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.

Side Event: Global Partnerships for “Transforming our World”

The scale and ambition of the 2030 Development Agenda requires Global Partnerships; bringing together Governments, private sector businesses, civil society, the UN system and other actors mobilising all resources. It will work in a spirit of global solidarity, ensuring the respect for fundamental human rights and the dignity of all human kind. This New York Office side event brought together the private sector, civil society, NGOs and UN agencies to present and discuss their respective visions for promoting and helping to implement the 2030 Development Agenda.