UNDP United Nations Development Program [to 3 May 2014]
http://www.us.undp.org/content/undp/en/home.html

04 May 2014
Helen Clark: Statement at the Abu Dhabi Ascent: Conference In Support Of the UN Climate Summit 2014
With strong partnerships, there is good potential to make a big breakthrough on curbing deforestation. Recent announcements by governments and the private sector pave the way, and I hope will inspire others to act. We must act on our conviction that it is possible to increase inclusive growth and improve local livelihoods, while forests are kept standing and contributing to climate change mitigation and maintaining biodiversity. Through REDD+ and with the support of all stakeholders, we CAN achieve these goals simultaneously.

01 May 2014
Sierra Leone launches vast youth plan to create 1 million new jobs and expand higher education
Sierra Leone has unveiled a USD 217 million plan to create one million new jobs by 2018. The initiative also aims to provide access to secondary and higher education to 300,000 new students over the next three years.

28 Apr 2014
Helen Clark: Speech at the 2014 EU High Level Resilience Forum
Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator
at the 2014 EU High Level Resilience Forum
28 April 2014, 9am to 10.15am
Brussels, Belgium
Excerpt
Thank you, Commissioner Georgieva, for inviting me to speak at the first EU High Level Forum on Resilience.
As a development organization, UNDP is very aware of the highly detrimental impact which disasters and crises – both man-made and those due to natural hazards – have on local, national, and global development efforts. Too often we see decades of hard work and billions of dollars in investments washed away by a hurricane, leveled by an earthquake, or destroyed in a war…
…The increasing importance given to supporting countries and communities to build resilience to all types of risk, stems from this growing understanding that the issues of poverty, crisis, and conflict are intertwined.
The EU’s Joint Instruction Letter on Resilience defines resilience as the “ability of an individual, a household, a community, a country or a region to withstand, to adapt, and to quickly recover from stresses and shocks”. This resonates with UNDP’s own understanding of resilience. Our approach also emphasizes the importance of transforming the structures and systems which repeatedly perpetuate fragility and undermine resilience.
External shocks can open up the space required to initiate transformation, but only if opportunities to negotiate a different, more inclusive, and fairer future, and lay the foundations for political, institutional, social and economic reform, are seized. With this definition in mind, forward momentum and action will depend on three components: the three 3Cs of commitment, collaboration, and clarity.
I have been particularly impressed by how swiftly the EU has been able to generate the first – namely, commitment and buy-in from its Member States. Engagement of key constituencies in capitals has helped secure the high level political commitment required to be an effective partner to crisis-affected populations in high-risk contexts..

28 Apr 2014
Advisory Committee calls on UNDP to address inequalities and enabling environment
The 11th annual meeting of the UNDP Civil Society Advisory Committee concluded last week following critical discussions on the new UNDP strategic plan, UNDP’s engagement with Civil Society at national and regional levels and the challenges and opportunities of the post-2015 development framework.