Past ACCFs

Senior Economic Affairs Officer, UNCTAD, Geneva

Edna dos Santos-Duisenberg is a development economist who started herinternational career at the United Nations in 1983. She joined theMinerals & Metals Branch of the Commodities Division of UNCTAD inGeneva, and for 12 years was in charge of intergovernmental action inthe area of iron ore and steel-related commodities. In 1995 she joinedthe Cabinet of the Secretary General and was Chef de Cabinet for 10years.

In 2005 Ms. Dos Santos became Chief, Creative Industries Programme of UNCTAD. In this capacity, has been leading UNCTAD's policy-oriented,research and technical cooperation work on this innovative topic. She put forward a number of pro-active initiatives for promotinginternational and national action in the area of creative industries,hence creative economy. She has been sensitizing governments andcreative practitioners about the development dimension and theeconomic potential of the creative industries to diversify sources ofincome and increase trade gains in developing countries. Sherevitalized and is the Chairperson of the UN- Multi-Agency InformalGroup on Creative Industries. She is building synergies among the UNsystem and promoting joint-projects for enhancing the creative economyin developing countries.

Her academic background is in economics and business administrationfrom the University of Economic Sciences and Finance of Rio de Janeiro. She obtained two Master Degrees, one in International Trade from theSorbonne University in Paris, and the other on International EconomicRelations from the International Institute of Public Administration ofParis. She was research scholar on mineral economics at the School ofMines of Colorado in the USA and the School of Mines of Nancy inFrance. She has previous professional experience in the private andpublic sectors in Brazil.