Dr. Anna Paolini is the UNESCO representative in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Montserrat, Sint Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Director of the UNESCO Office in Jamaica.
Previously, Dr Anna Paolini was UNESCO Representative in the Arab States of the Gulf and Yemen and Director UNESCO Doha Office for the Countries of the Gulf and Yemen from September 2013 – June 2022. She was also UNESCO Representative and Head of Office in Uzbekistan from 2007 to 2009 and later she covered the same position in Jordan. In 1992, she joined UNESCO as a specialist in the field of culture at the Regional Office in Amman.
In 1997, she moved to UNESCO HQ covering several positions within the Culture Sector including being responsible for movable heritage activities and heritage in conflict response in the Arab region. Prior to that, she held a research associate role at the Institute of Architecture of Venice, worked in restoration in Italy and carried out research in the field of urban rehabilitation in several Arab and African countries. She holds a Master’s degree in Architecture and a master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning for Developing Countries, a post-graduate degree in Development Cooperation, as well as a PhD in Urban and Territorial Engineering. Mrs Paolini is a member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and the Italian Association of Professional Architects and an author of several papers on different cultural heritage subjects.