Leadership Talk by the Director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, Venice

I am very grateful for the opportunity to address the role of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in countering and preventing antisemitism and our efforts in preserving the legacy of the Holocaust. This topic sends us back to the founding of UNESCO, created in response to the horrors of the Second World War, in response to the Holocaust, and to all forms of racism and antisemitism yesterday, today, and tomorrow. UNESCO ’ s role, our core func-tion within the United Nations, is unique — we act on mentalities, we act by building the defences of peace in the minds of human beings, building a climate for dialogue, for human rights, and peace through education, culture, and sciences.¹ We advocate this approach because we believe that the ethical and political commitment against antisemitism and all forms of intolerance and discrimination must be founded on an intellectual effort to understand the roots of hatred to defuse the discourses that exploit ignorance.We strongly believe that knowledge is the most powerful tool for peace and that culture is our strongest weapon against hatred. This is why we are convinced that education and culture have become core security issues in today ’ s world.