UNIDO Times

OCTOBER 2010 ISSUE 01

UNIDO

TimesCONTENTS

02 News & features

04 Special feature: UNIDO's

support in aiding Iraq's

post-crisis development

05 Special feature: curriculum

development in Mozambique

supports building businesses

06 Regional focus: project

summaries from UNIDO's

regional programmes

12 Partnering for prosperity to support

information technology & business

13 Research, policy & statistics

14 Management issues: evaluation,

change management & gender

mainstreaming

16 Forthcoming events & new

publications

>02

>05 >08

>04

>12 >15

The UNIDO Times newsletter is an innovative information platform which was established to bring cross-organizational focus and visibility to the goals and achievements of sustainable industrial development and poverty reduction through UNIDO support.

To this end, UNIDO has decided to merge a multitude of previously existing internal newsletters into one consoli-dated form. The product thus developed is the UNIDO Times, a regular newsletter

and a conduit for the Organization to communicate institutional achievements to key stakeholders.

The UNIDO Times will include a range of important articles, features and news items on achievements within UNIDO’s reach. While it cannot cover every project and programme, the selection is meant to provide a representative picture of ongoing activities and the impact of the Organization. •

Managing knowledge for greater cross-organizational effectiveness2010 has been a big year for internal organizational restructuring in UNIDO. The newly established Bureau for Programme Design and Knowledge Management (PKM) ensures that technical cooperation (TC) adopts an integrated and multidisciplinary approach, tailored to the individual needs of the countries UNIDO operates in.

The Bureau is also responsible for introducing a sound system for knowledge management throughout the Organization,

particularly in the field of technical knowledge and related intellectual capital.

The PKM Bureau therefore plays an important role in UNIDO’s TC, seeking continuous improvements in the design quality and development impact of all programmes and activities.

Speaking with one voice: UNIDO Times

Continued on page 3 »

partner for prosperity

2 UNIDO TIMES | OCTOBER 2010

news and features

In the beginning of 2010, the project on the Promotion of New Cleaner Production Services in Viet Nam through the Viet Nam Cleaner Production Centre was successfully completed after over ten years of technical guidance from UNIDO.

“The project was initially designed to improve the competitive position of Vietnamese industry and its integration into sustainable production patterns at a global scale. This involved taking thorough steps in developing and expanding the cleaner production (CP) market in Viet Nam,” Heinz Leuenberger, the project’s former Chief Technical Advisor, and now Director of the Environmental Management Branch at UNIDO, said.

The Viet Nam Cleaner Production Centre was established in 1998, under an agreement signed by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) and UNIDO as executing agency. At the early stages of implementation, the Centre faced some difficulties.

“The enforcement of environmental laws, the understanding of and reluctance to practice CP activities, and companies’ lack of funding for technical investment, were some of the major challenges,” Leuenberger said.

Nevertheless, with the Centre receiving active and effective national support from a wide range of specialized Vietnamese

Government Departments, the course of project implementation became smoother.

The Centre, and particularly the Promotion of the New Cleaner Production Services project, was incorporated in the priority programmes of Viet Nam’s Agenda 21, and the country’s National Environmental Protection Strategy.

With the strong support of donors, the national capacity for implementing CP meas-ures increased, side by side with the industrial society’s environmental awareness. Financial resources for CP have been obtained through a Green Credit Trust Fund established by donors, with the aim to support SMEs in implementing Cleaner Technology projects.

Initially a research institution hosted by the Hanoi University of Technology, the Viet Nam Cleaner Production Centre became a financially independent service-providing company and a subsidiary of Bach Khoa Holdings, a state-owned enterprise.

The Viet Nam Cleaner Production Centre Ltd. continues to offer CP solutions, bringing social, economic and environmental benefits to enterprises, and disseminating CP concepts that provide a model of sustainable consumption and production in the country. •

For more information contact: [email protected]

INDIA ACHIEVES ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN CERAMICS

The completion of the National Programme to Support Energy Efficiency and Quality Standards in Ceramics small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India this year marks a major step toward improving overall quality of such products in the country. The project has achieved substantial energy savings by enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs, while improving the local environment.

The success of the programme is the result of the cooperation between the UNIDO regional office and the country’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion within the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The National Council for Cement and Building Materials acted as the implementing agency.

For more information contact:[email protected]

RUSSIAN ENERGY EFFICIENCY SUPPORTED BY UNIDO

In July 2010, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) approved a project with the total budget of over USD 350 million, designed to reduce carbon di-oxide emissions in Russia by enhancing energy efficiency in the industrial sector.

UNIDO and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) jointly developed this project and will be implementing it together with the Russian Energy Agency and other national counterparts. The four-year project will start in the last quarter of 2010 and aims to reduce up to 3.8 million tons of carbon dioxide over a span of ten years.

To achieve this, better management of energy and optimization of industrial systems, training of experts and capacity-building in both large energy-intensive industries, as well as SMEs are needed. Policy support will also play an important role.


Cleaner production in Viet Nam creates sustainable livelihoods

A Vietnamese worker, who has undertaken training at the Viet Nam Cleaner Production Centre, benefits from the skills taught in promotion of cleaner production

3UNIDO TIMES | OCTOBER 2010

In July 2010, James Gbeho, President of the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, inaugurated the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) in Praia, Cape Verde. The Centre will deploy renewable energy technologies and knowledge in the ECOWAS region.

An agreement was signed between the Government of Cape Verde and the ECOWAS Commission, and a work plan has been approved by the Cen-tre’s Executive Board.

On this occasion, UNIDO’s Deputy to the Director-General, Yoshiteru Uramoto, pledged UNIDO’s support to the Centre.

The ECREEE Secretariat was established in November 2009 with technical assistance from UNIDO, and support from the ECOWAS Commission, the Governments of Austria, Cape Verde, and Spain.

Under the leadership of its Executive Direc-tor, Mahama Kappiah, ECREEE will estab-lish regional renewable energy and energy

Inauguration of ECOWAS renewable energy centre in Cape Verde

news and features

efficiency markets by supporting various activities to mitigate existing barriers, such as the lack of broad national energy policies.

