MONROVIA — Professor Dr. Khaled El-Enany, the African Union and Arab League-endorsed candidate for UNESCO's top post, says the organization must be "more inclusive, more agile, and anchored in the realities of its Member States" as he outlined his vision during the visit to Liberia on August 11. An eminent Egyptologist and former Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt, El-Enany stressed that UNESCO's future depends on deepened international cooperation, robust cultural heritage preservation, and inclusive education that bridges inequalities worldwide.
In Monrovia, El-Enany met with President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti, and Education Minister Jarso Maley Jallah, reaffirming his commitment to engage with leaders at the highest levels. He also toured the National Museum of Liberia, praising the country's efforts to safeguard its cultural heritage despite limited resources.
The visit formed part of his global campaign to lead UNESCO, a position he believes should reflect both Africa's aspirations and the shared values of the international community. In conversations with Liberian stakeholders, El-Enany underscored that an effective UNESCO must not only respond to the priorities of its Member States but also amplify the voices of nations whose contributions to global culture and education are too often under-recognized.
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Below is an excerpt from his exclusive Q&A with The Liberian Investigator, in which he discusses his plans for UNESCO, Liberia's role in shaping its agenda, and the importance of empowering youth, promoting press freedom, and elevating Africa's place in multilateral decision-making.
1. Mr. El-Enany, this is your first visit to Liberia as part of your campaign. What message would you like to convey to the Liberian people on this occasion?
First, let me express my sincere gratitude to the people of Liberia for their generous welcome and allow me to convey my warmest congratulations on your National Day celebrated on 26 July. This is a moment to honor Liberia's history as Africa's first republic and a nation that has shown remarkable resilience and leadership.
I am truly honored to be here, in a country whose history, commitment to peace, and democratic progress command deep respect. Liberia embodies many of UNESCO's core values: reconciliation after conflict, freedom of expression, and the right to quality education for all, while recognizing that achieving this right remains a shared challenge that we must address together.
Liberia has long stood as a symbol of African determination, and today it remains a vital voice in regional and multilateral conversations. My visit is an opportunity to listen, to learn, and to reaffirm a commitment central to my campaign: to build a UNESCO anchored in dialogue with all its Member States and grounded in their realities. An effective UNESCO must respond to the real priorities of its members, and in a country like Liberia, where education, heritage, and media freedom are pillars of national rebuilding, it must be a committed and agile partner.
2. Why do you believe you are the right candidate to lead UNESCO, especially in light of Africa's priorities?
I am the candidate officially endorsed by the African Union and the Arab League. But more than that, I am deeply rooted in Africa: this is my continent, my home, the place where I have lived, taught, led, and served.
My candidacy is also a commitment to represent all voices within UNESCO, ensuring that every Member State, regardless of geography or economic weight, is heard and valued.
As an academic, I've trained generations of students across Africa and the Arab world. As a minister, I oversaw a cultural and tourism sector touching over a million workers, managed thousands of heritage sites, and led major reforms in education, heritage protection, and sustainable development. As a scholar, I have worked closely with African institutions to promote knowledge exchange and cultural dialogue.
This candidacy reflects a continental vision and a conviction that Africa must be at the heart of the multilateral system, not just as a beneficiary but as a driving force. If entrusted with the role of Director-General, I will work to ensure that UNESCO's "Global Priority Africa" is not a slogan, but a concrete commitment reflected in resources, representation, and results.
3. Liberia continues to face major educational challenges. How would you strengthen UNESCO's support to the country in this field?
Education is not only a right, it is the foundation of dignity, opportunity, and peace. In Liberia, as in many post-conflict contexts, schools are more than classrooms, they are spaces of healing and hope. Education has been one of the pillars of national recovery but challenges remain: the quality of teaching, the condition of infrastructure, teacher training, the urban-rural divide, and limited access to higher education.
UNESCO is already contributing to this effort, building on Liberia's strong commitment to advancing its education system. Through the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), senior officials from the Ministry of Education have benefited from leadership seminars designed to strengthen reform implementation and improve the collection of reliable schooling data, a crucial step in planning equitable and effective policies. Liberia's active engagement in initiatives such as "Acting for Quality Education Data in Liberia" demonstrates both vision and determination, helping to build national capacity to monitor progress towards SDG 4. This proactive approach is an inspiring example for other countries in the region, showing how strategic investment in data and leadership can accelerate progress towards inclusive and equitable education for all.
If elected, I would work to make UNESCO a more agile and effective partner: supporting the training of teachers, helping strengthen national curricula, promoting digital inclusion where appropriate, and reinforcing our partnerships with international funds such as the Global Partnership for Education.
More broadly, I want Liberia and countries in similar situations to be fully represented in global education discussions. The road to SDG 4 "Inclusive and equitable education" must include all voices, especially those with the most at stake. This aligns with the Education 2030 Framework for Action, adopted to implement the commitments of the Incheon Declaration, which UNESCO coordinates as the lead agency.
