http://www.unido.org/ UNIDO Latest Newsen http://www.unido.org/typo3conf/ext/tt_news/ext_icon.gif http://www.unido.org/ 1816UNIDO Latest NewsTYPO3 - get.content.righthttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssWed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 +0200 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1193&cHash=78d5dfe96a9ab8b06f0df33283be17e3 RAMALLAH, 16 May 2012 - The Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development...
During a meeting at the Ministry of National Economy, which included representatives of the private sector, it was agreed that UNIDO will develop a new programme with a focus on industrial upgrading and modernization, including an industrial competitiveness strategy; integrated trade capacity building and export diversification; agribusiness development; pharmaceuticals; and renewable energy partnerships.

UNIDO will also seek financing and technical support from donors, including from the EU, Germany, Israel, Norway, as well as from USAID, and the Islamic Bank.

During his meetings in Ramallah, Director-General Kandeh K. Yumkella noted that UNIDO was prepared to provide support for the new industrial policy, as recently requested by Palestinian counterparts, and would spare no efforts to further strengthen and enhance cooperation.
 
UNIDO’s support to Palestine goes back to the early 1990s when the Organization provided technical and policy advice on industrial development, as well as feasibility studies.

In 1999, UNIDO launched the Integrated Programme for Palestine, and despite the political developments that followed in the year 2000, the programme continued to operate. During the 1990s, UNIDO support was a key factor in the establishment of the Palestinian Federation of Industries (PFI), now considered a prominent private sector institution.

In 2005, UNIDO launched a new project, which resulted in the establishment of a Technical and Vocational Educational Training Centre (TVET) for the marble and stone sector.

The Director-General also visited the Birzeit Pharmaceutical Company which employs some 300 people and has a 22 per cent market share locally.

A delegation led by the new Minister of National Economy will visit UNIDO headquarters in Vienna in July.]]> Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 +0200 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1192&cHash=bef9fdcad4113e1b753958fb97b0274a JERUSALEM, 14 May 2012 - Israel's National Agency for International Development Cooperation in the...
This will be implemented under the framework of UNIDO’s Agribusiness and Agro-Industries Development Initiative (3ADI). The memorandum of understanding was signed  during an official visit to Israel by the Director-General of UNIDO, Kandeh K. Yumkella.

The cooperation between MASHAV and UNIDO builds on the two organizations’ mutual and complementary capabilities and will focus on capacity building in such areas as agriculture-related technologies and biotechnology; support to small and medium industrial enterprises; women's empowerment; women's entrepreneurship development; rural entrepreneurship development; and environment and sustainability. Director-general Yumkella will meet with President Shimon Peres, as well as the head of the Knesset Economic Committee, and the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development.

The UNIDO delegation will participate in the Agritech international conference taking place in Tel Aviv from 15 to 17 May.

At AGRITECH, Yumkella will participate in a panel discussion on development challenges. He will also take part in MASHAV's high level forum on development.

For more information, please contact: Philippe Scholtes
Director, UNIDO Agribusiness Development Branch
Email]]> Mon, 14 May 2012 17:23:00 +0200 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1188&cHash=04c35a13e7818377f9a2b8a6c3e9f171 VIENNA, 3 May 2012 - The Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization...
UNIDO’s Yumkella is being honoured for his work on a variety of global issues, including his promotion of the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative, and his contribution to poverty reduction, climate change mitigation and the advancement of the Millennium Development Goals.

UN Secretary-General’s Ban Ki-moon’s Sustainable Energy for All Initiative sets three inter-linked and complimentary goals to be achieved by 2030: ensuring universal access to modern energy services, doubling the global rate of improvement of energy efficiency, and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. Ban has appointed a high-level group of distinguished leaders in business, finance, government and civil society, which is co-chaired by Director-General Yumkella, and the Chairman of Bank of America, Charles O. Holliday.

“I am honoured to receive this award, and view it an appreciation of the work of UNIDO in general. More than any other multilateral organization, UNIDO has been at the forefront of the industry and environment nexus for many years now”, said Yumkella. “Our assistance to countries in tackling poverty through productive activities, or implementing the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, is clear evidence of that.”

The UNIDO Director-General added, “The Rio+20 Conference will bring environmental sustainability together with social and economic development, and is expected to form a blueprint for future global development goals. In the run-up to Rio+20, there is growing agreement that in a resource- and carbon-constrained world, the next phase of globalization should be as green as possible. However, such a shift to a “green economy” must not happen at the expense of the developmental priorities of developing countries, and any definition of “green economy” must provide diverse opportunities for both economic development and strategies for poverty reduction.”
UN Foundation Founder and Chairman, Ted Turner, UN Foundation President, Timothy E. Wirth, and UNA-USA Executive Director, Patrick Madden, will take part in the Global Leadership Awards Dinner in New York in October.

