60th Anniversary Symposium

Director of IIEP-UNESCO 

Martín Benavides is a Peruvian researcher and academic who served as the Minister of Education in 2020. In 2022, he served as Director of the Observatory of Higher Education of the Consortium of Universities, and from 2018, he was a principal professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (Lima). Between 2018 and 2020, he served as the Superintendent of the regulatory body of Peru's university system where he led the reform for improving the quality of higher education. Earlier in his career, Martín joined the Peruvian think tank Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE), where he later became the Executive Director from 2008 to 2014. He was appointed Director of IIEP in 2023 and provides strategic leadership to the Institute. He has also been a visiting researcher at different US and French high-level academic institutions.

Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of the French Republic to UNESCO

Philippe Franc was appointed Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of France to UNESCO in May 2023 after serving as Ambassador, Director of State Protocol and Diplomatic Events (September 2019). He previously held the position of Head of Mission and Deputy to the Head of Protocol, Head of the Prime Minister's Protocol (August 2018). At headquarters, Philippe Franc was posted to the Strategic Affairs and Disarmament Directorate (1988-1989) and Protocol (1989-1991). He was Head of Mission to the Director of North Africa and the Middle East (1995-1998), to the Director General of Administration (2006) and then to the Secretary-General from 2006 to 2007. Between 2007 and 2010, he was Deputy Chief of Staff to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bernard Kouchner. Finally, he was Delegate for General Affairs, representing the Director General of Administration in Nantes from 2015 to 2018. He is a Knight of the National Order of Merit.

IIEP-UNESCO Governing Board member, Program Officer at Echidna Giving

 
Sara Ruto's career in the field of education and research spans over 30 years. She has experience in managing large-scale multi-country programs whose evidence has impacted national and international policies with respect to reading and numeracy. Among her roles, she has been Country Coordinator for Kenya and Regional Manager in East Africa for Uwezo, as well as Chief Executive Officer of the People’s Action for Learning (PAL) Network. As a researcher, she has used evidence to back the need for competency and outcomes-based education, framing educational trends and infusing a global south perspective. Sara has served in many boards and advisory committees, chairing the Kenya Institute for Curriculum Development Council and the COVID-19 National Education Response Committee.

Minister of Education and General Instruction, South Sudan

Awut Deng Acuil is the first female Minister of General Education & Instruction for South Sudan appointed in March 2020. Previously, Awut served as Minister in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Labour, Public Service and Human Resource Development; Gender, Child and Social Welfare; and Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management. In other roles, H.E. Awut Deng Acuil served as Chairperson, University of Bahr El-Ghazal Council and as Presidential Advisor on Gender and Human Rights. She is an advocate for peace, gender equality and human rights. She is a recipient of several international awards: InterAction Humanitarian Award in 2002, Global Leadership Award in 2006, LEADS Africa’s Positive Impact Personality for promoting access to quality education in South Sudan Award in 2023. Minister Awut was elected member of National Liberation Council of SPLM and member of SPLM Political Bureau. She also served as SPLM Secretary for External Relations of SPLM.

Global Training Practice Lead

Beatriz Pont has worked on education policy, education change and school leadership internationally throughout her career. As IIEP’s Global Training Practice Lead, she leads and coordinates the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of IIEP’s global training programmes, based on the strategy responding to the Member States’ capacity needs. Previously at the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills, she launched and led OECD countries' education change and implementation support and has worked with many different countries in their school improvement reform efforts. She also launched and led a comparative series on education reforms Education Policy Outlook, on school leadership, equity and quality in education and adult learning. Previously, Beatriz was researcher in the Economic and Social Council of the Government of Spain. Beatriz holds a Phd in Political Science from Universidad Complutense de Madrid and as been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University.

Director General of Policy and Planning, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Kingdom of Cambodia

Sothea Lim has worked for more than 20 years as education policy maker and planner. He holds a PhD in Educational Administration and Leadership by BELTEI International University in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, as well as a degree in Educational Planning and Management by IIEP-UNESCO. In his current position in the Ministry, he plays a central role in policy formulation and planning. He also provides coordination within and between government institutions, as well as with development partners. As part of his work, Sothea has attended a number of education world and regional seminars and conferences, shared experiences, and assisted the capacity development of education planners at national and sub-national levels.

Ford Foundation Professor of the Practice in International Education and Director of the Global Education Innovation Initiative at Harvard University

Fernando M. Reimers is interested in advancing understanding of the ways schools can empower students to participate civically and economically and to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. He is an elected member of the United States National Academy of Education and the International Academy of Education, as well as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He served on UNESCO’s Commission on the Futures of Education which authored the report Reimagining Our Futures Together, A New Social Contract for Education. As part of his commitment to advancing educational opportunity, he serves and has served on the boards of several education organizations, including the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars and on the advisory board of the Organization of Iberoamerican States. 

