Guilherme Canela holds the position of chief of the section of Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. For 8 years, he held the position of Communication and Information Regional Adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean at UNESCO Montevideo Office. During those years, he performed as Regional Coordinator of the UNESCO Initiative for the Promotion of Democracy and Freedom of Expression in judicial systems in Latin America. He was also the Secretary of the Regional Committee of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean, and focal point of the Organization for issues related to the safety of journalists. He has a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Brasília (UNB) and a Master’s Degree on Political Science from the University of São Paulo (USP).

For 8 years (2000-2008), Guilherme coordinated the media and journalism research area of the News Agency for Children’s Rights (ANDI). In this period, he was responsible for several surveys that evaluated the news media coverage on issues such as children’s education, rights, violence, health, sexual abuse, human and social development, drugs, participatory democracy, entrepreneurial social responsibility, human rights, among others.

He is co-author of 10 books published by ANDI on these issues (Series Media and Social Mobilization, Cortez Publisher) and several brochures, magazines and discussion texts on various topics related to the universe of human rights, of the rights of children, in particular of development and of democracies. He was research consultant for the United Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders and for the Ayrton Senna Journalism Award.

Guilherme was senior member of the Working Group of the Ministry of Justice of Brazil to Provide Advisory Services to the Regulation of TV Programs’ Rating System and associated researcher at the Nucleus for Studies of Media and Politics of the University of Brasilia. He was president of the Consultative Committee on Children and Media in Uruguay. Jointly with Solano Nascimento he published the book Access to information and public policies social control. He actively participated in the process of discussion and implementation of Access laws in Brazil, Paraguay and acted as an international observer in the Uruguay Open Government process. He was/is a member of several advisory boards and juries related to journalism and freedom of expression.