UNITAR’s tailor-made training activities in Multilateral Diplomacy and International Affairs enable our beneficiaries, primarily UN Member States, but also inter-governmental and nongovernmental organizations, to design courses that respond to their specific needs and priorities.

Tailor-made training activities are divided into three categories: 1) on-demand tailor-made courses and workshops; 2) assistance in the establishment and development of diplomacy training institutes; and 3) participation in training partnerships.

Tailor-made courses and workshops (on-demand training)

At the request of individual Member States and/or in partnership with intergovernmental organizations, the UNITAR organizes and implements specifically designed courses on themes related to multilateral diplomacy and international affairs management. The duration, content and structure of the courses are tailored to the specific needs and level of the participants, and defined in close consultation with the beneficiaries and partner organizations. Past tailor-made training courses have focused on skills training (e.g. negotiation, mediation, conference diplomacy) and awareness raising seminars (selected topics of international law). For a list of tailor-made course suggestions, see the Tailor-made course summaries.

Assistance in the Establishment and Development of Diplomacy Training Institutes

The Programme has increased its activity to assist individual Member States to establish and/or develop diplomatic training institutes, following a number of requests from various States in Africa and the Middle East. The nature of this technical assistance varies from case to case, and may involve a long-standing training partnership that begins with a comprehensive needs assessment and evolves into the development of a training curriculum, the organization of initial training activities, training of the trainers etc. Assistance may also be more punctual in nature and involve the organization of demand-driven courses for existing institutes seeking to develop their curricula and scope of training. This may involve selecting from any of the skills or orientation courses offered to UN-based diplomats, or conceiving a new course in collaboration with UNITAR.

Participation in Training Partnerships

The number of pressing issues on the international agenda has increased the need for innovative training partnerships not only among UNITAR programmes and other UN organizations and agencies, but also with other intergovernmental organizations, UN Member States, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. The Multilateral Diplomacy and International Affairs Management Programme embraces this concept in view of capitalizing on existing resources and avoiding duplication.