UNDP's International Centre for Private Sector in Development

A new UNDP center opened its doors last week in Istanbul, Turkey. This new facility is called UNDP's International Centre for Private Sector in Development, and according to UNDP administrator Helen Clark, it aims to engage the private sector in anti-poverty efforts and to be a source of expertise on building business models that promote home-grown enterprises and create employment in developing nations. The private sector has a main role in fostering economic growth and development, and institutions like this centre will be of great help, since they serve as knowledge depots and a way to link local, regional and global development actors.

“People in country after country are calling not only for new freedoms and an end to injustice, but also for the chance to earn a decent wage and improve their standard of living. To meet their aspirations, countries need dynamic and competitive businesses creating jobs and spurring innovation” claimed Clark during the opening event. By actions like this brand new centre, UNDP tries to involve the private sector in international development and commit it to advance towards the accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals.

- David Nebreda

SOURCE: UNDP

Did you know?

On December 10, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document enshrining more than two dozen unalienable rights given to all people regardless of citizenship, sex, race, or religion.

One of the rights mentioned in the U.D.H.R. is the right to work. The belief that all people should have an equal opportunity to earn enough money to provide for themselves and their family. This has been a controversial right at times and is much easier promoted than actually implemented For example, how can we as a society, particularly in times of economic recession, ensure that all citizens have employment?

I bring this up because in 2005 the United Progressive Alliance of India was re-elected primarily on their promise that they would guarantee one hundred days of work for each rural adult who would perform public service manual labor. Many rural Indians perform agricultural work during the growing season and then travel to the cities to perform construction work, but the slowing of the economy has meant that those urban jobs are no longer there. Thankfully, India has provided an important safety net to ensure that families are still able to earn a wage. The work that they do ranges from water conservation projects to planting trees and building roads, all important to ensure that India continues its path of development.

While there have been criticisms of the program, ranging from its cost to its universal methods of application (meaning individual villages are not consulted on their needs but are subjected to what the national government believes they need), the 45 million Indians who were given a job because of it are surely grateful that India supports the right to work.

-Corey Cox

SOURCE: United Nations Development Programme

Maria Sharapova Gives Quarter Million Dollars for UNDP projects

Tennis star Maria Sharapova was appointed a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador in 2007. Her role is to support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, with an emphasis on promoting the recovery of Chernobyl-affected areas.

On July 1 Sharapova made a personal contribution of US $250,000.00 to expand a UNDP-supported programme that provides sports and physical activities for youth in the area affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Sharapova said that despite the challenges, “I’ve seen progress in Gomel and kids with a great potential to do even more. What they need is to work hard and believe in themselves. Having supported health and education initiatives, I am very happy to start contributing on sports and physical activities that promote healthy lifestyles.”


-Molly McNeill

SOURCE: UNDP News

UNDP Launches Economics and Gender Curriculum

On June 11, 2010 a new degree at Makerere University in Uganda, launched in conjunction with the UNDP, a new Master of Arts degree focusing economics and gender in which, is the first of its kind in an African University.

The degree is aimed at arming policy makers and planners with knowledge and tools to apply gender consideration in economic analysis and policy-making.

"It is expected that the course will lead to better streamlining of gender issues in policy formulation and planning at various levels; national, regional and beyond," said a UNDP communications advisor. "It is also expected that the skills and rigorous analysis that will be gained from the course will contribute to accelerating achievement of the Millennium development Goal on Gender (Goal 3)."

Dr. Gabriel Opio, Uganda's Minister of Gender Labour & Social Development said, "The Masters Degree will provide Africa with a new generation of economists, planners and policy makers, who are aware of the costs of existing gender inequalities." He said the cost to national development incurred from gender inequalities is immense.


-Molly McNeill

SOURCE: UNDP