Antoinette Batumubwira Appointed Head of AfDB Group External Relations and Communication Unit
TUNIS, Tunisia, February 25, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Mrs. Antoinette Batumubwira has been appointed head of the External Relations and Communication Unit of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group.
Mrs. Batumubwira comes into the job with a combination expertise in international relations and communication, after serving as the Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Minister of her country, Burundi, and a rich career in the various journalistic and communication domains.
The appointment of Mrs. Batumubwira comes at a particularly decisive period for Africa’s premier regional development finance institution following the adoption of its Medium-Term Strategy 2008-2012. This strategy focuses on greater selectivity of the operations of the Bank Group in infrastructure, governance, promoting a more robust private sector and higher education. Through these interventions, the Bank Group will contribute more effectively to regional integration; improve its activities in middle-income countries and provide greater assistance to fragile states. The institution will also scale up activities to enhance human development and agriculture, knowledge production, climate change and gender as integral parts of its operations.
Given this scenario, the communication challenges become all the more daunting in a context of scarce resources and the prevailing international financial crisis. However, the recent adoption of the first phase of the Bank Group’s communication strategy by the Board of Directors provides the institution the means to better support development efforts of African countries.
In this context, Mrs. Batumubwira intends to deploy her experience as minister and communication professional to enhance the impact of Bank operations by highlighting the institution’s investment in the service of the continent for more than 40 years.
Biographical landmarks:
• 2005-2009: Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Burundi.
• 2003-2004: Head, Center for Planning, Employment and Economic Development for Southern Finland, Helsinki, Finland
• 2002: Consultant responsible for the organization of the African Regional Conference on the Information Society, Executive Secretariat of the United Nations, Comoros.
• 1999-2000: Head of Communications, Office of the Resident Coordinator, United Nations, Comoros
• 1997-1999: Head of Public Relations and Communications, ICO Global Communications
• 1981-1995: Information Officer, UN Information Center, Bujumbura, Burundi.
• 1979-1981: Journalist, “La voix de la Révolution du Burundi”.
SOURCE : African Development Bank (AfDB)
