UNESCO DG visits Raj Ghat, Humayun's Tomb; meets HRD, culture ministers

UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay on Tuesday kicked off her three-day tour of India seeking to bolster "strategic partnership" with the country focusing on areas of heritage and education, officials said.

This is her first official visit to India after she took charge as the DG of the world body, they said.

The DG after arriving in Delhi, visited the Raj Ghat to pay her respects to Mahatma Gandhi who has had a profound influence on UNESCO, officials said.

She also meet Union Minister of Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and the Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel, a UNESCO India official said.

UNESCO New Delhi tweeted pictures of her activities during the India visit

"There is no 'way to peace', there is only peace @UNESCO Director General @AAzoulay starts her India visit by paying tribute to #MahatmaGandhi at his memorial at Raj Ghat, Delhi. Her visit aims to explore areas and strengthen UNESCO's ties with the country! #UNESCODGinIndia," it tweeted and shared pictures of her visit to Raj Ghat.

A delegation of UNESCO led by Azoulay met the Union Minister of Culture.

"The 'C' in UNESCO stands for #Culture. Cultural institutions are to #inclusivity," the world body said in another tweet.

During her meeting with the Union HRD Minister, the two sides signed an agreement in the education sector.

"Strengthening cultural and educational institutions lies at the core of #SDG16," UNESCO New Delhi tweeted and shared pictures of the meeting.

Earlier in the day, the the UNESCO India Office said, "During her meetings, Azoulay will explore opportunities to develop UNESCO's strategic partnership with India with a particular focus on culture, education and artificial intelligence, for which Member States have asked UNESCO to develop a standard-setting instrument for the ethics in AI".

The UNESCO India Office also tweeted pictures of her visit to the Mughal-era tomb of emperor Humyaun, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

"#Humayun's tomb is the first garden tomb on Indian subcontinent The necropolis of the #Mughal dynasty inspired several major architectural innovations @UNESCO DG @AAzoulay paid a visit to this UNESCO #Heritage site which was inscribed in 1993 #UNESCODGinIndia," it said.

On Wednesday, Azoulay will travel to Pink City Jaipur, which last June became 38th World Heritage site in India.

She will attend a special ceremony honouring UNESCO, at the iconic Albert Hall, alongside Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, officials said.

The UNESCO DG will also visit Amer Fort in Rajasthan.

While in Rajasthan, Azoulay will also visit the Girls Secondary School in Amer, reflecting UNESCO's commitment to girls' education as in the Director General's words "investing in a girl's education is one of the most effective ways to ensure a better life for her, and a better world for us all".

In Delhi, she will visit the National Museum to see the exhibition titled 'Indian Heritage in Digital Space' which showcases augmented reality displays of five UNESCO World Heritage Sites, officials earlier in the day said.

On the last day of her visit, she will address the opening session of a seminar on 'The Future of Education - Artificial Intelligence for Social and Emotional Learning' in Delhi, organised by the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP), they said.