11 July 2018 - The 2018 High-Level Political Forum has provided space for representatives of the Higher Education Institutes to share best practices, innovative approaches and discuss challenges as Universities embrace the 2030 Agenda and start mainstreaming the SDGs in their curricular, research activities and programmes. The last panel of the HESI Global Day was chaired by UNITAR Executive Director Nikhil Seth and included Secretary-General of the Association of the Commonwealth Universities, and representatives of the University of Geneva, Tecnologico de Monterrey, University of Pennsylvania, University of Papua New Guinea, and SDSN.

UNITAR and UNSD launched their new data tool StaTact during an official side event of the HLPF2018 on 11 July 2018 in New York. The side event featured experiences of the three pilot countries and was opened by UNITAR Executive Director Mr. Nikhil Seth and Director of UN Statistics Division Mr. Stefan Schweinfest.

Following the successful piloting of StaTact with 14 African and Asian countries using regional format, StaTact has now been rolled out at national level. Suriname became the first pilot country to have organized a national StaTact workshop to address critical data gaps and plan actions in support of SDG monitoring over the next 12 months. This is also the first pilot addressing the special needs of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean region.

United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) organized a workshop titled “Climate Change and the Paris Agreement: Challenges and Expectations” conducted by Professor Narinder Kakar, the Permanent Observer for the United Nations mandated University for Peace, and Mr. Santiago Villalpando, the Chief of the Treaty Section of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs. Professor Kakar also serves as Director and Adjunct Professor on UN Environmental Diplomacy Programme at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law of Pace University. The workshop began with a few opening remarks on the importance of the Paris Agreement by Mr. Pelayo Alvarez, who also thanked Professor Kakar and Mr. Villalpando for all their efforts in preparation for the workshop. He then gave participants a brief summary of what to expect from the workshop.

4 April 2018, Geneva, Switzerland - The StaTact came to Africa last week when 10 countries participated in its roll-out during dedicated regional workshops. UNITAR and UN Statistics Division teamed up with UNECA African Centre for Statistics and UNDP to deliver two two-day workshops - one in English and one in French – with a focus on the governance of data ecosystems for the SDGs. The first workshop brought together government officials from Ethiopia, Liberia, Malawi, Sudan, and Uganda representing National Statistical Offices, Planning Ministries, selected line Ministries and non-traditional data sources. The second workshop used a similar format with participants from Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Madagascar, Mauritania, and Togo.

19 - 20 February 2018, Bangkok, Thailand – A two-day regional workshop on “Governance of data ecosystems for SDGs” held on 19-20 February 2018 in Bangkok was marked by the pilot testing of the new StaTact toolkit by four countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Nepal. The toolkit is part of the joint initiative developed by UNITAR and UN Statistics Division (UNSD) in collaboration with other UN and international organizations. The objective is to enable National Statistical Offices, Planning and line Ministries to identify solutions to specific data coordination issues using a participatory, problem-solving methodology. The workshop concluded with the simulation of integrated planning using a SDG-model-inspired Learning Environment (LEiP).

11 – 13 December 2017, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – A three-day “Symposium on Governance for Implementing the Sustainable Development Commitments in Africa” took place from 11th to 13th December 2017 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This Symposium organized in partnership by UN DESA, UNITAR, UNDP and OIF featured a keynote address by Ambassador Kamau and plenary and break-out sessions with the participation of several Ministers and senior public officials from most of the African countries. The meeting has called for maintaining the high level of ambition instilled in the Agendas and rising to the challenge of implementation, for ensuring a sustained and exemplary leadership and whole-of-government approaches, and for empowering people and societies at large to actively shape policy design. It has provided a practical knowledge-sharing and showcasing space for government officers leading work on the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 and international partners.

"We want to engage everyone in Jordan in our work towards the SDGs – civil society, community leaders, women, youth, people with disabilities."

30 October - 1 November 2017, Cartagena, Colombia – UNITAR teamed up with the Governments of Colombia and Spain, ECLAC, UNDP and UNDESA to hold a Latin American learning conference on the holistic implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, from 30 October to 1 November 2017. The Conference for more than 70 participants featured strategic thinking sessions with the participation of several Ministers of Planning from the region and international and regional experts from the UN family, and a session with the private sector representatives. It also included knowledge sharing sessions with the presentation of good practices and discussion of challenges with the participation of more than 25 other international, regional and Colombian speakers and the showcasing of analytical tools for promoting more integrated decision-making.