Lidia Arthur Brito (born 13 March 1961) is a Mozambiquan forestry expert and engineer. She was the first Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology of Mozambique. Arthur Brito is an international civil servant since 2009 and was appointed

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Assistant Director General for Natural Sciences in November 2023.

Bibliography

Lidia Arthur Brito is a Mozambiquan forestry expert and engineer and university lecturer, researcher and consultant for

Eduardo Mondlane University The Eduardo Mondlane University (; UEM) is the oldest and largest university in Mozambique. The UEM is a secular public university, unaffiliated with any religion, and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, or religion. The ...

. Born in Cabo Delgado,

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

, Dr Brito has over three decades of professional experience in Science Policy, STI development plans, monitoring and assessment of STI policies and instruments,

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

, traditional energy (Biomass and Charcoal), Higher Education management, Technical-Vocational Education, ICT for Development, as a university

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

, researcher, consultant, and senior management at national, regional, and international institutions blending academic and practical experience to advance sustainable development. Brito holds an undergraduate degree in Forest Engineering by Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique) and received M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Forest Sciences from

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

(USA). She served as the first Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology of Mozambique (2000–2005) and was Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Eduardo Mondlane University (1998–2000). Brito has served as Advisor of the Mayor of Maputo for Strategic Planning and External Relations in the capital of

Maputo Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

(2005–2008) . Internationally, she is a recognized academic promoting sustainable development, and community–based management in Africa in general. Brito is the director of science policy and capacity building at UNESCO and a co-chairman of the conference, titled ''Planet Under Pressure''. She is also an active participant and speaker in many international summits and conferences.

UNESCO career

Joining

in November 2009, she became the

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

for Science Policy and Sustainable Development at the Natural Science Sector in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, then she was designated as the UNESCO Regional Director for Sciences in the

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

and

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

region (UNESCO Montevideo Office) in 2014. Over the period of 2018 to 2021, she helmed the organizing committee for the Open Science Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean (CILAC), a crucial regional platform that facilitates discussions and interactions aimed at fostering sustainable policies across the fields of science, technology, and innovation. Brito assumed office as UNESCO Regional Director for

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

based in

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

in 2022. Lidia Arthur Brito was appointed

Assistant Director General for Natural Sciences in November 2023.

References

Living people Mozambican engineers Mozambican ecologists Government ministers of Mozambique Women government ministers of Mozambique Colorado State University alumni 21st-century Mozambican women politicians 21st-century Mozambican politicians 1961 births {{Mozambique-bio-stub