Her unwavering position of the Greek government for the reunion of the Parthenon Sculptures repeated the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendonispeaking to the national intervention of Greece in its General Assembly UNESCO. This year’s convention, for the first time, is being held outside of Paris, in Samarkand.
Mrs. Mendoni called all the member states to support the national goal, emphasizing that the Parthenon is one global symbol democracy that belongs to all humanity. He emphasized that the Sculptures should be reunited in their birthplace, at Acropolis Museumso that the monument can recover the integrity of.
Combating antiquities and new nominations
The minister referred extensively to illegal trafficking cultural goods, characterizing it global threat. He presented Greece’s initiatives to deal with the phenomenon, such as its recent edition Greek Red List and the country’s contribution to Virtual Museum of Stolen Cultural Property of UNESCO.
Regarding World Heritage, Ms. Mendoni recalled the recent successful registration of Minoan Palace Centers on the UNESCO list. At the same time, he referred to the new candidacy promoted by Greece: its wider region Olympusa landmark that he said combines unique biodiversity with the sacred abode of the 12 Gods.
Education and recognition of the Greek Language
The intervention also focused on supporting Greece in Global Geoparks of UNESCO (the country already hosts nine) and in its promotion “Green Education” to raise awareness of issues climate change in schools.
A special moment of the speech was the reference to the official recognition, by the General Assembly, of February 9th as World Day of the Greek Language. The minister warmly thanked the countries that supported the Greek proposal, stressing that this celebration is, above all, a celebration of multilingualism.
Finally, Mrs. Mendoni thanked the outgoing General Manager Audrey Azoulay and congratulated the newly elected Khaled El-Enany for assuming his new duties.