Ayuk Besong Anne-Chantal
Pussay
Summary
High-performing multi lingual communications professional with integrity, leadership skills and over 20 years of experience across multiple communications fields. Youth development mentor, project manager, freelance writer and Sickle Cell Disease information advocate. Works great under extreme stress and deadlines.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Associate Project Officer for Communications
UNESCO
Paris
08.2021 - 08.2023
- Improved the over all communications of the Division of Water Sciences and the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP) through a more audience focused external communications strategy that used social media, web and offline journalism to disseminate easy to understand water information pulled from top hydrological scientific content. This facilitated audience engagement and understanding of key issues on global fresh water access, management and governance.
- Increased internal communications on water related issues through a robust internal communications plan that targeted staff, UNESCO Water Centres, Chairs and Member States of UNESCO, using bulk emailing, internal news and events news circulation systems like SharePoint, internal screen projections and text based publications to share information on the work done by the Water Sciences Division and other UNESCO sectors on fresh water access, management, governance, or on other related themes.
- Increased the social media following of the UNESCOWater family by 70% through strategic post sharing on a range of social media platforms from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, and by creating frequent audience specific content that targeted both scientific and none scientific audiences.
- Coordinated, designed, and implemented of communications campaigns of the Water Division of UNESCO, boosting awareness of water globally
- Increased communications on both UNESCO events on Fresh water and international conferences co-organized by UNESCO through the creations and regular follow up of a 2 year long events communication plan. This permitted for communications on each specific event to be planned ahead of time with a before , during and after focus and the inclusion of an analysis of the communications done per event to weigh successes and failures and improve future event communications.
- Co-designed the new IHP website that focused on the use more visuals and less text to communicate on Fresh water topics and Water Day and other international water celebrations.
- Led in creating text, audio, and video content for the website and social media, in updating data bases of Water Centres and Chairs and the UNESCO Water Family.
Head Of Communications
French Federation for Sickle Cell and Thalassemia patients' organizations
09.2020 - 06.2021
- Created and managed Sickle Cell Disease Communications and advocacy and increased its visibility by 80% to draw the attention of donors, public and government support in France and the world at large
- Established the communication strategy of the federation by creating quality content, managing communities of patients online through an active social media engagement, and online advocacy and counseling.
Political, Project, Programmes and Communications Officer
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Yaoundé
06.2010 - 06.2019
- Created and co-led the implementation of the mission-wide communication strategy, resulting in an improvement of the reputation of the diplomatic mission among its target audiences, leading to a positive review by target audiences and an increase in the popularity of the Mission in Cameroon
- Conceptualized, ran national communication campaigns, and implemented international communications campaigns on policy subjects like media freedoms, women's rights, girls' education, eradicating girl child early and forced marriage, female genital mutilation, and breast ironing
- This resulted in an increase in pressure on the Cameroon government to boost girls' education and fight ills and cultural practices that infringe on the rights of women and girls by 60%, notably forced marriage and breast ironing; and finally leading to the creation of a draft bill in Cameroon's Parliament increasing the rights of women and girls, eradicating child marriage and bodily mutilations of women and girls
- Managed the visibility of UK and Commonwealth scholarships and beneficiaries, coordinated the creation of a Commonwealth scholarship alumni, and worked with scholarship beneficiaries to further promote UK and Commonwealth foreign policies by making them ambassadors of the mission within their respective communities and by so doing increased awareness on the work of the UK and the Commonwealth in Cameroon among these communities through the creation of ties, between traditional authorities and the UK Mission
- Led policy promotion and communication of the UK diplomatic mission through active lobbying of host government officials, especially in the areas of illegal wildlife trade, climate change, and gender equality, resulting in the Cameroon government's signing to join the Queen's Commonwealth Canopy, a unique network of forest conservation initiatives, which involves all 54 countries of the Commonwealth
- Managed the training of all political and communications interns of the UK Mission.
Television News Presenter and News Desk Editor
Spectrum Television Cameroon (STV)
Douala
09.2004 - 05.2010
- Contributed to make STV Cameroon's best private news media organisation between 2004-2010 through the effective management of the day to day operations of a 30 man newsroom that produced top class, balanced national and international news reports aired on STV's primetime newscast in English, French and Pidgin.
- Raised the video editing and news reporting capacities of members of the news team through frequent one on one trainings on news anchoring, news reporting, training of regional news correspondents on news ethics, camera use and video editing with Adobe Premiere pro.
- Contributed to the conception and daily coordination of Cameroon's first ever television morning breakfast show called "GoodMorning Cameroon", and also led in the design, coordination and presentation of weekend news summary programmes, environmental documentaries and life election coverages.
- Co-led in the television station's corporate social responsibility efforts by mcing and covering key international health campaigns by partners such as Standard Chartered Bank's Seeing is Believing campaign to provide eye care for patients, and the DREPADON campaign of the World Sickle Cell Association to raise awareness and educate mass audiences on Sickle Cell Disease.
Education
Master of Arts, Mass Communications -
University of Leicester
Bachelor of Sciences (Bsc. Hons), Journalism and Mass Communications -
University of Buea
Skills
- Content management
- Drafting
- English
- French
- Mentoring
- Time Management
- Public Speaking
- Public/Media Relations
- Strategic Communications
- Journalism
- People management
- Speech writing
- Developing partnership
- Project writing
- Writing
- Report Writing
Certification
International Communications Skills - Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Awards
- Bronze Labour Medal of Honour - Ministry of Labour, Yaounde, Cameroon (09/2022)
- Silver Labour Medal of Honour - Ministry of Labour, Yaounde, Cameroon (09/2017)
- Most Organised Staff - British High Commission Yaounde, Cameroon (11/2015)
- Best Staff of the year - Spectrum Television (STV)-Cameroon (09/2006)
Languages
English
First Language
French
Upper Intermediate (B2)
B2
Spanish
Beginner
A1
Arabic
Beginner
A1
Accomplishments
- Bronze Labour Medal of Honour – Ministry of Labour, Cameroon-Sept 2022.
- Silver Labour Medal of Honour – Ministry of Labour, Cameroon-Sept 2017.
- Most Organized Staff - British High Commission Yaounde, Cameroon-Nov 2015.
- Best Staff of the year - Spectrum Television (STV)-Cameroon-Sep 2006.
Affiliations
- Youth Mentor-The Queen's Young Leaders Programme, Jan 2015 - Jan 2019.
Assisted young leaders across the Commonwealth to identify and fine tune their
development projects, identify funds and potential partners. - Senior Category Judge, Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition, Oct 2017- Oct 2022.
Judged senior category entries submitted for the Queen's Commonwealth
Essay Competition by young people across the Commonwealth. - Managing editor, SOuLJust Be Magazine, 2022- present. https://www.calameo.com/account/book#
Timeline
Associate Project Officer for Communications
UNESCO
08.2021 - 08.2023
Head Of Communications
French Federation for Sickle Cell and Thalassemia patients' organizations
09.2020 - 06.2021
Political, Project, Programmes and Communications Officer
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
06.2010 - 06.2019
Television News Presenter and News Desk Editor
Spectrum Television Cameroon (STV)
09.2004 - 05.2010
Master of Arts, Mass Communications -
University of Leicester
Bachelor of Sciences (Bsc. Hons), Journalism and Mass Communications -
University of Buea