Former Unesco DG honoured

Amadou Mahtar M'Bow, who served as the sixth DG of Unesco and the first African to head an international organisation, is being remembered for his leading role in advocating a New World Information and Communication Order. Mbow died in Dakar on Sunday. He was 103. A report on the allAfrica site notes that as head of the UN agency responsible for promoting education, science, culture and communication and information worldwide, Mbow elevated Unesco's profile during his 13 years in office. Following the issuance of a report by the Unesco Commission headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Seán MacBride, which focused on the dominance of western media in global news coverage, Mbow championed initiatives to tackle the inequalities, efforts that stirred controversy and met resistance from the US and others. Born in Dakar in 1921, he attended both Koranic and French colonial schools before becoming a clerk in the colonial administration. He served in France and North Africa during World War II and studied geography at the Sorbonne. After the war, Mbow joined the fight for independence in Senegal and later served as that country's Minister of National Education and then of Culture and Youth and as a member of the National Assembly. ‘The person whose centenary we are celebrating today is a fighter, a leader who can inspire all generations and in all areas,’ said Ibrahima Fall, a prominent international civil servant, who spearheaded the international symposium to mark the Mbow's 100th birthday with a year-long series of webinars led by African intellectuals to showcase his life and numerous contributions.