16 March 2012
UN CC:Learn Malawi Workshop Focuses on Capacity to Address Climate Change
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The Government of Malawi held a National Planning Workshop for the national UN CC:Learn Project on “Strengthening Human Resources and Skills to Address Climate Change,” which focused on the development of Malawi's national strategy to strengthen human resources and skills.

UN CC:Learn8 March 2012: The Government of Malawi held a National Planning Workshop for the national UN CC:Learn Project on “Strengthening Human Resources and Skills to Address Climate Change.”

The workshop aimed to ensure that the country has the human resource capacity to address the issues of climate change, natural resources and environmental management.

The workshop, which took place from 7-8 March 2012, in Salima, Malawi, was organized by Malawi’s Ministry of Finance and Development Planning. It brought together 40 participants from various government sectors, education and training institutions, civil society, and international development partners. According to CC:Learn, climate change, natural resources and environmental management are priority areas in Malawi’s national medium term development strategy.

In their opening remarks, Yona Kamphale, Director of Economic Planning, Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, and Yanira M. Ntupanyama, Director of Environmental Affairs, Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Environment, noted that the Government of Malawi is currently doubling its efforts to address climate change, and that the human resource capacity dimension addressed by the UN CC:Learn Project would support Malawi in its implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Ntupanyama underlined the importance of using existing study reports such as the Training Needs Assessment (TNA) and the Capacity Needs Assessment (CNA), which have identified capacity gaps in the area of climate change. Jan Rijpma, Assistant Resident Representative, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Malawi, speaking on behalf of the UN Resident Coordinator, highlighted that the Project complements Malawi’s National Climate Change Programme (NCCP). Amrei Horstbrink, UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)/UN CC:Learn Secretariat congratulated Malawi for the multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder collaboration in developing the UN CC:Learn Project.

Workshop participants heard presentations on: the work of UN CC:Learn; the UN CC:Learn Project in Malawi, which will be implemented through the existing structures of the National Climate Change Programme; international experiences on education and climate change; national climate change priorities, initiatives and capacity development challenges; the international climate change agenda and linkages with international development partners; and the development of a national strategy to strengthen human resources and skills. In addition, participants broke into three working groups to review: the draft terms of reference and work plan for developing the country’s national strategy to strengthen human resources and skills; a draft list of institutions to be involved in the strategy development process; and the proposed surveys for the assessment of learning needs and delivery capacities.

The UN CC:Learn project in Malawi is part of a pilot initiative involving five countries, also including Benin, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia and Uganda, which aims to foster a strategic and results-based approach to climate change learning and skills development through national institutions/systems. The One UN Training Service Platform on Climate Change (UN CC:Learn) is a collaborative initiative involving 32 UN agencies that supports Member States, UN agencies and other development partners in designing and implementing country-driven, results-oriented and sustainable learning to address climate change. The UN CC:Learn Secretariat is serviced by UNITAR. [UN CC:Learn Press Release]

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