A long-serving UN official has bid farewell after she visited the Prime Minister last week to advise of her exit and to thank the Samoa Government for hosting their regional office.

The Apia-based UNESCO Office for the Pacific States issued a statement on Friday to advise of the departure of its director and Pacific States Representative Nisha after close to seven years.

Ms. Nisha, who led the UNESCO Office for the Pacific States and redefined the roles and responsibilities of the organisation in the Pacific, announced her departure at the end of June this year. On Friday 18 August 2023, she visited the Office of the Prime Minister and thanked Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa for the Samoa Government being a considerate host to her Office and to her during her stay in Samoa. 

“UNESCO is honoured to be hosted by Samoa since the inception of its Office for the Pacific States in 1983," said the departing UNESCO Representative. "It has been an enduring partnership between the Member State and the Organisation through the years and one that will prove its relevance and collaboration for sustainable development in the years to come as well.”

Early this month on 16 August 2023 Ms. Nisha met with the Samoa National Commission for UNESCO. Meeting with Aeau Christopher Hazelman, Secretary-General of the Samoa National Commission for UNESCO and C.E.O. of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture, Ms. Nisha discussed Samoa’s support for UNESCO initiatives and leadership in education as well as the increasingly important role of the National Commissions in UNESCO’s normative functions.

Looking at the trends, Ms Nisha, felt that in the future the UNESCO Office in Apia with the support of the Government and the National Commission can simultaneously deliver quality technical assistance for Samoa and share expertise and resources to the other countries within its coverage. 

 UNESCO, which is the acronym for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, also advised that the UNESCO Office in Apia will be restructured in the near future. The restructure will follow the UN's structural framework for the Samoa Multi-Offices (MCO) Cluster comprising Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa, and Tokelau. 

"It will be guided to deliver on the national development needs and collective action with the rest of the UN Country Team for Samoa MCO Cluster pertaining to UNESCO’s domains of work and mandate," reads the UNESCO statement. "UNESCO is widening its base in the Pacific according to purposes of the organisation and MCO Review results. 

"It will boost and manage the portfolio of technical support and services for greater effectiveness in the interest of the Member States in the Pacific."

Currently, the UNESCO Office for the Pacific States serves Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Republic of Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.