About Robert

ROBERT DAVID COHEN served as communication specialist for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) from 1990 to 2008. As speechwriter for two successive Executive Directors from 1990 to 1996, he helped articulate the mission of the world’s leading organization for children. He crafted speeches and statements delivered before high profile summits and conferences in every region of the world that motivated action on issues ranging from preventable child and maternal deaths and hunger to HIV/AIDS and child soldiers.

As Child Rights Officer in Mexico from 1997 to 2000, he led UNICEF’s partnership with the Federal Electoral Institute to organize the first ever national children’s elections, a key milestone in that country’s democratic transition. He also worked with legal experts and parliamentarians to reform Mexico’s laws to better empower and protect children.

As Geneva-based Regional Communication Adviser for Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, from 2000-2003, Robert spearheaded the creation of the Regional Network for Children ― a coalition of NGOs in over 20 transition countries ― and the Young People’s Media Network, supporting a variety of media education and communication initiatives for children. He also led the largest and most ambitious survey ever conducted among children in 35 countries of Europe and Central Asia, which provided disturbing insights into a world young people see as marked by violence, injustice and discrimination.

When Hurricane Mitch struck Central America in 1998, hundreds of thousands of refugees fled war in Kosovo in 1999 and the Georgia-Russia conflict displaced more than 150,000 people in 2008, Robert served on UN humanitarian emergency teams in Honduras, Albania and Switzerland to report on the crises, mobilize funds and support affected families and communities.

From 2003-2006, he was Regional Communication Adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Panama. There, he helped launch the Latin American Journalists’ Network for Children’s Rights linking reporters in 12 countries, as well as an online community for media professionals. He teamed with MTV Latin America to establish the One Minute for My Rights video project and produce a one-hour documentary on young people and HIV/AIDS.

Back in New York from 2007-2008, Robert served as senior adviser to a team of specialists leading UNICEF’s efforts to strengthen Communication for Development across the organization, focusing on community-led behavioral and social change.

Before joining the UN system, Robert worked for over 20 years as journalist, radio reporter and political analyst in several Latin American countries and the United States. He coordinated the National Lawyers Guild Puerto Rico Legal Project from 1978-1982. He is an award-winning poet and editor.

Robert is fluent in Spanish. He resides with his wife in New York and has five children and ten grandchildren.