Saima Wazed elected UNESCO's jury board chief

Saima Wazed Putul, daughter of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has been elected Chairperson of the International Jury Board of UNESCO-Emir Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah Prize for Digital Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.

Saima Wazed Putul talks to Getachew Engida, Deputy Director General of UNESCO, at its Headquarters in Paris on Nov 9, 2016. Photo: Courtesy

Putul, Chair​person of the National Advisory Committee on Autism in Bangladesh​ and Member of the World Health Organization Expert Advisory Panel on Mental Health​, elected Chairperson of the Jury Board for the next two years​ ​by its members ​at the beginning of today's meeting , according to a press release of Bangladesh embassy in Paris.

The UNESCO/Emir Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah Prize for Digital Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities is to recognise the outstanding contributions of individuals and organisations in promoting the inclusion and enhancing the lives of persons with disabilities through the application of digital solutions, resources and technologies.

The prize, introduced with the financial support of Kuwait, consists of two awards - one for an individual and one for an organisation - of US $ 20,000 each.

The International Jury Members include personalities renowned for their contributions towards improving the lives of persons with disabilities. ​The Jury Board will select the winners of the prize after scrutiny of over one hundred applications received by UNESCO from governments, individuals, and non-governmental organisations.

​Saima Wazed Putul, an internationally renowned developmental disorder expert, ​has been nominated by the Director General of UNESCO to serve on the ​International Jury Board​ for two years.

Other members ​of the Jury Board are: Ms Catalina Devandas Aguilar, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, United Nations Human Rights Council (Costa Rica); Ms May Chidiac, Founder of the May Chidiac Foundation, Lebanese journalist and winner of the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize in 2006 (Lebanon);  Klaus Miesenberger, Professor, Institut Integriert Studieren, Johannes Kepler Universitat Linz and International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs, ICCHP (Austria); and Martin Babu Mwesigwa, Member and Rapporteur of the Committee of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Former Deputy Executive Director and Head of Programmes at National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (Uganda)​.

In the sidelines of the​ International​ Jury meeting, Saima Wazed also held a brief meeting with Getachew Engida, Deputy Director General of UNESCO​. They exchanged views on Bangladesh-UNESCO collaboration to improve the life of persons with disabilities.