Lazare Eloundou Assomo
Lazare Eloundou Assomo | |
|---|---|
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| Director of the World Heritage Centre | |
| Assumed office 6 December 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Mechtild Rössler |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1968 (age 55–56) Cameroon |
Lazare Eloundou Assomo (born 1968) is a Cameroonian architect and heritage advisor, who, in 2021, was the first African to be appointed head of UNESCO's World Heritage Centre.
Career
[edit]Assomo graduated from the Grenoble School of Architecture in 1996 and worked as a researcher there at the Centre for Earthen Construction.[1] Early project he worked on were praised by Nelson Mandela for their community-centred approaches.[2] He joined UNESCO in 2003 and worked on the implementation of the African World Heritage Fund,[1] and the World Heritage Earthen Architecture Program.[3]
From 2008 to 2013, he led the Africa Unit of World Heritage Centre, and from there joined UNESCO's Bamako office,[4] and in 2014 was appointed to lead its Mali office.[1] He worked on the reconstruction of mausoleums in Timbuktu that were destroyed by al-Qaeda.[5] In 2016 he returned to the World Heritage Centre as Deputy Director of the Heritage Division, before being appointed in 2018 Director of Culture and Emergencies.[1]
In December 2021, he was appointed Head of the World Heritage Centre by Audrey Azoulay, replacing Mechtild Rössler.[3] He is the centre's fifth director and the first African to hold the position.[6][5][7] He has been outspoken on the subject of the study of "colonial heritage" in Africa.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Audrey Azoulay names Lazare Eloundou Assomo head of the World Heritage Centre". UNESCO. 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
- ^ "Lazare Eloundou Assomo, the first African to head Unesco's world heritage". New in 24 English. 2021-12-06. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
- ^ a b "Le Camerounais L. E. Assomo, premier Africain en charge de l'Héritage culturel à l'UNESCO". Afriquois Info (in French). Retrieved 2021-12-21.
- ^ Carstens, Anne Marie; Carstens, Researcher Georgetown University Law Center and Lecturer Anne-Marie; Varner, Elizabeth (2020). Intersections in International Cultural Heritage Law. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-884629-1.
- ^ a b "New head of Unesco world heritage centre wants to put Africa on the map". the Guardian. 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
- ^ "Lazare Eloundou Assomo appointed Director of UNESCO's World Heritage Centre". African Shapers. 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
- ^ "Lazare Eloundou Assomo, un Africain à l'ONU pour sauvegarder les trésors de l'humanité". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
- ^ Halbertsma, Marlite (2011-05-25). The Heritage Theatre: Globalisation and Cultural Heritage. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4438-3078-2.
External links
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