Pacific Heritage Coordination Assistant

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, the Natural and Social and Human Sciences, Culture and Communication and Information.

Political and economic arrangements of governments are not enough to secure the lasting and sincere support of the peoples. Peace must be founded upon dialogue and mutual understanding. Peace must be built upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of humanity.

In this spirit, UNESCO develops educational tools to help people live as global citizens free of hate and intolerance. UNESCO works so that each child and citizen has access to quality education. By promoting cultural heritage and the equal dignity of all cultures, UNESCO strengthens bonds among nations. UNESCO fosters scientific programmes and policies as platforms for development and cooperation. UNESCO stands up for freedom of expression, as a fundamental right and a key condition for democracy and development. Serving as a laboratory of ideas, UNESCO helps countries adopt international standards and manages programmes that foster the free flow of ideas and knowledge sharing.

UNESCO's founding vision was born in response to a world war that was marked by racist and anti-Semitic violence. Seventy years on and many liberation struggles later, UNESCO’s mandate is as relevant as ever. Cultural diversity is under attack and new forms of intolerance, rejection of scientific facts and threats to freedom of expression challenge peace and human rights. In response, UNESCO's duty remains to reaffirm the humanist missions of education, science and culture.

For over 40 years, the UNESCO Regional Office for the Pacific States has been committed to setting standards, producing tools and developing knowledge to create solutions to some of the greatest challenges of our time, and foster a world of greater equality, sustainable development and peace. Protecting biodiversity, responding to artificial intelligence, advancing quality education, safeguarding heritage, and ensuring access to reliable information are some examples of the work that UNESCO does with its 17 Member States across the Pacific region.

In particular, the UNESCO Culture Sector aims to promote diverse cultural expressions and the creative economy and safeguard cultural and natural heritage in response to the global challenges addressed by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as conflicts, disasters and emergencies, by implementing the six UNESCO Culture Conventions and the recommendations associated with them, and supporting Member States in translating their provisions into national policies and strategies.

This UNV assignment is part of UNESCO’s Capacity building for safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in emergencies in Small Island Developing States in the Pacific and the Caribbean project, which addresses the severe threats from natural disasters to the transmission and viability of ICH in three Small Island Developing States in the Pacific. It aims to integrate ICH safeguarding into disaster risk reduction strategies, helping communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies through capacity-building approaches.
The assignment also aims to promote a coordinated approach to heritage in the Pacific, including by supporting the organization of the first transversal Regional Workshop on Pacific Heritage, facilitating n regional exchanges and exploring intersections among the UNESCO Culture Conventions across all heritage domains to assist and accompany Pacific Islands in the protection, safeguarding and promotion of their cultural and natural heritage.

Under the overall authority of the Director of the UNESCO Office for the Pacific States and the direct supervision of the Culture Programme Specialist, the UN Volunteer Pacific Heritage Coordination Assistant will:

• Support the coordination and project management of the UNESCO Project “Capacity building for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in emergencies in Small Island Developing States in the Pacific”. Tasks will include the preparation of project documents, support to contractual and administrative processes, coordination of capacity building and communication activities, technical backstopping to implementing partners as needed and effective monitoring and reporting of the project, in coordination with the UNESCO Office in Kingston and the Living Heritage Entity at UNESCO HQ.

• Contribute to the organisation of a regional workshop on Pacific Heritage with a view to strengthen synergies between intangible and tangible heritage in DRR and disseminating the findings of the project, including by assisting in the planning and coordination of the event, the development of the programme, the preparation of workshop documents and related material, supporting logistical coordination, liaising with relevant partners/government departments/UN Organizations and drafting minutes and summaries as required;

• Assist in the implementation and monitoring of programme activities in the field of World heritage and intangible cultural heritage and support communication efforts to disseminate the results of the above-mentioned programmes and projects related to heritage, including through the preparation of press-releases and content for the web and social media;

• Perform any other duties as requested by the Supervisor that may be required to ensure the success of the work team.