PARIS, October 27. /TASS/. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Friday named a new laureate of the medal Five Continents for outstanding achievements in the field of culture and promotion of international cooperation. The award went to Russian journalist and author of TV documentaries, TASS First Deputy Director-General Mikhail Gusman.
Speaking at a special ceremony at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris the organization’s Director-General Irina Bokova noted Gusman’s prolonged cooperation with the international organization she leads.
"The award is for your proactive support for UNESCO and all institutions within the UN system," she said.
Bokova recalled that Gusman had devoted more than ten TV documentaries to the operation of international organizations.
"This gave a multi-million audience better knowledge of the world community’s efforts in the most important spheres of human endeavor," Bokova said. She noted Gusman’s contribution to the activities of the leadership bodies of the International Program for the Development of Communication and major regional media alliances.
"We will need this assistance further on," she said.
Present at the Five Continents award ceremony were the first woman in space Valentina Tereshkova, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s special envoy Eleonora Mitrofanova, UNESCO’s Deputy Director-General Eric Falt and Russia’s representative at UNESCO Aleksandr Kuznetsov.
The award was established in 1996 on the occasion of UNESCO’s 50 anniversary.