Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

UNESCO launches Beirut recovery fund for culture, heritage and education

UNESCO launches Beirut recovery fund for culture, heritage and education

To support the rehabilitation of schools, historic heritage buildings, museums and the creative economy, which suffered extensive damage in the deadly explosions that shook Beirut earlier this month, the head of the UN cultural agency on Thursday launched an international fund-raising appeal.  

The devastating blasts rocked the Lebanese capital and wreaked havoc throughout the city, killing close to 200 people, injuring thousands of others, and leaving around a quarter of a million homeless.

It also impacted some 8,000 structures, including 640 historic buildings, approximately 60 of which are at risk of collapse.

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder


In unflagging solidarity with the people of Lebanon, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) underscored its commitment to applying the highest professional and management standards in coordinating support for education and culture in the UN assistance to Lebanon.

“UNESCO, of which Lebanon is a founding member, stands at their side to mobilize the international community and support the city’s recovery for and through culture, heritage and education”, Director-General Audrey Azoulay declared as she wrapped up a two-day visit.

In kicking off the ‘Li Beirut’ initiative, she solemnly appealed for the city’s historic centre be protected “to prevent property speculation and transactions taking advantage of residents’ distress and vulnerability”.

Rehabilitating learning


In addition to spearheading UN efforts to raise $23 million to education in Beirut, UNESCO has also committed to immediately rehabilitating 40 of the 159 affected schools with funds it has already raised.

In the coming months, the UN agency will prioritize funding for schooling and distance learning – an urgent issue for the 85,000 students affected.

“We must focus on education, because it is a major concern for families and it is where Lebanon’s future will be played out,” said the Director-General.

Stepping up to make a difference


To this end, the UNESCO Global Education Coalition, put in place the early weeks of the COVID-19 crisis, will hold a Special Session on the situation in Lebanon on Tuesday.

While raising funds to respond to this crisis, the UN cultural agency will also lead international coordination recovery and reconstruction efforts for Beirut’s culture and heritage.

“We must protect the spirit of the city, even as we work to rebuild it”, said Ms. Azoulay. “We must build back – but, more importantly, we must build back well”.

She elaborated that this means protecting the “unique heritage of these neighbourhoods, respecting the city’s history, and supporting its creative energy”.

Required funding


With museums, galleries and cultural institutions expected to experience substantial losses in revenues, preliminary estimates show that $500,000,000 are needed over the coming year to support heritage and the creative economy.

UNESCO will prioritize interventions to stabilize, secure and safeguard several historic buildings located in the most affected neighbourhoods.

“We are determined to mobilize the international community both for built heritage and museums, and for the hard-hit creative sector, by supporting artists and cultural professionals, whom UNESCO will also bring together in three ResiliArt debates in September,” Ms. Azoulay said.

To finance these operations on the ground, a UNESCO donors' conference for Beirut will be organized before the end of next month.
During her two-day visit, the Director-General took stock of the situation by meeting with artists, members of the cultural sector and creative industries, including NGOs and local partners.

Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO’s Director-General, talks to the media during her visit to Beirut in August 2020.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×