6 November 2023, Geneva, Switzerland - To mark UNITAR's 60th anniversary, a gala concert entitled “Music from all corners of the world for peace and our planet” will take place on Thursday, 16 November 2023 at 19:30, at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève. This gala concert pays tribute to our commitment to empower individuals and organizations to create positive change for peace and sustainability.


6 October 2023, Geneva, Switzerland - To mark its 60th anniversary, UNITAR is organizing in Geneva, starting on the 2nd of October, a photo exhibition, displayed on the Rotonde du Quai du Mont-Blanc (across from the Brunswick Monument), will illustrate 60 years of history as well as stories of UNITAR alumni who made a positive change in their community. The alumni featured in the panel exhibition come from Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Kenya, Maldives, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, United Arab Emirates and Vanuatu. The opening ceremony on the 6th of October (4 pm) of the photo exhibition will be attended by Mr. Nikhil Seth, the Executive Director of UNITAR, Ms. Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, H.E. Mr. Raymond Loretan, President of the Diplomatic Club of Geneva, and H.E. Mr. Alfonso Gomez, Mayor of Geneva.

26 June 2023, Isingiro, Uganda - In March 2023, Epa conducted fieldwork in Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda, shedding light on the challenges of energy access. Due to population growth and widespread deforestation, refugees and host communities face significant hurdles to accessing fuels to cook. While innovative solutions like biogas cooking systems offer some hope, the overall situation remains dire. More work is needed to support sustainable energy access for refugees and host communities. Epa explains how crucial innovations in cooking systems are in order to implement SDG 7 for “Affordable and clean energy” in displacement contexts.

26 June 2023, Geneva, Switzerland - Are you curious about how artificial intelligence (AI) can help you design more effective learning experiences? You have probably heard of AI and perhaps experimented with some AI tools, but you either found it overwhelming or were not necessarily impressed by the results. What if we told you that, when used properly, AI can contribute to creating innovative, inclusive and impactful educational experiences that promote the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

In this article, we will share some examples of how we have used AI to enhance learning design and how this aligns with our mission to advance the SDGs.

26 June 2023, Geneva, Switzerland - Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires innovative approaches that go beyond traditional approaches. The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is particularly proactive in innovating to be one of the most important institutions to develop methods in keeping with global developments and surrounding circumstances, especially via its significant work towards the achievement of SDG 16 for peace, justice and strong institutions endorsed by its Division for Peace and its inventive work to prevent extremism and counter-terrorism.

9 Juin 2023, Genève, Suisse - L'Institut des Nations Unies pour la Formation et la Recherche (UNITAR) et le Consortium  Cohésion Sociale en RDC, constitué de Norwegian Refugee Council, de Search for Common Ground, d'International Alert et de Justice Plus, ont signé un accord pour que l'UNITAR soutienne le processus de capitalisation du Consortium pour le projet «Contribuer au renforcement de la cohésion sociale et à la stabilisation dans les provinces de l’Ituri et du Nord-Kivu» financé par l’Union Européenne.

24 May 2023, Online - UNITAR’s Division for Peace is excited to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre for Peace and Justice at Brac University (CPJ) to promote peace and social cohesion in South Asia through tailored capacity building programmes empowering and elevating the voices of youth and women. The many overlaps of UNITAR’s and CPJ’s mandates create many avenues for collaboration and thus the formalisation of this partnership represents a promising opportunity to create impactful joint programming to support the peacebuilding efforts of underrepresented groups.

4 April 2023, Geneva, Switzerland - The second dedicated UNITAR Training Programme to Enhance Conflict Prevention and Peacemaking in the Central African Region began with advance work in January 2023 consisting of preliminary readings and questions to reflect upon. The intensive live and online sessions were conducted from 6 to 15 February 2023. French version below.

The sustainable energy pillar at the Division for Peace in UNITAR hosts the coordination unit for Global Platform for Action on Sustainable Energy in Displacement Settings (GPA). With a consortium of 16 United Nations and International Non-Governmental Organizations, the goal of the GPA is to ensure that the displaced people around the world have access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy.

As UNITAR contributes to the implementation of the SDGs, a delegation participated at the COP27 to organize side events, workshops, and bi-lateral meetings to bring attention on the ‘leave no one behind’ principles in climate action and sustainable energy. The impact of climate change on displaced populations is rarely brought up in climate negotiation agenda. Therefore, UNITAR’s Global Platform for Action on Sustainable Energy in Displacement Settings (GPA) made efforts to raise awareness of humanitarian energy in the climate action discussions. This included ensuring that the displaced people were physically present at the conversations and their voices were heard. Through active participation of the GPA and displaced communities, UNITAR invited the governments to include displaced people into the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Policies (NAPs), and energy policies.