27 May 2026, Brussels, Belgium – EU-funded experts today delivered the most comprehensive assessment ever of Europe’s ‘urban mine’ – materials stocks and waste streams containing a vast, an underutilized reservoir of metals and minerals essential for clean energy, digital technologies, and modern industry.

FutuRaM (Future Availability of Secondary Raw Materials) project, researchers today debuted a comprehensive mapping of critical raw materials (CRMs) embedded in discarded products, industrial residues, and demolished infrastructure across the EU27+4 (EU, UK, Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway).

26 May 2026, Hiroshima, Japan – The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) invites government officials, private-sector leaders and professionals in ASEAN countries to apply for the Green Economic Acceleration: A Japan-ASEAN Strategic Programme for Sustainable Green Finance, a Japan-funded regional training programme to strengthen Japan-ASEAN cooperation in sustainable finance, green economic development and regional economic resilience. The application deadline is 30 June 2026 (11:59 p.m. JST [UTC+9]).

20 May 2026, Baku, Azerbaijan – At the World Urban Forum 13 (WUF13), UNITAR’s Global Water Academy (UGWA) and Azerbaijan’s Water and Amelioration Scientific Research Institute (WASRI) co- convened a ONE UN Side Event placing water at the centre of the global conversation on housing and urban resilience. The event titled Water-Smart Cities: Building Urban Resilience through Capacity Development brought together senior government officials, UN leadership, academic institutions, and private sector partners to examine how integrated water systems underpin safe, resilient, and inclusive cities.

19 May 2026, Baku, Azerbaijan-At the World Urban Forum 13 (WUF13), the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and its CIFAL Global Network convened the Urban Capacity Lab within the framework of WUF Academy that is launched at WUF13 in Baku. The session brought together municipal officials, urban leaders, academic partners, and CIFAL directors from across the network to examine how capacity development translates global urban agendas into measurable city-level outcomes. This session has been also the kick-off of CIFAL Global Network’s newly developed Urban CapaCity Lab methodology.

28 May 2026, New York, USA - The World Cup Diplomacy Summit 2026 will bring together diplomats, policymakers, sports stakeholders and experts at United Nations Headquarters in New York to explore the role of sport in advancing diplomacy, sustainable development and international cooperation ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026™.

22 May 2026, Geneva, Switzerland – The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is pleased to announce a call for applications for the “Pathway to Prosperity: Upskilling Selangor’s Professionals for a Digital Future (Cohort 3)” course.

22 May 2026, Hiroshima, Japan – Lydia Tabu Casmiro Jamba from South Sudan works to help build peace in her country. Now managing programming for a national, women-led NGO that she helped to found and studying for her master’s degree, Lydia joined the FY2024 Primary Course of the Program for Global Human Resource Development for Peacebuilding and Development to strengthen her chosen career path.

22 May 2026, Geneva, Stwizerland - Many of the challenges to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) rely on the need to change behaviour - whether it’s transitioning to clean energy, addressing unequal gender and social norms, bridging the formal-informal divide and decreasing the spread of false information. Behavioural science draws upon what we know about human behaviour and decision-making to better diagnose behavioural barriers and enablers to help people achieve their aims.

19 May 2026, Geneva, Switzerland - The UNITAR Global Water Academy (UGWA) co-hosted the African Regional Consultation for the UN Water Conference Academic Hub, co-convened with the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa, and WaterNet. The consultation gathered academic, governmental, and practitioner stakeholders from across the continent to ensure that African priorities and knowledge are central to preparations for the 2026 UN Water Conference.

UNITAR and Gulf Colleges have launched a new hybrid Master’s Degree in Strategic Leadership and Artificial Intelligence to equip future leaders with strategic, ethical and practical AI capabilities in global governance and decision-making.