Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Professor Khaled El-Enany, has charged university students to remain steadfast in pursuing their ambitions.
Speaking during a public lecture at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus in St. Andrew on Thursday (April 2), Professor El-Enany reflected on his journey to becoming UNESCO’s 12th Director General in November 2025.
Addressing the audience under the theme ‘Out of Many, One Shared Humanity’, he shared a deeply personal message rooted in his own experiences.
“Believe in your dream. This is the only sincere advice that I can give you,” he said.
He recounted his long-standing aspiration to work at UNESCO, describing the persistence required to achieve it.
“As a young student, I had a dream of working one day at UNESCO. I tried many times during my career, many times as a PhD student, as a post-doctoral, as a full professor, but I kept my dream. To be the first Arab and the second African, I had to campaign,” he detailed.
Professor El-Enany highlighted that there was a demanding process behind his successful bid.
“The UNESCO Director General is elected by member states. I’m outside of UNESCO, so I had to run a very inclusive campaign,” he shared.
Over a period of 31 months, he travelled to 66 countries to meet with officials, with non-governmental organisations (NGOs), communities, teachers and scholars to understand their expectations from UNESCO and to share what UNESCO can do for them.
Professor El-Enany described campaigning as a full-time job which he juggled with work and studying of the constitution and conventions.
In every country he visited, he met with three to four ministers as well as NGOs.
“I spent my life doing three things – teaching, doing scientific research and working in culture. Basically, working on the fields of competence of UNESCO. So, I have firsthand experience of the expectation, the hope, the aspiration of people, of communities from UNESCO,” he said of his preparation.
Though challenging, he was determined to continue his campaign, which he said was appreciated by member states.
The General Conference of UNESCO elected him as Director General of the Organization, with 172 votes out of a total of 174 ballots.
Closing his address, he left students with a final piece of advice grounded in discipline and perseverance.
“Fix your dream, work to prepare yourself to be ready for this dream and never abandon it. You will get it one day,” Professor El-Enany said.
His visit marks the first time in 23 years that a UNESCO Director General has travelled to Jamaica.
Professor El-Enany, who has been teaching at the university level since 1993, also expressed his passion for academia and engagement with students.
“The most exciting time of my life is being in an auditorium and giving lectures and that’s something I miss a lot. I love being with students because they inspire me and I learn a lot from them,” he shared.
