Press release #
The New Director of Unesco Liaison Office to the African Union,
Presents Her Letters of Credence to the Chairperson of the AU Commission

Addis Abeba, 09 October 2018 – Appointed by Mrs Audrey Azoulay, Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as the Director of UNESCO Liaison Office to AU and UNECA in Addis Ababa and UNESCO Representative to Ethiopia, Ms. Santiana Afonso presented her letters of credence to H.E. Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, on 09 October 2018 at the AU Commission Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Native from the Republic of Mozambique, Ms. Santana Afonso brings along an extensive experience at national and regional level. In fact, before joining UNESCO, she discharged executive functions at the national level, including as head of the secondary education and educational supervision division in Mozambique’s Ministry of Education. In July 2014, Ms. Santana Afonso was appointed to the post of Head of the UNESCO Office in Brazzaville and UNESCO Representative to the Republic of the Congo. Concomitantly, from June 2017 to January 2018, she also served as acting Director of the Multisectoral Regional Office in Central Africa (UNESCO Office in Yaoundé), as well as UNESCO Representative to ten countries in the sub-region.
To H.E Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, she expressed her honor to be appointed and her intention to deepen the partnership between UNESCO and the African Union and its Members States, through the combined AU Agenda 2063 and the UN Agenda 2030. She also briefed the Chairperson on the various upcoming projects that UNESCO would implement in collaboration with the AU.
While welcoming such initiatives, H.E. Mr. Moussa Faki insisted on the importance of working together from the beginning in order to ease the implementation. He further emphasised that education and culture are at the heart of the continental Agenda 2063, taking into account the needs of the Youth representing 60% of the African citizens.
Finally, looking forward to a beneficial partnership for Africa, the Chairperson of the AU Commission assured the newly appointment Director, of the collaboration of his Office and his colleagues, for a successful mandate of Ms. Santiana Afonso.

For further information, please contact:
Mrs Christiane Yanrou-Matondo, Principal Communication Officer, Bureau of the Chairperson; E-mail: Yanrouc@africa-union.org;

Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia
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