ANTIGUA & BARBUDA TOURISM AUTHORITY

A young Antiguan has received an opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to work for the United Nations. 26 year old Jamion Knight will be taking up a posting in Paris at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), which is one of the UN’s specialized agencies.

Knight is one of about 10 individuals from around the world who successfully applied to UNESCO’s Young Professional Programme (YPP), which aims to give young professionals the opportunity to start a career with the international organization. Knight was shortlisted from a pool of over 400 applicants and subsequently participated in a series of interviews and tests in Paris in July.

The YPP is exclusively for nationals of countries which are either unrepresented or unrepresented in the UNESCO staff compliment. At present there are no Antiguan and Barbudan employed at UNESCO and Knight is believed to be the first Antiguan and Barbudan to take up a professional posting with the organization in its 69 year history.

Jamion Knight - the 2003 Island Scholar – who will be working in the Executive Office of the Communications and Information Sciences Division, said he was overjoyed when UNESCO notified him of the outcome of his application.

“I am grateful to have been selected. I have always dreamt of working for the United Nations. As a matter of fact, it was my desire to work for the UN that led me to study international relations at university. This opportunity is not just about my professional development but the development of my country as well” he noted.

He added “I am looking forward to using this opportunity to developing new skill sets and building my knowledge base, which I plan to use for the betterment of Antigua and Barbuda when I return home,” he said.

Knight, who was recently employed as a Foreign Service officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a member of the Prime Minister Scholarship Committee, graduated from the University of the West Indies in 2007 with a BSc. in International Relations. He subsequently received a M.A in International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of London in 2008.