(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Community Secretary-General H.E. Edwin Carrington has extended congratulations to His Excellency Ambassador Davidson L. Hepburn on his election as President for the 35th General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
A Bahamian, Ambassador Hepburn, who was elected last week in Paris by the 58 Member States of the UNESCO Executive Board, is the first Caribbean National to have been elected to this post during the 60 years of UNESCO’s existence.
In a letter to Ambassador Hepburn, Secretary-General Carrington expressed pleasure with his successful candidacy, which was endorsed by the Caribbean Community and attributed the Ambassador’s accomplishment to the hard work he had invested in public, diplomatic and civic service, which the Secretary-General added had prepared him for this prestigious post.
The full text of the Secretary-General’s message is recorded below:
It was with great pleasure that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) received the news that your candidature for the post of President of the 35th General Conference of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) was successful, following the elections in Paris on Monday, 14 September 2009.
As Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, on behalf of the Community, its Secretariat and on my own behalf, I congratulate you on this significant accomplishment. This accomplishment is even more significant, given that it is the first time that a national of the Caribbean has ever served UNESCO in the capacity as President.
Your perseverance and hard work during the years you invested in public, diplomatic and civic service have adequately prepared you for this prestigious post. Your career has been a fine example of what can be achieved with dedication and commitment and this election has demonstrated that your talents are recognized far beyond the outermost reaches of our Region.
I also wish to extend congratulations and thanks to the Government and people of The Bahamas for their generosity in allowing one of their most talented sons to serve the Region and the wider international community.
As president of the UNESCO General Conference, Ambassador Hepburn will among other things direct the discussions, protocols and procedures of all plenary meetings of the Conference and sits ex-officio in an advisory capacity on the Executive Board of the General Conference.
Ambassador Hepburn, obtained a Doctoral Degree in Comparative languages and Literature from the University of Madrid and a Diploma in International Relations from the International Institute, Geneva, Switzerland. He has served as Chairman of several United Nations Committees and International Conferences. He was a Member of the Executive Board of UNESCO and Chairman of the Committee on Conventions and Recommendations from 2001 – 2005. In 1987, he was the Chairman of the Disarmament Commission, Belgrade, Yugoslavia and Vice-President of the 35th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Nationally, he has a distinguished career in Public, Diplomatic and Civic Service, and has broad experience at the inter-governmental level as well as the governmental level, serving presently as the Chairman of the Antiquities, Monuments and Museum Corporation of The Bahamas, a position he assumed in 2001. He served as Chairman of The Bahamas National Commission for UNESCO from 1991 – 2005 and was appointed Honorary Consul of Indonesia to The Bahamas in 2000. In 2001 he was appointed Chairman of the Council of Governor General’s Youth Award; a position he still holds. Ambassador Hepburn has received several awards, the most recent of which was the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2008.