ECREEE activities include policy development and quality assurance, capacity development, the design and usage of tailored financing mechanisms and appraisal tools, raising awareness and the implementation of

demonstration projects with potential for regional up-scaling. Most of the activities will be implemented in cooperation with the nominated national focal institutions of ECREEE.

ECREEE will become one of the main executing agencies for a USD 150 million West African sustainable energy programme, partly financed by

the Global Environment Facility.

Following the ECOWAS-Brazil Summit earlier in the year, a special ECOWAS Brazil Renewable Energy Partnership will open up opportunities for South-South cooperation and technology and know-how transfer. •


LINKING PRODUCERS WITH INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

In early 2010, UNIDO, in cooperation with METRO Group and the Egyptian Traceability Centre for Agro-Industrial Exports (ETRACE), successfully completed the first Supplier Development and Compliance (SDC) pilot programme and is now involved in a second phase to be finalized in 2011.

The programme aims to help local producers access markets and build their capacity to comply with food quality, safety and traceability standards, as well as to link them with domestic and international buyers.

Encouraged by the results and the positive feedback from suppliers and retailers during the pilot phase, the second phase now targets increasing numbers of suppliers and farmers, and will be extended to include non-food products, as well as cover sustainability standards.

The programme is also planned to be rolled out in countries such as China, Pakistan, Russia and the Ukraine, depending on agreements between partners and on budgetary arrangements.


To achieve this, and in its role as central organizer of the newly established Screening and Technical Review Committee (STC), it uses the following methods to guarantee alignment with UNIDO’s programme policies and results-based management principles:

• Screening all programmatic concept ideas;

• Endorsing requests for preparatory assistance projects and ensuring approval of related funding;

• Transmitting suitable concepts, requiring seed funding from UNIDO to the Programme Approval and Monitoring

Committee (AMC); and,

• Ensuring that all thematic dimensions of all new programmes are adequately integrated

In its knowledge management function, the PKM Bureau aims to strategically manage industrial knowledge that will enable UNIDO to respond effectively to the industrial challenges and aspirations of Member States. To achieve this, the Bureau identifies and develops mechanisms and systems for capturing and codifying knowledge generated and accumulated in UNIDO’s TC programmes, then disseminates this metadata on industrial knowledge globally and within the Organization.

To ensure that UNIDO maintains its excellence as a knowledge-based institution

in industrial development, the Bureau is currently reviewing all programmatic services and cataloguing the various tools and methodologies. This ‘knowledge-mapping’ is meant to create or ‘uncover’ avenues for more multidisciplinary work, better integration of UNIDO’s programmes, and knowledge sharing across the Organization.

By continuously integrating lessons learned and best practices into programme development and implementation, the Bureau also functions as the focal point, in coordination with Human Resources Management, for organizational learning in TC formulation and implementation. •


MANAGING KNOWLEDGEContinued from page 1


In 2003, UNIDO committed itself to supporting sustainable industrial development in countries emerging from crisis. Iraq is among these. Absent from the country since the first Gulf War, UNIDO participated in the 2003 International Donors’ Conference for the Reconstruction of Iraq in Madrid and subsequently initiated negotiations with the Government of Iraq, international partners and the donor community.

From 2005 to 2010, the UNIDO Iraq Programme expanded to cover a large number of the country’s regions. It now amounts to a total of USD 68 million, which includes six completed, 13 ongoing, and three hard-pipeline projects. It is also expected that additional projects accounting for USD 20 million will be started and possibly implemented by 2012 under the Programme.

UNIDO’s assistance has been focusing on helping to reconstruct devastated livelihoods, as well as the productive capacity of the country. As the security situation started to improve, the assistance expanded, focusing on private sector initiatives and economic reforms, including supporting government institutions dealing with the private sector and the energy and environment sector. Iraq’s dairy and date sectors have also benefited from UNIDO projects.

Private sector development programmesThe Micro Industries Support Programme (MISP) targets vulnerable populations interested in receiving training in basic agro-industrial and manufacturing skills, and business development. The programme also focuses on improving the competitiveness and productivity of micro-enterprises engaged in agro-processing. Recently, the fifth MISP programme was initiated in Ninewa Governorate, and a further project using the MISP methodology to target internally displaced people (IDPs) was started in the Thiqar Governorate.

In addition, the Technology Acquisition to Restart and Generate Economic Transformation (TARGET) project focuses on rehabilitating and upgrading

existing agro-industrial enterprises to help them expand their operations. TARGET was originally introduced in Lebanon in 2006 and has proven to be a good example for South-South cooperation.

The Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion (EDIP) programme focuses on supporting the creation and expansion of small and medium enterprises. To date, three Enterprise Development Units in three governorates in Iraq have been established. EDIP currently supports 242 small and medium businesses through counselling services. A pilot SME credit facility of USD 1 million ensures that companies supported through the project have access to an appropriate financing scheme. The already approved expansion of this programme will further increase the effectiveness of local institutions and support small and medium businesses that are seeking foreign partnerships.

Policy and institutional support

Within the framework of the Private Sector Development Programme for Iraq (PSDPI) UNIDO, as a lead agency in this programme along with UNDP and ILO, is working to improve the institutional, legal, regulatory, and policy frameworks, to help the private sector grow in a sustainable way, and, offers an integrated management structure to support the Office of the Prime Minister. UNIDO has helped coordinate the first legislative assessment and has drafted a new

A closer look at post-crisis Iraq

special feature

Economic Reform Law as Iraq’s framework law for streamlining the entire legislative process in all key economic areas.

Another milestone of PSDPI is the recent approval by the Cabinet of Iraq’s State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) Restructuring Roadmap. UNIDO provided the major contributions in terms of specialized inputs on institutional arrangements, restructuring approaches and methods, SOE sectors analysis and definition of the relevant policy and legal frameworks to be addressed.