“This year’s honorees demonstrate that individuals and organizations from all corners of the globe can elevate the UN’s work and help the world,” said Madden. “American communities applaud the work of these distinguished awardees as they help educate and advocate on behalf of the UN every day.”

For over 50 years, the Global Leadership Awards Dinner has called attention to the vital role the UN plays in helping the global community advance peace, prosperity and justice, and recognizes individuals and organizations for their outstanding leadership in furthering the purposes of the United Nations Charter and advancing UN causes—from global health and economic development, to human rights and environmental sustainability.
Named one of “New York’s Top 100 Events 2012,” the Global Leadership Awards Dinner brings together a distinguished audience of nearly 500 policymakers, diplomats, UN supporters, business leaders, celebrities, and members of the media, as well as UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, UN Goodwill Ambassadors and Messengers of Peace, and representatives from the US Mission to the UN.

For more information on the awards ceremony, please visit: www.unausa.org/annualdinner 

For more information on UNIDO, please contact:

Mikhail Evstafyev
UNIDO Advocacy and Communications Coordinator
Tel. +43-1-26026-5021
Mobile +43-699-1459-7329
E-mail ]]> Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 +0200 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1187&cHash=48a7f9db43122beed39b21bab1da5ad5 VIENNA, 2 May 2012 – An international conference titled, Biomass for Electricity: Greening...
The three-day event is taking place in the town of Güssing.

Participants at the conference will share their experiences of the role of biomass in de-carbonizing the global energy system, and explore the readily available and cost-effective potential for emissions reduction that could be achieved through the large deployment of sustainable biomass for electricity.

Kandeh K. Yumkella, the Director-General of UNIDO, who also chairs UN-Energy, an interagency mechanism within the UN system, said: “It is not a coincidence that we have come to Güssing to discuss sustainable biomass. Güssing has accomplished a remarkable transition from an economically poor, low-growth district with no industry and a high level of unemployment, to an internationally recognized model of a transition to a green economy. Today, Güssing’s biomass-powered plants, based on sustainable local resources, generate heat and electricity for local use. They power 50 new companies, support over 1,000 new jobs and generate millions in sales and income”.

Yumkella highlighted the importance of sustainable biomass for achieving global energy and climate priorities. He added that sustainable biomass for electricity generation can help achieve the three goals of the UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative; namely, ensuring universal access to modern energy services, doubling the rate of improvement of energy efficiency and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. To read the entire speech, go here He also said that scaling up the deployment of sustainable bioelectricity technologies will be a significant and concrete step in the transformation of the current power system, based on fossil fuels, into a greener, more efficient, low-carbon system, contributing at the same time to economic growth in developing and developed countries alike. Participants will be offered an executive seminar on bioenergy sustainability assessment and a field visit presenting the Güssing experience, one of the most interesting Austrian experiences in terms of the rapid development of a green economy.

The conference was organized by a number of members of UN-Energy, including by UNIDO, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the UN Environment Programme, as well as the Global Bioenergy Partnership and the International Energy Agency’s Bioenergy, with the support of Dong Energy, Eskom, E.on and BioElectric Solutions.

For more information on the event please visit: www.un-energy.org/stories/1577-upcoming-sustainable-biomass-for-electricity-conference   
For more information, please contact:

Mikhail Evstafyev

UNIDO Advocacy and Communications Coordinator

Tel. (43-1)-26026-5021

Mobile +43-699-1459-7329

E-mail]]> Wed, 02 May 2012 10:32:00 +0200 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1182&cHash=ba890e662ce2b9b30837624bb4c176ea BAKU, 18 April 2012 – The role of a new generation of eco-industrial parks in the diversification...
Some 60 high-level government officials and experts discussed the potential of industrial parks - specific areas zoned and planned for industrial development - to become innovation hubs that promote new industries and technologies. They also looked at ways eco-industrial parks can contribute to sustainable development, and at their role in attracting financial resources, as well as the role of good governance in making such sites more effective.

Experts in the field presented successful models of industrial parks operating in the region, highlighting the value of innovative approaches and the technical support offered by UNIDO. Conference participants also visited the Sumgait Technology Park in Azerbaijan to get acquainted with the local industrial park experience.

The two-day event was organized together with the Azerbaijani Ministries of Economic Development, and Industry and Energy, and was supported by the Government of Slovenia. It was attended by representatives from Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, FYR Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkey and Ukraine.

Representatives from numerous international organizations also took part, including from the Asian Development Bank, the Eurasian Partnership Foundation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Delegation of the European Union to Azerbaijan, the German Technical Cooperation Society (GIZ), the Islamic Development Bank, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland (SECO), UNDP, and USAID.

