Every year on 19 August the World Humanitarian Day honours and recognizes those who face danger and adversity to help others and those who have paid the highest price in doing so.  This year, at the initiative of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations want to add the voice of millions of internet users to the campaign asking them to use their favorite social media to spread and support the message of “People Helpin

26 July 2012, Accra – In the context of the GEF/UNDP/UNITAR/EPA-Ghana Project on Capacity Building for the Elimination of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl) in Ghana, a Project Steering Committee (PSC) was held in Accra on 26 July 2012. The Committee reviewed the project progress status report.

8-9 August 2012, Baku, Azerbaijan - A national Awareness-Raising Workshop to launch a project for the design of a national Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) was held in Azerbaijan from 8 to 9 August 2012.

July 2012, Geneva, Switzerland - UNOSAT continues to pioneer the use of UAV’s by testing live video streaming at the Paleo Festival in Nyon, Switzerland.  The first UAV mission was deployed in Haiti last February to analyse damages to assess building reconstruction. The UAV used in the test, also known as md4-200, is a product of Microdrones.

15 October to 14 December 2012, Social Media tools, e-learning course

July 2012, Geneva, Switzerland - The project ‘Map Your School’, a joint initiative between UNOSAT, UNICEF and the Panamanian Government has moved to the next stage in its development, as it begins a pilot test phase in the Escuela Puerto Rico, in Panama City, Panama. Initial feedback has been very good “The children understood very well how to use the platform, with no previous guidance on how to use it!“ exclaimed Heidi Peugeot, a Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Specialist and the UNICEF focal point for the Map Your School project.

July 2012, Chisinau, Moldova - A Globally Harmonized System (GHS) Stocktaking and Training Workshop for Central and Eastern Europe took place in Chisinau, Moldova from 17-19 July 2012.

26 July 2012, Bangkok, Thailand – On 9 and 10 August, at the request of the Government of Thailand, two UNITAR programmes will jointly deliver a “Training on negotiation skills on chemicals management”.  The Multilateral Diplomacy Programme (MDP) and the Chemicals and Waste Management Programme (CWM) are joining forces to provide training with the objectives to:

25 July, Geneva, Switzerland: UNITAR’s Chemicals and Waste Management programme has launched its first e-learning course “Classifying and Labelling Chemicals According to the UN GHS”. The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) was adopted by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC) in 2003. The GHS is an important tool that countries can draw upon to develop national chemical hazard communication systems by providing a basis for the establishment of comprehensive chemical safety programs.