From 11 to 12 April 2018, in the margins of the 204^th session of the Executive Board, the traditional morning meeting of the National Commissions for UNESCO took place at UNESCO Headquarters. Over 110 participants, representing 78 National Commissions/Permanent Delegations, attended the meeting.

Ms Amal Al-Koos, Secretary-General of the United Arab Emirates National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, was elected as Chair of the meeting. 

The opening remarks by Mr Nicolas Kassianides, Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Public Information (ADG/ERI) ad interim, during which, the 2017 Annual Report of National Commissions was launched, was followed by fruitful exchange on the “strategic transformation” of UNESCO and the roles of National Commissions. This meeting was also devoted to the preparation of the Fifth Interregional Meeting of National Commissions, which will take place on 19-21 June 2018 in Diani, Kenya. Following the presentation by Ms Eva Njoka, Secretary-General of the Kenya National Commission, there was open discussion on the provisional agenda and the possible outcomes of the Kenya Meeting towards raising the role and visibility of NatComs’ network within a broader UNESCO family.

The meeting also included a presentation of “The Young Professionals Programme (YPP) 2018” by Ms Rossella Salvia, Coordinator of Human Resources Partnerships of Bureau of Human Resources Management (HRM), which was preceded by introductory remarks by Mr Hong Kwon, Director of HRM.

Links:

1.  Agenda.
2. List of participants.
3. Presentation by Kenya National Commission for UNESCO on the 5^th Interregional Meeting of National Commissions.
4. Meeting Report