ALGIERS – Tuesday, 31 May 2022 (APS) – The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has awarded the Medical Geology Chair in Africa to Algerian Hassina Mouri, professor of geology at the University of Johannesburg.
It is the first time in the history of UNESCO chairs programs that a chair in medical geology focused on Africa is awarded, according to the website of the university.
Launched in 1992, the UNESCO Chairs program brings together 850 institutions in 117 countries and aims to promote inter-university cooperation.
Mouri was elected in 2020 as vice president of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUSG) for the period 2020-2024, becoming the first African woman to hold this position.
She is also a member of the Council of UNESCO’s International Geosciences and Geoparks Program, as well as the Evaluation Committee of the South African National Research Foundation for the Earth Sciences.
Mori previously served on the advisory board of the South African Journal of Science (SAJS), a prestigious scientific journal in South Africa.