UNESCO - Young people's call for a new culture of peace in the minds and…

M. Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, visited UNESCO's headquarters on 3 September 2026 for the launch of a young people's call to build a culture of peace and reconciliation.

Co-chaired by the Minister and UNESCO's Director-General, the event marked the culmination of work carried out by 145 young people from 135 countries making up UNESCO's Youth Forum. Over the summer, these young people worked together to build a culture of peace through education, science and culture, taking into account the challenges of our time - for example, combating hate speech and protecting minors from violent and manipulative online content.

At the event, they issued a young people's "Call for a new culture of peace in the minds and spirits of women and men for the 21^st century." The Minister and Director-General welcomed the proposals made by the young people in the Call, which range from young people's involvement in peace and reconciliation processes to the establishment of an international framework on youth and artificial intelligence, and the promotion of dialogue methods in schools.

A spotlight was shone on the UNESCO Youth Forum's Call during the opening sequence of the Fabrique de la Diplomatie today, Friday 4 September 2026.

During a meeting with Director-General Khaled El-Enany, the Minister also recalled the commitment by UNESCO's host State, France, to multilateralism and to the organization's central role in promoting education, science, culture and information worldwide, including in crisis situations. In the context of UNESCO's 80^th anniversary, the Minister welcomed the continuation of work begun by the Director-General to reform the organization and increase its action at grassroots level.