In his speech during the General Policy Debate of the 41st session of the UNESCO General Conference, Landsbergis highlighted the importance of UNESCO’s role in the multilateral system.
“Unique UNESCO mandate in education, science and culture allows strengthening lasting peace, sustainable development and human rights by facilitating dialogue among nations,” said Lithuania's Foreign Minister.
When presenting Lithuania’s candidacy to the UNESCO Executive Council, the Foreign Minister identified Lithuania’s priority areas. “We presented our candidature to the UNESCO Executive Board with a view to further support inclusive and high-quality education for all, promote the development of science, digital technologies and innovation, as well as enhancing media and information literacy,” said Landsbergis.
In his speech, Lithuania's Foreign Minister several times stressed the dangers of disinformation and misinformation in the pandemic and in other contexts. Landsbergis also said that combatting disinformation and misinformation would remain high on the country’s agenda. Lithuania will continue to be a vocal advocate of the freedom of expression, media freedom, and the safety of journalists.
According to the Foreign Minister, Lithuania actively contributes to the implementation of UNESCO global priorities on gender equality and Africa. Landsbergis also noted the importance of cultural heritage and presented a nomination dossier “Modernist Kaunas: Architecture of Optimism, 1919-1939”. Lithuania has submitted the nomination dossier to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre to have Kaunas Modernist architecture inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Lithuania's Foreign Minister also mentioned the importance of technological development and emphasized the importance of ethics in artificial intelligence.
The Foreign Minister concluded his speech by reminding that UNESCO was an international organisation, which needed contributions from all member states to function effectively. “Only by multilateral cooperation, support of all member states and common efforts regarding challenges can we reach our goals on national and international level,” said Landsbergis.
