Building for Peace 
Launch of the International Architectural Prize in Post-Conflict Reconstruction
Hiroshima, 24 April 2009
An initiative by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL)
and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
 

Course dates: 20 April – 29 May 2009
Application deadline: 10 April 2009
 

Within the contents of the agreement, a wide array of areas are covered including in-country capacity development projects; satellite imagery analysis and education to assist in operational missions ; the dissemination of international migration law (IML) ; the advancement of strategic policy thinking and dialogue in this important field; and the strengthening of local networks to foster inter-regional collaboration on integration issues.

In its April session, the Global Project Board welcomed UNITAR as an Associate Partner of the Global Project on "Measuring the Progress of Societies". The Global Project, which is hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and run in collaboration with other international and regional partners seeks to become the world wide reference point for those who wish to measure, and assess the progress of their societies.

With outreach, cost-effectiveness and flexibility in mind, UNITAR will use its time-tested and innovative methodology of e-Learning (online training) to train public finance officials from Ibero-American nations.
In the coming months, UNITAR will develop and deploy four six-week e-Learning courses, on themes including negotiation skills, intellectual property and capital markets. These will be offered for free to the public sector, civil society and academic institutions, thanks to generous support from the Spanish government.

New York. Today, the Olof Palme Memorial Fund and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), with the generous support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, jointly launch the 2009 Negotiation Training Series.
The Series consists of six workshops in 2009, and it aims to introduce young diplomats to negotiating in multilateral conferences. To maximize the outreach to the diplomatic community at the UN Headquarters, the first seminar will be offered in English (30-31 March) as well as in French,(2-3 April).

A number of substantive discussions were held with UNITAR's counterparts, including the Governor, the Mayor and President of Hiroshima University.

Since the inception of the monitoring by the UNOSAT Programme of piracy activity off the coasts of Somalia, the interest of international organizations and media has continued to grow. Today a number of maritime offices and international organisations, and national agencies, use the updated maps prepared by UNOSAT as reference material.

UNITAR and GTZ have opened a three-day workshop in Addis Ababa for focal points and negotiators from English-speaking African countries involved in the Ad Hoc Open Ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing (ABSWG). The workshop is associated with the GTZ-led ABS Capacity Development Initiative for Africa, and aims to provide focal points and negotiators with an opportunity to analyze the outcomes of the recent ABS expert meetings on compliance and concepts, terms, working definitions and sectoral approaches.

UN Headquarters New York, Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium, Friday, 6 March, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.