D
Title: Deputy Director for Partnerships and Public Engagement, Outreach Division, Department of Public Information
Topics: Public Information, United Nations Overview, and Partnerships
Mr. Ramu Damodaran is Deputy Director for Partnerships and Public Engagement in the United Nations Department of Public Information’s Outreach Division. Previously, he was Chief of its Civil Society Service. His responsibilities focus particularly on outreach to, and partnerships with, non-governmental, academic, private sector constituencies, and the general public. The Division’s programmes include briefings to NGOs, schools, universities and visiting groups, guided tours, exhibits, and responses to inquiries about the Organization. It publishes both the UN Chronicle magazine and the Yearbook of the United Nations, commemorates special observances, and arranges special events, including the annual conference of non-governmental organizations and the “Unlearning Intolerance” seminar series. His earlier posts with the Organization have included the Department of Peacekeeping and the Executive Office of the Secretary-General.
Mr. Damodaran has also been a member of the Indian Foreign Service where he held the post of Executive Assistant to the Prime Minister of India, served Indian diplomatic missions in Moscow and to the United Nations, and held assignments in a range of other governmental ministries.
Prior to joining national government service, he worked extensively in Indian mass media, including television, radio and print publications. He has been a stage actor both in India and the United States.
Title: Executive Officer, Department of Political Affairs
Topics: United Nations Overview and Finance
Ms. Ann De la Roche is currently the Executive Officer in the Department of Political Affairs (DPA/OUSG/EO). She also worked at DPKO, UNFIP, and UNHCR and UNHCHR. Throughout her United Nations career she has been based in Cambodia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Myanmar. Her field is administration and finance.
Ms. De la Roche attended the University of Lund in Sweden. Ms. De la Roche speaks English and Swedish.
Title: Senior Political Affairs Officer, Department of Political Affairs
Topics: Asia and Foreign Affairs General
Mr. Hitoki Den is currently a Senior Political Affairs Officer in the Department of Political Affairs (DPA), and his areas of expertise include Southeast Asia (especially Myanmar, Thailand, and Philippines), South Asian and UN-ASEAN relations. He now works as the Team Leader for South Asia in DPA’s Asia Pacific Division, in which efforts were made to provide political and substantive support for the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN). Previously Mr. Den worked to strengthen UN-ASEAN cooperation in the area of peace and security, which resulted in ASEAN becoming the UN’s observer in 2006. He was a Senior Advisor to the Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Myanmar from 2001-05, during which efforts were made to facilitate national reconciliation and democratization in Myanmar. Mr. Den received his M.A. at Cornell Graduate School, B.A. at Seton Hall University, and also attended Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei in an exchange programme.
Title: Chief, Socio-Economic Governance and Management Branch, Division for Public Administration and Development Management, Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Topics: Civil Society and Economic Development
Mr. Jacinto de Vera is Chief, Socio-Economic Governance and Management Branch, Division for Public Administration and Development Management, DESA. He is responsible for the formulation, development and implementation of the work programme of the Branch in the area of participatory governance and, in particular, citizen engagement in policy formulation, in service delivery and in public accountability. He is currently doing extensive research and analytic work on economic and social councils as institutions for participatory governance. He has been involved in economic development for more than 30 years. Mr. De Vera's previous assignments in development were in the areas of foreign direct investments and transnational corporations, international taxation, trade and development. He received his graduate degree from New York University.
Title: Programme Assistant in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)
Topics: United Nations Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Papa Malick Diakhate has worked in various positions, both in the field and at Headquarters, since joining the United Nations in 1999. He is currently a Programme Assistant in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Mr. Diakhate is familiar with the UN system as he serves as repository and one stop shop for information on the political, social, and economic aspects of the work of the United Nations. His responsibilities include providing timely written responses to moderately complex requests from the general public on issues affecting the global community. He also serves as a member of the United Nations Speakers Bureau, delivering presentations on the United Nations Peacekeeping Operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mr. Diakhate holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Baruch College and a Master's degree in International Affairs from the New School University.
