UNESCO celebrates International Day of Vesak with Symposium

The International Day of Vesak 2025 was celebrated by the Member States of UNESCO with a Symposium themed “Buddhist Cosmopolitanism and Exchange along the Silk Road: Interplay between Buddhism and Trade in Ancient Asia”, on the full moon day of Vesak of  May 12 2025 at UNESCO headquarters.  The Symposium was organised by the Permanent Delegation of Sri Lanka in association with UNESCO. 

The Chairperson of the Executive Board Vera El Khoury Lacoeuilhe; the Deputy Director-General of UNESCO Xing Qu; and the Chief Incumbent of the International Buddhist Centre in Paris, the Co-President of the French Buddhist Union and the Chief Sangha Nayaka of France The Most Venerable Parawahera Chandaratana Thero addressed the Symposium as Guests of Honour, while the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Sri Lanka to UNESCO Manisha Gunasekera presided over the event.