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Under the theme "Education, Culture of Peace and African Citizenship as tools for the Continent’s sustainable development", the forum brought together four African Heads of State (H.E. Mr João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço of Angola, H.E.Ms. Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia, H.E. Mr Carlos Vila Nova of São Tomé et Principe and H.E. Mr José Maria Neves of Cabo Verde), four former African Presidents, currently Advisors to the African Union (H.E.Mr Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, H.E.Mr Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, H.E.Ms. Joyce Banda of Malawi and H.E.Mr Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa), the President of the African Union Commission (H.E.Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat), the Vice-President of Namibia (H.E.Mr Nangolo Mbumba), the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea (H.E.Ms Manuela Roka Botey), the Minister of State and Special Advisor to the President of Guinea Bissau (H.E.Ms Suzi Carla Barbosa), the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Congo (H.E.Mr Jean-Clause Gakosso), young Africans, international organizations, the private sector, civil society, and the academic, artistic and scientific communities - a total of almost 800 participants. UNESCO was represented by the Deputy Director-General, Mr. Xing Qu.

At the opening ceremony on November 22, 2023, the President of the Republic of Angola, H.E.Mr João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, emphasized that, since its 1st edition, the Forum has provided a privileged platform for interaction and collective reflection on building peaceful societies in Africa, the cradle of a rich and diverse cultural and natural heritage. Referring to Angola's contemporary history, he stressed the need for lifelong education in the promotion of peace for Africa's development and recalled that educating young people is a duty to society. President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço also congratulated UNESCO on its valuable contribution to the Biennale of Luanda and welcomed the increase in the budget allocated to Priority Africa, as a clear signal of UNESCO's commitment to this priority.

The President of the Commission of the African Union, H.E.Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat, referred to "the titanic work of research and writing accomplished by UNESCO, through the elaboration, some decades ago, of The General History of Africa". He noted that all the themes of this 3rd edition of the Biennale (education, culture, peace, citizenship and development) can only be understood in their deepest meaning if they are referred to their African historical roots.

In her video message, UNESCO Director-General, Ms Audrey Azoulay highlighted that the 3rd edition of the Biennale of Luanda could be summed up in six words: "Silencing the guns in Africa” and recalled that "this is the ambition that the African Union has set itself, by 2030. This has been UNESCO's vocation for over 75 years now". She also underlined the fact that this Biennale highlights key UNESCO priorities: "the power of education for peace; the links between climate and peace; the role of young people; and the place of women in peace processes". She thanked all those taking part in the Biennale, "and especially the President of the Republic of Angola, H.E. João Lourenço, who is also the African Union's Champion for Peace and Reconciliation - and who is always at UNESCO's side".

In his speech, representing the Director-General of UNESCO at the opening ceremony of the 3rd edition of the Biennale of Luanda, the Deputy Director-General of UNESCO, Mr. Xing Qu, reiterated UNESCO's attachment to the Biennale of Luanda, a joint initiative of the Government of Angola, the African Union and UNESCO, which aims to promote the pan-African movement for the culture of peace and non-violence through cultural exchanges and dialogue between generations. He took the opportunity to present some of UNESCO's projects to promote the culture of peace in Africa.  Mr. Xing Qu also took part in the high-level panel on Intergenerational Dialogue, on the theme of "Young people, actors in the promotion of a culture of peace and social transformation on the continent", alongside the African Heads of State and former Heads of State present in Luanda.

On the bangs of the Biennale, UNESCO signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the American Schools of Angola covering the Resiliart Angola project, which aims to strengthen the ties of cooperation between the two institutions and revitalize their commitment to training young artists.

The final communiqué of the 3rd edition of the Biennale of Luanda commends the commitment of the President of Angola to the organization of the event, and encourages him to continue working to maintain the Biennale as a hub for reflection, listening and exchange of ideas between young people, Heads of State and Government, civil society and private sector leaders on youth issues, including the need to achieve the demographic dividend and contribute to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the African Union's Agenda 2063 "The Africa We Want".

The President of Angola and the President of the African Union Commission each congratulated UNESCO on its contribution to this edition of the Biennale, which included:

• The mobilization of UNESCO's thematic and institutional networks in connection with the Biennale's themes;

• Contribution to the preparation of the Biennale panels (Dialogue between Heads of State and Youth; Panel on the role of women for peace; Panel on the transformation of education; Panel on climate change);

• Support for communication and promotion of the Biennale.