The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 led to a global lockdown, prompting over half of the world’s population to stay at home. During this time, people were encouraged to use the opportunity to self-study and learn new skills. In response to this, the United Nations System has maintained an overview of e-Learning tools and online courses offered by various UN agencies. These courses cover a wide range of topics, from sustainable development to human rights, climate change to nuclear safety, and many more.
One of the courses available is the new UN course that helps cut through the noise to bolster online safety. This course, as reported by UN News in November 2022, aims to provide valuable insights into online safety in today’s digital age. It is designed to help individuals navigate the complexities of the online world and protect themselves from potential risks.
Another valuable resource is the United Nations Speech Bank for interpreters. This e-learning tool is specifically designed to help students and candidates prepare for United Nations competitive examinations for language positions and global language register exams. It provides a comprehensive platform for individuals to enhance their language skills and prepare for a career in interpretation within the UN system.
The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) offers a Digital Learning Centre that provides access to the latest knowledge for implementing the 2030 Agenda. This curated repository of digital capacity-building resources is open to the public and offers a wide range of digital learning resources on various topics related to sustainable development.
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) offers the IDEP eLearning Platform, which focuses on assisting African governments in their training efforts and capacity building in economic management and planning. The platform provides general and specialized courses tailored to the needs of African member states at senior and middle levels.
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) offers training courses and workshops to strengthen the technical skills and competencies of participants in various areas related to the Commission’s work. These courses are designed to enhance the professional skills of technical staff, decision-makers, and experts in public authorities and civil society.
The Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) provides learning and training programmes to develop the technical, managerial, and institutional capacities of member governments. These programmes aim to support inclusive and sustainable development, with a focus on least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states.
The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) offers an e-learning portal that provides courses on various development issues relevant to the Arab region. The platform offers self-paced and facilitated courses on topics such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, climate change, poverty, gender equality, urban development, and public sector leadership.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) offers the FAO eLearning Academy, which provides learning opportunities and multilingual eLearning courses for professionals working in food and nutrition security, social and economic development, and sustainable management of natural resources. The platform aims to strengthen the capacity of member countries to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Human Rights Council (HRC) offers an e-Learning tool on the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms. This interactive and gender-aware tool is designed for government officials from least developed countries and small island developing states, as well as UN staff members, representatives of NGOs, civil society organizations, and national human rights institutions.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) offers a wide spectrum of education and training activities, including face-to-face training courses, online learning, fellowship programmes, and schools on various nuclear-related topics. The IAEA’s CyberLearning Platform for Network Education and Training (CLP4NET) provides online courses on nuclear safety and security, radiation protection, sustainable energy development, and the use of nuclear applications.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) offers e-learning courses on rural and agricultural development issues. These courses are designed to enhance the knowledge and skills of individuals working in the field of agriculture and rural development.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) provides e-Learning tools on child labour and offers courses on making universal social protection a reality. The ILO’s International Training Centre (ITC-ILO) offers learning, knowledge-sharing, and institutional capacity-building programmes for governments, workers‘ and employers‘ organizations, and development partners.
InforMEA is the United Nations Information Portal on Multilateral Environmental Agreements, offering an e-learning platform with over 30 courses in more than 60 language versions. The platform provides free, self-paced courses on various environmental topics, searchable by key terms across treaty texts, COP decisions, national plans and reports, laws, court decisions, and more.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) offers an Online Learning Program to strengthen technical knowledge and expertise in government agencies for developing and implementing sound economic and financial policies. The IMF’s online training program provides courses on macroeconomic analysis and policies, public debt and financial management, central banking law, inclusive growth, macroeconomic statistics, and more.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) offers an e-Learning portal with courses aimed at increasing the capacity of Member States to effectively implement IMO instruments. The platform provides courses on energy saving at sea and other maritime-related topics.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) offers the IOM e-Campus, a learning platform with online courses and training materials on migration. The platform provides courses in multiple languages on topics related to migration and is designed for individuals interested in learning about migration issues.
The International Telecommunication Academy (ITU) offers the ITU Academy, an online gateway to ITU’s capacity development activities in the field of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and digital development. The platform provides a wide range of training activities and knowledge resources for individuals interested in ICT and digital development.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) offers ReliefWeb, a humanitarian information service that provides training programs and job listings for humanitarian organizations. ReliefWeb helps disseminate career and training opportunities to a global audience.
The SDG AcademyX offers free online courses on sustainable development topics, addressing challenges such as sustainable cities, human rights, and climate action. The courses are interactive and led by sustainable development experts, providing learners with the opportunity to engage with a global community of learners.
The One UN Climate Change Learning Partnership (UN CC:Learn) is a joint initiative of more than 30 multilateral organizations helping countries achieve climate change action through general climate literacy and applied skills development. UN CC:Learn provides strategic advice and quality learning resources to help individuals, governments, and businesses understand, adapt, and build resilience to climate change.
The United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) offers an e-learning course on net zero, designed to provide a foundational understanding of climate change and net zero. The course is self-paced and requires no prior knowledge of climate science, offering a digital certificate upon completion.
UN SDG:Learn provides a gateway for individuals and organizations to access a wealth of SDG-related learning products and services from the United Nations, multilateral organizations, universities, civil society, academia, and the private sector. The platform empowers individuals and organizations to make informed decisions when selecting among the available SDG-related learning resources.
The UN Women Training Centre offers a global and innovative online platform for training on gender equality. The eLearning Campus is open to everyone interested in advancing gender equality, women’s empowerment, and women’s rights through training and learning.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) offers e-Learning on Trade, providing courses on trade, gender, and development, as well as non-tariff measures in trade. The platform hosts courses designed by UNCTAD’s Division of International Trade and Commodities.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) offers the ‚Standards for the SDGs‘ e-learning platform, designed to enhance global understanding of quality infrastructure and its importance for sustainable development. The platform provides courses in risk management, conformity assessment, and market surveillance.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) offers Massive Open Online Courses on critical environmental issues, as well as an eLearning platform with courses, workshops, and seminars on various environmental topics. The platform aims to educate individuals on environmental issues and promote sustainable development.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) offers the UNESCO Open Learning platform, providing e-learning capacities for online course development and dissemination on science-related topics. The platform offers free online courses on freedom of expression, safety of journalists, and integrating the Memory of the World International Register in teaching.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) offers the WIPO eLearning Center, providing courses on intellectual property for inventors, creators, business managers, policymakers, diplomats, students, and teachers. The courses aim to stimulate innovation, creativity, and development through the protection of intellectual property rights.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) offers e-Learning platforms with courses on WTO subjects and digital trade opportunities for developing economies. The platforms aim to enhance the learning experience for beneficiaries of WTO technical assistance and the general public.
The World Bank Group Open Learning Campus provides dynamic learning opportunities for individuals to tackle development challenges. The platform offers comprehensive learning curricula with wider access and enhanced learner experience, equipping individuals with the knowledge and capabilities to address the toughest development challenges.
In conclusion, the United Nations System offers a wide range of e-Learning tools and online courses on various topics to enhance knowledge, skills, and capacity building. These resources provide valuable opportunities for individuals, governments, organizations, and institutions to learn, grow, and contribute to sustainable development and global progress.