School of Environmental

WASTE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY 

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES

UCN International Programs Division School of Environmental and Waste Management will partner and collaborate with institutions and organisations globally in fostering environmental and waste management awareness and skills.

The School of Environmental and Waste Management will work on establishing co-operations with international universities and university networks in the study areas, like United Nations University and Global Virtual University, as well as with organisations, such as UNITAR, CIFAL, WASTE and ACEPESA, as well as with the Air & Waste Management Association A & WMA, and with ISWA, with SANET to name but a few.  

About UNITAR (http://www.unitar.org/about_en.htm):  

“The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) was established in 1965 as an autonomous body within the United Nations with the purpose of enhancing the effectiveness of the Organization through appropriate training and research. UNITAR is governed by a Board of Trustees and is headed by an Executive Director. The Institute is supported by voluntary contributions from governments, intergovernmental organizations, foundations, and other non-governmental sources. UNITAR’s mission is to deliver innovative training and conduct research on knowledge systems to develop the capacity of beneficiaries. Building on our experience, we optimize expertise, information and knowledge-sharing to achieve this mission.”

About the UNITAR-CIFAL web (http://www.unitar.org/cifalweb/english/index.htm):  

“The objective of CIFAL Web is to help urban actors put in place and manage viable and sustainable basic services which respond to the demand. It also aims to facilitate the exchange of experiences between local actors to guarantee access to basic services.

This rather technical aspect of basic services is part of the general framework of sustainable urban development. In the management of cities, local stakeholders should aim at integrated and sustainable development. They must have a long-term and holistic vision of development for the whole community: good quality of life everywhere, reduction of social inequalities, urban projects which are acceptable from an economic and social point of view for the city and the planet. However, the costs of this development must not be borne by other communities, generations or the ecosystems.
To reach this goal, urban development projects should try to balance economic, social and environmental concerns. Policy decisions favorable to sustainable development require some adjustments between different, sometimes even contradictory approaches as well as changes in the management of city affairs. Since each city is a community with a number of interests, local authorities must reconcile these various values and objectives. In this context, sustainable development must integrate the notion of good governance.

Today, the UN wants to give back a central role to actors in society working on development issues and intends to set up bodies through which it can work in conjunction with them. At the same time, the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg examined issues related to key sectors of the environment (energy, drinking water etc.). Integrating the principles of sustainable development into international and local policies has today become a priority. In this context, the Decentralized Cooperation Program, with its network of CIFAL centers (International Training Centers for Local Actors) is a hub for information, communication and training between intergovernmental organizations and local actors such as local authorities, public and private companies, civil society and academia.

About Global Virtual University (http://gvu.unu.edu/about.cfm):    

“Under the auspices of the United Nations University (UNU) the Global Virtual University (GVU) is a consortium of universities that work together to enhance learning for environmental sustainability. Through a range of online study programmes and courses offered by partner universities, the mission of GVU is to increase people's sensitivity to and involvement in finding solutions for environment and development issues. The consortium acknowledges the importance of education for development and is particularly designed to meet the educational needs of the developing world.

Online learning (e-learning) forms the basic educational method for all our study programmes and courses. This implies that a substantial part of teaching, collaboration, and supervision take place on the Internet. The pedagogy has a social constructivist approach, which means that group work, online discussions and joint assignments are important. It further implies that an active and regular participation among the students is essential. Students meet their classmates in virtual classrooms, in some cases supported by a face to face session in the beginning of the course.”

“The UNU-GVU Consortium in Education for Sustainable Development partners cooperate in the development and implementation of online study programmes, short courses and modules that are designed to serve the needs and enhance the capacities of academic institutions in developing countries in the field of education for sustainable development.   Partners are expected to share expertise on pedagogical approaches, content and instructional design methodologies, course implementation, quality assurance, and course evaluation.” (http://gvu.unu.edu/partners.cfm?pageid=1015)

About United Nations University (http://unu.edu/about/):  

“UNU is dedicated to the generation and transfer of knowledge, and the strengthening of individual and institutional capacities in furtherance of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

The mission of UNU is to contribute, through research and capacity building, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems that are a concern of the United Nations, its Peoples and Member States.

In fulfilling this mission, UNU fosters intellectual cooperation among scholars, scientists, and practitioners worldwide — especially those in the developing world — and functions as:

an international community of scholars;

a bridge between the United Nations and the international academic community;

a think-tank for the United Nations system;

a builder of capacity, particularly in developing countries; and

a platform for dialogue and new and creative ideas.