Programme on energy and environmentA joint UNIDO-UNDP Environmental Impact Mitigation Programme aims to assess the impact of the industrial, power generation, agricultural, transport and housing sectors on the Iraqi environment. The programme also aims to promote energy efficiency, renewable energies, and environmentally sound technologies, including sound waste management techniques. UNIDO has already launched a Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production programme component.

With the financial support of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, UNIDO will soon undertake a feasibility study for three small hydropower stations with an estimated total installed capacity of 3.5 MW, which will be mainly devoted to productive use. •


A worker in Iraq assembles cell-phones and other electronic equipment as part of a programme to create high-tech jobs in the post-crisis rebuilding of the country


Mozambique has witnessed impressive growth rates in recent years—one of Africa’s fastest. However, heavy reliance on coal, minerals and aluminium exports that account for two-thirds of the country’s total, has left the domestic small and medium scale enterprise sector lagging far behind.

A major constraint identified was that the school curriculum offered youth few skills for participating in the business sector. As a consequence, the Government embarked on a curriculum reform of education to prepare young people to undertake entrepreneurial activities.

The Ministry of Education and Culture of Mozambique launched the Entrepreneur-ship Curriculum Programme in secondary and vocational schools throughout the country in 2007, following the assessment of pilot experiences in 2005 - 2006, with the support of UNIDO and funding from the Government of Norway. The aim of the programme was to cultivate entrepreneurial attitudes and skills among young people before they enter into employment.

Entrepreneurship education plays an important role in developing attitudes, skills and knowledge that will enable students to generate their own income, create jobs for others, as well as contribute to the economic growth of the country.

UNIDO assisted the Government in

developing an entrepreneurship curriculum with syllabi, teacher’s guides, textbooks, monitoring and evaluation tools, as well as assessment guidelines. UNIDO also conducted a training of trainers at the pedagogical university, promoting a nation-wide rollout of the entrepreneurship curriculum in the education system. Students were taught how to identify growth opportunities by assessing what people want to buy, mobilize accessible resources, set up a business, steer it, make savings and invest to grow. They spent 60 per cent of their time conducting market research, identifying opportunities in their community, and

How curriculum-reform helps create link between education and entrepreneurship

establishing and operating real businesses while still in school.

The Ministry of Education and Culture has integrated the Entrepreneurship Curriculum Programme into the formal national education system as a compulsory subject for 7–9th grades and optional for 10–12th grades. To ensure a higher level of impact and sustainability and avail the curriculum to the rural population in districts, more teachers are being trained and the quality of teaching materials is being improved. The Ministry plans to increase the number of trained teachers to 1,900 by 2011, and participating schools to 311 by 2012, in order to reach out to 400,000 students per year.

The programme has so far reached more than 65,000 students per year in 49 schools in 2010. Of these, nearly half are female, and 69 per cent of all students start businesses while still in the school setting. The Government expects that the programme will accelerate the participation of young people in growth-oriented economic activities and thus reduce poverty.

The Entrepreneurship Curriculum Programme is also being implemented in Angola, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Timor-Leste and Uganda. •


School children in Mozambique learn business and entrepreneurial skills, as part of a national programme that was initiated with the support of UNIDO

special feature

Mozambique 's new curriculum, supported by UNIDO, is geared increasingly toward business and entrepreneurship; above, a young entrepreneur who received training


african region

EXPLORING AREAS OF COOPERATION IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGOUNIDO and the Democratic Republic of Congo recently re-launched cooperation in the areas of industrial and economic development.

In August 2010, UNIDO Senior Industrial Development Advisor, Gérard Gaveau, took up office in Kinshasa, on the UNDP premises.

Two programmatic missions from UNIDO to the country are investigating possible areas of intervention, such as agro-industries and industrial policy (Septem-ber), and quality assurance and industrial upgrading (October).

DELIVERING AS ONE IN MOZAMBIQUEIn the process of assessing UNIDO’s technical cooperation framework, UNIDO Managing Directors Wilfried Luetkenhorst and Dmitri Piskounov, undertook a mission to Mozambique during the week of 15 August 2010.

Mozambique is a ‘Delivering as One’ pilot country where UNIDO has one of its largest portfolios in sub-Saharan Africa. During their visit, the two UNIDO officials gathered information regarding possible future improvements to the Organization’s delivery and monitoring system.

UNIDO CONTINUES TO SUPPORT POST-CONFLICT RECOVERY IN CÔTE D'IVOIREUnder a new UNIDO project funded by Japan, some 3,000 young people in the Bouaké region of Côte d'Ivoire, including ex-combatants and women, will receive training in manufacturing, welding, vehicle mechanics, woodwork, plumbing, construction, electrics, tailoring, health-care and nutrition.

The two-year, USD 3.5 million-project was signed in Abidjan on 2 August by the Deputy to the Director-General of UNIDO, Yoshiteru Uramoto, and the Ambassador of Japan to Côte d'Ivoire, Yoshifumi Okamura, and is a second phase of an initial post-crisis support project.

“Young people, including demobilized combatants, will benefit from a series of training courses. They will get new skills in the productive sectors, and develop entrepreneurial abilities to set up their own micro-enterprises and income-gen-erating activities,” said Uramoto.

AFRICA REGIONAL PROGRAMMEFor more information on the programme, please contact:

[email protected]


arab region

STUDENT STARPACK CONTESTLibanPack, a non-profit, private association established in November 2008 by the UNIDO's Market Access and Compliance for Lebanese Export (MACLE) project, organized ”Student StarPack 2010”, the first packaging design contest in Lebanon. The contest’s award ceremony took place at the HORECA Trade Show on 30 April 2010.

There were 90 entries from nine participat-ing Lebanese universities. The contest in-cluded two categories: structural and visual innovations in the field of packaging.

The contest paralleled the objectives of the original 2008 project to increase the competitiveness of Lebanese products in export markets through the improvement of packaging, and to ensure conformity with international standards for packaging and labeling.

Collaboration with the Association of Lebanese Industrialists and the Syndicate of Paper and Packaging Industries plays an important role in the continued sustainability of project results.

