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“Born and bred in Nigeria”, as her typical first name indicates, 37 years old Sa’adatu Bowsan developed an interest in political topics in her early youth, although coming from a family that never was heavily implicated in politics in the first place. That interest developed further when she enrolled to study political science in Abuja’s university from 1999 to 2002, bringing back a Degree in that field that very year. Later, she took part in various trainings, monitored elections and political events, consulted with political institutions and worked with organisations in…
Born in Austria thirty-five years ago, Sabine Samarawickrema has devoted a huge part of her life to questions tied to sustainable consumption. During her Ph.D., which was completed in Vienna in 2011, she travelled to a lot of different places, working among others for the United Nations in New York. Having met her future husband in New York, she moved to Sri Lanka in 2011 and started working with various NGO's and the UN, active in the field of sustainable development, child protection or education.
But this enthusiastic young woman had to have her own way: one year later…
10 August 2023, Port Vila, Vanuatu - Vanuatu faces many threats because of climate change – the most visible of which is sea-level rise. While coastal inundation poses great risks to infrastructure, damage can be mitigated through evidence-based planning geospatial information technologies (GIT). Leveraging GIT with new and innovative technologies like drones can assist decision-makers in targeting their country’s most vulnerable sectors and communities, thereby ensuring future resilience.
One key entry point in boosting Vanuatu’s climate resilience has been in supporting ...
Sonath Abdul Sattar recalls when the Indian Ocean tsunami hit the Maldives in 2004.
We did not know what a tsunami was; we thought it was a big wave. And we waited and watched – we saw the water receding outside so we could see the reefs. And then when it crashed, it was coming with the dead fish and everything. We were not aware at all.
It was a pivotal moment in Sonath’s life. In the aftermath, Sonath began volunteering for the country’s relief efforts. It began her career in disaster management, a path which eventually brought her to Japan to take part in the UNITAR ...
In October 2021, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) jointly launched its first Arabic edition of the e-Learning course on 'Trade and Food Security'. This initiative aimed to support government representatives and related authorities in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region who are directly involved in shaping and executing agricultural policies and programmes. The course, which lasted for four weeks and was led by experts, was designed to help participants better understand the challenges an...
The United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT), part of UNITAR, delivers satellite analysis, training, and capacity development to UN entities and Member States. We leverage geospatial technologies to support humanitarian response, sustainable development, and resilience building worldwide. Through satellite analysis and targeted training initiatives, UNOSAT empowers UN entities and Member States to leverage geospatial technologies for evidence-based decision making. The project “Strengthening Capacities in the Use of Geospatial Information for Improved Resilience in Asia-Pac...
Akiko Hasegawa joined the FY2024 Mid-Career Course of the Program for Global Human Resource Development for Peacebuilding and Development of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. The Course was held in Hiroshima, Japan, in January 2025. Hiroshima University is commissioned to implement the Program, in collaboration with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).After gaining finance and operations experience in the private sector, Akiko entered the United Nations system as a Junior Professional Officer (JPO) at the United Nations Dev...
The communities of the Cook Islands have had to be self-reliant when it comes to natural disasters.
“We’ve had a fortnight of heavy, heavy rain. Just last week, a coconut tree fell across the road on my driveway. So [the community], we got out there and cleaned it up,” says Lydia Sijp, member of the Tupapa/Maraeranga disaster management committee on Rarotonga, the country’s largest and most populous island, and 2016 UNITAR training alumna.
We call for help from the government. But if the government doesn’t turn up, we just get out there and do it ourselves.
The Co...
Jacques Dembele, from Mali, is a Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at UNDP Guinea-Bissau.He participated in the Primary Course of the Program for Global Human Resource Development for Peacebuilding and Development, held in January and February 2025 both online and in Hiroshima and Tokyo, Japan.Jacques was motivated to join the course by his desire to learn about peacebuilding and development from Japan, a country he admires as a global advocate for peace.His time in Hiroshima and the course experience fuelled his commitment to continue contributing to peacebuilding and deve...
Sayf Al Ashqar, UNITAR Entrepreneurship Training Programme alum, is the Secretary General of the Libraries (Director of the Central Library) at the University of Mosul.
In 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) attacked and took control of Mosul which led to the destruction of Central Library.
In 2017, Sayf and his colleagues began the reconstruction and rebuilding of the Central Library.
The UNITAR entrepreneurship training programme helped him hone his communication and leadership skills.
, July 2022, Hiroshima, Japan ...