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Francisco LÓPEZ-BERMÚDEZ, M.A.
He has dedicated his entire life to the study and work in behalf of democracy and human rights. In March 2007, in recognition of this work, he was awarded the UNESCO Chair on Human Rights at Utrecht University (The Netherlands).
Co – founder of ADA – Leadership & Opinion, as its first Director he was instrumental in positioning ADA as a widely recognized institution at a national level and international level. Since January 2006 he serves as Policy Director for ADA, and in this capacity he is in charge of the institution’s strategic planning, , as well as the area of Leadership and Human Talent Development, and the academic design of the ADA International Leadership Summit of the Americas.
He holds an LLB and JD from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE). He completed his doctoral coursework at the Human Rights Program of Carlos III University of Madrid as a recipient of a MUTIS Scholarship from the Spanish Government.
He possesses a Master of Arts in Public Opinion and Polling from the Government Department of the University of Essex (United Kingdom). He has also studied in other renowned institutions such as the International Leadership Academy of the United Nations University in Amman (Jordan) and the Institute of Social Studies in the Hague (The Netherlands).
In the field of human rights, he was the principal proponent and first consultant (Latin American Institute for Social Research -ILDIS- / Friedrich Ebert Foundation) for Ecuador’s National Human Rights Plan (1998). In May 1999 he founded the First National and University Program of Human Rights and Democracy in Ecuador within the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. Furthermore, he was a professor of Public International Public Law, International Organizations and Human Rights at the same university, between 1999 and 2001.
As an adolescent he was part of the founding group of the UNESCO Club in his high school (Municipal Experimental High school "Sebastián de Benalcázar"), and he was immediately elected as Director of the Information Center for the Ecuadorian Federation of UNESCO Clubs, he has also dedicated himself to the research and investigation on International Relations and the Organization of the United Nations. In late 1998, he fostered the creation of the United Nations Association of Ecuador -AENU-, institution of which he is the Executive Secretary, The AENU was admitted into the World Federation of United Nations Associations -FMANU- (New York) in 1999.
For work and study he has traveled throughout all of Ecuador and about 50 countries in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He has also represented Ecuador in diverse forums and international conferences.
He has received various international scholarships and academic distinctions. In April 2002, the Youth Ecuadorian Casa de la Cultura (Manabi), declared him a “ Luminous example for the youth of Ecuador ” for his positive contribution to the strengthening of democratic values in Ecuador.
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