Zurenuoc elected to top Unesco post

EDUCATION Minister and Finschhafen MP Theo Zurenuoc will serve at the governing body of the United Nations Education, Sciences, Culture and Communication Organisation (Unesco) in Paris, France, for four years beginning this month.
The 36th session of the Unesco general conference held in Paris, France, this week elected Zurenuoc, who is the chairman of the Papua New Guinea national commission for Unesco.
Zurenuoc will occupy one of the 12 seats allocated for the Asia Pacific region on the Unesco executive board.
The support to have PNG at the governing body comes from many countries in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas with bloc support from the Pacific Islands member states, including Australia and New Zealand.
Zurenuoc, who is leading a PNG national delegation to the general conference, said it would be a great opportunity to further enhance and strengthen the work of Unesco in PNG and the Pacific through “our input at organisation’s decision-making process as well as to become a leverage and a conduit for continuous development support from Unesco and other international organisations”. 
He emphasised that it was time PNG started its role in the international arena, including the posts at the United Nations and other regional and international organisations.
He thanked the government of Papua New Guinea and the national commission for Unesco for the tireless work done in preparation for the nation’s candidacy and subsequent election victory.