Iceland and UNESCO establish GRÓ - International Centre for Capacity Development – Sustainable use of Natural Resources and Societal Change
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson and Director General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay signed an agreement on December 16. establishing GRÓ - International Centre for Capacity Development – Sustainable use of Natural Resources and Societal Change, as a Category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO.
GRÓ is the first multidisciplinary Category 2 Centre in UNESCO’s network. The centre brings together four areas of expertise and training that until now have operated as schools of the United Nations University in Iceland: the Gender Equality Studies & Training Programme, the Geothermal Training Programme, the Land Restoration Training Programme and the Fisheries Training Programme. The training programmes will continue to be funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs as part of Iceland’s international development cooperation.
The centre’s mission is to support capacity development in Africa, Asia and Central and South America in the centre’s four areas of expertise and thus strengthening their abilities to attain international and national targets set with respect to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Each year groups of specialists from developing countries come to Iceland for specialized programmes lasting 5-6 months and shorter courses are hosted by the schools in developing countries. In addition, graduates from the training programmes can apply for grants for master’s or PhD studies in Iceland. The establishment of GRÓ is meant to further support the schools without disturbing their core operations. The schools will continue to enhance individual and institutional capacities in developing countries in their respective fields of expertise and will continue to be hosted in cooperation with their professional institutes, the National Energy Authority, the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, The Soil Conservation Service of Iceland, the Agricultural University of Iceland and the University of Iceland.