Discover the latest news from UNESCO's regional offices in Africa, which play an essential role in promoting culture, education and science on the continent.
Using Africa’s rich heritage as a ‘catalyst’ to accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Publications
