UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay will carry an official visit to Tunisia from June 7 to 9 at the invitation of the President of the Tunisian Republic Kais Saied within the framework of the cooperation between Tunisia and UNESCO in the fields of education, culture and in particular heritage.
She will prominently visit the site of Carthage, which distinguished the history of the heritage protection policy of UNESCO and Tunisia, and will open the Conference of States Parties to the Underwater Cultural Heritage Convention, currently chaired by Tunisia, alongside the Tunisian Minister of Culture.
The visit will offer the chance to pay tribute to migrants at a ceremony in Zarzis which will see the Director-General offer the Tree of Peace to Algerian artist Rachid Koraïchi for his Garden of Africa – a burial site and memorial for migrants who passed away trying to cross the Mediterranean.
“For too long, humanity has shown powerlessness, even indifference, as women and men drown and too many look away,” stated Audrey Azoulay. “By giving a burial, we additionally give hope of an identity and consequently of dignity to those who perished.”
The Tree of Peace is a sculpture by Hedva Ser – UNESCO Artist for Peace, Goodwill Ambassador and Special Envoy for Cultural Diplomacy. The bronze statue personifies the values of peace with its entangled branches and flying doves.
Among the other stages of her visit, the Director-General will visit a training centre for tertiary trades and the archaeological site of Carthage, she will be accompanied by the Minister of Culture and the Director of the National Heritage Institute. She will further visit Djerba where she will visit Ghriba synagogue, as well as two Ibadi mosques that are part of the UNESCO Tentative List.
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