The UNESCO Representative to Ghana and Head of Office in Accra, Edmond Moukala, has called for stronger efforts to preserve history and heritage as a foundation for national unity and development.

He made the call while speaking at the 2026 Annual Ghana National History Day organised by the Department of History Education at the University of Education, Winneba.

“We meet at a crossroads where history is not behind us, but within us. Where the past is not a museum artifact, but an active force shaping opportunity, shaping identity, shaping whose humanity is assumed-and whose must still be defended,” he said.

He also highlighted the role of UNESCO in promoting peace through education and cultural dialogue.

“Since wars begin in the minds of men and women, it is in the minds of men and women that the defenses of peace must be constructed,” he noted, adding that peace must be built through knowledge, truth and mutual understanding.

The event, which was held in commemoration of Ghana’s Independence Day on March 6, was on the theme “Memory, History and Heritage for National Unity and Development.”