Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa Water & Sanitation & Hygiene Nov-Dec 2017 | Page 18
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Director-General, Audrey Azoulay IHE Delft Postdoc wins prestigious Marsh Award
The 39th session of
UNESCO’s General
Conference elected Audrey
Azoulay as Director-General
of UNESCO, succeeding
Irina Bokova. She took office
on 15 November for a four-
year term. The Marsh Award for an Early Career Entomologist is
awarded for an early career contribution to Entomological
Science that is judged to be outstanding or exemplary with
single or ongoing impact
on the science.
A graduate of France’s Ecole
Nationale d’Administration
and of the Paris Institut
Audrey Azoulay
d’Etudes Politiques, she holds a diploma in
Business Administration from the University of Lancaster
(UK).
Having worked in the sector of culture since the start
of her professional career, Audrey Azoulay has notably
focused on the funding of French public broadcasting and
on the reform and modernization of France’s film support
system. She has also served the European Commission
providing her expertise on issues concerning culture and
communication.
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In 2014, as an advisor on culture to the President of the
French Republic, she notably initiated the development
of a protection plan for heritage in danger, which she
was able to implement in 2016 as Minister of Culture
and Communication. She has also prioritized improving
children’s access to culture with the launch of artistic and
cultural education school programmes “Création en cours”
and created innovative cultural outreach programmes for
people in remote and vulnerable areas “Microfolies”.
John Simaika received
this award for his
outstanding contribution
to the development
of the Dragonfly
Biotic Index (DBI), a
rapid biomonitoring
method using adult
dragonflies for streams
John Simaika receiving the award
and wetlands. The DBI
is rapidly becoming accepted as a mainstream method
of assessment in South Africa. Its use in other African
countries, particularly the Afrotropics is being investigated.
The acceptance and use of the DBI across tropical
regions, will allow for regular monitoring of these highly
threatened ecosystems. John is also interested in using
drones to help with rapid assessment. His kickstarter
project “Drones and Dragons” will launch on November
20.
IHE Delft would like to congratulate John on winning this
prestigious award.
Peter Piot welcomes appointment of alumnus Dr
Tedros as new WHO Director-General
With a longstanding commitment in favour of
intercultural and intergenerational dialogue to advance
education for all and the dissemination of scientific and
cultural knowledge, she is determined to maintain this
commitment as the head of UNESCO.
She will spare no effort in ensuring that UNESCO
fulfils its universal mandate fully in promoting values of
humanism and openness and serving as a driving force
in the United Nations system. The Organization is to
achieve this by serving as an intellectual forum for the
world of tomorrow, and as a standard-setter that will help
society advance, as well as serving as an expert agency
contributing to the dissemination of knowledge to the
greatest number of people worldwide.
According to Audrey Azoulay, “none of the major
challenges facing the world today can be met by any one
country on its own without relying on the fundamental
pillars of science, edu