In 2005, UNU celebrated its 30th year of existence as an autonomous organ of the United Nations General Assembly. In institutional terms, three decades is a short time; UNU is only half the age of its parent organizations, the United Nations and UNESCO (which celebrated their 60th anniversaries in 2005)

But from the perspective of UNU's evolution, and its contributions "to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations, its Peoples and Members States," the University's first three decades represent a significant period of achievement. Since its modest beginnings in September 1975, UNU has grown and matured into a decentralized, global network comprising UNU Centre in Tokyo, a worldwide network of 13 UNU Research and Training Centres/Programmes (UNU RTC/Ps), and liaison offices at United Nations headquarters (New York) and UNESCO headquarters (Paris).

To ensure that its work remains relevant and responsive to the rapid and profound changes of our modern world, UNU continues to evolve and expand. A new RTC/P, focusing on issues of global health, became operational in 2006.

UNU is one of the smaller United Nations organizations, and is reliant on voluntary contributions. Yet, the University has increasingly enhanced the nature and impact of its contributions to the UN system and to the international academic community.

Within its unique position as the only university in the United Nations system, UNU undertakes a wide range of knowledge generation, knowledge transfer, and knowledge application/management activities: basic and applied research, foresight and policy studies, capacity development, networking/collaboration with external partners, and dissemination and outreach.”

About WASTE (http://www.waste.nl/page/169):    

“WASTE is an adviser for development projects in countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe . WASTE aims at sustainable improvement of the urban environment and improvement of the living conditions of the low-income population.

WASTE has expert knowledge on domestic solid and liquid waste management and sanitation issues. By forming alliances with other agencies and companies we consolidate this knowledge and work more efficiently.

On the overall WASTE carries out assignments in close co-operation with local partners and strives at strengthening local capacity. Within the ISSUE programme (2003-2006) several regional consortia are formed in West Africa, East Africa, Central America, India and The Philippines. During ISSUE 2 the number of districts have extended to 15, which means that many more consortia will be formed.”

About ACEPESA (http://www.waste.nl/page/1436):    

„ACEPESA - Central American Association for Economy, Health and Environment: ACEPESA - The Central American Association for Economy, Health and Environment is a non- Governmental Organisation, conformed in 1991 by a group of professionals. ACEPESA has the objective to contribute to the integrated and sustainable human development of the Central American Region, by means of the promotion and fortification of the local stakeholders and the impulse of sustainable initiatives of decentralization, offering technical assistance and capacity building for the promotion of sustainable local development.”

About Air & Waste Management Association (http://www.awma.org/):  

“The Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA) is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan professional organization that provides training, information, and networking opportunities to more than 10,000 environmental professionals in 65 countries. The Association’s goals are to strengthen the environmental profession, expand scientific and technological responses to environmental concerns, and assist professionals in critical environmental decision making to benefit society.”

About SANET Sustainable Alternatives Network (http://www.sustainablealternatives.net/elearning.cfm):   

“At the end of 2005, SANet (the Sustainable Alternatives Network) offered an exciting online learning opportunity for engineering professionals who want to broaden their expertise in industrial energy efficiency. This pilot course was taught by the Sustainable Alternatives Network (SANet) team, a joint initiative of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF).”

About ISWA, the International Solid Waste Association (http://www.iswa.org/web/guest/aboutiswa):

“ISWA – The International Solid Waste Association - is an international, independent and non-profit making association, working in the public interest to promote and develop sustainable waste management worldwide. ISWA has members around the world and is the only worldwide association promoting sustainable and professional waste management.

The Association is open to individuals and organisations from the scientific community, public institutions and public and private companies from all over the world working in the field of and interested in waste management.

ISWA is the only world-wide association that is working on waste matters. Being part of our association will give you an unparalleled access to international organisations such as UNEP, the WHO, or in Europe the EU, where ISWA is an accredited association for waste questions. Through our Working Groups, we help these international organisations form policy by supplying technical papers and opinions regarding waste practices. It is also the only world-wide waste organisation, which allows you to net-work with professionals, companies and institutional representatives.

By being part of ISWA you too can make a fundamental contribution to politicans and decision-makers around the world to develop waste management strategies.”

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