“I had the idea in my mind since some time, but the courses I took helped me improve it. And since it also helped me to find more funds, it definitely helped the project to take off.”

 “We developed a small curriculum that introduced students and teachers at several schools to sustainability. The students and teachers then competed for the titles of Sustainable School and Sustainable Ambassadors.”

' This is a whole new approach, focusing not on the teacher but on the adult learners. This means forgetting the old pedagogic methods and embracing new pedagogic techniques.”

"I used to work in a more rigid, top-down way with people around me, giving instructions based on the elements I received. Since then, I learned to work in a more cooperative way, we are having more meetings, where everybody has a say."

“There is a tremendous work to be done, and we need to target influential individuals and institutions."

30 October - 1 November 2017, Cartagena, Colombia – UNITAR teamed up with the Governments of Colombia and Spain, ECLAC, UNDP and UNDESA to hold a Latin American learning conference on the holistic implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, from 30 October to 1 November 2017. The Conference for more than 70 participants featured strategic thinking sessions with the participation of several Ministers of Planning from the region and international and regional experts from the UN family, and a session with the private sector representatives. It also included knowledge sharing sessions with the presentation of good practices and discussion of challenges with the participation of more than 25 other international, regional and Colombian speakers and the showcasing of analytical tools for promoting more integrated decision-making.

13 - 17 August 2017, Manama, Bahrain – In cooperation with UNDP in Bahrain and UNIC in Manama, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) successfully implemented a workshop entitled “Effective Participation in the United Nations General Assembly” on 13-17 August in Manama. This training gathered delegates from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain that are going to attend the 72nd General Assembly session in New York on 12 - 25 September 2017, as well as their respective colleagues who will support them from the capital.

The third cycle of the UNITAR South Sudan Fellowship Programme: Entrepreneurship and Leadership Youth Training began as 25 young South Sudanese professionals took part in the programme’s Orientation Workshop in Juba, South Sudan. The programme is a six-month capacity-building training for junior- to mid-career-level professionals that focuses on project management, leadership, and social entrepreneurship skills. This year, 25 Fellows and Coaches, including 11 women, from the public sector, private sector, academic institutions, media, and civil society organisations of South Sudan will take part in the programme.

27 July 2017, Geneva, Switzerland - Science is often not adequately accounted for in the main societal discussions and in the related decisions and strategies. Scientists, diplomats and policy makers may profit from a better knowledge of the world of science and its operational models, which in some cases may inspire policies and solutions also in fields other than science.

11 July, New York, USA - UNITAR and UNDESA held a joint session on learning and data for the SDGs on 11 July on the sidelines of the HLPF, a dedicated annual mechanism for reviewing progress on the SDGs. The session composed of a panel of experts and a showcasing segment provided space for addressing challenges and opportunities related to the use of data for policy-making purposes beyond regular national and global reporting. As a result of the session, a number of capacity gaps had been identified and a series of new tools presented. Feedback received from a group of more than 30 participants will help inform the country-level and regional work of UNITAR and UNDESA in this area.