The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Wednesday unanimously nominated Hao Ping, China's vice minister for education, as the only candidate for the president of its 37th Session of General Conference.
The nomination was announced at a plenary session of the 192nd Session of UNESCO's Executive Board on Wednesday afternoon at its headquarters in Paris.
The president's mission includes declaring the opening and closing of each plenary meeting of the Conference, directing the discussions, ensuring observance of the rules, according the right to speak, putting questions to the vote and announcing decisions. He shall rule on points of order and control proceedings and maintain order.
According to the organization's rules, the candidature is to be passed at the 37th Session of General Conference, which will open on Nov. 5 in Paris, and the new director-general will also be elected by that time.
Hao Ping, who is also the Chinese representative to the Executive Board of UNESCO, had been Vice President of China's Peking University (2001-2005) and President of Beijing Foreign Studies University (2005-2009), before assuming the position as vice minister of education.
He has been engaged in international exchanges, cooperation and communications for decades, and his dedication to UNESCO was acknowledged by deputies and the Executive Board.
The General Conference of UNESCO consists of representatives of its 195 member states. The conference is held every two years to determine policies and main lines of work, set the programs and budget, elect members of the Executive Board, and appoint the director-general every four years.
The current president is also UNESCO's current director-general, Katalin Bogyay, Hungary's Ambassador to UNESCO.
Day|Week|Month