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10 June 2022, Geneva, Switzerland - On Saturday 15th January 2022, the ongoing volcanic eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai triggered a tsunami across the Pacific. The scale of the explosion was so large, undersea communications lines were damaged, leaving the population of the Kingdom of Tonga out of reach. The dense ash clouds, added to the poor meteorological conditions, limited the flying capabilities and visual confirmation of the situation on the ground. Satellite imagery, therefore, became a key source of information to assess the extent and severity of the damages...
The idea of a UN training and research institute was mentioned for the first time in a 1962 resolution of the UN General Assembly (resolution 1827 (XVII) of 18 December 1962). The founding of UNITAR in 1963 followed the recommendation of the Economic and Social Council to the General Assembly, which commissioned the Secretary-General with the establishment of a United Nations Institute for Training and Research as an autonomous body within the UN system (Economic and Social Council - Thirty-sixth Session Annexes Document E/3780 United Nations Training and Research Inst...
Amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, professionals like Serhii are expanding their skill sets to adapt to new challenges. Serhii, a dedicated architect and a member of the UNESCO country team in Ukraine, shared his insights into his evolving role and the impact of recent training programmes on his work.
Serhii’s role involves the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to cultural heritage preservation and damage detection. Initially, he began with a foundational understanding of GIS and tools, primarily using them for basic mapping and documentation tas...
8 June 2022, Geneva, Switzerland - On Saturday 15th January 2022, the ongoing volcanic eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai triggered a tsunami across the Pacific. The scale of the explosion was so large, undersea communications lines were damaged, leaving the population of the Kingdom of Tonga out of reach. The dense ash clouds, added to the poor meteorological conditions, limited the flying capabilities and visual confirmation of the situation on the ground. Satellite imagery, therefore, became a key source of information to assess the extent and severity of the damages ...
9 March 2020, Kampala - UNITAR-UNOSAT and the UN Technology Bank, in partnership with the Ugandan Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) have conducted a one-week training course from 2 to 6 March 2020 in Kampala on the use of Geospatial Information Technologies (GIT) to reduce the impact of disaster situations. Indeed, the increasing number and intensity of disasters in the past few years in Uganda have had severe consequences in terms of human lives, structural damage and economic losses. Uganda is regularly affected by multiple natural hazards, including ...
Title: Chief Operations Officer of the National Emergency Operations Center
Country: Solomon Islands
Partnership: CommonSensing Project
Tropical Cyclones are regular and disastrous occurrences for the Solomon Islands. Each year the cyclone season brings powerful wind speeds and high storm surges, threatening SIDS. George Baragamu, Chief Operations Officer of the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC), situated in the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), in the Solomon Islands, knows the risks of such weather events too well.
George works to protect the country...
The Board of Trustees is the Institute’s governing body. The Board formulates principles and policies to govern the Institute’s activities and operations, approves the work programme, adopts the budget, reviews the structure and composition of staffing and performs other statutory functions, including considering the methods of financing the Institute with a view to ensuring the effectiveness of its future operations and the Institute’s autonomous character within the framework of the United Nations., The Board meets in regular session at least once a year. Sessions are tra...
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...
UNITAR celebrates its 50th anniversary since its inception in December 1963. The Institute organized commemorative events both in Geneva and New York.
Geneva
28 November 2013, Geneva, Switzerland – The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), in cooperation with the Group of 77 and China, Geneva Chapter, organized a high-level event to celebrate the 50th anniversary of UNITAR, and to sign a Framework of Cooperation between G77 and UNITAR.
All Permanent Missions based in Geneva were invited to the event and it was attended by more than 150 partic...
At the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS), Rovil Kumar, a scientific officer specializing in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), coordinates the development of maps and geospatial portals that contribute to Fiji's resilience to extreme weather events. As part of his role, he compiles various maps for climate monitoring, flood mapping, and forecasting of heavy rainfall and tropical cyclones. By doing so, Rovil and his team contribute significantly to Fiji's preparedness and response strategies. To harness the skills to develop these products, Rovil Kumar participated ...