Head of the IIEP-UNESCO Office for Latin America and the Caribbean 

Pablo Cevallos Estarellas holds a PhD in Pedagogy and a master’s in education and Critical Thinking from Montclair State University, New Jersey, USA. He taught in undergraduate and graduate programmes at various universities in Ecuador, Spain, and the United States. He also worked as an international consultant for educational projects and participated in conferences in several Latin American countries. Between 2007 and 2010, he was a member of the management team of the Ministry of Education of Ecuador, and from 2010 to 2013 he held the position of Vice-Minister of Education. He has been Head of the IIEP-UNESCO Office for Latin America and the Caribbean since October 2016.

Manager of Teacher Professional Development at Ceibal, Uruguay 

Martín Rebour is Manager of Teacher Professional Development at Ceibal (the Educational Innovation Agency of the Uruguayan government). He is also a lecturer and university professor in doctoral and master's programs. For the past 20 years, Martín Rebour has been working in the field of education, focusing on education policy with an emphasis on Teacher Professional Development. He has led the design of plans and programs in cross-cutting topics such as Social Inclusion, Digital Inclusion, and 21st-century Skills. He has served as a consultant for international organizations and as an advisor to the Uruguayan educational system. He holds a Doctorate in Education (from the Universidad ORT, Uruguay), a Master's degree in Psychology and Education (from the Universidad de la República, Uruguay), and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology (from the Universidad de la República, Uruguay).

IIEP-UNESCO Technical Cooperation Team Lead

 
Suguru Mizunoya has extensive international experience, having worked in both development and emergency contexts, in Kenya (during the 2011 Horn of Africa Drought Crysis), Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, and Japan (during the Great Eastern Earthquake emergency). He has also worked in various capacities in international organizations such as UNESCO, World Bank, and ILO. From 2014 to 2017, he was the Acting Director of the Global Political Economy Program at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he taught political economy and quantitative analysis. Prior to joining IIEP, Suguru served as Senior Advisor for Statistics and Monitoring and Chief of the Education Data Unit at the UNICEF Headquarters Office in New York. In his current role, Suguru coordinates IIEP's Technical support to UNESCO Member States.

Independent researcher

Sylvia Schmelkes is a sociologist with a master’s degree in educational research and development from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. With a career spanning back to 1970, she's authored 400+ works covering education quality, adult education, values, and intercultural education. She founded and was the General Coordinator for Intercultural and Bilingual Education at Mexico's Ministry of Education and was head of the Research Institute for the Development of Education at Universidad Iberoamericana. Recognized with the Joan Amos Comenius Medal for her contributions to education, Sylvia chaired the boards of the National Institute for the Evaluation of Education and OECD's Centre for Educational Research and Innovation. Retired from her tenure as Academic Provost at Universidad Iberoamericana, she continues as an independent researcher.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Youth Empowerment, Housing & Human Settlement, Ecclesiastical & Faith-Based Affairs, St Kitts and Nevis

H.E Dr Geoffrey HANLEY gave 28 years of exemplary service in the Public Sector as a teacher, an officer in the Ministry of Community Affairs, Youth and Culture, Youth Director, the Director of the People’s Employment Programme and as a Primary School Principal before he retired in 2016. He was very instrumental in introducing a number of programmes that empowered the youth of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. He is the founder of the St. Kitts National Youth Parliamentary Association (SKNYPA), formed in 2001.

State Secretary, Ministry of Education and Research Sweden

Erik Scheller’s areas of responsibility are upper secondary school, liberal adult education, student finance, adult education and training and UNESCO. He holds an MPA in Public and Economic Policy from London School of Economic and Political Science. He began his PhD Studies in Political Science at Uppsala University in 2020 before becoming State Secretary in 2022. Erik Scheller was previously the Chief of Staff at the Parliamentary Office for the Liberal Party 2020-2022 and the Deputy Head of Office at the Liberal Party´s Policy Coordination Office at the Prime Minister´s Office 2019-2020.

Chief Planning Officer and head of the Planning Unit of the Ministry of Education of Guyana

 
Nicola Marcia Johnson has been with the Ministry of Education for 28 years in various capacities and has a background in educational planning, statistics, monitoring and evaluation. Most recently, Nicola has operated as the sector interlocuter with all developmental partners operating within the education space. She continues to build collaborative working relationships with education stakeholders nationally, regionally, and internationally as evidenced by her status of Country Representative for Guyana on the KIX/LAC, and Development Country Partner (DCP) – Country Focal Point for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) hub. She is a doctoral candidate pursuing a PhD in Educational Policy, Leadership and Management.

