The Ministry of Culture contributes 200,000 euros to the UNESCO Fund for the reconstruction of Gaza

Meeting between the Minister for Culture, Ernest Urtasun, and the Palestinian Ambassador to Spain, Husni Abdel Wahed

The Minister for Culture, Ernest Urtasun, and the Palestinian Ambassador to Spain, Husni Abdel Wahed, have met and announced an agreement whereby the Ministry of Culture will contribute 200,000 euros to the UNESCO Fund for the reconstruction of Gaza.

This fund is for the reconstruction of Gaza, managed by UNESCO and aimed at addressing the emergency in terms of education, culture, communication and information, as soon as the land is accessible. In particular, it is envisaged to provide psychosocial support to students, heritage safeguarding and direct support to journalists. This is the first time that the Ministry of Culture has contributed to this UNESCO Emergency Fund and a first step towards establishing a regular contribution.

This contribution is in addition to the 100,000 euros that the Ministry of Culture contributes annually to the TEJA programme, an international cultural solidarity network that provides support to artists and cultural professionals in emergency situations. Through this support, Palestinian artists travel to Spain for artistic residencies.

The meeting between the Minister for Culture, Ernest Urtasun, and the Palestinian Ambassador to Spain, Husni Abdel Wahed, took place within the framework of Mondiacult 2025, the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development, which is being held in Barcelona from 29 September to 1 October, and in which Palestine is participating as a member of UNESCO.

Support for UNRWA and the culture of peace

In recent months, the Ministry of Culture has promoted different initiatives in collaboration with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), with the aim of supporting Gaza and denouncing the genocide that Israel is perpetrating on the Palestinian population.

From the end of September 2025, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Museo Nacional de Antropología will host 'Gaza through their eyes' in Madrid, an exhibition that brings together photographs taken by UNRWA photojournalists who, from October 2023, have documented life in the strip under Israeli siege.

For their part, the Ministry of Culture and the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music organised a solidarity performance of the show 'Afanador' by the Spanish National Ballet last July. All proceeds from the performance went entirely to the emergency programmes of UNRWA, which continues to provide essential services in Gaza.

In addition, the Ministry of Culture and the Embassy of Palestine in Spain promoted 'Culture for Peace', a multidisciplinary programme of cultural activities that took place between March and May, with the aim of promoting actions between the two countries in the fields of culture and art.

Non official translation