9 December 2019, Geneva, Switzerland - UNITAR’s Division for Multilateral Diplomacy delivered a two-day workshop entitled Business and Human Rights: Key to Achieving the SDGs on the 5th and 6th of December at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, with some 60 participants from governments, business, civil society and other stakeholders. The overall objective of the workshop was to help participants gain a thorough understanding of the Business and Human Rights agenda and provide leadership perspectives on the potential and challenges to implement the UN Guiding Principles as an essential means to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

29 November 2019, Geneva, Switzerland - The Board of Trustees of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) concluded its Sixtieth Session, which convened from 28 to 29 November 2019. Key decisions of the session include adoption of the $88 million programme budget for 2020-2021 and the integration into UNITAR of The Defeat-NCD Partnership with a biennial budget of $31 million.

November 2019, Geneva, Switzerland - What would be key elements to consider in the management of international waters? Is the way in which women and men interact with water resources relevant? Check out a new free e-learning module on gender and international waters to understand why it is important to engage both women and men to foster a more equitable and sustainable water resource use for everybody. 

11-13 November 2019, Madrid & Malaga, Spain – UNITAR convened the sixteenth annual steering committee meeting of its global network of affiliated training centres to review past performance and achievements, as well as to discuss work plans for the following year, explore synergies amongst CIFAL centres and other units of UNITAR. The meeting was inaugurated by Mr. Nikhil Seth, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNITAR, who highlighted the importance of working with local authorities globally to resonate and act upon the mandate of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and its SDGs.

The green economy concept in Mongolia connects heavily to the herding communities, where natural resources (pastureland and water) and the environmental challenges, and human development are the key areas of the ‘green changes’.

5 November 2019, Geneva, Switzerland- UNITAR, in partnership with Kudelski Security, was pleased to provide a face-to-face training workshop to officials from governments, academia and international NGOs in the context of the Geneva Peace Week 2019. The workshop’s content was Diplomacy 4.0, UNITAR’s new concept addressing the intersection between diplomacy and recent technological and scientific advances. It came just weeks after UNITAR launched its new e-Learning course on Diplomacy 4.0, encompassing modules on neoteric diplomats, digital diplomacy, cyber security, artificial intelligence, internet governance and science diplomacy.

22 October 2019, New York, USA – UNITAR jointly with the International Training Centre for Authorities and Leaders in Atlanta (CIFAL Atlanta) hosted 50 Academic Fellows from the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI). The Fellows visited the United Nations Headquarters in New York to learn about UNITAR’s capacity building initiatives in support of sustainable development and to hear insights from a private sector executive on how to build partnership to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

18 October 2019, New York, USA – The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) New York Office, in partnership with the Permanent Mission of Qatar to the United Nations, B4 Development, and Generation Amazing, hosted an event on using behavioral insights and sports in preventing violent extremism. The event took place in Conference Room 6 at UN Headquarters on 18 October 2019.

14 October 2019, Curitiba, Brazil – The International Training Centre for Authorities and Leaders in Curitiba (CIFAL Curitiba) welcomed a delegation of entrepreneurs from Ecuador and Peru in order to learn about the innovative structure and management model of the Federation of Industries of the State of Parana (FIEP).

Tokyo, Geneva, Bonn, 09 October 2019 ― The United Nations University (UNU) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to transition a UNU programme to UNITAR.