SOLAR COOKERS IN SUDANThe preparatory stage of a new UNIDO project aimed at reducing dependency on firewood, and increasing security and social responsibility, was recently com-pleted in rural Sudan.

The solar cooker project is expected to last 18 months and cost approximately EUR 300,000. The cooking devices, powered by the sun, will reduce the use of scarce wood resources and strengthen local manufacturing and maintenance capacities through training activities.

The project was planned in partnership with the Sudanese Ministry of Industry, and is currently awaiting implementation.

The technology developed in the pre-paratory stage of this project is to trigger a larger initiative, in partnership with UNDP and UNEP, that will reduce the use of scarce firewood and combat desertifi-cation in Sudan and other countries with similar challenges.

LEBANON'S INDUSTRYRISING FROM THE RUBBLESince 2006, UNIDO has been helping re-build war-affected, Lebanese enterprises in a joint USD 4.5 million effort with the Lebanese Ministry of Industry, funded by the Lebanese Recovery Fund (LRF).

The project, also referred to as the Lebanese Agro-Industry Support and Economic Recovery (LAISER), has con-centrated on five agro-industrial sectors (food and beverage, olive oil, textiles, woodwork and leather) and aimed to revitalize over 150 small enterprises.

By September 2009, the project had helped increase the number of employ-ees in these enterprises from just over 100 to over 650, and more than 193 enterprises benefited from the project’s capacity-building component.

Promotion of the project led to a wider scope of assistance than planned, and reached more than 355 beneficiaries from a variety of individuals, institutions, ministries and associations.

The success of the project has been recognized by a phase III approval which will be executed in partnership with Italy, with a first-phase budget of nearly EUR 1.5 million, and will tackle the North in addition to the South of Lebanon and Bekaa Valley. A similar project is being implemented in Iraq.

ARAB REGIONAL PROGRAMMEFor more information on the programme, please contact:

[email protected]


europe & newly independent states

ESTABLISHING A REGIONAL NETWORK FOR CSR COMPETENCEFrom 6 to 7 May 2010, UNIDO organized the launch of the Regional Network for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Competence for Central, Eastern and South-eastern Europe in Zagreb, Croatia.

The event aimed to raise awareness and visibility of CSR-related activities and launch the Regional Network as a tool for the exchange of information and best practices, to discuss the relevance of CSR for SMEs in the context of economic crisis and globalization, as well as to stimulate interest in, and cooperation on, CSR in the region among all relevant stakeholders.

UNIDO technical assistance to the Network comprises background research and SME-CSR perception surveys, setting up a regional web platform, organizing CSR training courses for support institutions and SME consultants, and developing company case studies for the implementation of CSR principles at SME-level.

The Regional Network is currently coordinated by the Croatian Cleaner Production Centre and supported by focal-point institutions in Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, and the Ukraine.

NCPC MACEDONIA: ENHANCING COMPETITIVE-NESS AND PRODUCTIVITYThe establishment of a National Cleaner Production Centre in The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has enhanced the competitiveness and productivity of industry in the country and reduced pollution, waste and energy consumption.

Since its establishment, the Centre has completed Cleaner Production (CP) assessments in more than 36 SMEs and trained 28 national CP experts in sectors such as metal processing, food processing, public transportation and agriculture.

The Centre has developed a proposal for setting up a National CP Policy and intro-duced CP in the postgraduate curricula of three of the country’s universities (Skopje, Stip and Tetovo).

By increasing national CP capacities, the project has fostered dialogue between industry and the Macedonian Government, as well as improved the level of invest-ments for the transfer and development of environmentally sound technologies.

INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP IN TURKEY GIVES PARTICIPANTS HANDS-ON-EXPERIENCEFrom 21 June to 2 July 2010, the International Workshop on Clean-Room Technology took place at the Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey.

The workshop gave hands-on experience on clean-room technologies, nano-device process design and optimization, and recent developments on nanotechnologies to 32 participants from developing and transition economies. It also enhanced knowledge and experience, and helped establish a network of nanotechnology practitioners to improve knowledge exchange and collaboration between developing countries. Workshop participants are expected to bring this new knowledge back to their countries to help establish new businesses in the field of nanotechnology.

EUROPE & NIS REGIONAL PROGRAMMEFor more information on the programme, please contact:

[email protected]


asia & the pacific region

INAUGURATION OF THE NATIONAL METROLOGY LABORATORY IN BANGLADESHOn 6 June 2010, the National Metrology Laboratory of the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) was inaugurated in Dhaka by UNIDO Director-General Kandeh K. Yumkella, and the Minister of Industries of Bangladesh, Dilip Barua.

The BSTI laboratory was established jointly by UNIDO and the Government of Bangladesh under UNIDO’s Bangladesh Quality Support Programme. It is funded by the European Union, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and the Government of Bangladesh and will upgrade standards, metrology, testing, quality, certification and accreditation, to an international level.

Yumkella congratulated the team of experts from UNIDO, BSTI and the Government of Bangladesh, for the timely and efficient implementation of this project.

UNIDO ESTABLISHES RENEWABLE ENERGY-BASED COMMUNITY CENTRES IN THE MALDIVESUsing Solar PV and Hybrid Wind technologies, UNIDO recently established Rural Community Development Centres in several remote islands of the Maldives. Both hybrid systems were successfully implemented at the Goidhoo and Fainu Islands.

With its vast wind and solar potential, the country could easily replicate such centres on a large scale to considerably reduce its fossil fuel dependency as well as environmental degradation.

BRANDIX GREEN FACTORY IN SRI LANKA: A MODEL OF SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTIONOn 11 June 2010, UNIDO Director-General Yumkella visited Sri Lanka and delivered a keynote address at the 9th Asia Pacific Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production.

“Promoting clean and sustainable industrial development is at the heart of everything that UNIDO advocates and implements globally,” Yumkella said. “For example, we have some programmes here on quality and standards that help ensure green production. We have also started a programme to expand the cultivation of bamboo and the use of bamboo as an alternative energy source”. UNIDO is developing a strategic green industry plan with the Government of Sri Lanka.

