Table of Contents
Advancing ocean literacy on World Oceans Day
On 8 June, World Oceans Day, the Director-General visited the SEA BEYOND Ocean Literacy Centre on the island of San Servolo in Venice. Inaugurated in 2025 by Prada Group and UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the Centre is a unique space that brings together education, science and innovation to reconnect people with the ocean, promote sustainability and inspire action for a shared blue future.
Developed as part of the SEA BEYOND programme, the Centre represents a milestone in UNESCO’s partnership with the Italian private sector and a powerful contribution to the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. During the visit, the Director-General highlighted the importance of bringing ocean science closer to communities, schools and young people, and of ensuring that ocean literacy reaches everyone, everywhere — especially across Africa, UNESCO’s global priority, and Small Island Developing States, whose futures are inseparable from the ocean.
Supporting UNESCO’s field presence in Venice
Earlier that day, the Director-General visited the UNESCO Regional Office for Science and Culture in Europe, based in Venice. As UNESCO’s only field office in the region with a dual mandate in Culture and Science, the Office plays a strategic role in promoting international cooperation across South-East Europe and the Mediterranean, particularly at the intersection of culture, science, sustainable development and climate change.
Connecting frontier science and international cooperation in Trieste
The visit continued in Trieste, a UNESCO Learning City. There, the Director-General met with the scientific community, alongside the staff of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), TWAS – The World Academy of Sciences, the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), the World Water Assessment Programme based in Perugia, and other partners.
Trieste holds a special place in the UNESCO family. Through this scientific ecosystem, UNESCO connects scientific excellence with capacity-building, science diplomacy and opportunities for young scientists around the world, particularly from developing countries. At a time when science is transforming societies, UNESCO’s responsibility is to ensure that all countries and all people can access, shape and benefit from scientific progress.
During his visit to ICTP, the Director-General also convened an expert roundtable to explore a stronger and more coordinated approach to frontier science across UNESCO’s scientific ecosystem in Trieste. From artificial intelligence to quantum technologies, scientific advances are transforming the world. Building on Trieste’s exceptional foundation, UNESCO aims to strengthen capacities, expand international cooperation and make frontier science a driver of peace, inclusion and sustainable development.
Strengthening cooperation with Italian authorities in Rome
On 9 June, the Director-General travelled to Rome, where he met with national authorities and representatives of Italian institutions. He was received by Sergio Mattarella, President of the Italian Republic, and held meetings with Alessandro Giuli, Minister of Culture, and Maria Tripodi, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The Director-General expressed his deep gratitude for Italy’s leading role within UNESCO, its longstanding commitment to multilateral cooperation, and its support to the Organization’s work across culture, science, education and heritage protection, including in emergency situations.
Italy’s UNESCO network is one of the richest in the world. It spans World Heritage sites, biosphere reserves, geoparks, Creative Cities, Learning Cities, UNESCO Chairs, Associated Schools, Category 2 Centres and UNESCO offices. The visit was an opportunity to explore new avenues for cooperation with the Government, regions, cities, universities, schools, local communities and the private sector.
In Rome, the Director-General also met with the Italian National Commission for UNESCO at Palazzo Altemps, a historic residence that hosts the National Roman Museum. The meeting highlighted the essential role of National Commissions in linking the local to the global by bringing UNESCO’s values to life through institutions, communities and civil society.
READ MORE: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-director-general-reinforces-strategic-cooperation-italy-ocean-literacy-frontier-science-and?hub=701
