On 7 March, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Tehran helped some 40 lawyers of Isfahan Bar Association broaden their knowledge of the UN.

UNIC Reference Assistant Nazanin Ghaemmaghami addressed them on how to retrieve UN documentation and information from UN and UNIC websites, the Dag Hammarskjold Library’s (DHL), and OHCHR web page during a workshop at the Association’s building in Isfahan.

Ms. Ghaemmaghami elaborated on basic UN facts and gave an overview of important information-searching tools located through DHL resources and databases, including the United Nations Bibliographic Information System, Official Document System and UN Info Quest as well as press releases and the UN Yearbook.

UN women, International Women’s Day and the UN Secretary-General’s campaign on unite to end violence against women web pages were introduced and explained to the participants.

Persian copies of the UN Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights and United Nations in Iran were also distributed among participants of the four-hour workshop.

Upon invitation by the Brussels-based Italian-Belgian Chamber of Commerce, the UNRIC Brussels Desk Officer for Italy briefed students of a Master’s programme in European Studies on UNRIC activities and the Brussels-based UN institutions.  UNRIC has been participating in this programme for the past years and is one of the key partners regularly featured among those who address some thirty participants from Europe and other countries.

In his briefing, the Desk Officer spoke about the various public information tools the UN uses to raise awareness of key issues and particularly focused on the UNRIC’s Europe-wide campaigns

Another issue of importance raised was UN employment opportunities including the upcoming 2012 Young Professional Programme (YPP).  The Desk Officer used a Power Point Presentation and distributed information materials, including postcards, catalogues of the two most recent UNIRIC campaigns, and UN pins. 

The programme ended with an intense Q&A and some expressed interest in possible internships with UNRIC.

Entering the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) complex the Kenya Mission to UNON staff members arrived with open minds, their objective as their leader – Mr. John Ekitela – described, was to “expose himself and his staff to the inner workings of the Organization that they had been selected to represent in the global community.

The comprehensive briefing from UNIC Nairobi  Director Nasser Ega-Musa and Chief of the Visitors Service Marian Aggrey, was described by Cleophas Wanyama as “informative and wonderful,.”   The briefing placed emphasis on the historical and structural overview of the UN and its organs and also highlighted the various features in the complex.

The delegation was then given a tour of various key buildings and sites within the Gigiri compound. The tour included a visit to a site with 15 trees  planted by the Security Council members after their 2004 meeting on Sudan, and another one planted by the late Nobel Peace Prize winner, Professor Wangari Maathai.In addition, the delegation toured the “Green Building” also known as NOF (New Office Facility), saw various gifts from Member States and the 1998 Kenya Bomb Blast Memorial Garden.

The Green Building which houses the headquarters of both the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), represents one of low cost ways of combating climate change while reducing electricity bills and dependence on fossil fuels.

Members of the delegation, such as Mrs. Grace Ndegwa, realized the historical and sustainable significance that a number of sites around the complex presented. Two Security Officers from the Mission- Stanley Kimera and Idah Irodi saw UNON’s security staff and procedures as being substantial and thorough,” providing nothing less than adequate protection for the Gigiri compound, its employees and visitors.

The key focus of the UNON Visitors Service under UNIC Nairobi, in providing tours to the public, is to give visitors a sense of what the UN does and how much UNON means to the people of Kenya, Tours are held from Mondays to Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and on Fridays, from 9:30 to 12:00 noon. For group reservations, please e-mail: un.tours@unon.org or call: +254 20 762 2034.

The UNRIC Brussels Desk Officer for Italy recently participated in the training activities organized by the Pisa-based academic institution Scuola Sant’Anna.  His briefings at the 9th edition of the Master’s programme in Human Rights and Conflict management focused on UN and public information activities at HQ, regional and field levels.

Students were introduced to UNRIC and its activities, with particular focus on the Europe-wide campaigns. In this regard, specific reference was made to the “Future We Want  -  Drop by Drop” ad contest including a presentation of the finalists’ works. The Rio+20 Conference on sustainable development generated a lot of interest in the part of the audience.

The Desk Officer also seized the occasion to make a thorough briefing on careers and employment opportunities at the UN.  Reference was made to UNRIC internship programme, which stirred interest in several participants, as well as to the UN increasing use of social media as a vehicle to get messages across. UNRIC-created PPTs were used, and DPI peacekeeping-related publications and other information material were distributed on the occasion.

Scuola Sant’Anna is rated as one of Italy’s academic centers of excellence, and has developed an excellent cooperation with UNRIC since the office’s inception, representing a top-notch interlocutor for UNRIC within the whole Italian academic system.. The Master’s programme enjoys UNRIC’s patronage. (www.humanrights.sssup.it )