For more information, please contact:

Farrukh Alimdjanov
UNIDO Industrial Development Officer
Tel: +431-26026-5090
E-mail

 Solomiya Omelyan
UNIDO Programme Officer
Tel: +43 1-26026-3818
E-mail
]]> Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:49:00 +0200 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1181&cHash=a888500e4d170d7479fcdaca763d266b ERBIL, Iraq, 17 April 2012 – The Swedish Transport Academy, officially inaugurated today in Erbil,...
The Academy, which will supply much-needed skilled mechanics to the Iraqi sectors of logistics, manufacturing, and industrial maintenance of heavy machinery such as trucks, engines and agricultural equipment, was established by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Scania, a leading manufacturer of trucks, buses and engines. The project is the fruit of an ongoing Swedish public-private partnership agreement to help young Iraqis develop new skills and find jobs. Training is offered not only in maintaining and operating equipment such as modern fleets of trucks, but also in languages, IT and business management.  

Unemployment remains a serious problem in Iraq, especially for young people, while the lack of skilled Iraqi labour is stalling the development of industry and the economy as a whole.

“This academy is a first of its kind in Iraq and the region,” said Asoos Nabeel Abdulla, the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in the Kurdistan Regional Government. “This public-private partnership will serve the needs of hundreds of youth by providing them with the necessary skills to help themselves and the country.”

Chakib Jenane, Chief of UNIDO’s Agro-Industries Technology Unit, added that UNIDO was proud of delivering this new vocational training facility. “This would not be possible without significant inputs from our partners at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), and the expert input of Scania. I would like to thank the government of Sweden for its generous contribution to this project,” he said. Henrik Orrling, Scania Vice President, Franchise and Factory Sales, Africa, Middle East and South Asia, added: "For us it is important to do what we can to help rebuild Iraq. We want to offer training to the young people to allow them to get new jobs, and fulfill their dreams so they can have hopes for the future."

The inauguration of the Academy was also attended by Sweden’s Minister of Trade, Ewa Björling, the Govenor of Erbil, Nawzad Hadi, and the Minister of Trade and Industry, Sinan Chalabi.

The first round of training started on 2 April, with some 160 students attending the three-month mechanical training courses. The Academy is aiming for a target of nearly 400 graduates each year.

The project is funded by SIDA, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, and Scania.

For more information, please contact:

Chakib Jenane
Chief, UNIDO Agro-Industries Technology Unit
E-mail]]> Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:45:00 +0200 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1178&cHash=ae7276dbbe729f2bff6d51811a389c2b BRUSSELS, 16 April 2012 — United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, today welcomed the... For more information, visit www.sustainableenergyforall.org
 
Media Contact:

Jean-Luc Onckelinx
UN-EU Desk Officer
Mobile: +32476215485
Email: onckelinx@unric.org]]> Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0200 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1176&cHash=a6b0d29ffb496c0171ab6c6eae5c26b2 FREETOWN, 4 April 2012 – During his official visit to Sierra Leone, UNIDO Director-General Kandeh...
Once operational, the hydro plant on the Bankasoka river at Port Loko town, developed by UNIDO together with the Government of China, will bring immediate benefits to the local community, including in such areas as irrigation, sanitation standards, drinking water, and will boost small and medium businesses. The fact that the hydro plant is located within the community means a direct involvement in the project by locals and lower costs. The technological approach used in Port Loko is likely to be replicated in other parts of Sierra Leone, with a potential contribution of several hundred megawatts in the immediate future.

"Our rivers will produce green, renewable and sustainable energy, giving us hope that economic success and national security will be ours for years to come,” said President Koroma. He added that it was time for “energy freedom” and that energy access was not “just about lighting a dark room. It’s about the freedom that energy gives us. Energy access forms an integral part of Sierra Leone’s overall transformation and poverty reduction strategy, and it is one of the top priorities on the government’s agenda for change.”

Director-General Yumkella said he was confident that "small and micro hydro plants in rural areas of Sierra Leone will help improve access to modern energy services, boost market activities and irrigation." He added that UNIDO was currently working on a feasibility study for a 10 megawatt hydro project linked to Njala University in the Moyamba District. The USD 32 million project would be funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).  

Sierra Leone’s Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Oluniyi Robin-Coker, said that the country spends millions of Leones each month to purchase oil, much of which is used to generate electricity. “Oil imports deplete the country’s very limited funds, every penny of which is sorely needed to rebuild the economy. Worldwide oil prices are higher than they have been in a decade. Once the hydro plants are constructed, the cost of generating hydro power is a small fraction of the cost of importing oil. Hydro can be a vital element of our economic recovery programme.” Watch a video about the future hydro plant in Port Loko here

In the capital, Freetown, Director-General Yumkella and Russian Ambassador to Guinea and Sierra Leone, Aleksandr Bregadze, took part in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Fisheries Training Institute costing a total of nearly USD 1.5 million.  