The Director-General also visited the Brandix Group’s Green Apparel Factory at Seeduwa, describing it as a “unique example of sustainable production to manufacturers across industries and geographical boundaries”.

UNIDO TO ESTABLISH ITPO NETWORK IN EURASEC MEMBER STATESUNIDO is in the preparatory stage of establishing a network of Investment and Technology Promotion Offices (ITPOs) to enhance investment and technology flows in and between the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC), namely Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, as well as the already existing Russian ITPO.

The new network of ITPOs complements and enhances Member States’ efforts to promote joint investment initiatives through strengthening and developing the investment and technology infrastructure.

ASIA & PACIFIC REGIONAL PROGRAMMEFor more information on the programme, please contact:

[email protected]


latin america & the caribbean

ALLEVIATING MERCURY POLLUTION IN COLOMBIAThe Colombian Ministry of Mines and Energy is cooperating with UNIDO to mitigate mercury impact in the mining communities of Antioquia. The project is an extension of the Global Mercury Project, which began in August 2002.

The programme demonstrates ways of overcoming barriers when adopting best practices and pollution prevention measures that limit the mercury contamination of international waters from artisanal and small-scale gold mining.

The Global Mercury Project II is expected to be useful in other countries in Latin America and will be implemented in collaboration with the Global Environment Facility.

UNIDO SUPPORTS MEXICO IN COMPLYING WITH MONTREAL PROTOCOL TARGETSOn 13 July 2010, UNIDO Director-General Kandeh K. Yumkella visited the new Chlorine Recovery System for Carbon Tetrachloride (CTC) at the Mexican chemicals giant MEXICHEM in Coatzacoalcos.

The system uses a new technology that was introduced through a UNIDO-executed technical cooperation project funded by the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Protocol, and which elimi-nates the use of CTC from the recovery of chlorine. This contributes to the country’s compliance with the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer.

A shared commitment on the part of Mexican municipal, state and federal governments, the private sector and UNIDO is behind the project's success.

EXCHANGING KNOWLEDGE ON RENEWABLE ENERGYThe UNIDO Observatory of Renewable Energy for Latin American and Caribbean Countries is a regional, virtual-exchange platform, established to give support in the field of energy development. The project was launched at the Iberoamerican Ministerial Meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay, in September 2006.

The Observatory operates through a knowledge platform and a technical-financial facility. The knowledge platform is a network identifying, selecting and sharing information, promoting local, national and regional investments, while the technical-financial facility facilitates projects, mobilizing the necessary techni-cal and financial resources.

Key partners in the project are Itaipu Binacional/Electrobrás and the Latin American Energy Organization.

For more information visit: www.renenergyobservatory.org/

INDUSTRIAL KNOWLEDGE BANK FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEANUNIDO’s Industrial Knowledge Bank, established in 2009, allows the Organi-zation to address technical assistance needs and facilitates the South-South exchange of knowledge and best practices among Latin American and Caribbean countries with regards to industrial and productive development.

The Bank covers 17 Latin American and Caribbean countries, and facilitates active cooperation between over 20 organizations in the areas of renewable energy, cleaner production, agro-industry, the transfer of industrial best practices, transfer of solar energy tech-nologies and SMEs, as well as produc-tive development for women.

The Bank is a tripartite, cost-sharing cooperation between donors, recipient countries and UNIDO, that assures effec-tive leveraging of financial resources.

LAC REGIONAL PROGRAMMEFor more information on the programme, please contact:

[email protected]


south-south focus

UNIDO PROMOTES SOUTH-SOUTH INVESTMENT

A UNIDO initiative promoting trade and cooperation between China and Latin American countries, specifically in the manufacturing sector, has been creating closer links in manufacturing centres with Chinese corporations.

This initiative leverages the Beijing-based UNIDO Centre for South-South Industrial Cooperation and the World Eminence Chinese Business Association networks, and aims to establish a continued mechanism for cooperation between China and SMEs in Latin America.

Following preparatory missions to Brazil and Venezuela in March 2010, national working groups proposed strategies for cooperation and partnership. These are to be reviewed in two business round tables in November 2010.

UNIDO has established itself as a leader in advocating, promoting and assisting in tech-nology and knowledge transfer from emerg-ing countries to Least Developed Countries (LDCs). This strategy is believed to create more effective and systematic improve-ments in the economies of these countries.

The Timor-Leste Bamboo Skills Development and Demonstration Centre Project, is one such example. The project is being implemented by UNIDO’s Agri-Business Development Branch and the Delhi-based UNIDO Centre for South-South Industrial Cooperation (UCSSIC) in cooperation with the Indian Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre of Guwahati, and has resulted in a successful programme that leverages the two

greatest untapped resources of Timor-Leste: youth and bamboo.

During the first two phases, the project focused on technology transfer from India to Timor-Leste, and capacity-building, pro-vision of technological machinery, and infrastructure rehabilitation.

Technologies are now used for product diversification and skill enhancement, which encourages craftspeople and small- and medium-scale entrepreneurs to engage in the bamboo and wood sector.

As a spin-off of the project, the manufactur-ing capacity of the country is incrementally increasing by turning bamboo into a cash

Technology transfer to Timor-Leste helps secure jobs in the region

To tackle the pressing issue of youth unemployment in emerging countries and LDCs, UNIDO supports youth entrepreneurship, combined with institutional capacity building, and aligned with the promotion of youth-led initiatives.

An enabling environment for youth entre-preneurship and youth-led development are considered sine qua non conditions to favour systemic changes in societies that do not yet make full use of their youth’s entre-preneurial potential.

UNIDO, in close collaboration with UNICEF and the Youth Employment Network, launched in September 2009 a

nation-wide programme in Guinea for youth employment and participation, and the creation of youth-driven waste management and social entrepreneurship.

The programme aims at engaging over 10,000 young people, with special attention to disadvantaged youth. It focuses on access to direct funding opportunities for young social entrepreneurs, as well as on coaching and training schemes, and is supported by an IT-based communication platform to enhance youth participation and information-sharing among relevant stakeholders.

