El-Enany, a professor of Egyptology at Cairo’s Helwan University, would become the first Arab director-general of the organization, which oversees international cooperation efforts in science and education in addition to the UN’s handling of cultural heritage.
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Firmin Edouard Matoko of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabriela Ramos of Mexico, who both withdrew earlier this year, both campaigned heavily for the position.
The board’s decision, which includes 58 of the organization’s 194 member states, is scheduled to be finalized at UNESCO’s general assembly meeting in Uzbekistan next month.
Audrey Azoulay, France’s former minister of culture, will be the organization’s new leader, who has been in the position since 2017.
In particular, Azoulay was instrumental in initiating a significant effort to rebuild Mosul, a former city of Iraq, after it was ravaged by fighting between the ISIL (ISIS)-linked US and Iraqi forces.
El-Enany’s nomination comes as the Paris-based UN body struggles with choosing which cultural heritage sites to protect from threats like wars, pollution, and climate change.
At the end of 2026, the organization will also be subject to an 8% funding cut, with the United States once more formally resigning along with its funding.
The Trump administration will pull the US out of the UN cultural organization for the second time in protest of its members’ decision to accept the State of Palestine as a member in 2011.
More than 80% of member states now support the State of Palestine as a full member of the UN General Assembly, making it a Permanent Observer State.
US State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce argued that the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization had been a result of allowing Palestine to remain a member of UNESCO.
Israel dissolved UNESCO at the end of 2018.
Since October 7, 2023, the organization has verified damage to a total of 110 sites, including 13 religious sites, 77 historic or artistic buildings, three depositories of movable cultural property, nine monuments, one museum, and seven archeological sites.
El-Enani, 54, started out as a tour guide for ancient Egyptian sites before becoming a well-known Egyptianologist.
From 2016 to 2022, he served as Egypt’s president under the auspices of antiquities and, later, tourism.
El-Sisi applauded the nomination of El-Enani, calling it a “historical achievement that shall be added to Egypt’s diplomatic and cultural record as well as the achievements of the Arab and African people.”
El-Enani was in charge of launching numerous mega-tourism initiatives, including those involving the Cairo National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, the Jewish Temple, and numerous ancient discoveries that helped revive the nation’s sluggish tourism industry.
Source: Aljazeera
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