UN Fellows Orientation Workshop

The UN Fellows Orientation workshop is an integral part of the Italian Fellowships Programme for Technical Cooperation Capacity Building and Human Resources Development, which is sponsored by the Government of Italy and implemented by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN/DESA). Through this Programme, young skilled professionals are selected for a one-year placement in the field offices of either International Organizations or the Italian Development Cooperation. The workshop is customised to the professional development needs of UN fellows irrespective of their future duty stations and functions. The overall goal is to provide UN fellows relevant information, knowledge, tools, skills and resources to strengthen their operational capacities in the field of bilateral and multilateral international cooperation and to raise their awareness about various situations they might encounter during their placement. The Workshop combines self-guided study of on-line modules, plenary instruction sessions associated with group work and self-guided group work assisted by a coach. The modality is entirely on-line with an e campus, synchronous Zoom sessions and sessions in Virtual Reality. The workshop fosters knowledge exchange and experience sharing and peer-to-peer learning. OBJECTIVES In terms of competences, UN fellows have: - Deepened their knowledge of the core substance and processes related to the 2030 Agenda; - Familiarised themselves with priorities and operational mechanisms of the Italian cooperation system; - A good understanding of the UN reform process and priorities; - Acquired insights into the coordination of UN interventions in fragile settings and in the context of the triple Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus; - Developed their knowledge of the UN programming approaches and tools at country level; - An improved knowledge and skills on project cycle management including analysis, design, monitoring and evaluation; - Acquired a toolkit for systemic change management, interpersonal communication and self-leadership in this phase of their career; - A deepened understanding and skills of the UN core competencies related to Communication, Respect for Diversity, Team work; and - Developed behavioural skills for safety, health and stress management. CONTENT The Orientation Workshop has been an opportunity to increase knowledge and to facilitate a better understanding of the following topics: - United Nations – The reform process; 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals; UN coordination at country level; national-level processes and tools to mainstream, finance and review the SDGs; humanitarian-development-peace nexus, case study of the ILO’s programming and financing strategies; - The Italian Development Cooperation – The institutional and operation framework of the Italian Development Cooperation; AICS Country Offices: role and responsibilities; programmes and projects; Donor-UN-AICS coordination at country level; - Workplace Skills – RBM and adaptive management approaches, project design, monitoring and evaluation; safety and security, health management; communication and systemic change in the context of development cooperation; self-leadership and empowerment and successful communication; - Personal development through group coaching and follow-up individual coaching for career development; - Networking and Experience Sharing – Knowledge sharing and networking through exchange among participants, with 2021/2022 UN Fellows currently in the field, and with experts.