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Nassrine Azimi is one of the original UNITAR staff members who contributed to the success of the Institute. A young journalist and later, urban planner, who graduated from the
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva and the
University of Lausanne, she later helped to establish two among three UNITAR outposted offices in the world. Legacy of one of the most passionate UNITAR staff members, who fell in love with Hiroshima:
Shortly after joining UNITAR in 1986, Nassrine opened an environmental programme on the use of satellite imagery (GIS - Geographic Information Systems), in cooperation with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL). She also set the cornerstone for UNITAR’s future programmes on toxic chemicals.
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Raising the UN flag on top of UNITAR Offices in Hiroshima
In 1996, after the transfer of the UNITAR headquarters from New York to Geneva, Nassrine was entrusted with the task of recovering whatever was left of the Institute’s training programme at UN Headquarters and opening a new UNITAR New York Office. She served as its first Chief for five years. Under her leadership, the Office regained its vitality and has been able to cater to the needs of the New York-based diplomats ever since.
In 2003, in the light of her experience and success, Nassrine was entrusted to establish in Hiroshima, UNITAR’s third office. She was able to develop innovative projects inspired by this special place, namely:
the Hiroshima Fellowship for Afghanistan in which Hiroshima’s post-war experience resonates with today’s Afghanistan;
the Series on the Conservation and Management of World Heritage Sites, where conservation plays a part in peace and reconciliation; and
the Series on Sea and Human Security which aims at a comprehensive security for seas and oceans.
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Guiding the training participants through the Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima
Hard working, intelligent, imaginative, eloquent are some of her professional qualities as described by her colleagues. In drafting a text, she will spare no effort to ensure its clarity; in other words, in her laudable search for perfection, she could be very demanding, even of herself.
Those of us who have had the privilege of working with Nassrine will never forget her human qualities, her spontaneity and, whatever the circumstances, her inimitable sense of humour. After her most successful missions on three continents, her appointment as UNITAR’s Senior Advisor is for all her colleagues a source of deep satisfaction.
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With colleagues of UNITAR New York Office at UN Headquarters
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