UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors gathered in Athens to discuss the Most Important Cultural Issues in a Changing World
The Meeting of Goodwill Ambassadors and UNESCO Artists for Peace was held in Greece in September 2026. The participants discussed a wide range of issues: the protection of cultural heritage, the development of education, and the role of science and culture in strengthening peace in an era of global change.
The delegation of the World Peoples Assembly took part in the event:
Alexandra Ochirova - Co-Chair of the Supreme Advisory Council of the World Peoples Assembly, member of the General Council of the World Peoples Assembly, member of the State Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Doctor of Philosophical Sciences;
Alana Kochieva - Head of the Directorate for Development of International Education and Partnership, PhD in Cultural Studies;
as well as:
Zarifa Mgoyan (Zara) - UNESCO Artist for Peace;
Sergey Markarov - UNESCO Artist for Peace;
Alsou Abramova (Alsou) - UNESCO Artist for Peace.
The Russian side participated in discussions on all key items of the agenda, demonstrating its firm commitment to the ideas of humanism and confirming its interest in expanding international cooperation under the auspices of UNESCO.
Director-General of UNESCO Khaled El-Enany, addressing those gathered, noted that UNESCO is an organization that exists primarily for people and for peace:
- UNESCO’s mission is particularly urgent today: to unite states through education, science, culture and communication. It is this area that becomes the foundation on which the global community can respond to the challenges of the era.
Within the three-day event, the key event was a meeting attended by:
Konstantinos Tasoulas - President of the Hellenic Republic;
Khaled El-Enany - Director-General of UNESCO;
Lina Mendoni - Minister of Culture of the Hellenic Republic;
Costantza Sbokou-Constantakopoulou - UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the Protection and Promotion of Culture.
The speakers focused on the most pressing challenges of our time - the impact of artificial intelligence on the field of culture. The participants agreed that the faster the world is changing, the more carefully we need to treat human creativity, cultural diversity and the values that unite humanity.
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors reaffirmed their commitment to using art, sport, education and culture as instruments for strengthening peace and international dialogue. During the meeting, they shared their experience of implementing their own international initiatives and discussed ways to further promote UNESCO’s values and mission around the world.
Additional information is available on the official website of the World Peoples Assembly, on its VKontakte and Telegram accounts, and at media@world-assembly.org.