6 March 2014: The UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) have agreed to a new, three-year phase of the One UN Climate Change Learning Partnership (UN CC:Learn). The agreement was signed by Sally Fegan-Wyles, Executive Director of UNITAR, which serves as UN CC:Learn’s Secretariat, and the Swiss Government, which provides funding for the Partnership.

From 2011-2013, UN CC:Learn engaged in Benin, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Malawi, and Uganda as pilot countries, helping them develop ‘National Strateg[ies] to Strengthen Human Resources and Skills to Advance Green, Low Emission and Climate Resilient Development.’ The next phase of the Partnership will expand the pilot programme to eight more countries, helping them create national climate change learning strategies.

With the support of SDC, UN CC:Learn involves 33 multilateral organizations in supporting Article 6 (Education, Training, and Public Awareness) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Article 6 calls for the development and implementation of educational and public awareness programs on climate change, both at the national and international levels. UN CC:Learn, launched in 2009 at the Copenhagen UNFCCC conference, facilitates the design, distribution, and evaluation of climate change training and learning materials at the global level and helps countries develop national strategies for climate change learning. [UNITAR In Focus Article]