4. Liberia has shown strong commitment to press freedom and the fight against misinformation. What role can UNESCO play in advancing these efforts?
Liberia has taken bold and admirable steps, including the decriminalization of defamation in 2019, to protect freedom of expression. These efforts deserve full recognition and continued support.
As a candidate, I deeply believe that freedom of expression and access to reliable information are not just technical issues, they are the foundation of democratic life and of informed citizenship. In an age where misinformation spreads faster than facts, media and information literacy must become a universal right, a form of civic empowerment, especially for the younger generation.
UNESCO can play a central role in this regard: by scaling up training for journalists, providing technical support to media regulators, strengthening legal frameworks that protect press freedom, and supporting multilingual, independent, and community media. This is in full accordance with UNESCO's mandate under Article I of its Constitution, and in line with the Windhoek+30 Declaration on Information as a Public Good, which reaffirms access to reliable information as essential to democracy.
But beyond that, I want UNESCO to actively promote a culture of open dialogue and critical thinking. That means investing in education systems that teach young people not only how to read, but how to question. It means creating safe environments for debate, expression, and creative dissent. And it means making sure that no country, regardless of its resources, is left behind in this fight for truth and trust.
If entrusted with the role of Director-General, I will make it a priority to ensure that countries like Liberia, with their experience and commitment, help shape our global agenda on freedom of expression. Because the road to peace is also the road to transparency, and because trust in democratic institutions begins with access to knowledge and the protection of those who make it circulate.
5. Liberia is a signatory to several UNESCO conventions, particularly in the field of cultural heritage. What is your vision for countries seeking to promote heritage that is still under-recognized on the global stage?
I firmly believe that all heritage, whether tangible or intangible, carries universal value, even when it is not yet globally recognized. UNESCO must do more than celebrate what is already visible; it must actively support what deserves to be safeguarded and elevated. This requires action on three levels: enhancing national heritage management capacities, valuing living and traditional knowledge, and delivering fast and reliable technical support.
Liberia has a rich cultural tapestry, from its oral traditions and indigenous languages to crafts, rituals, and sacred sites. In 2017, Liberia formally listed two of its tentative sites to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve and Providence Island, followed in 2023 by the Gola Rainforest National Park. These were the first sites ever proposed by Liberia for future inclusion, marking a milestone in the country's heritage recognition. This is an area of great importance, and I am committed to maintaining an active and constructive dialogue with Liberia and UNESCO, to accompany these efforts.
As a State Party to the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, Liberia benefits from a powerful international framework to protect and promote its living heritage. But ratification is only the beginning, we must ensure that communities themselves remain at the heart of the process: as creators, transmitters, and protectors of their own cultural identity. In 2023, representatives from Liberia participated in a UNESCO regional workshop in Abuja dedicated to safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in West Africa -- a space for exchanging expertise, strengthening inventories, and connecting heritage custodians across borders.
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I believe UNESCO must adopt a more inclusive and participatory stance, one that empowers local communities, listens to their custodians, and ensures no culture is overlooked simply due to limited visibility or resources. We must help countries like Liberia share their stories, not only with the world, but with their own youth. Because heritage isn't just about preservation; it's about transmission. It's about fostering pride, continuity, and cohesion.
If elected, I will work to strengthen the mechanisms that allow every Member State, regardless of institutional size or capacity, to have their voice heard and their heritage celebrated. Ultimately, a country's memory should not be valued based on its wealth, but on how that memory is lived, passed on, and honored.
6. What message would you share with young Liberians about their role in international institutions like UNESCO?
I would tell them this: you belong here. Not just as observers, but as full actors in shaping the future. The strength of UNESCO, and indeed of all international institutions, depends on their ability to reflect the voices, talents, and aspirations of the next generation. And I want every young Liberian to know that their voice matters, not tomorrow, but today.
The future of multilateralism depends on young people who believe in it, who challenge it, and who help transform it from within. That means ensuring that youth are not only included in programmes, but involved in their design, implementation, and evaluation. They must be co-creators of solutions, not passive recipients of support.
If elected, I will make it a priority to open new spaces for youth leadership across UNESCO's work: through expanded internships, fellowships, regional innovation hubs, and youth-led platforms focused on education, heritage, climate, science, and digital transformation. I want to ensure that more young people from Africa and from countries like Liberia take part in shaping global conversations, with their local realities and ambitions fully taken into account.
I speak to you not only as a candidate, but as someone who was born, raised, and educated in Africa. Egypt is my homeland, my entire professional life has been grounded on this continent, working with communities, students, and public institutions. I know the potential that lies within Africa's youth because I have seen it every day throughout my career. You do not need to wait for validation, you already carry the knowledge, creativity, and resilience to lead.
Africa is not on the margins of the world, it is at its center. And young Africans, like those in Liberia, must be empowered to lead the conversations that will define our global future.