Title: Chief, French Translation Service and Deputy Director, Documentation Division
Topics: International Criminal Court, International Law, Translation
Mr. Alassane Diatta is currently Deputy Director of the Documentation Division and Chief of the French Translation Service. His areas of expertise are in international criminal law, international law, translation, and training of language staff. Mr. Diatta started his career in the United Nations as a translator in December 1981 entering through the UN Competitive Exam for French-language translators. He served at various duty stations, including the Economic Commission for Africa, United Nations Headquarters, and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). From 1998 to 2001 he was Chief of the language and conference services section in ICTR which supervised a unit of more than 100 staff during a time when ICTR was experiencing serious teething problems in delivering its first judgments. He has been the head of the French Translation Service since 2002. Mr. Diatta attended the University of Dakar in Senegal.
Title: Associate Political Affairs Officer, Security Council Practices and Charter Research Branch, Department of Political Affairs
Topics: Security Council and Security Council Reform
Ms. Stefania Di Paola is currently an Associate Political Affairs Officer, Security Council Practices and Charter Research Branch, within the Department of Political Affairs. Her fields of expertise include Security Council and Security Council reform.
Prior to her current work, she worked as an Associate Project Officer in the UNDP in Albania. Ms. Di Paola attended the University of Pisa and the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Title: Information Officer, Department of Public Information
Topics: Sustainable Development and Millennium Development Goals
Ms. Martina Donlon currently works in the Department of Public Information as focal point for Sustainable Development, where she concentrates on the Millennium Development Goals. Before joining the UN, she worked for the Council on Foreign Relations, the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN, and the Wall Street Journal in New York. She attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Boston and the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. She is fluent in German, French, and English.
Title: Chief of the Palestine, Decolonization and Human Rights Section, Department of Public Information
Topics: Public Information and Human Rights
Mr. Dysane Dorani is the Chief of the Palestine, Decolonization and Human Rights Section of the Department of Public Information. Mr. Dorani previously served as the Representative of the UN Department of Public Information in Baku, Azerbaijan. Before joining the United Nations, Mr. Dorani worked in the service of his Government notably as First Counselor and Deputy Permanent Representative of the Mission of Djibouti to the United Nations. He has an institutional background in public information, as well as in the field of international politics, and has written and published articles on development and political issues in Africa, Asia, and the Arab world. He has also lectured at New York Polytechnic University and other universities in the Middle East and the Caucasus regions.
Title: Executive Director, United Nations Office for Partnerships and Representative for Public/Private Partnerships
Topics: Partnerships, United Nations Overview, Finance, Democratic Governance, and Millennium Development Goals
Mr. Amir Dossal is the Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships and representative for Public/Private Partnerships. He guides the development of strategic alliances with corporations, foundations and philanthropists in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Mr. Dossal is the UN’s Chief Liaison for Ted Turner's $1 billion donation for UN causes and works closely with the UN Foundation. He has enabled support for over 450 programmes and projects in the areas of children’s health, women and population, climate change, and biodiversity, which includes "investments" of over $560 million from other donors. He oversees the management of the UN Democracy Fund, which he established in 2005, to strengthen democratic institutions and enhance democratic governance in new or restored democracies. In 2006, he established the first ever Peacebuilding Support Office to help bridge development gaps in post-conflict countries. Mr. Dossal has developed numerous partnerships for the United Nations, including with the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, the Commonwealth Business Council, the European Foundation Centre, the Louise T. Blouin Foundation, Marvel Entertainment, the Synergos Institute, the US Chamber of Commerce, and others. He is a Chartered Accountant (FCA) having qualified from Deloitte, Haskins & Sells, London in 1975.
Title: Media Adviser and Spokesperson, Media and Communications Branch, Information and External Relations Division, United Nations Population Fund
Topics: Public Information, Media, Security Council, Gender Equality, and Population
Mr. Abubakar Dungus joined the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in January 1998. He has spoken about the Fund on CNN, the BBC, Voice of America, and to a number of United States Congressmen, European parliamentarians, EU officials and non-governmental organizations. Previously, he worked in the United Nations Department of Public Information, covering Security Council meetings and economic and financial meetings. He also covered and briefed the media on United Nations global conferences such as the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994). Before joining the United Nations, he wrote and edited political and financial news for two years at the North American headquarters of Reuters News Service. He received a Master's degree in journalism from Columbia University in 1990, specializing in diplomatic and international reporting. Before coming to the United States, he worked with the Nigerian Television Authority as a reporter editor and host of hundreds of news reports and weekly discussion programmes on international affairs.