Thanking the Russian Government for the funding, Yumkella said: "This new Fishery Training Institute represents a welcome expansion in the country’s fisheries potential by ensuring the presence of skilled labour for the sector. The Institute will also have a positive flow-on effect for the sustainability of the country’s marine resources and will, moreover, help to attract private investment for the sector, thus generating additional national revenue."

The training at the new Institute will commence at the end of this year. Watch a video of Director-General Yumkella speaking about the Institute here
As the co-chair of the UN Secretary-General’s high-level Group on Sustainable Energy for All, Yumkella took the opportunity to officially launch the energy initiative in Sierra Leone. The initiative has set three interlinked targets to be achieved by 2030: ensuring universal access to modern energy services; doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency; and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

Yumkella noted that increasing access to modern energy services was a prerequisite for creating social and economic opportunities that should improve the lives of the world's poorest. Progress is desperately needed, he said, as one person in five worldwide still lacks access to electricity. Nearly three billion people -- more than 40 per cent of the world -- rely on wood, coal, charcoal or animal waste for cooking and heating.

The Director-General also took part in a handing-over ceremony of a new laboratory set up as part of UNIDO’s West Africa Quality Programme implemented together with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) with funding from the European Commision. The Programme is helping harmonize standards activities and strengthen standards bodies in the region, assist in product testing and calibration/metrology, and promote quality and food safety management systems at enterprise level, among other targets. For more information, please contact: Mikhail Evstafyev UNIDO Advocacy and Communications Coordinator Tel. (43-1)-26026-5021 Mobile +43-699-1459-7329 E-mail ]]> Wed, 04 Apr 2012 10:00:00 +0200 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1173&cHash=8db6a927db66a4369a84f213f9778fa2 CONAKRY, 3 April 2012 – The Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development...
“UNIDO has a proven track record in helping Africa’s LDCs reduce poverty through sustainable industrial development. In Guinea, we are working closely with the Government to develop a flourishing productive sector, increase the country’s participation in international trade, and at the same time safeguard the environment,” said Director-General Kandeh K. Yumkella after meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Said Fofana.

Yumkella added that in Sub-Saharan Africa, over 20 per cent of young people were unemployed and over 60 per cent of Africa’s urban population was living in miserable conditions. “An increasing number of young men and women are moving to cities. Without access to jobs and means to fulfill their ambitions, they will have no future and will eventually pose a threat to social stability. With almost three quarters of the population under the age of 30, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have one of the youngest populations in the world. We have a responsibility to help them find employment. This is a major challenge but also an opportunity, and this is where UNIDO comes in to help reduce poverty through productive activities,” said Yumkella.
 
He noted that Guinea, under a strong leadership of the newly democratically elected President, had all the potential to grow economically if it were to invest strategically in a number of sectors, including in mining, agribusiness, energy, transport and telecommunication.

Yumkella is visiting Guinea and Sierra Leone for meetings with Government officials and to launch new or oversee ongoing projects worth a total of USD 15 million.

In Guinea, UNIDO projects total some USD 9 million, with France and Japan among the largest donors. The projects focus on developing multi-purpose mini-hydro power systems, phasing out Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that deplete the ozone layer (in the framework of the Montreal Protocol), and on skills training for crisis affected communities in order to help them find new employment opportunities.

A separate UNIDO project in Guinea will help in the economic empowerment of young people and women by engaging them in waste recycling. Small and medium enterprises will
be involved in collecting and processing waste in five districts of Conakry, and recruit a considerable number of unskilled and often illiterate young people.

UNIDO is also implementing a EUR 16.5 million West Africa programme that covers 16 countries and is funded by the European Commission. The programme is helping introduce international standards, harmonize laboratory operations (including product testing and calibration/metrology), promote quality and food safety management systems at enterprise level (ISO 9001 and ISO 22000), develop a regional quality infrastructure for standards, as well as national and regional quality policies. During his mission to West Africa, Director-General Yumkella is accompanied by UNIDO Managing Director Dmitri Piskounov. For more information, please contact: Mikhail Evstafyev UNIDO Advocacy and Communications Coordinator Tel. (43-1)-26026-5021 Mobile +43-699-1459-7329 E-mail

]]> Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:17:00 +0200 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1169&cHash=aeff552a45d019abc10c117111a15dd9 NEW YORK, 25 March 2012 – The Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils (GFCC) and the United...
A joint declaration on this was signed in New York today by UNIDO Director-General, Kandeh K. Yumkella, and the Chairman for the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils, Charles Holliday, who is also the Chairman of Bank of America Corporation.

