3 May 2023 - Bonn, Germany - UNITAR, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2023. Since 2020, UNITAR has also had an office on the UN Campus in Bonn. The Bonn office marked the anniversary on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, with a high-level panel discussion on the past and future of education and research in response to current global challenges. Afterwards, the city and UNITAR hosted a reception on the UN Campus.

26 April 2023, Hangzhou, China. Tremendous amounts of data generated every day represent significant opportunities for National Statistical Systems (NSS) to improve the timeliness, granularity and quality of information about our societies. Yet, many NSOs, particularly in developing countries, struggle to ensure they have sufficient staff with relevant competencies to harness these opportunities or at times even to produce basic statistics. Building sustainable statistical programs at the national level can help strengthen the capacities of staff of the NSOs and NSS  over short, medium and long-term to achieve their priorities. This is also crucial for ensuring consistency and effectiveness in human resource investments, and can draw on a mix of globally available e-learning and nationally tailored training solutions. Finding relevant e-learning, however, may not always be easy due to a multitude of providers.

27 April 2023, Hangzhou, China - UNITAR’s 2021 and 2023 survey among the National Statistical Offices and Systems (NSOs and NSSs) and international organizations, conducted as part of the EC-Funded Crowd4SDG project, showed that 31% of respondents were aware of citizen science data (CSD) projects run by their NSOs in 2023 compared to only 17% in 2021. The awareness of citizen science (CSD) or citizen-generated data (CGD) is growing, and so are the questions on how such data could be collected and used for the monitoring of progress on sustainable development. To shed some light and shine a spotlight on the use of CSD, on 27 April 2023, UNITAR organized a learning session “The Five “Ws” of citizen science or citizen-generated data” during the 2023 World Data Forum (2023 WDF) in Hangzhou, China. The session focused on rigorous studies and findings of the Crowd4SDG project that explored the potential of such data for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), more closely on the impacts of climate change (SDG 13) and in relation to SDG 11, 5, and 16 in its three years’ run.

27 April 2023, Katowice, Poland – Between April 20 to 26, 2023, the International Training Centre for Authorities and Leaders (CIFAL) in Plock continued its efforts to promote the Autosobriety Training Programme, aimed at preventing drink-driving. The Programme was featured at the Local Career and Professional Development Fair capturing the attention of primarily young individuals who have just finished college and are looking for career advice.

25 April 2023, Geneva, Switzerland – In partnership with Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) UNITAR has established its 31st CIFAL centre in Singapore to offer a range of learning opportunities on sustainability education and facilitate knowledge sharing between government officials and leaders from different Asia Pacific countries.

19 April 2023, Hiroshima, Japan – On 17 April 2023, UNITAR and UNITAR Association held the Hiroshima G7: Voice of the Youth dialogue where seven youths from the G7 countries living in Hiroshima had the opportunity to share their life experiences in the City and discuss Hiroshima’s role in promoting global peace.

17 April 2023, Shanghai, China - UNITAR in collaboration with China Communication Television Broadcasting Network, CIFAL Hubei, CIFAL Shanghai and Pernod Ricard China launched a national competition throughout Chinese universities and colleges called “The Autosobriety Challenge". The challenge is seeking innovative proposals from students enrolled in Chinese universities and colleges, encouraging them to leverage their creativity to promote public education on alcohol-related issues, such as advocating for sober driving, to enhance road safety in China.

14 April 2023, Geneva, Switzerland - UNITAR has concluded a four-day training on key leadership skills for Geneva's diplomatic community at the Palais des Nations, bringing together 31 participants from over 25 member states. This Collaborative Leadership Workshop consisted of 7 sessions, led by world-class experts, including Ambassadors, all working to equip participants with the skills and knowledge necessary to lead engagingly and collaboratively.

5 April 2023, Siem Reap, Cambodia - On March 30 and 31 a successful Training of Trainers (ToT) on the Autosobriety Training Programme to Prevent Drink-Driving was conducted in the Siem Ream province of Cambodia.

31 March 2023, Merida, Mexico - The Executive Director of CIFAL Merida in Mexico, Héctor Navarrete Muñoz, and the Director of the ITAérea Business School, Mr José Ignacio Escudero, sealed the extension for another 4 years of the partnership that has united these institutions since 2017.