UNESCO’s 193 Member States will gather in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from 30 October to 13 November 2025 for the Organization’s 43rd General Conference, a meeting expected to define the next phase of its work in education, science, culture and information — and to elect a new Director-General, UNESCO said in a statement.
The two-week conference, held at the Silk Road Samarkand Conference Centre, will bring together heads of state, ministers, academics and civil society representatives. It marks the end of Audrey Azoulay’s eight-year tenure as Director-General, a period during which the Organization sought to reassert its relevance amid rising global challenges and geopolitical divisions, according to UNESCO.
A central item on the agenda will be the Recommendation on the Ethics of Neurotechnology, developed through years of consultation among international experts. The proposal aims to establish the first global normative framework for the governance of neurotechnologies — tools that interface directly with the human brain — addressing ethical concerns over privacy, autonomy and human rights. UNESCO describes the initiative as a landmark step in international standard-setting.
If adopted, the Recommendation would join the Organization’s earlier ethical instruments on the human genome (1997), genetic data (2003) and artificial intelligence (2021), the agency noted.
Leadership Transition
Delegates will also choose UNESCO’s next Director-General, following the Executive Board’s nomination of Egyptian archaeologist and former culture minister Khaled El-Enany, the Organization confirmed. The election, scheduled for 6 November, is expected to be one of the session’s central moments.
El-Enany, if confirmed, would become the first Egyptian to lead UNESCO. His candidacy comes at a time when the Organization faces both financial pressures and growing debates over its role in safeguarding education and culture amid technological and environmental transformations, analysts said.
Themes for a Changing World
The Samarkand conference will feature a broad programme of thematic debates and cultural events that reflect UNESCO’s evolving mission.
On 3 November, a major panel titled “UNESCO: What Mandate for Tomorrow?” will explore how the Organization’s purpose has adapted since its founding in 1945. Historian Michael Ignatieff, Chair of the Centre for Ethics in AI at Oxford University, will deliver the keynote address, followed by a roundtable of international experts — including Francis Kéré, Hamida Aman, Alicia Kowaltowski, and Svein Stølen — UNESCO announced.
Several side events will highlight pressing global issues, from higher education for refugees to AI and cultural heritage, gender equality, and the ethics of emerging technologies. A youth forum on 27–28 October will give young delegates from Member States a platform to present their perspectives on climate action and social change, the agency added.
Cultural and Scientific Highlights
Beyond the formal agenda, UNESCO and Uzbekistan will showcase a major exhibition, “UNESCO: Sharing Humanity Since 1945,” highlighting the Organization’s tangible impact through portraits and testimonies of project beneficiaries, according to organizers.
The conference will also coincide with several prize ceremonies, including the UNESCO–Uzbekistan Beruniy Prize on AI Ethics (6 November) and the UNESCO–Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize (7 November), which honours exceptional efforts to preserve cultural landscapes, UNESCO said.
In celebration of the occasion, French composer and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Jean Michel Jarre will perform a global concert at Samarkand’s historic Registan Square on 1 November, blending electronic music with traditional Central Asian sounds, the agency announced.
A Platform for Reflection and Renewal
The 43rd session comes at a time when the multilateral system faces renewed pressure and UNESCO’s role — from protecting heritage in conflict zones to promoting the ethics of artificial intelligence — is increasingly under scrutiny.
In this sense, Samarkand represents more than a venue: it is a symbolic crossroads of dialogue and culture along the ancient Silk Road. For UNESCO, the gathering offers an opportunity to reaffirm its founding conviction that peace must be built through knowledge, culture and understanding — a message that continues to resonate 80 years after the Organization’s creation.
