Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Audrey Azoulay, Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizaton (UNESCO).

The Prime Minister and the Director General exchanged views on how UNESCO and Canada can work together in advancing issues of shared interest including promoting cultural diversity, fostering First Nations and indigenous languages‎, promoting digital technology, and considering ethical issues relating to artificial intelligence.‎ They agreed the need that more be done to prevent violent extremism and to strengthen education on the Holocaust and on genocide.

Prime Minister Trudeau commended UNESCO's leadership in promoting World Heritage.  He reiterated Canada’s support for UNESCO and the strategic transformation it is undertaking‎, as well as the organization’s holocaust education work. He also expressed concern about the politicization of some resolutions at UNESCO and welcomed recent efforts to address this issue. Finally, the Prime Minister reaffirmed Canada's support for the important work undertaken by the UNESCO Institute of Statistics, headquartered in Montréal.