27 May 2021, Geneva, Switzerland and Beijing, China - The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the Geneva School of Economics and Management of the University of Geneva and the School of Economics and Management of Tsinghua University have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set global standards for SDG Education and Open Innovation.

On 27th May 2021, United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), which is a partner in the EU-funded Crowd4SDG project, organised a panel discussion “Unleashing the potential of citizen science data for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” as part of the Crowd4SDG project. The panel had a two-fold objective – to disseminate emerging good practices among National Statistical Offices (NSOs) and National Statistical Systems (NSSs) on leveraging citizen science for monitoring progress on SDGs and related national and local level objectives, and to create space for discussing the needs of NSOs that could be addressed through concrete citizen science projects using a challenge-based approach. Aligned with this objective, the event was conducted in two parts. The first part focussed on the key findings and recommendations from the Crowd4SDG study and case studies on the use of citizen science data for monitoring SDGs. This was followed by the presentation of Crowd4SDG tools for citizen science, the discussion on the needs of NSOs and NSSs and a call for official statistics challenges for the Crowd4SDG citizen science competition to open in summer 2021.

27 May 2021, Geneva, Switzerland - On 27 and 28 September 2021, the University Global Coalition, in partnership with the United Nations, under UNITAR's continuous support and ongoing partnership, will host its second annual conference, successively after its first online gathering in 2020. UNITAR stands among the founding signatory members of the Coalition, and is represented in its Steering Committee by the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director, Mr. Nikhil Seth.

May 4, 2021, New York, USA.- The Head of the UNITAR Office in New York, Mr. Marco Suazo, participated in the side event entitled “Building an Effective Way Forward for Indigenous Peoples to Participate and Contribute with their Knowledge and Experience” in the framework of the 6th Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs.

April 2021, Geneva, Switzerland - UNEP, UNSIAP and UNITAR are delighted to announce a new self-paced e-learning course – “Environmental SDG indicators”. Targeted primarily towards National Statistical Offices, Ministries of Environment, civil servants, and other stakeholders that support broader national sustainable development monitoring and decision making. The course comprises 10 individual modules, that provide an overview of all 25 SDG indicators under UNEP custodianship, due to vast thematic knowledge, each module can be regarded as a stand-alone module and taken individually.

21 April 2021, Abu Dhabi, UAE - The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is delighted to announce the signing of a joint agreement between Rabdan Academy, UAE, and UNITAR. The MoU was signed at Rabdan Academy’s campus in Abu Dhabi by Mr. James Morse, President of Rabdan Academy, and Mr. Nikhil Seth, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNITAR. Both partners stressed the importance of joint training and educational efforts to address the challenges facing the UAE and the wider international community.

16 April 2021, New York, USA (Virtual) - The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), in partnership with the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, successfully delivered the workshop entitled “Values at Work: Sustainable Investing and ESG Reporting” from 7-8 April 2021. The workshop was attended by 40 participants and focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics and the push for companies and investors to remake business models in order to respond to the goals outlined by the SDGs. This workshop is supported under the programme “Levelling the Playing Field”, with funding allocated from the Swedish International Development Agency’s (SIDA) contribution to the UNITAR Strategic Framework Fund.

29-30 March 2021, New York, USA (Virtual) – The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) New York office successfully held the “Leaving No One Behind: Validating ALL Voices of Culture” virtual webinar in partnership with the Global Foundation for the Performing Arts (GFPA). This two-day, two session webinar series not only featured a myriad of leaders and advocates in the art and cultural industries, but also marked the second time of successful collaboration between the UNITAR and the GFPA. Since last year, this fruitful partnership has directly benefitted over 190 participants from countries around the world.

30 March 2021, Geneva, Switzerland - From 29th to 30th March 2021, UNITAR, ESCAP, UNDP, and UNDESA teamed up for a virtual training on the Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFF), held over 3 half-days. Titled “Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFF) and Budgeting for the 2030 Agenda: Financing Sustainable and Inclusive Recovery”, the first day took a deep dive into the INFF building block on integrated financing strategies, including country cases and practical experiences based on DFA findings. The second and the third days focused on the alignment of budgeting processes with nationally determined SDG priorities. 382 participants attended the training sessions, coming from 39 Asia-Pacific and 7 other countries working in national governments, UN and international organizations, think tanks, civil society organizations, private sector, and academia.

26 March 2021, Geneva, Switzerland – UNITAR and Franklin University Switzerland (FUS) – a Swiss-American accredited liberal arts University in Lugano, Switzerland – hosted a three-day online hackathon event during the Open Geneva Hackathon Festival.