The UNESCO Experience
The 2017 candidacy for UNESCO Director-General and the lessons it left.
اقرأ بالعربية ←
The UNESCO Experience...
Approaching a Dream and Disappointment
Among the memories and historical milestones that His Excellency Dr. Hamad Al-Kawari experienced, which were decisive and influential in his career, and in his personal life, was his candidacy for the position of Director-General of UNESCO, the World Education, Culture and Science Organization in 2017, where he was the most prominent and luckiest candidate, thanks to the great effort he made in visits to all countries.
There are 52 members of the Executive Council, in addition to other countries, until the number of countries he visited reached 70 countries. He met with heads of state, heads of ministries, and relevant ministers, visited universities, discussed with their intellectuals, and held press conferences in most of these countries, armed with a clearly defined program for serving the poor countries.
Things were going well, and despite his knowledge of the obstruction attempt by some relatives that was taking place indirectly, he turned a blind eye to it and even ignored it, confident in his position and his accurate calculations that confirmed the availability of the votes that would conclusively ensure victory for him.
He was actually able to win decisively in the first four rounds, and the confrontation intensified in the fifth round, and on the day of the voting, the matter was decided by the success of Qatar for everyone, so much so that His Excellency Dr. Hamad prepared the winning word and put it in his pocket, and after heavy hours of waiting, the decisive moment came, and the result was equal between him and the French candidate, and then the result changed by announcing her victory by one vote. Dr. Hamad was shocked by the disappointing result, as he considered this position a cultural mission to serve the Arabs.
Despite the unexpected result, the call of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of the country, was like a balm to the wound, as he said to him, “We consider you a winner, come back to your country full of honor and respect.”