Kayanja Appointed UNIC Director in Lagos

The United Nations SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon has announced the appointment of Ronald Kayanja of Uganda as the Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Lagos, Nigeria. The Information Centre in Lagos covers Nigeria. Kayanja assumed his new duties on 1 April 2015.

Since November 2011, Kayanja has held the position of UNESCO Adviser for Communication and Information in West Africa, covering Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo working on media, communication and the use of ICTs for development in those countries.

In this role Kayanja has supported capacity building of journalists, promotion of press freedom and safety of journalists, in addition to policy dialogue with member states on the use of community media. Most recently he led UNESCO’s response to the Ebola crisis in Liberia and Sierra Leone through the use of community media.

He also has United Nations mission experience, serving as Programme Officer with the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste from June 2007 until October 2011. He worked with the UN Mission, the UN agencies, national authorities and civil society on mechanisms of strengthening the participation of media and civil society in the nascent democracy of Timor-Leste.

Kayanja holds a Masters degree in journalism from the University of Wales in United Kingdom, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from Makerere University in Uganda. He is married and has four children.