12 April 2022, Hiroshima, Japan – UNITAR Division for Prosperity invites women in Afghanistan to apply to the Leading Inclusive 4IR: Empowering Women in Afghanistan for the Future of Work through Digital Reskilling programme. The application deadline is 20 April 2022.

7 April 2022, Hiroshima, Japan – Japanese professional basketball team Hiroshima Dragonflies and UNITAR have agreed to work together towards the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). On 7 April 2022, Hiroshima Dragonflies president and CEO Mr. Nobuyoshi Ura and UNITAR Division for Prosperity director Ms. Mihoko Kumamoto signed the memorandum of understanding in a ceremony at the UNITAR Hiroshima Office.

6 April 2022, Hiroshima, Japan – United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Division for Prosperity, with Sunlight (a home-care brand under Unilever Kenya Limited) and Absa Bank Kenya, invite women in Kenya interested in entrepreneurship to apply to the Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Leadership Training for Women Entrepreneurs in Africa programme. The application deadline is 15 April 2022.

31 March 2022, Hiroshima, Japan – UNITAR has launched the second phase of its Gender Empowerment Now! Project in Jordan and Lebanon. The project seeks to build the capacity of public institutions to mainstream gender equality. This second phase started from 5 April 2022.

28 March 2022, Hiroshima, Japan – UNITAR Division for Prosperity and Columbia Business School Executive Education (New York, USA) will launch a new partnership on digital health and technologies. The two institutions signed an agreement [on 28 February 2022] to pilot the training course UNITAR Social Entrepreneurship with Digital Health in Africa and the Middle East. The collaboration seeks to spark innovation using Columbia Business School’s world-class knowledge.

22 March 2022, Hiroshima, Japan – UNITAR Division for Prosperity is hosting an online conference "Empower the Youth: Fostering Inclusive Entrepreneurship in Iraq" in partnership with The Station and KAPITA. The 2-hour session will cover entrepreneurship trends through technology and innovation to promote and support an inclusive entrepreneurship especially for migrants, women, and the youth, regardless of one’s social and economic background.

18 March 2022, Hiroshima, Japan – UNITAR Division for Prosperity held a two-day workshop in Baghdad, Iraq, last week, as part of its COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme: Mobilising Resilient Entrepreneurs to address food insecurity, public health, and unemployment – for youth in Iraq. This is the first time UNITAR's Division for Prosperity held an in-person workshop since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and marks the start of a new “hybrid” training model. Nineteen entrepreneurs attended the Baghdad workshop from various regions of Iraq. They were the top performers selected from among 181 learners who have developed their business ideas since the beginning of the programme in August 2021. The 19 entrepreneurs joined a hackathon, and pitched their ideas to their mentors and peers. The participants are further shaping their innovative projects up to the end of March 2022.

“The knowledge I received during the seminar is very helpful here. It helps me to analyze policies and strategies correctly, define and set the goals of the strategic directions correctly, and use this experience in developing action plans and project ideas”.

The course arrived at an opportune moment for Tetiana as besides providing better comprehension of food reserves in her region and establishing what more can be done to improve the system and share experiences with partners, it also expanded her knowledge in analyzing food security issues.

Hosna is a 19-year-old Afghan alumna of UNITAR’s 2021 digital upskilling programme, and she is distressed about the gender gap in Afghanistan. Hosna was attending university in Kabul when the Afghan regime changed overnight, in August 2021. Fearing for her safety, she fled to Iraq, where she now continues her undergraduate studies. Hosna worries about her sister and friends back home.