Above: Irina Bokova (UN Photo/Mark Garten)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova is currently finishing up a three-day visit to Haiti.
The purpose of the visit is to measure the progress of cooperation between Haiti and the world body’s cultural organization, according to a statement from the United Nations.
Bokova is being joined by former Canadian Governor General Michaelle Jean, who is the Special Envoy of UNESCO for Haiti.
Bokova is meeting with Haiti President Michel Martelly, Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe and other government officials on her visit. She is also traveling to the National History Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982.
UNESCO has embarked on several cultural initiatives in the country since 2010, with a focus on supporting cultural industries “as a force for inclusion and development,” according to the organization.
She previously visited Haiti in March 2010, in the aftermath of the earthquake.