Positioning the UN for Impact: UN Ethiopia Head discusses strategic direction with UNESCO leadership in Ethiopia

The exchange focused on UNESCO’s diverse portfolio and broader reflections on the role, relevance, and future positioning of the UN system in Ethiopia.

During the meeting, Rita Bissoonauth, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office in Addis Ababa, highlighted UNESCO’s role as both the National Office to Ethiopia and the liaison office to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). She also underscored the breadth of UNESCO’s mandates, spanning education, science, culture, social and human sciences, as well as communication and information.

Sector leads also presented UNESCO’s key programme priorities and ongoing initiatives. In education, UNESCO outlined its engagement across the full education continuum, including early childhood, skills development, technical and higher education, and education in emergencies. Current initiatives include digital education and artificial intelligence, climate education, health and wellbeing in schools, higher education reform, recognition of qualifications for refugees and migrants, and the ethics of artificial intelligence.

The science sector highlighted UNESCO’s work in mobilizing scientific knowledge to address climate change, water security, ecosystem management, and innovation. Ethiopia’s six UNESCO biosphere reserves, efforts to strengthen integrated water resources governance, and initiatives to promote women in science were underscored, alongside preparations for an upcoming African regional forum on science, technology, and innovation to be hosted in Addis Ababa.

In the area of culture, UNESCO described its support to Ethiopia’s rich tangible and intangible heritage, including its twelve World Heritage sites. Ongoing work on heritage protection, museum development, sustainable tourism, and the promotion of cultural and creative industries was highlighted.

The Communication and Information sector presented its support to the country in the areas of media development, media and information literacy, access to information, and the ethical dimensions of digital transformation and artificial intelligence.

Commending UNESCO’s work and reflecting on changes in the global development landscape, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator stressed that the UN must continue demonstrating its relevance by working in a more coherent, integrated, and scalable manner. He also urged UNESCO’s leadership to continue delivering its mandates in response to national priorities and needs, while leveraging partnerships with a broad range of supporters and stakeholders.