Yumkella and Holliday co-chair the UN Secretary-General’s High-level group on Sustainable Energy for All, which is working to implement three complementary targets 2030: to ensure universal access to modern energy services; to double energy efficiency; and double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

“UNIDO and GFCC are establishing a strategic partnership to mobilize a critical mass of leaders and experts in order to promote sustainable economic growth and develop effective global competitiveness policies and strategies, high-value innovation business activity, scientific and technological collaboration and innovation-based growth,” said Yumkella.

“Our cooperative effort will create a platform for mutual exchange and innovative activities that will fuel productivity growth and economic prosperity. Our aim is to further engage in the global economy, manage risk and achieve resilience – as these are critical drivers for long-term, sustainable growth and competitiveness. Building strategic innovation partnerships with public and private sector leaders abroad provides opportunities to gain insight and leverage in the arena of global competition.”


]]> Sun, 25 Mar 2012 21:54:00 +0200 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1167&cHash=21827ca23492f2432fdea948ad5a25dd VIENNA, 19 March 2012 - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United Nations...
An agreement on this was signed in Vienna today by UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov, and UNIDO Director-General, Kandeh K. Yumkella.

“The memorandum of understanding will help establish a strategic partnership in the spirit of One UN that supports sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in countries such as Afghanistan,” said Fedotov.  

Fedotov and Yumkella underlined the complementary relationship between industrial development, job creation, drug control and crime prevention as vehicles for poverty alleviation, and the enhancement of human security, economic growth and sustainable development.

Yumkella added: “I am confident that the first and ultimate beneficiaries of our joint work will be those living at the grass-root level, the poor rural communities that often find themselves dependent on the cultivation of drug crops. We need to ensure that they are provided the tools to support their livelihoods, through capacity building activities and job opportunities. Afghanistan could be a pilot country to develop a joint UNODC-UNIDO pilot project.”    
 
A central focus of the agreement is the strengthening of alternative development projects in poor rural communities dependent on the cultivation of drug crops. By promoting socio-economic transformation, local communities have a stake in building a sustainable future.

The current agreement builds on a previous joint UNODC/UNIDO project to provide alternative livelihoods for opium poppy growing communities in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR). The project has focused on rehabilitating opium addicts and involving them in income-generating activities; providing social services and basic infrastructure; and improving market access for products.

Bolivia, Colombia, the Lao PDR, Peru and Thailand are among countries that have successfully implemented development-oriented drug control. In the Andean countries, jobs have been created through forestry activities and vocational training, while food security and nutrition have also been enhanced. A particularly beneficial effect is the empowerment of rural women who have set up their own businesses with micro-credit.  Environmental benefits have resulted from reforestation projects, which help to capture carbon in the atmosphere.

In promoting alternative development, UNIDO will focus on private sector development with emphasis on micro-, small and medium enterprises, agro-business development and environmental management.  

UNODC will focus on limiting the dependence of small and marginalized farming communities on illicit drug crop cultivation through the creation of legitimate livelihoods.  

For more information, please contact: Preeta Bannerjee UNODC Public Information Officer Tel. (+43-1) 26060-5764, Mobile (+43-699) 1459-5764 E-mail

Mikhail Evstafyev UNIDO Advocacy and Communications Coordinator
Tel. (43-1)-26026-5021, Mobile +43-699-1459-7329 E-mail

]]> Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:30:00 +0100 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1161&cHash=30f5571fd45c16ea9b3983ece069772e VIENNA, 8 March 2012 – Kandeh K. Yumkella, the Director-General of the United Nations Industrial...
“Rural women are active agents of economic and social change. They play a crucial role in ensuring food and nutrition security, eradicating rural poverty and improving the well-being of their families, yet many of them still face serious challenges as a result of gender-based stereotypes and discrimination that deny them equitable access to opportunities, resources and services,” said Yumkella, marking the International Women’s Day, observed on 8 March. This year, it is observed under the theme “Empower rural women - eradicate hunger and poverty”. Noting that substantial progress has been made over the last 100 years in advancing the status of women in social, economic and political spheres, Yumkella said that more work was required to raise awareness of gender equality and empower women at global, regional, national and local levels. “Women continue to face gender disparities in access to and control over land and other productive resources and infrastructure services, including energy. For rural women and men, land is perhaps the most important household asset to support production and provide for food, nutrition and income security,” said Yumkella. An international comparison of agricultural census data showed that due to a range of legal and cultural constraints in land inheritance, ownership and use, less than 20 per cent of landholders are women. Women represent fewer than 5 per cent of all agricultural land holders in North Africa and West Asia, while across Sub-Saharan Africa, women average 15 percent of agricultural land holders. “The lack of land ownership by women is a major constraint in accessing financial services, particularly credits and loans,” said the UNIDO Director-General. “Globally, one person in five lacks access to modern electricity and twice that number, three billion people, rely on wood, coal, charcoal or dung for cooking and heating. This is a daily reality for many rural women in developing countries. We have a duty to improve the lives of these women. Energy poverty must be eradicated,” said Yumkella who co-chairs Secretary-General Ban high-level group for the Sustainable Energy for All initiative.
    
