Speaking at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai on Saturday, Mrs Irina Bokova outlined her achievements as the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and her commitment to ensuring education became a top priority of the general assembly should she take over from Ban Ki-moon at the end of this year.

« We need more diplomacy, we need more preventive measures, we need more understanding about conflict and how we can prevent this. This is where I think the role of the secretary-general is to put with courage and sincerity some of these issues » she said at a conference attended by Middle East heads of state and 22 education ministers from around the world.

Mrs. Bokova is the favourite to win the position after a push for the UN to appoint its first female secretary-general. Mrs. Bokova, Bulgaria’s former acting foreign minister, is also aided by the UN’s leadership rotation system, which has turned towards Eastern Europe.

Born in a communist country, the 63-year-old said her ties to the communist era gave her a unique perspective should she become secretary-general « Living in two systems in two periods is a huge advantage, » she said.

« I’m from this generation that was given the chance to make the transformation, that was given the chance to work towards the reunification of Europe. Nowadays, I’m even more convinced in promoting freedom of expression and freedom of opinion. »

The Harvard graduate said Education would form a key part of the UN’s battle against violent extremism under her leadership « I believe that the soft power of Education is extremely important » she said.

« We cannot respond to violent extremism if we don’t have a preventive role, It can’t just be any education, it needs to education about human rights, education about tolerance, about cultural diversity, all of these issues are an extremely important part of the effort to combat violent extremism, » she said.