Meet the Mexican economist who could be the next head of UNESCO

Gabriela Ramos Patiño, a distinguished Mexican economist and diplomat, has emerged arsenic 1 of 3 finalists to go the director-general of UNESCO aft Audrey Azoulay’s 2nd word expires successful December.

With a vocation spanning decades successful planetary organizations, Ramos is positioning herself arsenic a transformative person for UNESCO — formally the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — as the bureau moves beyond its 80th day this year.

Ramos, a autochthonal of Michoacán, is successful a presumption to go conscionable the 3rd pistillate successful past to caput UNESCO arsenic director-general. (Red societal X).

Responding to a 2024 petition for nominations, Mexico enactment guardant Ramos, a autochthonal of Michoacán who volition crook 61 adjacent Tuesday.

This week, a quality study citing UNESCO sources revealed her to beryllium a finalist alongside Egypt’s Khaled Ahmed El-Enany Ali Ezz, 54, a erstwhile curate of tourism and antiquities, and Firmin Edouard Matoko, 68, of the Republic of Congo, a longtime UNESCO officer.

After a run play that begins this month, UNESCO’s 58-member enforcement committee — elected by subordinate states each 4 years — volition ballot by concealed ballot successful October, with the victor to beryllium announced successful November. The caller caput volition service a four-year word with the anticipation of 1 renewal.

As the highest-ranking authoritative of UNESCO, the director-general oversees an enactment that is known for its more than 1,100 World Heritage Sites worldwide, its planetary efforts to beforehand inclusive and equitable prime education, and its safeguarding of taste traditions.

Since 1945, determination person been 10 UNESCO heads, including 1 Mexican: Jaime Torres Bodet, a Mexico City autochthonal who served arsenic the agency’s 2nd director’general from 1948 to 1952.

Azoulay, the existent director-general, began her archetypal word successful 2018 and was re-elected successful 2021. The 52-year-old Frenchwoman, who served arsenic her country’s curate of civilization successful 2016 and 2017, is the 2nd pistillate person of UNESCO.

Ramos, who has dedicated her vocation to advancing planetary practice and addressing pressing societal challenges, is seeking to go the third.

She holds a grade successful International Relations from Universidad Iberoamericana and a master’s grade successful Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Due to her beardown world showing, she was invited to articulation Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs successful 1988.

From there, she transitioned to planetary roles, including manager of the Mexico City bureau for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It serves arsenic a determination hub for Latin America and the Caribbean.

She past became director-general astatine OECD office successful Paris, and since 2020 has been UNESCO’s adjunct director-general for societal and quality sciences, overseeing captious initiatives aimed astatine fostering inclusive societies.

Her portfolio includes addressing economical inequality, promoting sex equality, combating racism and advancing the morals of emerging technologies specified arsenic artificial intelligence.

Notably, she spearheaded the adoption of UNESCO’s archetypal planetary model connected AI morals successful 2021 and launched the Global Forum Against Racism.

Ramos’ candidacy comes astatine a pivotal infinitesimal for UNESCO, which is facing what she called an “era of struggle and polarization.”

She has advocated for a “stronger, much inclusive and much innovative” enactment to reconstruct spot successful multilateralism.

“Solidarity is besides waning, and improvement practice is suffering,” Ramos said. “We are not connected way to conscionable planetary commitments made successful the past, with disastrous consequences for radical and the planet.

“We are failing to adjacent the inequality gaps that are eroding our societies and democracies.”

Her imaginativeness aligns with her extended acquisition astatine the OECD, wherever she led initiatives connected inclusive growth, clime alteration and sex equity.

Among her achievements are reforms to taxation systems done the G20, the constitution of sex quotas to trim labour disparities and the instauration of the W20 platform (as portion of the G20) for women’s empowerment.

She has received galore accolades for her enactment connected sex equality and societal inclusion, including France’s Order of Merit.

With reports from Milenio, El Financiero and Forbes