Previous Fora / 2011
BOGYAY, Katalin
President, 36th General Conference of UNESCO
Hungarian Ambassador to UNESCO
As the current Ambassador of Hungary to UNESCO (since 2009) she is especially committed to cross cultural dialogue and strongly promotes the international importance of cultural diplomacy.
The former Hungarian State Secretary of International Affairs for Education and Culture(2006-2009), and Director of the Hungarian Cultural Institute in London(1999-2006) was educated both in Budapest, Hungary and London, U.K. She studied Economics, Journalism, and Counseling. Ms Bogyay also holds an MA in International Communications. She started her career as a music, theatre and art critic, became a television broadcaster and an international film maker. She is the author of four books.
She was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary for her achievements in international culture, and awarded Aphelandra, the humanitarian prize for her work performed internationally building bridges between people. She was invited to become the Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) in London. She is an honorary member of the London-based Imago-International Psychoanalytical Society. Also, she is a co-founder of the Liszt Academy Network. She has published several books. A documentary film was made (2002) and an interview book was published (2010) about her.
In 1998-1999 as a London based television producer she took part in the international communication campaign for the UNESCO World Conference on Science that was held in Budapest in 1999.