Lidia Brito

Lidia Arthur Brito is a Mozambiquan forestry expert and engineer. She was the first Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology of Mozambique. Arthur Brito is an international civil servant since 2009 and was appointed UNESCO Assistant Director General for Natural Sciences in November 2023..

UNESCO career

Joining UNESCO in November 2009, she became the Director for Science Policy and Sustainable Development at the Natural Science Sector in Paris, then she was designated as the UNESCO Regional Director for Sciences in the Latin America and Caribbean region in 2014. Over the period of 2018 to 2021, she helmed the organizing committee for the Open Science Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean, a crucial regional platform that facilitates discussions and interactions aimed at fostering sustainable policies across the fields of science, technology, and innovation. Brito assumed office as UNESCO Regional Director for Southern Africa based in Harare in 2022.. At UNESCO, Brito leads global programmes across biosphere reserves, hydrology, earth sciences, science policy, and basic sciences, guiding the organization’s work on sustainability, climate resilience, and science capacity worldwide.
Lidia Arthur Brito was appointed UNESCO Assistant Director General for Natural Sciences in November 2023.