The first year of the programme has been funded under the United Nations Peace-building Fund. •


Youth in Guinea: fulfilling entrepreneurial potential

crop for wood substitution, by producing bamboo laminates and furniture prototypes.

The successful completion of the first two phases has been widely acknowledged in the country, as well as in the sub-region and the proposed third phase is supported by all partners involved, such as the Minister for Economy and Development of Timor-Leste. •


Bamboo manufacturing: (above) the process of stripping bamboo bark, (below) the final product

which meets greater production standards


partnering for prosperity

Information technology supports smart business

In 2010, UNIDO and Hewlett Packard (HP) are strengthening the Learning Initia-tive for Entrepreneurs (LIFE) programme in Africa and the Middle East, after several years of successful partnership. The two entities are going global in their partnership by adding coverage in Asia and Latin America.

The partnership’s success in Africa and the Middle East during 2008 and 2009 makes the case for expansion. The UNIDO-HP partnership programme set up 33 LIFE training centres in the participating countries of Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda and United Arab Emirates, where it certified 143 trainers and trained more than 18,000 students.

Since the start of the UNIDO-HP partner-ship, the outreach of the programme has also been expanding.

“Every year we’re covering more countries., and that's quite significant in times of an economic downturn. HP continues to increase its contribution to this programme,” said Barbara Kreissler, who deals with UNIDO business partnerships and ICT.

This year, HP granted seven LIFE centres in Africa and the Middle East a leadership grant package consisting of technology and a cash donation; in Brazil, ten new LIFE centres were awarded an HP-LIFE grant package to deliver the training programme; and in China and India, UNIDO-HP aim to jointly promote the LIFE programme and to establish linkages between it and other UNIDO programmes.

In the process of deepening the reach of the partnership, linkages between the HP-LIFE programme and the UNIDO entrepreneurship programmes have been established, such as with the Entrepreneurship Curriculum Programme (ECP).

The ECP was first launched in Mozambique in 2005 (see page five), but did not include ICT components in the beginning. The inclusion of ICT components is a crucial development in the UNIDO-HP partnership, because it ensures access to modern technology in developing countries, which supports the aim of sustainable industrial development.

In a world where 15 per cent of youth cannot find employment, the introduction of tech-nology services and training into these com-munities resonates well, and directly supports progress toward bridging the digital divide.

It is not necessarily a surprise that it is mostly young people that are keen to pick up ICT and computer skills and training. They bring that information and experience home, and that eventually changes how peo-ple see the usefulness of technology.

The partnership promotes innovative uses of information and communication technologies to support entrepreneurship, to encourage economic development and create new business opportunities. The LIFE goal for 2010 is to reach 500,000 people globally through online and offline trainings. •


DEVELOPING RESPONSIBLE END-OF-LIFE SOLUTIONS FOR ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT

Post-consumer waste and re-use of electronic technology is becoming a major source of pollution worldwide. People replace and discard electronic equipment on average every two years in industrialized countries and every five years or more in developing countries. Every year, an estimated 50 million tons of e-waste is generated worldwide. In 2007, for example, 160 million computers and 550 million mobile phones reached the end of their life.

Increasingly, e-waste streams also affect developing countries. In most cases, these countries lack the know-how and the capacity to handle e-waste properly, especially as it is often the informal sector that engages in these activities.

A number of challenges have been identified as areas of focus for e-waste management in developing countries, such as:

• Building better awareness about the potential hazards of e-waste to human health and the environment;

• Creating specific policy or legislation for e-waste management;

• Building adequate local capacities for the formal collection, dismantling and recycling of e-waste;

• Raising the bar for sufficient logistical infrastructure and processed quantities of e-waste;

• Ensuring the development of comprehensive e-waste management solutions.

In view of these challenges, UNIDO is organizing an e-waste workshop in Vienna on 12 November that will be bringing a mix of private and public sector partners together, to strive toward an integrated e-waste framework for the African continent.

For more information about the event contact: [email protected] or [email protected]

UNIDO-HP partnership teaches young adults the basics of ICT for business and aims to bridge the digital divide in develop-ing countries.


The economic development of countries is commonly accompanied by the increase of the manufacturing sector as a share of the economy. This is empirically proven and it lies at the core of the work of some of the founding fathers of development economics. Moreover, it constitutes the foundation for much of the work of UNIDO. What still remains much less understood however, is the relation between economic development and changes inside the manufacturing sector.

The database available at UNIDO, as well as the work of its research team, are now being focused to analyze the timing, speed and direction of changes within the manufacturing sector and to relate them to country-specific characteristics. The results

of this analysis will be of great help for policymakers in least developing countries as they strive to ignite economic development.

The same analysis will be of immediate relevance for policymakers in middle-income and industrialized countries. In these cases, the imperative is to anticipate the process of de-industrialization, which often results in unemployment, loss of skills and of productive capacities. UNIDO’s research indicates, for example, that large countries start to de-industrialize after they reach an income per capita of USD 9,000 in purchasing power parity. For smaller countries, the transition normally sets in at a slightly higher threshold of USD 10,000. •

Further details are available in working papers of the UNIDO Development Policy and Research Branch, which can be obtained from: [email protected]

Understanding research-based policymaking

Industrial policy: an opportunity for Mongolia

Mongolia is currently facing critical industrial policy challenges. The country has a number of highly distinctive features due to its geography and history, and also struggles with managing its manufacturing sectors and with diversifying its economy.

Among the country’s main resources are large mineral reserves of copper, gold and zinc, which, if well managed, give Mongolia the potential to grow rapidly and raise living standards significantly. On the other hand, one of its set-backs is its large landmass and small population, which result in an extremely high land/labour ratio. This makes transport costs a significant element in overall manufacturing costs, placing Mongolia behind its competitors.

In 2008, Mongolia’s manufacturing sector accounted for only 4.3 per cent of its gross domestic product. In order to enhance industrial development, a few requirements need to be addressed in the immediate future, such as establishing a development bank to support entrepreneurs in setting up new businesses, improving infrastructure (e.g. railroads), and training workers. Mongolia also needs to upgrade the quality

and marketing of its products, in particular cashmere and meat products, that the Government wants to promote in international markets.

