MR. ARMOOGUM PARSURAMEN WAS MINISTER OF EDUCATION, ARTS, AND CULTURE, EDUCATION AND SCIENCE IN MAURITIUS LATER DIRECTOR AND REPRESENTATIVE OF UNESCO.

Life Journey

Minister of Education, Arts, and Culture and Minister of Education and Science of Mauritius both between 1983 and 1995; and Director and AP5Representative of UNESCO between 1998 and 2011; Mr. Armoogum Parsuramen, G.O.S.K., is currently the Founder President of the Global Rainbow Foundation (GRF), a Charitable Trust dedicated to the relief of poverty, the advancement of education, assistance to children and adults suffering from physical and mental handicaps and any other purpose beneficial to the public in general, and the poor and most disadvantaged. Since 2013 Mr Parsuramen is also the Founder-President of the University of Third Age (Trust)Mauritius (U3AM).

Born in 1951 in Mauritius, Mr. Parsuramen holds a B.A. Honours degree in Administration from the University of Mauritius and started his career in the field of education as a secondary-school teacher in 1978. He was elected as a Village Councillor in 1978 and became Chairman of the District Council North in 1979. He was elected as Member of the Mauritius Parliament from 1982 to 1995 and served for four consecutive terms, during which he honourably provided excellent leadership as Minister of Education, Arts and Culture and Minister of Education and Science; and has been credited with being the architect of the Mauritian 10-Year Education Master Plan, which spearheaded the development of Mauritius Education system.

After highly appreciated services in Mauritius, Mr. Parsuramen became a dedicated and renowned International Civil Servant. He joined the World Bank in 1997, as Education Policy Adviser and Coordinator of the education component of the United Nations Special Initiative for Africa (UNSIA) administered by the World Bank. In 1998, he was appointed Director of UNESCO’s Division for the Renovation of Secondary and Vocational Education; and in 2000 he became Director of the same organization’s Regional Bureau for Education in Africa before returning to UNESCO Headquarters in Paris in 2004 to lead both the Secretariat of UNESCO Executive Board and that of its Governing Bodies; serving therefore as Secretary of both the Executive Board and the General Conference. In 2009, Mr. Parsuramen was appointed Director of UNESCO, New Delhi Office and Representative to Bhutan, India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka, where he served tirelessly until June of 2011 when he retired and returned home to Mauritius.

Current Assignments:

Founder-President, Global Rainbow Foundation (a charitable trust)
Founder-President University of Third Age (Mauritius) (a charitable trust)
Chairman University of Mauritius Convocation 2016
Honorary Chairman, Gandhi Breed Ashram, Petit Raffray, Mauritius
Chairman, International Committee of We Care Film Festival on disability issues
Member of Governing Board, Institute of Asian Studies, Tamil Nadu, India
Member of the Executive Council, Council of Religions, Mauritius
Member of the Governing Board, Study International School, Pondicherry, India
Trustee Srinivasa Ramanujan Trust (Mauritius)
Mr Armoogum Parsuramen is the recipient of the following National and International Awards:

1984: Honorary Freedom of the Pamplemousses-Rivière du Rempart Districy Council Republic of Mauritius
1986: Honorary Freedom of the Moka Flacq District Council
2002: Silvius-Wolansky Award for service as an Outstanding International Leader in Technical Vocational Education and Training awarded by the International Vocational Education and Training Association
2004: Distinction Pèlerin de Gorée by the Mayor of Ile de Gorée, Senegal
2009: UNESCO Executive Board Decision 182 EX/PLEN/DR.3 to pay Tribute to Mr Armoogum Parsuramen, Secretary of Executive Board and General Conference
2010: National Award, Grand Officer of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (G.O.S.K.), Republic of Mauritius
2011: Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, République Française
2011: ULAGA THAMIZHAR MAAMANI “The Crown Jewel of World Tamils” awarded by The Madras Development Society on the Occasion of the 2nd World Tamil Economic Conference 2011