Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) play a critical role in advancing sustainable development by shaping the knowledge, skills, and mindsets of present and future generations. Developed by UNITAR, UNESCO, and a collective of HEIs, the Leaders in Higher Education Alliance and Programme - for Accelerating Sustainability Transformations (LEAP-FAST) aimed to strengthen this role by fostering a global movement of sustainability leaders in higher education. The initiative comprises four components: a Leadership Dialogue, a Certificate Programme, an SDG Ambassadors' Programme, and Regional and National Spin-offs.

For more than 10 years, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Satellite Centre (UN Satellite
Centre) have worked together on satellite-based monitoring of cultural and natural heritage affected by armed conflict and disasters resulting from natural or
human-made hazards. This partnership was formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2015 and subsequently strengthened through a series of joint agreements, funded by UN Member States, to monitor and safeguard cultural and natural heritage around the world. What began as ad-hoc assessments for Iraq and Syria has evolved into systematic, joint operations with rapid, global response capabilities.

4 May 2026, Atlanta, USA – Large-scale high-profile governmental, cultural, sporting, or entertainment events such as the FIFA World Cup, G20s, Olympics and Paralympics, Super Bowls, Champions League finals attract significant visitors, bring important economic benefits and opportunities for improving urban development, while reducing environmental impact.

April 2026 - Small Island Developing States (SIDS) such as Saint Lucia face a persistent challenge: producing timely, accurate, and granular data to inform decision-making. Rapidly changing informal settlements, combined with limited statistical resources, make it difficult to maintain up-to-date population estimates and vulnerability assessments.
For Saint Lucia’s Central Statistics Office (CSO), the challenge became particularly visible when the 2022 population and household census was estimated to have a 23.3 per cent undercount rate. Based on listings and field experience, the CSO suspected that much of this undercount was concentrated in informal settlement areas, where housing patterns can change quickly between census cycles. These gaps are not only technical. They affect how services are planned, how risks are assessed, and how resources are allocated.

22 May 2026, New York, USA - The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), in partnership with the University of Kansas School of Law and the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, delivered a two-part online series titled Strengthening Pathways for Indigenous Peoples’ Representation at the UN on 9 and 16 April 2026.

28 April 2026, Budva, Montenegro - UNITAR in collaboration with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and support from the FIA Foundation, launched the Central and Eastern Europe edition of the Safe Mobility for All and For Life (SM4A4L) initiative. SM4A4L aims to equip FIA automobile clubs and local authorities with training, mentorship, and evidence-based actions to develop concrete projects that improve road safety for everyone.

28 April 2026, New York, USA – On 27 April 2026, UNITAR, with the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Prefectural Governments, co-hosted a side event to the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The side event, titled “Nuclear Disarmament Obligation: Humanitarian, Development, and Peace” and led by the Government of Kazakhstan, featured a panel discussion of government representatives, experts and young people and aimed to identify actions that raise awareness of the humanitarian and environmental impacts of nuclear weapons, support implementation of the NPT Action Plan and strengthen advocacy for nuclear disarmament.

23 April 2026, Hiroshima, Japan – Twelve youth from Hiroshima Prefecture gathered at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Hiroshima Project Office on 18 April to mark the launch of the 2026 “UNITAR Hiroshima Youth Ambassador Programme: Leaders for a New Era”.

18 April 2026, Siegen, Germany — In a working visit that signals a new chapter for the CIFAL Dakar Centre, Mayor Abass Fall, Chairperson of CIFAL Dakar, traveled to Germany accompanied by the Director of this CIFAL Centre, Mr. Mouhamed Diop, to explore one of the world's most celebrated models of technical and vocational education. The mission, centred on Germany's renowned Duale Ausbildung, the dual education system marks a significant strategic milestone in the Mayor's broader vision for a more modern, inclusive, and opportunity-driven Dakar.
Officially installed as Mayor in September 2025, Mr Abass Fall has outlined four strategic priorities: making Dakar an economically and socially inclusive city, an international capital, a hub of creativity and digital innovation, and a smart city focused on sustainability and quality of life. The visit to Germany is a direct expression of these priorities in action. The question put forward was how to build a training ecosystem that genuinely connects young people to economic opportunities is not abstract, it is one of the most consequential governance challenges Mayor Fall's administration faces.

Over the past years, the Tanzania Peacekeeping Training Centre (TPTC) has undergone a significant transformation: from a relatively low-profile national training institution to an increasingly recognized centre of reference for peacekeeping training in Africa. UNITAR’s support in 2025 contributed to accelerating this trajectory by reinforcing the centre’s institutional capacity, training methodologies, and ability to adapt to evolving operational demands.