Concerning the wealth of natural resources, their possession does not necessarily imply that they should be processed, as some processing (e.g. smelting) can only be profitable in the long run. Although there is potential for high returns in the processing industry, each project should be reviewed carefully along with developments in the world markets.

The key policy challenge for Mongolia is therefore to use its mineral revenues to revitalise and modernise manufacturing and diversify the economy, allowing the country to reach a higher long-term growth path based on a competitive tradable-goods sector. Mongolia’s future growth will depend on the country’s capacity to latch onto higher-income products which are growing rapidly in demand in world markets. •


WORLD STATISTICS DAY

UNIDO marked the first World Statis-tics Day on 20 October 2010, desig-nated by the UN General Assembly, under the theme of “Celebrating the Many Achievements of Official Statistics”. The event was celebrated in UNIDO under the specific theme related to the Organization’s own field of statistics, namely, measuring human progress on productivity in-novation and technology.

The statistical activities of UNIDO are mandated by the UN Statistics Commission. As a specialized agency of the UN in world industrial develop-ment, UNIDO maintains a regularly updated international statistical data-base. The Organization has played a unique role in disseminating empirical data worldwide, thereby supporting fundamental and applied research in human progress on efficient utiliza-tion of factors of production. UNIDO’s Statistics Unit has successfully met the increasing demand of users with timely, reliable and internationally comparable statistics.

On the occasion of the World Statis-tics Day, UNIDO unveiled new statisti-cal products to data users, in order to meet the increasing demand of statistics of today’s information age. UNIDO joined other UN agencies based in Vienna, as well as Statistics Austria, to conduct a series of joint activities to mark the first World Sta-tistics Day.


research, policy & statistics


management issues

UNIDO’s Programme for Change and Organizational Renewal (PCOR) includes a redesign of the Organization’s internal processes supported by a fully integrated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, which aims at changing UNIDO’s working culture. It will enable the Organization to not only meet future demands by Member States and institutional donors, but also the ambitious objectives outlined in its new mission statement, such as Growth with Quality and Delivering as One UNIDO, bringing both qualitative and quantitative benefits to all stakeholders.

To ensure that all PCOR objectives—the achievement of a leap in capacity to deliver industrial services, the increase in the total number of countries served, and better compliance with stakeholder expectations, to name a few—are being addressed and progress towards their achievement is monitored, UNIDO has set up a governance structure and established an ambitious work plan. Since then, significant progress to take forward the PCOR has been made.

Commitment and involvement by staff

have increased in the past months, with direct participation in work-groups and exercises, as well as feedback through PCOR’s branch email address.

A high-level Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) exercise took place in mid-September 2010, to develop new “to-be” processes, on which are being elaborated by more than 80 staff members in Vienna and the field.

Redesigned processes and revised policies and procedures, combined with a new ERP system will enable UNIDO to better fulfil demands, have a greater developmental impact, increase its effectiveness, foster knowledge management and teamwork, and institutionalize risk and results-based management. This will allow staff to focus on more value-added tasks and provide services more efficiently. In parallel to the BPR, the request for proposal for an ERP implementation partner and system was published at the end of July 2010, so that the ERP implementation could start in November.

Changing our way of doing business

Furthermore, a comprehensive cultural diagnostic survey was carried out, which provided positive feedback and highlighted some cultural elements to be addressed, such as knowledge management and information sharing. An action plan on how to overcome behavioural obstacles to change-related aspects is currently being prepared. A number of ‘best practices’ for sharing, using and retaining information and organizational knowledge are also being reviewed.

To ensure transparency, all stakeholders are regularly informed of all PCOR developments via an electronic newsletter. •


Countries in focus

Determining the impact, effectiveness, and sustainability of UNIDO’s interventions is more important than ever. The evaluation branch has therefore started evaluations to review the entirety of UNIDO's presence at the country level. In addition to Integrated Programmes and Country Service Frameworks, components of regional programmes, individual projects, including

Montreal Protocol and Global Environment Facility projects will now be analyzed.

Ten country evaluations will be conducted during the 2010-2011 biennium, covering Burundi, China, India, Mozambique and Tanzania in 2010, and Cuba, Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda, and Viet Nam in 2011.

The contribution to UNIDO’s global forum function, the UN Development Assistance

Framework (UNDAF), the One UN mechanisms and the performance of field offices will also be assessed. Special attention will be given to the pilot countries of the Delivering as One initiative and to the contribution of UNIDO in the One UN mechanisms. Four of the ten proposed country evaluations for the biennium concern One UN pilot countries: Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Viet Nam.

Early in 2010, the first country evaluation was initiated for Burundi. The field visit took place in May and the evaluation team is now working on finalizing the evaluation report. Next on the agenda are the country evaluations for Mozambique and Tanzania, followed by China and India, scheduled for the last quarter of 2010. •

For more information contact: [email protected], or visit www.unido.org/evaluation

g The evaluation of UNIDO’s COMFAR programme will soon be completed. The evaluation was undertaken from July to September 2010 in order to assess the relevance and effectiveness of the programme after 30 years of operation.

g The thematic review of UNIDO’s agri-business/agro-industry development interventions has been finalized. It was based on a number of evaluations of agro interventions, both stand-alone project evaluations and agro-specific components evaluations. The review was complemented with an assessment of the agro intervention strategy and project portfolio. The review was done in order to identify lessons learned and best practices to feed into an ongoing revision of UNIDO’s agro-strategy.


management issues

AYUMI FUJINO BECOMES UNIDO REPRESENTATIVE IN INDIA

On 2 July 2010, Ms. Ayumi Fujino took over as the UNIDO Representative and Director of the UNIDO Regional Office in India. She succeeds Mr. Philippe Scholtes, who has taken up the position of Director of the Agri-business Development Branch at the Organization’s Headquarters in Vienna.

