Audrey Azoulay has been re-elected as the director-general (DG) of Unesco with the massive support of the organisation's 193 member states.

Azoulay's re-election took place Tuesday in a spirit of consensus with the overwhelming backing of Unesco member states, obtaining 155 votes out of 169 ballots cast.

Over the past four years, Unesco has undergone a significant modernisation process to improve the efficiency of its actions.

"I see this result as a sign of regained unity within our organisation. Over the last four years, we have been able to restore confidence in Unesco. And in some respects, this has also been about restoring Unesco's confidence in itself," Azoulay said. "We regained serenity by reducing the political tensions that stood in our way and by looking for common positions on subjects that were divisive in the past." 

"We were then able to develop a shared ambition, notably by reconnecting with the tradition of leading major operations in the field."

The organisation notably embarked on the reconstruction of the old city of Mosul in Iraq – launched in 2018 and currently underway – Unesco said.

Since the tragic double explosion in the port of Beirut in August 2020, Unesco has rebuilt close to 90 schools in the Lebanese capital where it is also pursuing activities in the fields of heritage and culture.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, as hundreds of millions of children and adolescents were deprived of their right to learn, Unesco established the Global Education Coalition, which made it possible to ensure educational continuity in 112 countries.

This new momentum has led to a consolidation of Unesco's budget. On the twin pillars of national and voluntary contributions, funding for 2020-21 totalled $1.4 billion.

Voluntary contributions increased by 50 per cent over the 2017-2021 period, compared to the previous four years.