Visit of the Director-General of UNESCO
Media release
3 May 2010
I welcome the visit to Australia of the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Mrs Irina Bokova, as a Guest of the Australian Government.
UNESCO's mission is to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences and culture.
Mrs Bokova is the first woman to head UNESCO. As a former Bulgarian Member of Parliament and diplomat, she is also the first UNESCO chief from Eastern Europe.
While in Australia Mrs Bokova will have a series of high-level meetings, including with Peter Garrett MP, Minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts, and Bob McMullan MP, Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance.
Mrs Bokova's visit coincides with World Press Freedom Day, Monday 3 May, which celebrates the fundamental principles of press and media freedom articulated in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Mrs Bokova will present the 2010 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize to renowned Chilean investigative journalist Ms Mónica González Mujica, at the World Press Freedom Day Conference at the University of Queensland. It is the first time the Conference has been held in the Pacific region.
Created in 1997 by UNESCO's Executive Board, the Press Freedom Prize is awarded annually to honour the work of an individual or an organization defending or promoting freedom of expression anywhere in the world, especially if this action puts the individual's life at risk.
I congratulate Ms González on her award.
The Conference, to be attended by 300 international delegates, will focus on Freedom of Information: The Right To Know.
The Australian Government has provided assistance to help freedom-of-information and female journalists from the Asia-Pacific region to attend the conference.
Australia is a founding member of UNESCO and has had a national UNESCO Advisory body, now known as the Australian National Commission for UNESCO, since 1947.
Further information about the work of the National Commission is available on its website.
Media inquiries
- Minister's Office: (02) 6277 7500
- Departmental Media Liaison: (02) 6261 1555