19 January 2016, Geneva, Switzerland - It is with great sadness that we learned that our highly respected and beloved colleague, Mr. Jean Gazarian, UNITAR full-time Senior Fellow, passed away yesterday at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, United States.  Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family.

More than 100 individuals from over 60 institutions gathered at the 1st Global Forum on Green Economy Learning to discuss global and national approaches to green economy learning and explore opportunities to exchange knowledge and collaborate with the goals of up-scaling green economy learning.

Following the success of its first events earlier this year, UNITAR’s Women’s Leadership Programme delivered its third Leadership Workshop on 22 and 23 October in Geneva. With 10 participants from International Geneva, including representatives from Permanent Missions, the non-governmental sector and international organizations, the workshop succeeded in providing a positive, empowering and engaging environment for learning, self-reflection and development and the building of a strong network amongst women and female professionals.

UNITAR’s Women’s Leadership Programme in partnership with UN Women and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) held a Leadership Workshop for the female delegates accredited to the Radiocommunication Assembly (RA) and the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC). The workshop was opened with remarks by Mr. Francois Rancy, Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau at ITU and Mr. Nikhil Seth, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNITAR Executive Director.

Following the launch and success of UNITAR’s new Women’s Leadership Programme, UNITAR and the UN Women Training Center committed to strengthening their cooperation in the field of capacity building and women’s empowerment.

Hiroki Kuroda, an internationally recognised professional baseball pitcher, currently playing for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, was appointed as a UNITAR Correspondent - Goodwill Ambassador, at a ceremony held at Mazda Stadium in Hiroshima today.

UNITAR’s Women’s Leadership Programme partnered with the Women’s Environmental and Development Organization (WEDO) to co-host a side event at the UNFCCC Forty-second Sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 42) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 42), as well as the June session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP2-9)

UNITAR’s Multilateral Diplomacy Programme delivered a Women’s Leadership workshop for delegates to the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development.In the context of UNITAR’s new Women’s Leadership Programme, launched hand-in-hand with UN Women and working across the UN System, UNITAR delivered a high-level workshop for diplomats and delegates accredited to the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development.

30 June 2015, Bonn, Germany – UNESCO and UNITAR (the UN Institute for Training and Research) have signed an agreement to protect cultural and natural heritage sites with the latest geo-spatial technologies.  It was signed at the annual meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Bonn, Germany, and will be delivered through UNITAR’s Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT).

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon announced today the appointment of Nikhil Seth of India as Executive Director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). He will succeed Sally Fegan-Wyles of Ireland, to whom the Secretary-General expressed his utmost gratitude for her dedication and commitment to the United Nations.