The initiative has set three complementary targets to be achieved by 2030: to ensure universal access to modern energy services; to double energy efficiency; and double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. For more information on UNIDO, please contact: Mikhail Evstafyev
UNIDO Advocacy and Communications Coordinator
Telephone: (+43-1) 26026-5021
Mobile: (+43-699) 1459-7329
Email

]]> Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:16:00 +0100 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1160&cHash=08f8d6c82a50fd6b7c4dde057e371100 VIENNA, 8 March 2012 – The rate of world manufacturing output growth decelerated in 2011, amid...
UNIDO maintains an international industrial statistics database covering mining and quarrying, manufacturing and the international trade of manufactured goods.

The International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics 2012 is a joint publication of UNIDO and Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-0-85793-624-0 To read the press release in Italian, click here For further information on the report, please contact: Shyam Upadhyaya
UNIDO Chief Statistician
E-mail For more information on UNIDO, please contact: Mikhail Evstafyev
UNIDO Advocacy and Communications Coordinator
Telephone: (+43-1) 26026-5021
Mobile: (+43-699) 1459-7329
Email



]]> Thu, 08 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1159&cHash=8daf63daceddaf0632283400ad856a1f CONAKRY, 7 March 2012 – Japan will fund a United Nations Industrial Development Organization...
An agreement on this was signed in Conakry today by UNIDO Representative in the country Bafotigui Sako and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Guinea, Naotsugu Nakano.

The immediate beneficiaries of the UNIDO project will be some 4,000 young people and 50 entrepreneurial groups in Forest Guinea (Yomou, Lola, Gouecke, Beyla, Gueckedou), Upper Guinea (Siguiri, Kouroussa, Mandiana, and Kankan), and Middle Guinea, specifically in Mamou.

The project will cover a total of ten districts in Eastern Guinea, on the border with Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire and Mali, as well as in Mamou, which borders with Sierra Leone. The selected communities have been affected in the past years by natural hazards, conflicts and refugee influx.

Through training courses, organized by UNIDO, the young people will acquire entrepreneurial and technical skills suitable for productive activities, income generation and employment opportunities, which will allow them to build a new life.

UNIDO Representative Bafotigui Sako thanked the Government of Japan for its support, adding that the new project was designed to address a number of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including poverty reduction through more stable and higher-yielding
income-generating activities, environmental sustainability, and gender equality.

From 2005 to 2011, UNIDO implemented a project that helped develop community-based production centres and upgrade skills of some 6,500 people, including refugees and returnees in Forest Guinea. It was funded by the UN Trust Fund for Human Security and UNIDO.

For more information on the project, please contact:

Bafotigui Sako
UNIDO Representative in Guinea
E-mail: office.guinea@unido.org
]]> Wed, 07 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1157&cHash=afce683d0eed06514e702ccd71bf9a65 VIENNA, 2 March 2012 - The Government of Japan will fund projects to be implemented in Africa by...
The projects aim to provide vocational training and equipment for productive activities to help increase employment opportunities and income generation for  vulnerable groups, especially those affected by recent conflicts. The Director-General of UNIDO, Kandeh K. Yumkella, said that Japan was a key donor of the Organization, adding: “We have enjoyed long and fruitful cooperation with Japan. This new funding is another illustration of our strong partnership, which is vital for UNIDO’s  activities aimed at sustainable industrial development in developing countries.”

According to the Permanent Representative of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna, Ambassador Toshiro Ozawa, creating employment opportunities for youth is an important challenge in developing countries, and Japan hopes that this contribution will support UNIDO in producing tangible results within the scope of the projects.
 
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, UNIDO will support the revival of the local agro-processing sector. The project, worth USD 1,300,000, will stimulate income generation, job creation and improve food security in the province of Bas Congo. Some 1,000 households, or 4,000 people, mainly poor producers and rural entrepreneurs, among them youth and women, are expected to benefit.

In Kenya, a USD  500,000 project will assist the Government in its efforts to achieve sustainable social and economic development and at the same time conserve forests and the environment, which are threatened by encroaching farmers and displaced people. UNIDO will promote the development of bamboo micro-industries in the Mau Forest Complex, helping internally displaced people evicted from the region, and poor members of host communities, especially youth and women, to secure new jobs.  Under a second project in Kenya, with a budget of USD 1,000,000, soya bean processing technologies are to be transferred to various counterpart organizations to produce processed soya bean products, which are to be delivered particularly to refugees from Somalia that are currently in Kenya and are threatened by famine.

