UNESCO AND CBU COLLABORATE TO TURN THE SPOTLIGHT ON HAITI
ON WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY
ONLINE EVENT: 10.30 AM AST, MAY 3, 2024
With the kind support of the Caribbean Office of UNESCO, CBU will mark this year’s World Press Freedom Day spotlighting CARICOM sister nation Haiti.
The UNESCO-endorsed theme for WPFD 2024 is, “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the face of the Environmental Crisis.”
The feature speaker for this year’s event is Mr. Jean Claude Louison, Haitian journalist and head of Panos Haiti
He’ll explore the theme from the perspective encouraged by UNESCO of, “media institutions [going] beyond being mere conduits for expert and scientific messages and [holding] environmental degradation actors to account….shedding light on effective action and shortcomings, sustainable practices and empty posturing, [and] bringing public discourse closer to the compliance with environmental regulations and commitments.”
The event will also be addressed by Ms Tatiana Villegas, Head of the UNESCO Office in Haiti and Dr. Paul Hector, Advisor for Communication and Information in UNESCO’s Regional Office for the Caribbean in Kingston UNESCO.
Speaker Profiles
Jean Claude Louison
Jean Claude Louis is the coordinator of Institut Panos Haïti. He has worked in development empowering vulnerable groups for over two decades within various organizations, addressing cross-cutting issues like gender, environment, climate change, HIV/AIDS, and human trafficking, disinformation etc.. This multi-skilled media professional also has extensive experience in journalists capacity building. With a background in journalism and sociology, Jean Claude is very familiar with Haiti’s media landscape and the interconnection between the social, political and environmental issues affecting the CARICOM member country.
Paul Hector
Paul Hector is the Advisor for Communication and Information in UNESCO’s Regional Office for the Caribbean in Kingston UNESCO. He joined UNESCO through its competitive Young Professionals Program in 2000. Over the course of his UNESCO career, he has supported project initiatives and policy actions in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East that through research, the design and implementation of policies, strategies and action plans have promoted access to information and knowledge for development.
Tatiana Villegas Zamora
Tatiana Villegas Zamora is an underwater archaeologist, with a degree in Art History and Archeology and a master’s degree in Underwater Archeology and Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage.
From 2007 to 2009, Ms. Villegas worked at the UNESCO Secretariat as Assistant Program Specialist in the Division of Cultural Objects and Intangible Heritage.
Ms. Villegas joined UNESCO’s international staff in 2010 when she was appointed Culture Program Specialist in Havana, at the UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In 2016, Ms. Villegas was appointed head of the Culture program for Egypt, Sudan and Libya at the UNESCO Regional Office for Arab Countries, based in Cairo. At the end of this 3-year mission, she will join the UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean in Havana as coordinator of the Culture program. Since June 2022, Ms. Villegas has been appointed UNESCO Representative in Haiti.
Ms. Villegas is particularly interested in creating synergies between developing countries in the field of protecting underwater cultural heritage, combating illicit trafficking of cultural property, reducing disaster risks and protecting the diversity of cultural expressions through academic and practical exchange programs.
