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10 February 2021, Geneva, Switzerland – 2020 was a year of both challenges and accomplishments for UNITAR-UNOSAT. Our mapping teams delivered 1,136 products and services based on over 300 analyses to partners in 59 countries, with an emphasis on Sub-Saharan and Northern Africa & Western and South-Eastern Asia, but also Latin America and the Caribbean. Much of the data produced was used to assess exposure to and impact of hazards, but also to generate potential flood scenarios for refugee camp planning, assess damages, conduct sectoral analyses, and more. Throughout the ...
8 April 2021, Georgetown, Guyana & Geneva, Switzerland – Between 18 January and 02 February 2021 UNOSAT and CIMA in partnership with UNDP, Guyana delivered a 12-day technical course entitled “Operational Flood Forecasting System”. The course focused on the operational use of the hydrologic/hydraulic models and flood forecasting chain implemented at Hydrometeorological Service, Ministry of Agriculture, Guyana. Due to travel restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the training was delivered remotely in a moderated e-learning format. , This course falls under th...
Geneva, 16 April 2020
Excellencies, Friends of UNITAR,
We, the Board of Trustees of UNITAR, are deeply concerned about the profound impacts and disruptions being caused by COVID-19. Our concern is first and foremost for the immediate human loss and suffering especially for those who face the most vulnerabilities in withstanding the shocks. But beyond this we know that the economic and social upheavals that the pandemic is generating will last for a long time. We endorse the UN Secretary-General’s urgent call for action and with this statement share the vision of UNITAR in...
UNITAR hosts Orientation Course on the Economic and Social Council
23 January 2018, New York City, U.S.A – The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the United Nations Institute of Training and Research (UNITAR) New York Office and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) have jointly hosted a one-day orientation course on the Economic and Social Council for the Members of the Council. The event was hosted in the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.
The orientation course consisted of six different sessions which covered a wide variet...
UNITAR is guided by a four-year Strategic Framework which articulates the Institute’s vision, mission, core values and strategic objectives and enablers. The present Framework, covering the period from 2018 to 2021, was approved by the Institute’s Board of Trustees in November 2017.
The Framework structures the Institute’s objectives, programming and activities under the peace, people, planet and prosperity pillars of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable, in addition to cross-cutting programme pillars on accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, multilateral diplomac...
An independent evaluation of the Afghanistan Fellowship Programme (AFP) was published in July 2018, assessing the AFP’s performance over the 2014 – 2017 Fellowship cycles. The programme aims to contribute to Afghanistan’s reconstruction by building the capacities of its civil service, with a view to institutional capacity building. The evaluation was informed by a document and literature review, key informant interviews, an online survey and observed training sessions.
Several limitations of the evaluation were noted, namely the security situation in Afghanistan preve...
December 2020, Geneva, Switzerland – Between 2017 and 2019, UNOSAT has been committed to supporting the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) to build resilience to the many hazards the country is exposed to, namely floods and tropical storms – hazards which will only grow in severity and frequency with climate change. The situation is especially urgent as Lao PDR is particularly vulnerable to these threats, as it is ranked one of the poorest or least developed countries in the Asia Pacific region. Thanks to the financial support from the Norwegian Agency for Development C...
UNOSAT is the operational satellite applications programme of UNITAR, promoting evidence-based decision making for peace, security and resilience by using geospatial information technologies (GIT). One of UNOSAT’s main strategic objectives is to build and develop capacities of Member States to use earth observation (EO) and GIT. As a part of its capacity development activities, UNOSAT delivered a one-week training entitled “ASEAN Regional Training Course on Geospatial Big Data Applications for Sustainable Development” f...
Over the past several years (2016-2022) UNITAR’s outreach to learners has increased significantly, including participants in learning events containing an objective assessment of learning. However, the proportion of certificates of completion (CoC) issued to these learners has declined. In 2023, the UN Board of Auditors observed this trend and recommended UNITAR to undertake an evaluation to uncover any factors driving completion rates. This evaluation assessed the effectiveness of UNITAR's learning-related programming, focusing on factors driving learner completion an...
09 November 2021, Geneva, Switzerland - In South Asia, the monsoon season started early and forcefully this year. Nepal was particularly hit by heavy rainfall in June 2021: flooding and landslides were reported in many parts of the country and affected thousands of families*.
In August, rainfall intensified again for several consecutive days, with rivers overflowing, landslides triggered across the hills, and widespread inundation in the southern plains. In the affected areas, many houses, informal settlements, and other buildings were destroyed, forcing people to seek ref...