04 February 2009
Under-Secretary-General Mr. Kiyo Akasaka during interview
On 3-4 February 2009, Mr. Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information at the United Nations, visited the UN Information Centre in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The visit was one stop on a seven-day tour through western Africa where he will visit three other UN information centres located in Senegal, Nigeria and Ghana. The purpose of his trip is to meet the staff at the information centres to experience first hand the varied activities carried out by these centres and to meet the partners information centres routinely work with such as the UN Country Team, the UN Communications Group, members of civil society and the media, and government officials.
During his stay in Burkina Faso, Mr. Akasaka met with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Regional Cooperation. He also participated in a ceremony with representatives of civil society, national associations and the media where he presented information materials about the United Nations that had been translated into local languages.
His visit continued with an interview on UNIC Ouagadougou's weekly television programme "Canal ONU", dedicated to UN issues and produced in partnership with National TV of Burkina Faso, and meetings with the UN Country Team and the UN Communications Group. He was also interviewed by Burkina Faso's national radio station and attended a cultural event where students performed local dances.
On 4 February, Mr. Akasaka left Burkina Faso and traveled to Nigeria to visit the UN Information Centre in Lagos.
For more information about United Nations information centres, please visit their website.