Board of Directors | Professor Omolewa
Professor Omolewa was appointed Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Nigeria to UNESCO in January 2000. Before his appointment, he served as Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria’s oldest University, from 1985 to 1987. He was Chairman of the Committee of Deans of Education of Nigerian Universities from 1986 to 1987. Subsequently, from 1987 to 1990, he served as Head of Nigeria’s oldest Department of Adult Education; and was reappointed to a Second Term from 1994 to 1997. During his tenure, the Adult Education Department was awarded the UNESCO International Reading Association Literacy prize in 1989.
Professor Omolewa attended the University of Ibadan where he read History. At the University of Dakar, Senegal, he was introduced to the study of the French language. He also attended Institute of Historical Research, University of London. And was a Commonwealth Academic Staff Fellow at King's College, University of London from 1975 to 1976; as well as a recipient of the South-North Education Award from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC): University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. He also sits on the Vancouver, British Columbia based Commonwealth of Learning Board of Governors. The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is an intergovernmental organisation created by Commonwealth Heads of Government to encourage the development of open learning and distance education, through the fostering and sharing of knowledge, resources and technologies.
Professor Omolewa has served on UNESCO’s Executive Board since 1999. He is also the Vice-President of UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education (Geneva, Switzerland), a member of the Executive Board of the International Standing Conference on the History of Education (ISCHE) and a member of the Government Advisory Council of the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). He is on the editorial boards of several leading education journals, including the International Journal of Higher Education, and has served as a consultant to numerous international aid agencies: USAID, UNICEF, World Bank and UNESCO.
On 29 September 2003, Professor Omolewa, as Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Nigeria to UNESCO became the first West African to be elected President of the General Conference of UNESCO for the following two years.
Professor Omolewa is the recipient of many awards and accolades. He was recently awarded the distinguished scholar and diplomat Honorary Professorship in International Studies by the Beijing Foreign Studies University. In April 2006, a book was released in his honour; the book, edited by Akpovire Oduaran and Harbans S. Bhola, is titled: Widening Access to Education as Social Justice: Essays in Honor of Michael Omolewa.