LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

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The Local Development Programme (LDP) was initiated as a result of the World Summit on Sustainable Development organised in Johannesburg in 2002, which acknowledged the key role of partnerships between the United Nations, civil society and academia, local authorities and the private sector in the advancement and successful realization of the sustainable development agenda. The key objective of the LDP is to develop the capacity of local actors, through exchange of experiences and dissemination of best practices, as an effective way of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and reducing poverty.

Please click here to access the Local Development Programme information brochure.

In Focus


With a goal of developing local stakeholder capacities for urban sustainability, In December of 2011, UNITAR, Sweden's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and SKL International, signed a partnership agreement for the production of an e-learning course on the SymbioCity Approach for local development and urban governance. The programme, supported by the Government of Sweden, includes two different components that form a dynamic and comprehensive capacity building approach: a) an e-Learning course on the SymbioCity approach; and b) a closing SymbioCity Forum with a Green Technology Fair. Read More

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November 2011, Jeju, South Korea – From 9-11 November, CIFAL Jeju convened over eight country delegations for its fourth training on “Improving Eco-Efficiency: Green Growth for Local Governments” which took place in Jeju Self-Governing Province, South Korea’s designated province for testing national Green Growth policies, projects and technologies such as Smart-Grid energy technologies. Read More

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November 2011, Shanghai, China – Today, we live in a world of global marketplaces, where internet based interactions is the norm for a growing number of consumers and countries. In China alone, there are over 420 million internet users, but this is only about one-third of the penetration rate possible. With the development of information technology and the popularization of the internet, e-commerce has become the new mainstream of business transactions and therefore an innovative source of jobs and economic opportunity for emerging markets and cities. Read More

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November 2011, Beninc City, Nigeria – In fulfillment of the signed workplan with Edo State Government, United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) organized a 5 day capacity building workshop from 24th–28th of October 2011 at the Baden Baden Exquisite Motel in Benin City to encapsulate her obligation of building the capacity of stakeholders for sustainable development in the State. This is a milestone achievement because UNITAR once again fulfilled its entire obligation to the signed contract with the state. Read More

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On November 10, 2011, the partners of the Water Think Tank Méditerranée - the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, UNITAR, Plan Bleu, the International Office for Water and Veolia Environnement - organized a Symposium in Monaco on territorial water governance in the Mediterranean. The discussions between the different stakeholders - a hundred participants - were structured around four central themes building upon the Water Think Tank key findings. Read More

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Upcoming Events

CIFAL Jeju: A Low-Carbon City: Green Growth for Local Governments in Asia-Pacific

02 May - 04 May 2012

Seogwipo-City, Jeju Province, Republic of Korea

By application & selection   Face-to-Face   English  open to register/apply