Cameroonian Appointed Director of UNESCO World Heritage

Lazare Eloundou Assomo, a 53-year-old Cameroonian has become the first-ever African-born to be the Director of the UNESCO World Heritage.

Lazare was appointed on December 6, 2021, by the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay. Before his appointment, he was previously at the helm of the Culture and Emergency Situations sector within UNESCO.

Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the UNESCO, the new director of the World Heritage has hinted that there is still much to be done in terms of representing all countries.

Born in Cameroon, Lazare Eloundou Assomo traveled to Europe at the age of 17 to Study Architecture and Town Planning in France. He began his professional career as an Associate Researcher at the International Center for Earth Construction at the Grenoble School of Architecture in 1996.

Lazare Eloundou later joined UNESCO in 2003, where he was able to contribute to the creation of the African World Heritage Fund. He also coordinated several heritage restoration projects in Africa, particularly in Mozambique, Mali, and Uganda.

Between 2013 to 2016, Lazare Eloundou headed the UNESCO office in Bamako, Mali with the mission of rebuilding, rehabilitating, and desacralizing the Mausoleums of Timbuktu.