Message from Mr Khaled El-Enany, Director-General of UNESCO, for the IMD 2026

UNESCO joins the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and museum professionals around the world to celebrate International Museum Day, adopted by ICOM in 1977.

In line with UNESCO 2015 Recommendation concerning the Protection and Promotion of Museums and Collections, their Diversity, and their Role in Society, UNESCO engages with museums and partners worldwide to support the rehabilitation of museums and the safeguarding of collections, the return and restitution of cultural objects, and fight against illicit trafficking of cultural properties. We also work with museums as an important space for dialogue, education, peacebuilding.

On this International Museum Day, UNESCO pays tribute to all those who keep museums alive: curators, educators, researchers, conservators, artists, communities and visitors. Their work reminds us that museums are not places apart from society, but places where society can look at itself, speak across differences, and imagine common horizons.

This is the meaning of UNESCO for the people: supporting the institutions that bring knowledge, culture, and dignity closer to every community.