Henrikas Juškevičius

Henrikas Juškevičius (born 1935 in Šiauliai, Lithuania) is a Lithuanian electrical engineer and journalist who has held the title of Adviser of the Director-General of UNESCO on Communication, Information and Administration issues since 2001.

Biography

Juškevičius graduated from the Leningrad Electrotechnical Communication Institute with a degree in radiocommunications and broadcast engineering. He worked at the Lithuanian Television Centre from 1958 to 1960, and was head of the technological department of Lithuanian television and radio from 1960 to 1966. In this capacity he led the development of Lithuanian television and radio infrastructure. He joined the Union of Journalists in 1966.

In 1966 he was designated the director of the Technical Centre at the International Radio and Television Organization (OIRT - Intervision), headquartered in Prague, a position he held until 1971. During this time he helped develop television news exchanges between Intervision and Eurovision. In 1968 he became a member of the Eurovision and Intervision Operations Group and a member of the Television Commission of the International Olympic Committee; for the latter work, he was awarded the Silver Order of the International Olympic Committee.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Juškevičius served as Vice-Chairman of the USSR State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting, as chairman of the Interministerial Committee for Radio and Television Development and as a member of the Interministerial Committee for Satellite Communication.

In September 1990 he became involved with UNESCO, playing a leading role in the implementation of UNESCO’s new communication strategy in the interest of freedom of the press, pluralism, and strengthening the communication capacities of developing countries, and overseeing the restructuring of the Secretariat.

Juškevičius is a member of the International Academy of Electrotechnical Sciences, the Russian Academy of Information, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, and the International Institute of Communications, the vice-president of the Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio, and the vice-president of the Baden-Baden Foundation. He has been awarded with a Doctorate Honoris Causa by the Canadian International Institute for Advanced Studies in Systems Research and Cybernetics.

References

• WITFOR 2005: Social, Ethical, and Legal Aspects/Commissioners and Chairs. World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR) 2005. Accessed September 24, 2007.
• Lithuania (133) UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme Progress Report. UNESCO, 2005. Accessed September 25, 2007.