In-Person or Online

See the 2021 programme   See the 2022 programme See the 2023 programme

In 2021, seeing the success of its Young Changemaker Incubator programme, UNITAR appointed The ITS Education Asia Foundation to co-run the Youth Ambassador Asia-Pacific Programme (YAAPP). Over the coming years this Programme will bring opportunity to youth in an ever widening circle of empowerment across the Asia-Pacific region. See the press release here.

Programme content and outcomes

2024 will see further expansion of participating countries. The Programme will run across 8 Saturday afternoons but will now be fully virtual to allow its international nature. Sessions will be led by UNITAR staff (Hiroshima office), ITS SDG teachers and a variety of expert contributors. Past experts have been from SAP, Fung Group, MIT, Wharton, YouKuai, Uplink, World Economic Forum, Ghana Energy Commission, Microsoft, University of Tokyo and more

The Programme will also align with the Summit for the Future taking place during the United Nations Generally Assembly week in September 2024. The purpose of this summit is to make a pact for the future and a declaration on future generations, seeing how multiple small actions and the involvement of youth can shift the dial on sustainable development. Thus our YAAPP theme for 2024 is "Local Solutions for Global Challenges: Youth Empowerment and Community Impact".

Outcomes:

• receive official United Nations Institute of Training & Research certificate
• become a UNITAR Youth Ambassador, Asia Pacific
• gain access to the global SDG education network
• attend real-life UN and other international events e.g. UN General Assembly (both live stream and in-person)
• qualify for nomination to UN youth committees and organizations

About UNITAR

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) was created in 1963 to train young diplomats from newly-independent UN Member States to function in the diplomatic environment.

Over the years, UNITAR has acquired unique expertise and experience in designing and delivering a variety of training activities and its strategy is fully focused on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) using four of the five thematic pillars - Peace, People, Planet & Prosperity.

UNITAR provides training and capacity development activities to assist mainly developing countries with special attention to the most vulnerable. UNITAR programmes are delivered both face-to-face and via e-Learning and overseen from UNITAR’s Headquarters in Geneva.

The Institute is a project-based organization and does not receive any funds from the regular United Nations budget. UNITAR is financed from voluntary contributions derived mainly from UN Member States, other UN agencies, international and intergovernmental foundations NGOs and the private sector.