Programme Manager of the Gender at the Center Initiative (GCI) at IIEP-UNESCO

 
Fabricia Devignes has 15 years of professional experience in gender mainstreaming in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe, at different levels (management, policy formulation, project coordination, development and facilitation of trainings and courses for diverse audiences) and in different thematic areas (girls' education, gender-based violence, gender institutionalization, sustainable development, gender-responsive budgeting, and women's economic empowerment). Prior to joining IIEP, Fabricia was Gender equality Adviser at the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. Prior to that, she acted for ten years as Director of the NGO Enda Europe and Vice-President of the Southern-based network Enda-Tiers Monde, where she led the network's gender equality and education strategy. In her current role, Fabricia provides strategic guidance and technical support to the eight GCI countries.

Director of Policy and Planning, Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Sierra Leone

Adama Jean Momoh entered the Sierra Leone Civil Service in 2001 after completing her bachelor’s degree in social science. She worked as budget analyst in the Ministry of Finance for over eight years. Upon completion of master’s degree in Economic Policy Management, she returned to Sierra Leone and became a Strategic Planning Officer in the Ministry of Education Science and Technology in 2009. She held this position until 2013 when she became Director of Policy and Planning. Adama has contributed to the development of a four-generation Education Sector Plan for the country, and as Director in charge of Policy, she has contributed to the development of education policies, guidelines standard operation manuals and other policy-related working tools in the education sector. She is a graduate with a master's in Economic Policy Management, from Columbia University, B.SC in Social Science and Higher Teachers Certificate.

Knowledge Management and Mobilization Coordinator, IIEP-UNESCO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean

Alejandra Cardini holds a PhD in Education and has extensive experience in research projects, consultancy, and advocacy in education policy. She was Director of the Education Programme at the Centre for the Implementation of Public Policies for Equity and Growth (CIPPEC, Argentina) and led the education theme in the Think 20, a G20 affinity group oriented to public policy recommendations between 2018 and 2022. She developed research at the University of Buenos Aires, the University of San Andrés, and the Centre for Critical Education Policy Research (University of London). Alejandra worked for the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Argentina, in relation to provincial ministries in educational planning. As a teacher, she worked at the primary level and, as a lecturer, for master's degrees in education policy (at the Institute of Education of the University of London, at the Alberto Hurtado University in Santiago de Chile, at the Inter-institutional Doctorate in Education (UNTREF, UNLA and UNSAM), at the University of San Andrés and the Austral University.

Programme specialist at IIEP-UNESCO

 
Jean-Claude Ndabananiye is an education policy analyst working on issues related to education finance and education policy in the context of developing countries. As a policy analyst, Claude works closely with countries in diagnosing their education systems and identifying room for improvement. As a researcher, he supports the production and diffusion of statistical and methodological tools. Claude joined IIEP in 2012 and has since been involved in training and capacity development programmes. Prior to joining IIEP, he worked as an economist statistician at the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) in Montreal, Canada and at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Chief Executive Officer of Pratham Education Foundation in India

 
Rukmini Banerji has extensive field experience working directly with rural and urban communities as well as in designing and implementing large-scale partnerships with governments to improve the learning of elementary school-age children. From 2005 to 2014, she led Pratham’s research and assessment efforts including the well-known ASER initiative (Annual Status of Education Report). Rukmini is the 2021 recipient of the Yidan Prize for education development.

Minister of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research, Kingdom of Jordan

H.E. Dr Azmi Mahafzah was appointed as minister on 27 October 2022. For more than 35 years, he worked as a teaching staff member in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Jordan, during which he also assumed many administrative posts, including President of the University of Jordan. In June 2018, he was appointed Minister of Education and additionally, he became Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research in October of the same year. In September 2019, he was appointed Chairman of the Higher Council of the National Center for Curriculum Development. Throughout his career, Dr. Mahafzah published more than sixty scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals. He holds a Doctor of Medicine (1977) from the University of Damascus in Syria and a Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (1984) from the American University of Beirut. 

Chair of the Governing Board of IESALC, Tertiary Education Commissioner of Jamaica

During his career in higher education, Dameon Black has held positions with The University Council of Jamaica, University College of the Caribbean, Jamaica, the Theological Seminary, and Portmore Community College. He has worked primarily in academic administration and organizational leadership. In addition to his current role as Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of Jamaica's Tertiary Education Commission, he contributes to the development of Regional and Global tertiary education policy and systems through his role as President of the Governing Board of UNESCO’s Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean. He has also been Jamaica’s representative during the development of two major International Conventions on the recognition of higher education qualifications.

Higher Education Adviser to the Minister of Higher Education in Malaysia

Besides his role at the Ministry, Morshidi Bin Sirat holds the title of Emeritus Professor at the National Higher Education Research Institute, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), where he served as a professor for almost 33 years. With nearly four decades of experience, Morshidi continues to be active in academia and consultancy. He has held strategic roles, including Deputy Director-General of Higher Education, Director-General of Higher Education/Registrar General for Private Institutes of Higher Education, and Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS). Beyond his management roles, Morshidi founded an NGO dedicated to advancing higher education research and policies. His expertise extends to consultancy, training, and research guidance for governmental and non-governmental entities.