Princess Marie attends UNESCO 40th General Conference + An unannounced UNESCO visit in October

On 15 November, Princess Marie attended the UNESCO 40th General Conference in Paris, France as Patron of the Danish National UNESCO Commission. Read more below.

Princess Marie attended the UNESCO 40th General Conference as Patron of the Danish National UNESCO Commission. UNESCO is the UN’s organization for education, science, culture and communication. UNESCO holds its General Conference every two years and it determines the policies and the main lines of work of the Organization as well as sets the programmes and the budget of UNESCO.

Princess Marie made a 10 minute speech at the end of the morning plenary meeting. Her speech was in French and in English and focused on youth education, climate change, sustainable development and the fight against food waste which are all causes she has been deeply involved with in the past few years.

While at the headquarters, she also had the opportunity to meet with Audrey Azoulay, the current Director General of UNESCO.

She also added her own contribution to their #IChoosePeace mural

Here are some of the quotes of Marie’s speech:

Many young people are walking on the streets all over the
world today and protesting in favor of climate action.
They are afraid of our future and I can understand them.
The youth wants to be part of the solution, and they will
deliver, if we can provide them access to quality education.
They will need education to develop new skills – green skills

Food waste is a major problem and a global issue.
Personally, I am strongly involved in how we can reduce the
amount of wasted food resources. This applies to the
industries, food stores and private households. How can education help us solve that specific challenge? Too few young people choose a Vocational Education. Let us make these educations green educations!

Good, inclusive learning environments free of bullying and
discrimination must be a fundamental principle.
Education that values diversity is important for all countries,
because it enables them to build inclusive societies in which
differences are appreciated and respected.

Comprehensive sexuality education is an essential part of a
good quality education that prepares young people for a
fulfilling life in a changing world.
Denmark strongly supports human rights education and
education in sexual reproductive rights.
Sexual education addresses some persistent challenges to
education that young people face today, like early and
unintended pregnancy, HIV, child marriage, which influence
our chances for expanding learning opportunities.
So – when we promote sexuality education, we are also promoting ways to create safe and inclusive learning environments.

You can watch Princess Marie’s full speech in the video below (from 2:38:25) and you can read her full speech here:

Princess Marie repeated her Emporio Armani navy blazer which she paired with a purple turtleneck and navy trousers.

She paired the outfit with her Zara navy ankle boots and her Ralph Lauren tote bag. On arrival, she also wore a new blue printed scarf. She also wore a Bleuet pin. The Bleuet is the French equivalent of the poppy for Remembrance in November.

While looking for photos of Princess Marie at the UNESCO Headquarters, I found out that she had actually visited the Headquarters back in October as well. Indeed, UNESCO shared three photos of the Princess meeting Director General Audrey Azoulay on 24 October 2019. No details were shared by UNESCO about the visit at the time and this event was not covered by the Court but I have reached out to find out what was the purpose of this visit.