26 – 27 October 2016, Bangkok, Thailand – A first Regional Training Workshop on “Developing National Evaluation Capacities to Support the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda” was jointly held by UNITAR and UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub on 26-27 October 2016 in Bangkok, back-to-back with the major Regional SDG Knowledge Exchange Forum. The workshop was organized in collaboration with other UN agencies and partners, including professional evaluation networks, and was attended by 30 participants, mainly government officials, UN staff and representatives of CSOs and VOPEs, primarily from six countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan and Philippines.

Following a series of events that have been jointly organized between UNITAR and the Institut Diplomatique et des Relations Internationales (IDRI) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Algeria, UNITAR’s Multilateral Diplomacy Programme held a three-day leadership seminar for 17 Algerian diplomats and officials. The long-standing and fruitful collaboration with IDRI has reinforced the individual and institutional capacities of officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, particularly in the domain of multilateral diplomacy.

8 September 2016, New York, USA – The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) will partner with the Sustainable Development Goals Fund (SDG-Fund) to host an International Conference on “Attaining the SDGs by 2030: Business and the UN, New Partnership Models.” The Conference will be held at UN Headquarters in New York City on 8 September 2016. More than 60 participants are expected. Registration is not closed, however, and the Conference can accommodate up to 100 attendees.

15 July 2016, New York. – As the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development (HLPF) prepares for its first round of 22 national voluntary presentations (NVPs) on 19-20 July, UNITAR brought together a panel of eminent experts to discuss the ways in which these discrete, global-level Government-led presentations could be better linked to strong, regular and inclusive national and subnational review processes. The learning session entitled “National reviews and M&E systems for the SDGs” was the second event organized by UNITAR as part of the UNDESA-UNITAR SDGs Learning, Training and Practice Center providing for a valuable, well-attended knowledge-sharing space on the sidelines of the Forum. More than 100 participants benefitted from the opportunities provided by the two UNITAR’s learning sessions.

14 July 2016, New York – The SDGs and the Paris Agreement hold a great promise, but how do we turn these aspirational visions into reality? UNITAR’s learning session held on the occasion of the HLPF on Thursday sought to address this issue by focusing on the new types of planning tools and nationally-grown actionable strategies to turn the SDGs, climate and regional commitments into reality. Facilitated by UNITAR’s Executive Director Nikhil Seth, the session featured Jeffrey Sachs, H.E. Amb. Kamau of Kenya, Halldór Thorgeirsson from UNFCCC, and experts from the World Resources Institute.

A Framework of Cooperation between the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the Group of Fifteen (G-15), a grouping of developing countries focused on South-South cooperation, was signed on 4th July, 2016 in Geneva.

1 July 2016, Geneva, Switzerland. UNITAR will deliver 2 learning sessions at this year’s High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF2016), in New York, on 14 July from 10:00 to 12:00 and on 15 July from 15:00 to 17:00. The sessions will aim to promote an improved understanding of requirements related to harmonized policies and inclusive national review and M&E systems for the SDGs. They will feature renowned international and national experts and will be organized as part of the HLPF SDGs Learning, Training and Practice Center.

3 June, 2016, Hiroshima, Japan – The UNITAR Hiroshima Office has successfully concluded the 2nd annual cycle of the training series on Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation held between 30 May – 3 June, 2016. The week-long workshop welcomed diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 5 different countries, including Bangladesh, Mongolia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, with 70% of the participants being female. The participants examined the current state of the nuclear disarmament debate, while better understanding the structure and practice of negotiation at non-proliferation discourse events and further developing their negotiation and leadership skills.

24 April 2016, Jeju, Republic of Korea – CIFAL Jeju convened twenty-two government officials (central, state and local), NGO workers and private company representatives from fourteen different countries in the Asia-Pacific region for a four-day workshop on "Green Energy and Sustainable City Planning." CIFAL Jeju, in collaboration with Green Technology Center (GTC), International Electric Vehicle Expo (IEVE) and UNEP International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC), held the event from 21 to 24 March 2016 at International Convention Center Jeju (ICC Jeju).

22 April 2016, Hiroshima, Japan - The UNITAR Hiroshima Office has successfully concluded the 13th annual cycle of its highly regarded training series on the Management and Conservation of World Heritage Sites. Held between 18-22 April, the week-long workshop brought participants from nine countries together to examine the expectations and requirements needed to effectively prepare a World Heritage nomination, with a particular focus on the justification for inscription.