THE UNITED Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), has established a Caribbean office in Jamaica with Helen-Marie Gosselin as director.
According to Mrs. Gosselin, the decision to expand the role of the office in Jamaica to that of one responsible for the whole Caribbean region "is part of the on-going reform of UNESCO."
"The organisation decided to look at decentralisation in order to determine how UNESCO could best serve its Member States," she says.
The Jamaican headquarters will be in charge of 16 countries in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean, including Belize, Suriname and Guyana.
Mrs. Gosselin says over the years UNESCO, like many inter-governmental organisations, has explored different avenues in order to determine the best ways to be closest to the people it serves, while keeping the core of its mission.
UNESCO's mission is to provide policy advice, technical expertise and share knowledge so that everyone in the world can have better access to economic, social and human development.
"In this context, UNESCO, at the request of its Member States, is trying to make the organisation more effective and more efficient, and has decided that the best way forward is to have fewer, stronger offices, so that all the fields of expertise can be based in one location, within the range of UNESCO's mandate," she explains.
Mrs. Gosselin says she will be focusing on a number of areas such as education, science, culture and communication, which Caribbean countries themselves identified as high priority.
"Knowledge in a globalised world is more important than ever and UNESCO's expertise in human resource development is needed more than ever," she said.
She explained that that was the reason the decision was taken to bring a 'Cluster' office to Jamaica that covers all of the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean.
"Throughout the world UNESCO has closed some 20 offices in order to concentrate and create what we call cluster offices like the one based in Jamaica. In the case of the Caribbean, it comprises the sub region with 16 countries and five associated territories," she adds.
Mrs. Gosselin says that by concentrating all the programme specialists in one location it allows for a healthy synergy so that strategies, programmes and projects may be implemented more rationally.
The areas of education, science and culture will be cross-linked in terms of programmes and implementation. "For example HIV/AIDS. It has a scientific base as it relates to research associated with trying to find a cure. But you cannot have an effective prevention programme if you don't have a strong education programme," she adds.
"The synergy resulting from having the people working together and re-enforcing each other has great potential," the Director argues.
A Canadian national, Mrs. Gosselin comes to the job with a wealth of experience, having worked for more than 20 years with international organisations. She was Director of Public Information for the UNESCO headquarters in New York, for the past seven years. She was also appointed by the Secretary General of the United Nations, as UN Commission General on the 1998 International Expo in Lisbon, Portugal.
"The theme for that Expo related specifically to the oceans," Mrs. Gosselin said.
"I mention this, because coming to work here as Director of the Caribbean Officer for UNESCO, the whole issue of ocean management and protecting the oceans, eco systems and environmental protection, come to the forefront. That's a project that I feel very enthusiastic about and I will spend my energy on it," she says.
Mrs. Gosselin points out that there is an International Convention (legal instrument), to protect the underwater cultural heritage, and since neither the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Heritage nor the Convention on the Law of the Sea cover specifically the issue of underwater cultural heritage, UNESCO Member States are of the view that this new Convention is necessary.
She notes that the Caribbean region is extremely rich in extraordinary antiquities and cultural artefacts that can tell us a lot about its history.
"So I am very hopeful that this new convention on the underwater cultural heritage that was approved by Member States last November is going to be signed and ratified by those Member States, so that it becomes law at the national level," she adds.
In the meantime UNESCO, which is in charge of that convention, would organise, in the Caribbean, the first meeting of experts on the underwater cultural heritage, "so we can assess what needs to be done", Mrs. Gosselin points out. The meeting could be held in Jamaica during the summer.
The Director has also worked with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) in the field of external relations and social mobilisation, and as Director General of Communication at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in the early 1990s.
In respect of her new post, Mrs. Gosselin says she "feels extraordinarily at ease in Jamaica and in Kingston, in particular".
"We often hear negative things about Kingston, but I feel the most important thing here is the people. People here are open, humble, simple and very direct. They don't show prejudices. They want to help you feel at home and be comfortable," she adds.
"I have been privileged to travel to more than 100 countries around the world. But parts of Jamaica are truly breath-taking. The culture is very rich and varied and the arts vibrant. I feel welcome and feel the people are genuinely warm and respectful," the Director says.
Mrs. Gosselin notes that Jamaica is a good example of how different cultures can intermingle and produce a very unique culture.
