Signing of host institution agreement
Today a new host institution agreement was signed between the GRÓ Centre for Capacity Development under the auspices of UNESCO and the Agricultural University of Iceland. On this occasion the Chairman of the GRÓ Governing Board, Mr. Jón Karl Ólafsson and the GRÓ Centre Director General, Ms. Bryndís Kjartansdóttir, were welcomed at the premises of GRÓ LRT where the agreement was signed by Mr. Jón Karl Ólafsson and Dr. Ragnheiður I. Þórarinsdóttir, the Rector of the Agricultural University of Iceland.
While hosted by the Agricultural University of Iceland (AUI), the Land Restoration Training Programme is jointly implemented by AUI and the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland (SCSI) as both institutions provide GRÓ LRT with expertise, training facilities and a solid learning environment. The collaboration of the two institutions builds upon over 14 years of partnership and experience in building advanced training programme in land restoration and sustainable land management for professionals in developing countries.
Earlier this year LRT became a part of the GRÓ Centre, a UNESCO category 2 centre, through an agreement signed by the Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Director-General of UNESCO. GRÓ’s mission is to strengthen individual, organisational and institutional capacities in developing and conflict/post-conflict countries to deliver development results in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This work is carried out through four capacity development training programmes, which are beside the Land Restoration Training Programme (LRT): the Geothermal Training Programme (GTP), the Fisheries Training Programme (FTP) and the Gender Equality Studies and Training Programme (GEST).
We look forward to continuing our strong collaboration with AUI and SCSI as well as the other three GRÓ Training Programmes and the GRÓ Centre under the auspices of UNESCO.