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Greek Ambassador elected President of UNESCO General Conference

Greek Ambassador elected President of UNESCO General Conference

George Anastassopoulos
Greece’s Ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was unanimously elected in Paris today as the President of the 34th session of the body’s General Conference.

Greece’s Ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was unanimously elected in Paris today as the President of the 34th session of the body’s General Conference.

UNESCO must not be a statue but a sentinel, a watchtower,” George N. Anastassopoulos – who has had a distinguished career as a journalist, government spokesperson and member of the European Parliament – said in his address to the Conference. “Its ethics must be the ethics of the future… There is much we will be able to do if we unite in supporting a stronger UNESCO.”

Opening the Conference, outgoing President Musa Bin Jafaar Bin Hassan of Oman voiced hope that UNESCO becomes more audacious and more precise in defining its objectives, adding that “education constitutes the greatest challenge.”

The General Conference – composed of representatives of the Organization’s 193 Member States and six Associate Members – determines UNESCO’s policies and main lines of work meets every two years, and its 34th session wraps up on 3 November.