26 June 2023, Geneva, Switzerland - Halfway down the road, we still have a long way to go to reach the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. On some goals, we fell behind due to the COVID-19 pandemic which taught us one important thing: actions and policies cannot be developed in silos. While a wildlife issue can have effects on public health, measures in this area may in turn affect economy, access to education and other health services and contribute to gender-based violence. They can also have short-term and longer term effects on environment – and all this with complex effects across countries, reigons and time. Anticipating and understanding the effects of actions across different policy areas and georgraphies has been a challenge for all: be it a policy-maker, businessperson, care-provider, scientist, civil society advocate or just as an individual. The COVID-19 response has been a glaring demonstration of how important it is for all stakeholders to fully embrace the eight core cross-cutting SDG or sustainability competencies defined by UNESCO - systems-thinking, anticipatory, normative, strategic, critical thinking, self-awareness, collaboration, and integrated problem-solving as an overarching competency.

26 June 2023, Geneva, Switzerland - As we navigate the complex challenges of the 21st century, the role of young people in driving positive change has become increasingly vital. Empowered by their creativity, energy, and determination, youth worldwide spearhead innovative initiatives that advance the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this article, we will explore the inspiring ways that young people are engaging with the SDGs through a creative project that is shifting communities worldwide.

5 June 2023, Geneva, Switzerland - Hosting 35 international organizations and more than 250 NGOs, Geneva offers itself a whole series of potentially formative experiences. The particularity of the city makes it one of the first poles of world governance where international commitments in favor of humanity are taken in a daily basis. Hence, getting immerse into this multilateral working environment represents a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of international cooperation.

24 – 25 May, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic – Being aware of the important role that country entry points play in the response to a disaster situation, especially in tourist destinations, CIFAL Merida and ASUR Group (Southeast Airport Group, ASUR), developed the seminar "Disaster Preparedness in Ports and Airports". This event was held in alliance with other regional stakeholders such as AERODOM (Dominican Airports); ASHONORTE (Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Tourism Enterprises of the North); and the Outreach Aid to the Americas and Community Port Resilience Program; and, for the first time, was carried out in the city of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.

The 13th annual conference entitled: "Peace and Security Through Good Governance: Practical Solutions for Combating Corruption Improving Systems of Governance and Ensuring Human Rights" is to be held from June 20-22. The conference is a joint event between UNITAR and the Geneva Institute for Leadership and Public Policy

27 April 2023, Hangzhou, China - UNITAR’s 2021 and 2023 survey among the National Statistical Offices and Systems (NSOs and NSSs) and international organizations, conducted as part of the EC-Funded Crowd4SDG project, showed that 31% of respondents were aware of citizen science data (CSD) projects run by their NSOs in 2023 compared to only 17% in 2021. The awareness of citizen science (CSD) or citizen-generated data (CGD) is growing, and so are the questions on how such data could be collected and used for the monitoring of progress on sustainable development. To shed some light and shine a spotlight on the use of CSD, on 27 April 2023, UNITAR organized a learning session “The Five “Ws” of citizen science or citizen-generated data” during the 2023 World Data Forum (2023 WDF) in Hangzhou, China. The session focused on rigorous studies and findings of the Crowd4SDG project that explored the potential of such data for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), more closely on the impacts of climate change (SDG 13) and in relation to SDG 11, 5, and 16 in its three years’ run.

31 March 2023, Merida, Mexico - The Executive Director of CIFAL Merida in Mexico, Héctor Navarrete Muñoz, and the Director of the ITAérea Business School, Mr José Ignacio Escudero, sealed the extension for another 4 years of the partnership that has united these institutions since 2017.

30 March 2023, Geneva, Switzerland - To give the youth the voice they deserve, The United Nations Institute for Training and Research is partnering with Barbara Harrison Media and Kids Speak Out to launch the project: Through the Lens of the Youth Documentaries by Youth Worldwide. Allowing youth to express the importance of Sustainable Development Goals through video creation.

Module 4 "Measuring the state of the oceans" of the UNEP-UNSIAP-UNITAR Massive Open Online Course is offered as a stand-alone module with a certificate of completion. The module explains the importance of measuring the state of oceans and describes various challenges that countries and the international community are facing in monitoring the state of oceans overall. It also discusses international plans for sustainable development that cover oceans and incorporate specific action plans in monitoring their state. It provides an overview of SDG 14 with detailed methodologies for calculating four indicators that are under UNEP custodianship, namely SDG indicator 14.1.1a, SDG indicator 14.1.1b, SDG indicator 14.2.1, and SDG Indicator 14.5.1. Additionally, the module briefly describes two non-UNEP indicators that are related to oceans – SDG indicator 14.3.1 and 14.4.1.

09 March 2023, Merida, Mexico – Together with airport executives, and civil and aeronautical authorities, CIFAL Merida has met in the city of Merida Yucatan, to review with specialists from the National Hurricane Centre, and renowned meteorologists, the processes of preparation of airports for their immediate reopening in case of being impacted by a tropical cyclone.