GRÓ‘s status under the auspices of UNESCO renewed until 2034

A renewal agreement for the period 2026-2034 was signed on the 10th of February by Ms. Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Minister for Foreign Affairs. The agreement had previously been signed by the Director General of UNESCO, Mr. Khaled El-Enany and Nína Björk Jónsdóttir, Director General of the GRÓ Centre.

Ahead of the renewal UNESCO commissioned an external evaluation, conducted by GOPA Worldwide Consultants, to evaluate the performance of GRÓ as a Category 2 Centre, to assess if a renewal of the agreement should be recommended to UNESCO and the Government of Iceland. The evaluation, looked at the period since the entry into force of the previous agreeement, in February 2020 and recommended the renewal of the agreement.

The GRÓ Centre warmly welcomes the renewed mandate and looks forward to continued close cooperation with UNESCO and its partners in promoting knowledge sharing and sustainable development across the globe.