Malcolm Adiseshiah
From 1 to 16 November 1945 a United Nations Conference was convened in London for the establishment of an educational and cultural organization (ECO/CONF). In the conference, a new organization was created to establish the “intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind” and thus prevent the outbreak of another world war. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded by thirty-seven countries. Its Constitution to promote collaboration between member states in the fields of education, science and culture was signed on 16 November 1945 and came into force on 4 November 1946. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, former President of India, was a former student of Adiseshiah’s father. He made a referral to Sir Julian Huxley, then Director-General of UNESCO, who invited Adiseshiah to the organization in 1948. He was posted as Deputy Director of the department of exchange of persons. In that capacity Adiseshiah signed the UNESCO Fellowship letter in 1949 to M. S. Swaminathan, eminent scientist and administrator, to pursue research at the Agricultural University in Wageningen, the Netherlands which was the starting point of his illustrious career.
Hubert J. Charles
After completing his education, Charles served from July to October 1977 as Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture in the Dominican government. He next served as the headmaster of the Dominica Grammar School from October 1977 to June 1981. Charles was appointed Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture and held that position from January 1981 to December 1985.
Charles served as an Advisor on Special Programs to the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States from June 1986 to October 1995. Between 1991 and 2006, he also served in various posts in UNESCO in the Caribbean and Africa. In January 1991, he became the UNESCO Representative to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, based in Bridgetown, Barbados. In November 1995, he became the UNESCO Educational Advisor in Pretoria, South Africa, serving until April 1998. In June 1998 he became the UNESCO Representative and Head of Office in Maputo, Mozambique, serving until December 2000. Finally, in January 2001, he became the UNESCO Representative and Director of the Office for the Economic Community of West African States, serving in Abuja, Nigeria until October 2006.