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Francesco Pisano says: “We are continuing to equip the Programme with what it takes to do this job effectively and professionally. But this is done also to bring a distinct advantage to the entire UN family. After the partnership with Google to share crowd generated data with UNOSAT and the rest of the UN, this is a second main achievement by UNOSAT which will change the way we do things and the overall technology level of the UN. I hope this can be of help to the entire UN”. UNOSAT in fact has added to the purchase order the funds necessary to endow 3 other UN bodies with ...
While UNOSAT has consistently met high standards in very short delivery timelines, the new Data-in-hand strategy is an attempt to routinely approach actual near-real-time analysis. Francesco Pisano, Manager of UNOSAT, says “this level of responsiveness is not new at UNOSAT. What is new is our strategy to make this a standard feature. We keep looking downstream at user requirements in the field and we equip ourselves with what it takes to do better each time in responding to these”. In commenting on the attempts being done in some quarters of the GIS and space communities to...
More than 15 analytical maps and reports have been produced by the UNOSAT team of satellite analysts in support to various UN humanitarian agencies and the UN Humanitarian Air Service since March. As the situation deteriorated due to the intensifying military activities in and around various cities on the coast, larger numbers of civilians found themselves trapped in conflict areas sometimes subject to heavy shelling, with slim chances to be reached by humanitarian relief or evacuated to safer areas.
The data available from commercial optical satellites is purchased a...
24 April 2016, Jeju, Republic of Korea – CIFAL Jeju convened twenty-two government officials (central, state and local), NGO workers and private company representatives from fourteen different countries in the Asia-Pacific region for a four-day workshop on "Green Energy and Sustainable City Planning." CIFAL Jeju, in collaboration with Green Technology Center (GTC), International Electric Vehicle Expo (IEVE) and UNEP International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC), held the event from 21 to 24 March 2016 at International Convention Center Jeju (ICC Jeju).
Countries and...
17 December, Geneva, Switzerland – A landmark report providing the first detailed account of the devastating damage to the World Heritage Property of the Ancient City of Aleppo in the wake of years of armed conflict has been published by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and UNESCO.
The Ancient City of Aleppo is one of six Syrian World Heritage sites added to UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger in 2013. Five Years of Conflict: The State of Cultural Heritage in the Ancient City of Aleppo draws on satellite imagery assessment of a total of...
Thanks to the Memorandum of Understanding signed between UNESCO and UNITAR in 2015, and building on our previous two reports on damage to archeological sites in Syria (2014) and in Syria, Iraq, Nepal, and Yemen (2015), satellite imagery analysis is now a routine tool for assessing potential damage to cultural heritage sites.
The complementary roles of UNESCO and UNITAR-UNOSAT are important as they ensure an objective UN assessment of the status of cultural heritage, free from political bias and founded on scientific methods. This comprehensive study has revealed significan...
6 May 2019, New York, USA – In the framework of the Fifth UN Global Road Safety Week (UNGRSW), UNITAR in collaboration with the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services, the New York City Department of Transportation and Together for Safer Roads (TSR) hosted the briefing “Public-Private Partnerships to Advance Vision Zero in the City of New York”, providing a venue to exchange best practices that help reduce traffic deaths and injuries.
Today marks the start of the Fifth UN Global Road Safety Week (UNGRSW), which this year places special emphasis on le...
18 September 2023, New York, USA – UNITAR proudly announces the launch of its three hybrid events during the 2023 SDG Summit, under the auspices of the United Nations General Assembly entitled, ‘Developing a Blueprint for Civil Society Private Sector Contributions: Towards the Elaboration of a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Rights of Older Persons’; ‘What if Women Designed the City?’; and, ‘Harnessing the power of big data, novel technologies, and international collaboration to address global water insecurity’.
The 2023 SDG Summit mark...
13 September 2019, Curitiba, Brazil – The International Training Centre for Authorities and Leaders in Curitiba (CIFAL Curitiba) and the Federation of Industries of the State of Paraná (FIEP), represented by Mr. Jose Antonio Fares, and Rafael Greca, Mayor of Curitiba, signed a protocol that formalizes a collaborative intervention to promote and implement sustainable development initiatives in the city of Curitiba, Brazil.
CIFAL Curitiba and the FIEP System have been key drivers to promoting and implementing activities at the local, national and regional levels to contribut...
12 February 2025, Geneva, Switzerland – UNITAR and RES4CITY Micro-credentials and micro-programmes are available free now: (https://res4city.boostmyskills.eu/). This groundbreaking platform equips individuals with the knowledge and skills to drive sustainable urban transformations. Developed with EU and Swiss Confederation support by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, alongside 18 pan-European universities and industry partners, RES4CITY provides micro-credentials on key topics, including renewable energy, sustainable finance, and smart urban solutions,...