© UNESCO
International Programme for the Development of Communication
Intergovernmental Council and Bureau of IPDC
An Intergovernmental Council composed of 39 member states is elected by UNESCO's General Conference, taking into account the need to ensure equitable geographical distribution and appropriate rotation.
Functions:
The Council is responsible for:
- Policy-making, guiding the planning and the implementation of the Programme;
- Approving priorities of the Programme;
- Reviewing and assessing achievements on the basis of implementation and evaluation reports on the projects and defining the basic areas requiring increased international cooperation;
- Reviewing ways and means whereby Member States might participate more effectively in the International Programme for the Development of Communication;
- Approving an appropriate system of financing for the Programme in order to secure the necessary resources for the benefit of those requesting assistance from the Programme.
The Council normally meets in a regular plenary session once every two years. Extraordinary sessions may be convened as specified in the Council’s Rules of Procedure.
Composition:
Bureau Members
| President: | Vice-Presidents: | Rapporteur: | Bureau Members: |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Sweden
|
Libya Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Thailand |
Namibia
|
Lithuania Netherlands Nigeria |
| Regional Groups | Members States elected from 39th to 41st session of General Conference (2017-2021) |
Members States elected from 40th to 42th session of General Conference (2019-2023) |
|---|---|---|
| Group I | Sweden United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
Austria |
| Group II | Lithuania Russian Federation |
Azerbaijan |
| Group III | Cuba Dominican Republic El Salvador Honduras |
Argentina Brazil Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Group IV | Afghanistan Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Pakistan Palau Thailand |
Malaysia |
| Group V (a) | Benin Namibia |
Côte d'Ivoire Gambia Kenya Madagascar Nigeria Senegal Zambia |
| Group V (b) | Libya Saudi Arabia |
Lebanon Tunisia |
Bureau of the Intergovernmental Council
The Bureau of the Intergovernmental Council of IPDC is composed of a Chairman, three Vice-Chairpersons, a Rapporteur and three other members.
The members of the Bureau who are representatives of Member States of UNESCO shall preferably be specialists in the fields covered by the IPDC. They are elected by the Council and stay in office until a new Bureau has been elected.
The Bureau discharges duties as the Council may lay upon it. It assumes full responsibility for project selection, approval and allocation of funds from the Special Account, and plans the organization of work of the Council session.
Meetings of the Bureau are convened each year.
Composition of the Bureau elected at the 31st Session of the IPDC Council:
- Chairperson of the IPDC Bureau
Sweden - Ms Anna Brand brings more than 30 years of international development experience representing Sweden in diplomatic missions in Kenya, Zambia and Ireland, and has held leadership positions in organisations such as the World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sweden. Ms Brandt has also represented Sweden at UN agencies such as the United Nations Environment Programme and is currently the Ambassador and head of Permanent Delegation of Sweden to the OECD and UNESCO, Paris.
- Vice Chairpersons
El Salvador - Ms. Sol de Pool is the Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of El Salvador to UNESCO. Since 2015, she also serves as the Chair of the Finance and Administrative (FA) Commission and the Joint Chair of the Joint Commissions (Programme and External Relations and Finance and Administrative Commission) of UNESCO’s Executive Board. Previously, she served as Vice President of the Programme and External Relations Commission of the Executive Board (2007‐2011), as well as Chairperson of the UNESCO Headquarters Committee (2012‐2013).
Libya - Mr. Abdulkader El-Maleh is the Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of Libya to UNESCO. He is also Head of the Department of Biological Sciences in the Faculty of Sciences of the Omar Al-mukhtar University in Libya. As a researcher, he has authored several publications and presented his work in national as well as international conferences. Prof. El-Maleh has also lectured in St. Albans, the Ankara University, the University of Leeds, the University of Newcastle.
Lithuania - Ms. Aušra Jaruševičiūtė is an award-winning journalist. Currently Deputy Director at the Lithuanina Radio NCA department and producer of radio projects and shows, she previously worked as a reporter at NATO and EU summits and as an editor at the publishing house “Mokslas”. In 2016, she won – among others – the Best Radio talk show award of the year in Lithuania, and the Lithuanian Radio and TV professional’s award in 2010.
- Rapporteur
Zambia - Mr Gilbert John Bull Maimbo has a long experience and extensive expertise in the communication and information sector. He served, amongst others, as the former Director of the Zambia News and Information Service (ZANIS) and Acting Director of Planning at the Zambian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services.
- Bureau Members
The Netherlands - Ms. Albana Shala is a Dutch media development specialist and has been working for the United Nations' Development Programme, Press Now. She is currently working at Free Press Unlimited, responsible for media support activities in the Balkans, Latin America and the South Caucasus. Ms Shala is an award-winning poetrist and writer of fiction and non-fiction novels.
Nigeria - Ms. Mariam Katagum has longstanding experience of UNESCO and international cooperation. She first joined the organization from 1985 to 2000, a time during which she rose to the position of Sector Secretary in the Social and Human Sciences Sector. Before being appointed as Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Nigeria to UNESCO in 2009, she was part of the Federal Ministry of Education of Nigeria and worked closely with international agencies and organizations such as UNICEF, the World Bank or the Department for International Development.
Thailand - Mr. Kavi Chongkittavorn was former editor-in-chief and executive director of Myanmar Times. He has been a journalist for more than three and half decades covering Thai and regional politics. After a year in Oxford University as Reuter Fellow in 1994, he went to Jakarta and served as Special Assistant to the Secretary General of ASEAN in Jakarta in 1995 before returning to journalism. He was name the Human Rights Journalist of 1998 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by Amnesty International, for which he won an award. He has also been a columnist for the Bangkok Post and a fellow at Chulalongkorn University’s Institute of Security and International Studies.