Geneva 21 March: Flemish Minister-President Kris Peeters and UNITAR Executive Director Carlos Lopes signed an implementation agreement further to the decision taken by the Flemish Government last Friday to provide financial support over the period of 2011 to 2013 to the future UNITAR-affiliated International Training Center on Corporate Opportunities (ITCCO).

CIBJO, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the City of Antwerp have announced at the 2011 CIBJO Congress in Porto, Portugal, that a UNITAR-affiliated training center for Corporate Social Responsibility in the Jewellery and diamond industry will be formally declared in Antwerp on May 23, 2011.

22 March 2011 - The ‘Las Pinas-Zapote River System Rehabilitation Programme’, Philippines, and the project ‘A Participatory and Learning Based Approach to Raising Awareness on Water and Sanitation’, Durban, eThekwini Municipality, South Africa, have been awarded with the ‘Water for Life’ Best Practices Award during a ceremony that has taken place in Zaragoza, Spain, on World Water Day. 

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) joins with other UN Agencies around the world in expressing its condolences to the people of Japan following the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami which struck on 11 March 2011. We also echo the United Nations Secretary-General’s remarks expressing his condolences to those who have lost family and friends (SG/SM/13437).

Geneva 14 March 2011. The aftermath of the catastrophic quake and tsunami in Japan has mobilised unprecedented participation from social networks and crowd sourcing communities around the world. Satellite imagery released for free by major commercial satellite companies earlier this week revealed to the world the extent of the impact of the tsunami waves that hit the east coast of Japan on Friday 11 March.

A Senior Advisory Group designated by the Secretary-General in March 2010 proposed a brand-new vision of the UN support to the strengthening of civilian capacities in conflict affected countries entitled OPEN, or “a United Nations that enables national Ownership, works in global Partnership, delivers with Expertise and is Nimble in the face of change”.

Building on their respective comparative advantages, UNDP and UNITAR will organize a total of 35 training and networking events over a 12-month period. More than 1,100 African negotiators and decision-makers will directly benefit from training and networking activities which incorporate UNITAR’s innovative methodologies and long-standing experience in knowledge transfer and executive learning.