Vietnam runs for UNESCO Director-General position

Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau

He is one of the nine candidates for the top post at UNESCO. They presented their action plans on April 26-27 as part of the 201st session of the UNESCO Executive Board in Paris from April 19 to May 4.

In his action plan, Chau put forth three messages on UNESCO’s vision along with reforms to improve the organisation.

Chau said UNESCO should continue its mission of contributing to peace and should press on with reforms to operate more effectively and dynamically, better its cooperation, and reposition its stature among UN organisations.

The ambassador also said UNESCO needs better communication activities to show the world that the organisation not only focuses on cultural and education issues but is also strong in natural and social sciences, and that it is resolved to coordinate with countries to build an information society where everyone has the right to access information.

Following the presentation, Chau answered questions from the Executive Board on how he would deal with challenges facing UNESCO, such as limited funds and solutions to enhancing cooperation and dialogue among members.

Talking to media after the interview, he said he is proud to be nominated by the Party and State as a candidate for the post of UNESCO Director-General. This is the first time Vietnam has proposed a nominee for the position.

During his presentation, Chau also introduced Vietnam’s history, socio-economic accomplishments, and foreign policy of independence, autonomy, and persification and multilateralisation of relations.

UNESCO has a new process for selecting Director-General this year. Instead of closed interviews, representatives of diplomatic corps are allowed to attend the hearings, which are also broadcast live. Hearings have been extended from 60 minutes to 90 minutes.

The UNESCO Executive Board will choose the candidate for the top position by secret ballot at the 202nd session in October. This candidate will then be introduced to the 39th UNESCO General Conference in November for approval.

The tenure of incumbent UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova will end in November.