On 27th May 2021, United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), which is a partner in the EU-funded Crowd4SDG project, organised a panel discussion “Unleashing the potential of citizen science data for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” as part of the Crowd4SDG project. The panel had a two-fold objective – to disseminate emerging good practices among National Statistical Offices (NSOs) and National Statistical Systems (NSSs) on leveraging citizen science for monitoring progress on SDGs and related national and local level objectives, and to create space for discussing the needs of NSOs that could be addressed through concrete citizen science projects using a challenge-based approach. Aligned with this objective, the event was conducted in two parts. The first part focussed on the key findings and recommendations from the Crowd4SDG study and case studies on the use of citizen science data for monitoring SDGs. This was followed by the presentation of Crowd4SDG tools for citizen science, the discussion on the needs of NSOs and NSSs and a call for official statistics challenges for the Crowd4SDG citizen science competition to open in summer 2021.

23-24 April, 2021, Shanghai, China - The Digital Intelligence Technology Seminar for Senior Managers of Asset Management Institutions was successfully held at the Shanghai CLIIF Lujiazui Institute of International Finance. The seminar was co- hosted by the Investment Technology League (ITL) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), CIFAL Shanghai, and co- organized by the Shanghai Asset Management Association (SAMA). The seminar was supported by the Shanghai Municipal Financial Regulatory Bureau.

12 May 2021, Geneva, Switzerland - The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is delighted to announce its innovative partnership with CEU San Pablo (CEU) University of Madrid. The project kickstarting the partnership is the International Professionals Programme (IPP), which holds great significance for its young audience as it aims to bring students closer to a first professional experience with the United Nations.

The conference generated forward-looking and future-oriented discussions on the future of finance in the context of the latest FinTech innovations, best practices of digitalizing monetary policy and currencies from the regulatory perspective, and the potential of digital innovations in accelerating sustainable development. UNITAR partnered with such distinguished entities for this event as the Asian Development Bank, Deloitte Switzerland, Geneva Finance Research Institute of the University of Geneva, Instimatch Global, National Bank of Hungary, SIX Digital Exchange and Swiss Finance and Technology Association.

5 May 2021, Geneva, Switzerland - In order to face up the challenge that is delivering climate literacy across the globe, UN CC:Learn has made available a new feature which allows everyone to make voluntary donations to help scale up the programme’s efforts. Contribute today and help bring state-of-the-art e-learning resources on climate change and green economy to the most in need!

April 2021, Geneva, Switzerland - UNEP, UNSIAP and UNITAR are delighted to announce a new self-paced e-learning course – “Environmental SDG indicators”. Targeted primarily towards National Statistical Offices, Ministries of Environment, civil servants, and other stakeholders that support broader national sustainable development monitoring and decision making. The course comprises 10 individual modules, that provide an overview of all 25 SDG indicators under UNEP custodianship, due to vast thematic knowledge, each module can be regarded as a stand-alone module and taken individually.

25-27 April 2021, Shanghai, China - The first Seminar on Digital Transformation for Executive Managers jointly organized by UNITAR's CIFAL Shanghai International Training Center and Information & Data Security Solutions Co., Ltd. was held in Shanghai, China between 25-27 April. The 17 senior managers who attended the seminar represented the following companies: China Merchants Bank, SAIC MOTOR, Digital Guangxi Group, Armed Police Hospital of Shanghai, Shanghai Shentong Metro Group Co., Ltd, Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange, Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce, Financial Technology Service Committee of Shanghai Modern Service Industry Federation.

27 April 2021, Geneva, Switzerland - Following the signing of a Letter of Agreement, UNITAR and The Ambassador Partnership joined their efforts to launch the Executive Online Certificate on Dispute Resolution. The innovative online training aims at equipping participants with the necessary negotiation, leadership, and crisis management skills to effectively overcome challenges these times of increased uncertainty.

30 March 2021, Geneva, Switzerland - From 29th to 30th March 2021, UNITAR, ESCAP, UNDP, and UNDESA teamed up for a virtual training on the Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFF), held over 3 half-days. Titled “Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFF) and Budgeting for the 2030 Agenda: Financing Sustainable and Inclusive Recovery”, the first day took a deep dive into the INFF building block on integrated financing strategies, including country cases and practical experiences based on DFA findings. The second and the third days focused on the alignment of budgeting processes with nationally determined SDG priorities. 382 participants attended the training sessions, coming from 39 Asia-Pacific and 7 other countries working in national governments, UN and international organizations, think tanks, civil society organizations, private sector, and academia.

15 March 2021, Geneva, Switzerland - On March 15, 2021, UNITAR and UN Statistics Division conducted a side event – “Adjusting statistical activities with StaTact to monitor the SDGs for a COVID-19 recovery and acceleration of the 2030 Agenda” – as part of the UNECE Regional Forum 2021. Attended by over 50 participants, the side event consisted of three segments – first, an introduction of the platform and its principles: second, a demonstration of StaTact, and third, sharing of a practical country experience where StaTact has been utilised.