Marcio BARBOSA

Born in 1951, Marcio Barbosa holds a B.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering (1972) from the Catholic University of Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and a M.Sc. degree in Systems Analysis and Applications (1975) from the National Institute of Space Research (INPE), São José dos Campos, Brazil. After two years as a Production Control Analyst in the private sector, in 1973 Marcio Barbosa joined the Brazilian National Institute of Space Research (INPE) where he was promoted to the post of Head of the Data Bank Division (1975-1976), before becoming Head of the Image Production Department (1976-1983), Deputy Director of INPE(1982-1985), and Director of Remote Sensing at INPE (1985-1989).From 1989 to February 2001, he served as Director-General of INPE with a staff of 1,200 and a budget of US$ 100 million. In this capacity, he led the restructuring and modernization of INPE, as well as its research and development programme resulting in the launch of the first four Brazilian satellites. From February 2001 to February 2010, Marcio was the Deputy Director-General of UNESCO, where he supervised and coordinated the implementation of the vast programme of reforms launched by the Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura. From 2002 until the end of his mandate, Marcio represented the Director-General in the negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians on UNESCO-related matters. Marcio attended or chaired numerous international meetings and symposia both in his personal capacity and as a representative of the Brazilian Government and later UNESCO. In the 90’s, he was elected Chairman of the International Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and of the Integrated Global Satellite Observing System (IGOS). From 1996 to 2000, he was Second Vice President of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) and, from 2000 to 2004, President of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). Marcio Barbosa has authored, co-authored or edited many books, manuals, reports and articles in his fields of specialization, and is a recipient of many Brazilian and international awards and distinctions. From March 2010, Marcio is acting as the General Manager of The Doha (Qatar) Cultural Village, a recently launched initiative of the Qatari government in the domain of culture and development.

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