30 October 2015, Geneva, Switzerland – UNITAR and the University of Newcastle (UoN) with the support of the City Government of Newcastle in Australia signed a partnership agreement to establish an “International Training Centre for Authorities and Leaders (CIFAL)” in the city of Newcastle with the aim to provide training to government authorities from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.  UN Assistant Secretary General and UNITAR Executive Director Nikhil Seth, University of Newcastle President and Vice-Chancellor Caroline McMillen, and Lord Mayor of Newcastle Councilor Nuatali Nelmes signed the partnership agreement.

The signing ceremony took place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland in the framework of the XII Annual Meeting of Directors of the CIFAL Global Network who warmly welcomed the newly created CIFAL. Through this partnership, UNITAR’s CIFAL Global Network aims to expand its capacity to meet training needs from countries in the Asia-Pacific region in areas such as disaster preparedness and resilience, migration and development, public-private partnerships, among others.

The CIFAL Newcastle is expected to start operations in 2016, providing a platform for good practices’ sharing between local authorities, civil society, academia and the private sector. Newcastle’s resilience and experience in disaster preparedness, as well as the academic prestige, and dynamism of the University of Newcastle make the city a unique place to tackle disaster preparedness related issues and share best practices with developed and developing nations.

“Being selected to join this prestigious CIFAL Centre is a proud moment for the University of Newcastle, our city and this region and cements our status as a globally-engaged hub city,” said Professor McMillen. “CIFAL Newcastle will build on the academic strengths of the University in disaster recovery disciplines and help our researchers and partners to shape cutting-edge programs that make a real difference to communities around the world coping with the aftermath of disaster.”

The Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Councillor Nuatali Nelmes, said the establishment of a CIFAL Centre in Newcastle is aligned with Council's objectives to build a smart, innovative and resilient city. "UNITAR was attracted to Newcastle for many reasons including our outstanding resilience through natural disasters including the 1989 earthquake and the floods in both 2007 and 2015; and also because of our willingness and ability to adapt our city as we did after the BHP Steelworks closed."

In 2016, UNITAR together with the UoN’s School of Architecture and Built Environment will be offering a joint Graduate Certificate in Disaster Risk Management, among other training activities offered through the CIFAL Centre.

Photo: Dr. Graham Brewer, Director, Centre for Interdisciplinary Built Environment Research, University of Newcastle (UoN); Prof. Caroline McMillen, President and Vice-Chancellor, UoN; Mr. Nikhil Seth, UN Assistant Secretary General and UNITAR Executive Director; Councilor Nuatali Nelmes, Lord Mayor of Newcastle; Mr. Alex Mejia, Senior Manager, Decentralized Cooperation Programme, UNITAR; Ms. Estrella Merlos, CIFAL Global Network, UNITAR.