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UAE’s support helped bring life back to the 5,000-year-old Iraqi city of Mosul: UNESCO
Mosul reflects the spirit of the UAE, where for thousands of years, it had shared values of coexistence, tolerance, and peace, said a UAE minister
- PUBLISHED: Thu 13 Feb 2025, 4:25 PM
A project to restore the ancient Iraqi city of Mosul would not have been possible without the UAE’s support, director-general of United Nations Education Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Audrey Azoulay said on Thursday at World Governments Summit in Dubai.
Azoulay added that thanks to the UAE, Mosul was able to restore its iconic monuments, churches, and mosques.
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‘Reviving the Spirit of Mosul’, a reconstruction campaign by the UNESCO, started in 2018 after the idea was presented at the World Governments Summit seven years ago. Today, the project helped restore crucial historical sites that talk about intercultural dialogue, and has helped bring life back to Mosul’s streets.
Multilateralism
After the UAE supported UNESCO’s plans to reignite life in Mosul after Daesh took over the city in 2014, destroying many cultural and historical sites, other countries followed suit. “Once the UAE committed to this, we saw a ripple effect of the EU and the other 13 countries that joined this initiative,” said the UAE’s minister of Culture and Youth, Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi. He also reiterated that he has faith in multilateralism, but that there needs to be “more action and less talk.”
Mosul in history
The 5000-year-old city, Mosul, which means “the linking point” in Arabic, has been home to diverse communities throughout history. It was in Mesopotamia where many things of our modern civilization were born: The idea of a city and the notion of a pluralist society, amongst other things.
Al Qassimi said that the ancient Iraqi city reflects the spirit of the UAE, where for thousands of years, it had shared values of coexistence, tolerance, and peace; before it was affected by extremist groups.
“These are the values of the UAE and our late father,” he said. “The UAE’s efforts are about reviving the multi-faith identity, and with the help of UNESCO, we were able to do that.”
Azoulay said that the project is “nearly completed, with just one more thing to do.” The ‘Revive the Spirit of Mosul’ project was launched with a budget of $115 million. The culture and youth minister said that initially, their team “had the KPI of training 1,500 [locals from Mosul] into this project and thanks to the efforts of UNESCO, we exceeded that number to over 3,000.”
Hind Aldah is a business reporter based in Sharjah. In her spare time, you will find her playing classical guitar, painting amateur oil paintings, or crocheting the same old scarf that leads nowhere.