Discussion between the President of Slovenia and the Director-General of UNESCO

On 16 November, Tolerance Day, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay met with the President of Slovenia, H.E. Mr Borut Pahor, to discuss key areas of cooperation between the Organization and Slovenia.

On the occasion of the Day of Tolerance, the Slovenian President reaffirmed his commitment to this value and congratulated UNESCO for the activities organized during the celebration. Ms Azoulay stressed the importance of working towards respect for others and tolerance in all circumstances and everywhere, especially in the current context marked by the pandemic crisis, which also feeds reflexes of distrust between communities and withdrawal into oneself.

The discussion then focused on their cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), a priority of the Organization. They discussed various topics of common interest such as the need to develop the ethics of AI and the future inauguration of the International Research Centre for AI (Category 2 Centre) in Ljubljana in early 2021.

The Director-General also welcomed Slovenia’s continued commitment to Open Educational Resources (OER): in 2017, the 2nd World Congress on OER was held in the Slovenian capital and more recently Slovenia has taken an active role in the Dynamic Coalition for OER launched last March.

Audrey Azoulay and H.E. Mr. Borut Pahor reiterated their willingness to continue and consolidate their cooperation in the different areas related to the mandate of the Organization and the Director-General thanked the Slovenian President for his support to UNESCO’s programmes.