In Liberia, UNIDO will contribute to the Government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy aimed at revitalizing the economy in the sectors of agriculture, forestry, mining, manufacturing and services, by providing several hundred vulnerable beneficiaries, including ex-combatants and youth, with marketable skills for employment, enterprise creation and income generation opportunities. The project’s budget is USD 700,000.

In Sierra Leone, UNIDO will spend some USD 800,000 on rehabilitating and constructing Growth Centres and other basic infrastructure in rural areas, as well as on training in small-scale renewable energy applications in agriculture, fishery and other energy related services. This will help reduce post-harvest losses, facilitate the commercialization of subsistence agriculture and expand non-farm business activities to improve the human security conditions of vulnerable communities.

In Somalia’s Awdal, Maroodi-Jeex and Togdheer regions, a USD 1,500,000 project to be implemented by UNIDO will support  economic revitalization through income generation and employment creation. Over 750 people, mainly youth, poor producers and rural entrepreneurs will be the beneficiaries.

In South Sudan, UNIDO will assist the Government in its efforts towards a lasting peace, poverty eradication and sustainable social and economic development. Some 750 people, mostly internally displaced youth (including ex-combatants), are expected to benefit from the USD 1,500,000 project that will help them gaining life skills. For more information on UNIDO, please contact: Mikhail Evstafyev
UNIDO Advocacy and Communications Coordinator
Telephone: (+43-1) 26026-5021, Mobile: (+43-699) 1459-7329
E-mail]]> Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:00:00 +0100 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1154&cHash=667e8bef5046277a6002a72ccb44b883 ABUJA, 20 February 2012 – Agribusiness is key for creating wealth and employment in Africa, said...
http://www.youtube.com/user/UNIDObeta#p/u/6/C23tW_MjnFE 

The book is available in English and French and can be downloaded here
For printed copies and further information, please email: publications@unido.org
For further information about "Agribusiness for Africa's Prosperity" and UNIDO's programmes in agribusiness please contact:
Philippe Scholtès
Director, UNIDO Agribusiness Development Branch
 E-mail
]]> Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1149&cHash=11f7771a9ab03bafadd177cb595b60d8 BRUSSELS, 8 February 2012 - Kandeh K. Yumkella, Chair of UN-Energy, today announced a... For more information on Sustainable Energy for All, please visit: http://www.sustainableenergyforall.org   ]]> Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:57:00 +0100 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1148&cHash=7e51fe3fa12b247ef1141f2d05290306 BRUSSELS, 6 February 2012 – The international charity Practical Action, the UN Foundation, and the...
In order to spur economic growth, address global inequities and preserve the environment, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has established the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative, which sets three targets to be achieved by 2030: to ensure universal access to modern energy services; to double energy efficiency; and double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

The year 2012 has been designated by the UN General Assembly as the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All.

High-level participants at the Brussels launch will include Kandeh K. Yumkella, UNIDO Director-General and co-Chair of Secretary-General Ban’s high-level Group on Sustainable Energy for All; Andris Piebalgs, EU Development Commissioner; Grace Mukasa, East African Director of Practical Action; Stephen Leonard, CEO IBM; Norbert Neuser, MEP and Member of the International Development Committee; and Måns Nilsson, Deputy Director and Research Director, Stockholm Environment Institute.

Journalists are invited to the event which starts at 8:00, on Wednesday, 8 February, at Paul Henri Spaak 4B001, European Parliament. Dr. Kandeh K. Yumkella will also be available for interviews between 09:00 – 10:00. For more information, please contact:     

Sheila Redzepi
Tel. +32 497 581 364
E-mail: sredzepi@webershandwick.com   For more information on UNIDO, please contact: Mikhail Evstafyev
UNIDO Advocacy and Communications Coordinator
Tel. +43-1-26026-5021
Mobile +43-699-1459-7329
E-mail

For more information on the energy for all goals, visit

www.sustainableenergyforall.org/about  
]]> Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:50:00 +0100 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1147&cHash=2fa31b97645dfd17fce5a9346f4d79c0 NEW DELHI, 1 February 2012 – Kandeh K. Yumkella, Director-General of the United Nations Industrial...
Yumkella, who also co-chairs the UN Secretary-General’s High-level group on Sustainable Energy for All, told participants at a conference here that new commitments and investments in sustainable energy were critical for Asia’s development.

