IBE-UNESCO Welcomes New Interim Director Mr. Yao Ydo

The IBE welcomes its new interim Director, Mr. Yao Ydo.

Mr. Yao Ydo was appointed as the interim Director of UNESCO International Bureau of Education (IBE-UNESCO) in Geneva in August 2020. Prior to joining the IBE, Mr. Ydo worked with UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office in Abuja where he served as the Regional Director, representing the organization at the regional, national and international levels.

With over 23 years of wide experience within the UN system, Mr. Ydo began his career at the Headquarters of UNESCO, Paris, in the Basic Education and Literacy Section in 1997 as an Associate Expert. His extensive hands-on experience in education includes a variety of education posts at UNESCO Field Offices in Mali, Cameroon, Congo (DRC), and Senegal. In his various functions, Mr. Ydo acquired experience in the development of partnerships and resource mobilization from development banks, private sector, UN agencies, and Governments (self-benefiting funds). His efficiency and dynamism enabled him to move up from programme specialist to managerial functions, including the UNESCO Representative to Côte d’Ivoire and the Regional Director of UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office for West Africa in Abuja, Nigeria.

Mr. Ydo is a recipient of Commander of the Order of National Cultural Merit from the Minister of Culture and Francophonie as well as Commander in the Order of Merit of Education by the Government of Côte d'Ivoire for the work done by UNESCO.

Mr. Ydo holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics and Didactics from the University of Grenoble (France), a postgraduate Diploma in Diplomacy and Strategic Studies from the Centre of Diplomatic and Strategic Studies in Paris, and a Master's degree in English from the University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.