24 September 2020, Geneva, Switzerland - On 24 September 2020, 50 participants took part in a four-hour webinar on the topic “Sustainable Development Goals in the Private Sector”, organized and implemented by UNITAR and the Global Institute of Excellence in Hong Kong.  In a short introduction, UNITAR’s executive director Nikil Seth explained how the Sustainable Development Goals and the private sector are ultimately connected and how the business sector has an immense influence on the impact of climate change and the ecological footprint. Especially now, in the midst of a global pandemic, Mr. Seth highlighted the urgent need to take action against the climate crisis and focus on water and energy efficiency, the protection of biodiversity, gender equality, sustainable infrastructures and much more.

Strong demand for the online course on Trade and Food Security has prompted UNITAR and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to relaunch the course in French for Sub-Saharan African countries. It was initially offered for Sub-Saharan African countries in French in 2018 and in English in 2019.

15 June 2020, Geneva, Switzerland – UNITAR’s Division for Prosperity successfully completed a SIDA-funded pilot programme on “Frontier Technologies for Sustainable Development: Unlocking Women’s Entrepreneurship through Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Afghanistan and Iraq” which benefitted 32 women entrepreneurs from various sectors in the 2 countries.

15 May 2020, Geneva, Switzerland - UNITAR and Arab Gulf Program for Development (AGFUND) launched its first joint online course on Fundamentals of Microfinance as part of a series of online courses aimed at supporting financial inclusion initiatives across the Middle East and Africa.

21 April 2020, Geneva, Switzerland - The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and microlearning platform EdApp today announced their collaborative effort “Educate All,” a global learning initiative designed to democratize and increase access to free, high-quality adult education.

Maksim is a young researcher at Moscow State University in Russia with a thirst for knowledge. He is also professionally active in a non-profit agricultural organization. The subject matter of the FAO-UNITAR course seemed an interesting addition to his research, and previous positive experiences with FAO training convinced him to apply.

Immediately after the course, he got the opportunity to engage in a forum where an agriculture implementation strategy was being developed for Kenya. This was perfect timing for Kelvin, as the course was still fresh in his mind and agriculture is a key sector for Kenyan trade.

9 March 2020, Geneva, Switzerland - Following the launching of the UNITAR-AGFUND Global Learning Platform on Financial Inclusion during the 8th AGFUND Development Forum in Geneva, Switzerland on October 8, 2019, UNITAR and AGFUND announces the launching of 8 online training courses to support Financial Inclusion in Africa and the Middle East.

Using the knowledge gained from the UNITAR Disaster Risk Reduction Training she took part in, Lu'isa Uai Taunga from Tonga worked on incorporating best practices from around the globe and adapting them to her local context.

3 March 2020, Geneva, Switzerland - UNITAR and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently signed an agreement to re-run its joint online course on Trade, Food Security and Nutrition to be delivered in Russian language for officials across Europe and Central Asia. This is an updated version of the same course delivered in 2018 which generated a huge interest across the region. The joint course in 2018 was able to serve only 25% of the applications received.