“Reaching the goal of sustainable energy for all will require action by all countries and all sectors to shape the policy and investment decisions needed for a brighter energy future. Industrialized countries must accelerate the transition to low-emission technologies. Developing countries, many of them growing rapidly and at large scale, have the opportunity to leapfrog conventional energy options and move directly to cleaner energy alternatives that will enhance economic and social development,” said Yumkella at the 12th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
 
Globally, one person in five lacks access to modern electricity and twice that number, three billion people, rely on wood, coal, charcoal or animal waste for cooking and heating. In developed countries, the problem is a substantial waste of energy.

In order to spur economic growth, address global inequities and preserve the environment, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has established the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative. The Secretary-General has set three complementary targets to be achieved by 2030: to ensure universal access to modern energy services; to double energy efficiency; and double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

In order to achieve these objectives, the Secretary-General is calling on all stakeholders to make global commitments to action which will drive real change on the ground.

To help guide this Initiative the Secretary-General has appointed a High-level Group of eminent global leaders from business, finance, government and civil society to mobilize and facilitate commitments to action which  will help drive change on the ground, in corporate board rooms, and in policy discussions around the world. The High-level group’s other co-chair is Charles Holliday, the Chairman of Bank of America Corporation.

”I strongly believe that now more than ever, the world needs to ensure that the benefits of modern energy are available to all and that energy is provided as cleanly and efficiently as possible. This is a matter of equity, first and foremost, but it is also an issue of urgent practical importance,” said Yumkella. 

Other participants in the Asian regional rollout of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative in New Delhi today included Farooq Abdullah, Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, and member of the high-level Group on Sustainable Energy for All; Peter Bakker, President, World Business Council on Sustainable Development; Patrice Couer-Bizot, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, India; Bindu N. Lohani, Vice President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development, Asian Development Bank; Rajendra K. Pachauri, TERI Director-General; David Sandalow, Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy; and Erik Solheim, Norwegian Minister of Environment and International Development.

For more information, please contact:

Mikhail Evstafyev
UNIDO Advocacy and Communications Coordinator
Tel. +43-1-26026-5021
Mobile +43-699-1459-7329
E-mail


For more information on the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, please visit: www.sustainableenergyforall.org  ]]> Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1145&cHash=211df78cad8ea4f8a39c2a59bef086a7 VIENNA, 25 January 2012 – Italy will fund a new project by the United Nations Industrial... This work will require strong oversight and guidance from international experts, so the project includes provision for an International Scientific Advisory Committee (ISAC) which UNIDO will coordinate. The funding will also enable UNIDO to work with the South African Departments of Trade, Industry and Health, as they consider and implement plans for the local production of active pharmaceutical ingredients for anti-retroviral drugs. These ingredients are currently imported, a situation which represents a potential threat to the long term sustainability of HIV/Aids treatment programmes. According to the Joint U.N. Programme on HIV/Aids, South Africa has the largest HIV/Aids burden in the world with adult prevalence of 21.5 per cent. Addressing this catastrophe requires action on multiple fronts, including treatment of those infected and programmes to reduce the rate of further infections. Ultimately a vaccine to immunise people against the virus would provide a means to enable the pandemic to be thwarted, and in the event that a therapeutic vaccine to “cure” those infected could be developed, the scourge caused by the disease and the substantial financial burden represented by the cost of treatment could be reversed. The work in South Africa will be coordinated with UNIDO’s ongoing global project, which. focuses on strengthening the local production of essential medicines in developing and least developed countries. UNIDO has been working closely with stakeholders in Kenya and Ghana to develop and ultimately implement strategies for the pharmaceutical sectors, and has worked at the individual company level in Botswana, Cameroon and Ghana. It is also engaging with various policy making bodies at the global, regional and sub-regional level, and is a member of the Southern African Development Community’s pharmaceutical task force. Recently, UNIDO entered into a partnership with the African Union Commission to help accelerate the implementation of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa. “Local production of medicines has a number of benefits from a health perspective. It enables tighter regulatory control by national authorities, and shortens supply chains for finished products. This can protect against stock outs. However, the locally produced drugs must be of appropriate quality and affordable for public procurement and out of pocket expenditure,” said UNIDO Industrial Development Officer, Juergen Reinhardt. “UNIDO seeks to help developing countries improve quality standards whilst maintaining and, ideally, improving the competitiveness of the local players. We are looking to go beyond the purely technical aspects of production by developing an enabling business environment for competitive local production, the facilitation of investment and technology transfer, and long term development of human resources and know how. This will help improve access to medicines for people suffering from high profile pandemic diseases, and diseases for which less international funding and international regulatory oversight is present,” added Reinhardt. For more information on the project, please contact: Juergen Reinhardt
UNIDO Industrial Development Officer                
E-mail ]]> Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0100