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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...
UN Resolutions and other official documents are available in the Resolutions and Reports section of the website. Information on the main areas of work is available under respective sections of the website.
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...
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...
The UNITAR Operational Satellite Training Programme (UNOSAT) contributes to human security, peace and socio-economic development by providing integrated satellite-based solutions for governments as well as relief and development organizations within and outside the UN system. As part of its capacity development activities, a two-week training programme took place in Bhutan, with support from the State of Qatar. With funding through the newly-established Strategic Framework Fund, the programme aimed to enhance the use of geospatial technologies for evidence-based decision ma...
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...
Name: W.A. Kumudu Sanjeewa
Title: Head of Communications and Information Management (CIMU), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Country: South Sudan
Partnership: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
South Sudan is ranked among the five countries in the world most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In the past years, the country has seen wet seasons becoming wetter, and dry seasons getting even drier. As a result, devastating floods are mercilessly hitting its population with increasingly destructive pow...
20 October 2023, Geneva, Switzerland – To mark its 60th anniversary, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) launched the 'SDG4Kids' initiative, a series of interactive educational experiences linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aimed at engaging Geneva’s young minds to create positive change for a better future., As part of the 60th-anniversary celebrations, UNITAR is organizing a public photo exhibition in Geneva from 2 to 27 October, displayed on the Rotonde du Quai du Mont-Blanc, illustrating 60 years of history as well as s...
Beneficiary: Sopheap Sok
Title: Chief Officer of the Agricultural Geographic Information System at the Agricultural Information and Documentation Centre
Workshops: Introduction to Use of Geospatial Information Technology for Drought Risk (2017); Advanced Use of Geospatial Information Technology for Drought Risk Management (2018)
Every day we make decisions that have an impact on our lives and the lives of those around us. We often rely on data and technology to make sure we make the best choices. Even the smallest decisions can be made easier by using techno...