17 November 2022, Durban, South Africa – As part of UNITAR’s ongoing capacity building efforts on Road Safety and ahead of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, a series of capacity building workshops in different Provinces of South Africa on Strengthening National Road Safety Strategies: UNITAR’s Management Practices for Safer Roads Toolkit were held throughout the week.

November 2022, Hiroshima, Japan – Kefa Akroush (Jordan) and Mireille El Alam (Lebanon) have devoted their careers to erasing gender inequalities in their countries. They gained more tools to help them mainstream gender in their government work by completing the UNITAR Gender Empowerment Now! training programme.

14 November 2022, New York, USA - The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) New York Office (NYO) hosted a second training session entitled “Conflict Resolution in the Era of Political Polarization” in collaboration with the Columbia Law School Mediation Clinic. Gathering more than 100 participants, the event aimed at understanding the survey techniques to deal with polarization in the context of conflict resolution, examining the role of polarization in producing negotiator bias and discussing the best practices for dilemmas that arise when negotiating in polarized situations.

“We understood that we had to change the strategy and go into the communities because our people deserve it. We started for the first time in the history of the country a community ambulance system. People now can call a toll-free number and the ambulance will drive to the patient’s doorstep, pick the patient up and drive the patient to the health facility.”

"Government officials were able to see the complexity and the integrated nature of all sectors. How, for instance, a change in tourism policies affects environmental policies, food production policies and so on. It also gave insights into the positive impact of fine-tuning some policies."

"Men in my field are judged on their potential, whereas women by their past accomplishments. There is always so much more you have to prove as a woman to get leadership roles, participate in specific projects and be acknowledged for your contributions."

"UNITAR’s programme, on the other hand, welcomes professionals that do not necessarily have a traditional career in diplomacy but want to develop their knowledge and gain skills. Doctors, journalists, activities, artists, educators like myself, students, mid-career professionals… all have a chance to learn and contribute to the world of diplomacy."

"Not only it was helpful because I learned the theory, but every time I had to do an assignment, I was doing it for my company. So, I would build a business model for the assignment knowing that I would use it and apply it in my company and also would benefit from the revisions and feedback.”

The Future Policy Award 2023 will take a closer look at policies for a toxic-free world, regulating the use of hazardous chemicals in products, with a focus on children and their environment.

I was thrilled to be able to write about the things that I practiced on a day-to-day basis and freely discuss the theoretical aspects without any restraints, a freedom that only academia provides us.”