On 20 January 2026, on the occasion of the Franco-German Day, a Franco-German workshop on the reform of UNESCO took place at the premises of the Permanent Delegation of the Federal Republic of Germany to UNESCO. The workshop was held as part of UN80, the United Nations' reform and reflection process on the 80th anniversary of its founding.

The aim of the workshop was to develop a joint strategy paper on the UNESCO reform, which Germany and France jointly hand over to UNESCO Director General Khaled El-Enany. Our discussions focused on the role of UNESCO as a multilateral actor in the UN system, the UNESCO mandate 80 years after the establishment of the organisation, the communication of UNESCO's work, the involvement of the entire UNESCO network and ways to improve internal processes and structures.

Both countries stressed the central normative role of UNESCO, its role as guardian of international conventions in its mandate and as a driver of implementation of internationally negotiated recommendations and frameworks on education, science, culture and communication. Especially in the context of global crises, it is of particular importance to further strengthen this normative role.

see the video of the workshop: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DT0OKAgDLDy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==