Welcome to the United Nations
In the pristine archipelago of Seychelles, a transformative initiative is taking place, reshaping the future of sustainable development. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), through its Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG) and its Financing for Sustainable Development Office (FFSDO), in collaboration with the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), has embarked on an ambitious capacity-building project titled "Foresight and Systems Thinking for Strategic Planning and Financing for Sustainable Development Goals."
UN DESA’s Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG) embarked on a transformative journey through various strategic initiatives. UN DESA/DPIDG enhanced its expertise by adopting an agile and growth mindset, leveraging digital technologies, and hiring new staff with data analytics skills. It empowered youth and fostered their leadership skills; attracted talent with cutting-edge skills, adopted a nimbler structure and emphasized co-creation. UN DESA/DPIDG's transformative culture, commitment to innovation, creativity, and collaborative efforts have brought about positive change, both internally and externally, contributing to the UN’s efforts in capacity development work to accelerate the Quintet of Change and sustainable development.
UN DESA initiated a groundbreaking project titled "Frontier Technology Policy Experimentation and Digital Sandboxes for Sustainable Development" in Bangladesh. This initiative, supported through the UN Development Account, aimed to empower these businesses by facilitating access to finance through innovative digital solutions and regulatory sandboxes.
Enhancing effective governance is a key challenge in Mongolia's pursuit of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UN DESA through its Project Office on Governance (UNPOG) of the Division for Public Institutions and Digital Governance (DPIDG) organized a national workshop on “Effective Governance for Sustainable Development in Mongolia."
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) collaborated with the African Peer Review Mechanism to hold a workshop on Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) and Domestication of Agenda 2063 in Durban, South Africa from 15-17 March 2023.
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), through its Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG), recently hosted a training workshop on “Youth Engagement in Institution Building and Public Services Delivery for Sustainable Development” in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Workshop: SDGs in the Caribbean Small Island Developing States/ Integrated policies and policy coherence hosted by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean, from 13-15 November 2019
In 2022, UN DESA organized a peer-to-peer international workshop on public service training assessment frameworks for strengthening the capacities of public servants to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The international workshop was a follow-up activity to the UN DESA's Development Account Project 1819G on "Institutional arrangements for policy integration, coordination, and stakeholder engagement in SDG implementation and reviews in Asia and the Pacific." The event was conducted virtually through the Zoom platform and attended by government officials from Bhutan, as well as international experts and officials from participating countries.
In 2021, the Ministry of Public Service of Guyana requested UN DESA to provide support in developing capacities for public sector transformation through the promotion of innovation, digital government and changing mindsets. To respond to the request, a workshop on “Innovation, Digital Government, and Changing Mindsets for Public Sector Transformation in Guyana to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals” was organized in March 2022. The capacity development workshop, which was held over the period of two weeks, was attended by around seventy Permanent and Deputy Permanent Secretaries, Regional Executive Officers, and Chief Executive Officers from across the Government of Guyana.
At the request of the National School of Local Administration (NASLA) of Ministry of Interior, Royal Government of Cambodia, UN DESA/UNPOG of DPIDG, with the support of the UN Resident Coordinator Office in Cambodia and the UNDP in Cambodia, organized a five-days Training of Trainers (TOT) Workshop on “Effective National to Local Public Governance for SDG Implementation in Cambodia”, from 10 to 17 May 2022. The TOT workshop was based on the Curriculum on Governance for the SDGs - Training of Trainers Toolkit on “Effective National to Local Public Governance for SDG Implementation.”
In 2018, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MFAFT) requested UN DESA’s SIDS Unit to provide support in developing their capacity to design and implement appropriate enabling legal, institutional and policy frameworks to grow sustainable ocean-based economies and to derive economic benefits from harnessing the productive potential of their ocean spaces. In the process, the project aimed at eliciting recommendations from a variety of OCZM stakeholders on the institutional capabilities (experience, aptitudes, proficiency, and competencies) required to effectively coordinate and implement the review and revision of Jamaica’s national Ocean Coastal Zone Management (OCZM) Policy.
In 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA), which oversees the development of ODSCs in Lao PDR, requested UN DESA’s support to ensure more coordinated and effective public service delivery through the ODSCs and to pilot a smart ODSC in the country. UN DESA, through its Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG) and its Project Office on Governance (UNPOG), worked closely with the Government of Lao PDR and the UN Resident Coordinator Office in Lao PDR to promote capacities for inter-ministerial coordination.