26th July 2024 - Osaka, Japan.  On the 7th of August, Mr. Nikhil Seth, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UNITAR, along with Mr. Alex Mejia, Head of the CIFAL Global Network, visited Osaka. Their purpose was to meet with key partners and sign a preliminary agreement for the establishment of CIFAL Japan. The formal partnership agreement is expected to be finalized by the end of the year. 

The new CIFAL training centre will be developed in collaboration with the City of Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture; Higashi Nippon International University; and with the support of Osaka University. 

The CIFAL Global Network, managed by UNITAR’s Division for People and Social Inclusion under the directorship of Mr. Alex Mejia, includes 31 International Training Centres for Authorities and Leaders. These centres are strategically located across Asia, Oceania, Africa, Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean, serving as crucial hubs for knowledge exchange among local government officials, academia, the private sector, and civil society. 

The core mission of CIFAL training programmes is to enhance human capacities in addressing local development challenges and to promote City-to-City (C2C) partnerships. The CIFAL Global Network provides a platform for dialogue, knowledge sharing, and collaboration on vital development issues, fostering peer-to-peer learning and the exchange of best practices. 

In 2023 alone, the network trained over 97,000 beneficiaries worldwide. The ongoing growth of our network underscores our commitment to enhancing human capacities and fostering global development. We look forward to reaching and empowering even more individuals and communities in the years ahead, reinforcing our mission to drive positive change across the globe.