Nevine El-Aref speaks with UNESCO's new director-general, visiting Egypt on the first leg of a comprehensive Arab-African tour Irina Bokova, the newly appointed UNESCO director-general, visited Egypt on 5 December to attend the first meeting of the permanent Forum of Arab-African Dialogue on Democracy and Human Rights after being invited by Boutros Boutros-Ghali, president of the National Council for Human Rights. Bokova met President Hosni Mubarak and Mrs Suzanne Mubarak in Sharm El-Sheikh where they discussed regional issues, including the mode and strategy of cooperation between Egypt and UNESCO. Bokova also paid a visit to Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni, her competitor during the UNESCO election. It was a very warm and friendly meeting. After 45 minutes of discussion, Bokova and Hosni told reporters that the next joint venture project between UNESCO and Egypt will be to construct an underwater museum on the Mediterranean sea-bed to display sunken treasures from ancient Alexandria. Hosni said collaboration with UNESCO will continue on several projects, including the second and final phase of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in Fustat, Old Cairo, and the third phase of the Grand Egyptian Museum overlooking the Giza plateau. Asked about his own feelings on meeting the woman who defeated him in his bid to head UNESCO, Hosni said "friendship and warmth always prevailed even during the UNESCO election campaign". Bokova, who insisted on making Egypt the first stop on an extended tour of the Arab world and Africa, said that "coming to Egypt, the city of rich heritage and diversity of cultures, offered a great opportunity to express UNESCO's willingness to strengthen its ties with the Arab-African world". She also announced that UNESCO intended to create a commission to give impetus to debates on culture, tolerance and reconciliation among international communities. A half century of cooperation between Egypt and UNESCO would, she said, continue, and be underlined with further projects in education aimed at developing teaching skills and library and museum practices. On recent Swiss legislation banning the construction of new minarets she said: "I cannot interfere in the domestic affairs of any UNESCO member state but we should support and enhance opportunities for dialogue in order to establish a better atmosphere for co- existence." Bokova also struck a conciliatory note on Libya, which had opposed her candidacy, saying she had a lot of respect for the Libyan leader and hoped cooperation between UNESCO and the North African country would develop. Speaking of her aims while in office, Bokova told Al-Ahram Weekly that she believes UNESCO needs to strengthen its role as the main venue for dialogue among cultures and as a champion of cultural diversity. "This is UNESCO's vocation, to take a moral and intellectual lead when talking about peace and tolerance which are more crucial than ever in a globalised world." UNESCO, Bokova asserted, must continue to play its role as a leader in education. "My great ambition," she said, "is to place more emphasis on science, innovation, and technologies". "UNESCO is already doing a lot but in fields such as biospheres, hydrology and oceanography it can do more through its science programmes. It could also take the lead when it comes to climate change. There is vast room for action, and I want to see UNESCO moving closer to the problems of today's world and becoming a less bureaucratic and more democratic organisation." What significance does she attach to becoming the first woman, and the first Eastern European, to head UNESCO? Bokova told the Weekly that while she felt proud of both "firsts" there was a danger they give rise to untenable expectations. "I will pay more attention to gender equality, of course. I think when women have greater access to power and knowledge then societies are more balanced and families are happier and more prosperous. Everyone will benefit from women's contribution to the knowledge, economy and culture of their societies, and also in the resolution of conflicts." "UNESCO's greatest advantage is also perhaps its greatest disadvantage," she said. "UNESCO is a leader in four spheres, culture, education, science, and communications. There is no other comparable organisation. This allows for multi-perspectives on specific problems. But it can also be seen as a disadvantage. Certainly, UNESCO's critics are never slow to claim the organisation's mandate is too wide, that it cannot identify with a single topic or problem because it is overstretched."
