JPO Stories
Meeting Kofi Annan
or 'Just another day as a JPO...'
Antonie Kraemer is a Norwegian JPO working in Madagascar.
"Well, this has probably been the peak of my JPO career. The Secretary General of the UN, Kofi Annan, and his wife, Nane Annan, just left Madagascar after a four-day visit to Madagascar. As a JPO responsible for communications at UNDP Madagascar, I helped to facilitate the visit, in particular the media aspects. So every other morning for the past four days, I was on post at the UN-delegation office established for his visit at the Hilton hotel at 6.30 am, helping the SG's spokesperson to monitor and synthesize international news, which the SG reads over breakfast.
I also summarized local media coverage of his visit. This is a way of monitoring the impact of the SG's visit, which has definitely helped in promoting important development messages. For instance, the project visits to a local health center and a nutritional rehabilitation center in a disadvantaged area of the capital helped to generate many stories in the media on the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS, and on the importance of giving nutritional information to disadvantaged mothers. And the visit to the old Queen's palace overlooking the capital helped bring attention to this site's historical importance, and UNESCO's work in preserving the country's cultural heritage.
Additionally, the SG's meeting with the political opposition, and his recommendations on the need for dialogue between the government and the opposition were picked up on and commented no end in the media here. His visit has definitely influenced the political landscape of Madagascar prior to the presidential elections of next year.
Luckily, the Information Officer at our local UN Information Centre (UNIC) is extremely capable, and we worked in tandem on these issues, as she is Malagasy, and a former journalist, and therefore knows the subtleties of the local media landscape here much better that I could ever hope to do.
When the SG visit was announced, only five days prior to his arrival, I was down in the south east, in the sleepy town of Tolagnaro, helping with arrangements around 8 March, International Women's Day, which the Ministry of Population celebrated there with UN support. Amongst other things, we arranged an exhibition on the Millennium Development Goals focusing on goal 3, as well as a conference on women's rights for local government officials, NGOs and women's groups, which brought some interesting facts to light on women's status in southern Madagascar. The male attendants of the conference freely admitted that in their region, women are valued less than the zebu-ox and the son. At least the conference opened up for discussions on this issue.
From Tolagnaro, we drove back 1700 km on at times very bad roads, as I wanted to add to our UNDP photo library with pictures from this little-known region (and because I felt like a little adventure rather than just flying straight back to the capital!). It is a part of my job that I love - being able to explore this beautiful country with my local colleagues, who can tell me about the history and the cultural context of the area as we drive past beautifully carved tombs and stout southern cattle-herders.
So my work over the past two weeks, from putting up MDG-posters in an isolated southern coastal town, driving 1700 km in the bush back to the capital, and working for Kofi Annan and his wife, gives an insight into my experience as a JPO in Madagascar, which has been an adventure all the way."
Antonie Kraemer, March 2006
