Egypt’s Damietta among 10 winners of UNESCO Learning City Award

28 / 10 / 2021

By Marwa Nassar - -

Egypt’s Damietta city is among the ten cities that were named as winners of the UNESCO Learning Cities Award 2021.

Damietta seeks to promote sustainable development, advance basic skills among adults, and improve public health for a population of over 330,000.

Its municipal departments – Education; Women, Childhood and Motherhood; Youth and Sports; Social Solidarity; and Health – work with the city’s local libraries, Palace of Culture, and media and information center to ensure that lifelong learning is implemented cross-sectorally.

With the implementation of the ‘Safe Cities’ project, Damietta has placed a particular focus on the promotion of entrepreneurship for women.

The UNESCO Learning Cities Award 2021 on 27 October 2021 selected the ten cities in view of their outstanding achievements in the implementation of the learning city strategy.

Whether they are megacities or smaller urban areas, all of the awardees have shown how learning opportunities empower citizens of all ages when suitable policies and programs are put in place.

The awarded cities included Al Wakra (Qatar), Belfast (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), Clermont-Ferrand (France), Dublin (Ireland), Huejotzingo (Mexico), Jubail Industrial City (Saudi Arabia), Osan (Republic of Korea), Shanghai (People’s Republic of China), and Wyndham (Australia).

The ten cities were selected by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), upon the recommendation of an independent jury of international experts.

“With more than half of humanity living in urban areas, cities have a central role to play in providing learning opportunities. This year’s UNESCO Learning City Awardees enable their citizens to adapt to a rapidly changing world and acquire the knowledge necessary to act jointly to solve global challenges. Through lifelong learning they pave the way for fairer, more just and sustainable societies and a better future for all of us!” underlined David Atchoarena, Director of UIL, ahead of the awards ceremony.