UNITAR and MAEC (Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation) partnership reaches larger audience than expected in relation to public finance and trade training

With the objective of skills building and networking for the benefit of Ibero-American officials and addressing the challenges of globalization specifically in the areas of public finance, trade and intellectual property policy, UNITAR has partnered with the Spanish Government to conduct a series of online courses for greater outreach and training using flexible online training methodologies such as e-Learning and online virtual discussion groups.   In its efforts to promote and consolidate online training for Ibero-American institutions and professionals, the Public Finance and Trade Programme has now completed four e-Learning courses benefiting a large number of senior and middle level government officials and other relevant finance- and trade-sector stakeholders from Ibero-American countries. Each online course was conducted over a four to six-week period and dealt with themes relating to ’Negotiation for Conflict and Dispute Resolution’, ‘International Negotiations: Practical Skills and Techniques’, ’Fundamentals of Capital Market Development and Regulation’ and ’Intellectual Property Policy and Development’ respectively. Each online course included self-study, group work and discussions as well as assessments.
As the table (see below) shows, in total 4,577 applications were received by UNITAR from 34 different countries. 781 officials were selected to take part in the first phase of the MAEC/UNITAR project; of which an overall 94.37% earned a certificate of completion.

 

Course Statistics: MAEC/UNITAR Phase I of Online Training in Public Finance and Trade   Course Title Total Applications Received Total Number of Participants Selected Successful Participants (%) Negotiation for Conflict and Dispute Resolution 929 182 90.13 International Negotiations: Practical Skills and Techniques 1,559 202 98.85 Fundamentals of Capital Market Development and Regulation 1,060 193 93.64 Intellectual Property Policy and Development 1,029 204 94.85 Total 4,577 781 94.37

The extraordinary response from Ibero-American nations and institutions, both in terms of the number of applications and in terms of the participants’ post-course satisfaction testimonials highlight the opportunities for MAEC and UNITAR to continue offering e-Learning courses in Spanish for the benefit of this region.