Fujino was previously UNIDO Representative in Thailand and Director of the Regional Office (2006-2010) and responsible for UNIDO support to the industrial sector of the country. This included trade capacity-building through strengthening of testing laboratory facilities, promotion of cleaner production, improvement of industrial energy efficiency, alternative rural energy development as well as rural livelihood development in Thailand and in the countries of the Greater Mekong Sub-region.

INVESTMENT & TECHNOLOGY PROMOTION OFFICES IN FRANCE MERGE

In June this year, ITPO Paris and ITPO Marseille merged, constituting the new ITPO France, headed by Mr. Jean-Claude Plana. The Office is located in Paris, with a branch Office in Marseille. The staff is currently preparing a new programme of work that takes into account conclusions and recommendations stemming from the recent ITPO heads meeting in Vienna.

The promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women is one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG-3) to be achieved by 2015. Although significant progress has been made in many parts of the developing world, there is still a long way to go in achieving the MDG-3 targets. Gender mainstreaming is the globally accepted strategy for promoting gender equality, which involves ensuring that gender perspectives and attention to the goal of gender equality are central to all activities.

UNIDO recognizes that gender equality and the empowerment of women has a significant positive impact on sustained economic growth and sustainable industrial development, which are drivers of poverty reduction and social integration. This is why in 2009 the Organization issued the Policy on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. This document provides guidelines to ensure that a gender perspective is reflected throughout UNIDO’s programmes, policies and organizational practices. It also outlines the Organization’s commitment to achieving gender balance, particularly at decision-making levels.

To ensure full implementation of the Policy, a Gender Mainstreaming Steering Committee (GMSC), chaired by Ole Lundby, Special Advisor to the Director-General, and comprising organization-wide membership, has been created, along with a network of gender focal points. As one of the key activities in the implementation of the Policy, the GMSC is currently organizing training for all UNIDO staff.

Integrating gender issues into projectsTraining courses provide an introduction to gender mainstreaming concepts, preliminary insight into the gender issues in specific programmatic areas, as well as practical tools for project managers to enable them to integrate gender issues into project development. The training is open to all, and so far, 110 staff from the different branches have received training.

Additionally, a special one-day workshop

for members of the GMSC and focal points was organized on 31 May 2010 to give staff the chance to better understand their roles as gender focal points. Training activities have so far been well received.

“The general training methodology was very good and well coordinated”, said one staff member, and another added, “I was satisfied with the first phase. A secondary more in-depth training would be useful in the future”.

The GMSC is in the process of finalizing an implementation strategy and action plan for the policy, which will allocate adequate human and financial resources toward implementation and development of tools for project managers to integrate gender issues in project development, management and field operations.

With regard to technical cooperation, one of the key initiatives of the GMSC is to encourage UNIDO staff to review the portfolio of its projects in selected countries for their gender sensitivity. As a result, the Organization would be able to draw practical lessons on gender mainstreaming and develop recommendations, tools and inputs.

The GMSC also supports UN system-wide activities, such as the Vienna launch of the World Survey on the Role of Women in Development, which took place in October 2009, the Joint Biennial Workshop of the Inter-agency Network on Women and Gender Equality, and the OECD-DAC Network on Gender Equality (February 2010).

In addition, UNIDO supports the creation of the new United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), which represents a historic move to bring greater coherence, efficiency and effectiveness in upholding women’s rights and equal opportunities in the developing world. •


Central to all activities: gender mainstreaming at work


forthcoming events

WORLD STATISTICS ON MINING & UTILITIES, 2010

This is the first UNIDO publication of 'World statistics on mining and utilities', compiled from data collected by UNIDO, as well as those obtained from the OECD.

The demand for mining and utility data internationally has grown, particularly among knowledge institutes and development partners. Energy production sector have shown the greatest increase in demand for such data.


Disclaimer

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this newsletter do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or its economic system or degree of development. Designations such as “developed”, “industrialized” and “developing” are intended for statistical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgment about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development process. Mention of firm names or commercial products does not constitute an endorsement by UNIDO. The opinions, statistical data and estimates contained in signed articles are the responsibility of the author(s), including those who are UNIDO members of staff, and should not be considered as reflecting the views or bearing the endorsement of UNIDO. This document has been produced without formal United Nations editing.

UNIDO TIMES

Items for submission should be sent to: [email protected]

UNIDO HeadquartersVienna International CentreP.O. Box 300, 1400 Vienna, Austria

Tel: +43 1 26026-0Fax +43 1 26926-69www.unido.org

MAKING IT #4: ON TRACKTO PROSPERITY?

In this—the fourth—issue of Making It, our contributors consider the challenges facing the world's 49 Least Developed Countries, and in particular emphasize the importance of strengthening productive capacity.

There are also articles on community finance, renewable energy, entrepreneurship and industrial policy in Africa, and a country feature on the Pacific nation of Kiribati.


November 2010

Africa Industrialization Day (AID) 19 November, Vienna, Austria

“Competitive Industries for the Develop-ment of Africa”, is this year's theme of the AID. A symposium, focusing on develop-ing agro-industries in Africa, will be held in Conference Room M1 from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m, and will be followed by a cocktail reception in Cafeteria III.

38th Session of the Industrial Develop-ment Board (IDB) 24-26 November, Vienna, Austria

Comprised of 53 members, the IDB reviews the implementation of the work programme, the regular and operational budgets, and makes recommendations to the General Conference on policy matters.

EU-Africa Business ForumEconomic growth: the private sector, a crucial partner for shaping the future of Africa26-28 November, Tripoli, Libya

UNIDO's Director-General, along with African and European political and business leaders representing multi-nationals, large corporations, small and medium-scale enterprises and confederations, multilateral and regional institutions will be present. The forum aims to facilitate new engagements, improve the investment and business climate, and to raise the profile of doing business in Africa.

For more information visit:www.euafrica-businessforum.org

December 2010COP16/CMP629 November-10 December, Cancun, Mexico

The UN-led conferences will aim to tackle the world's most immediate challenges relating to climate change.

For more information visit:www.cc2010.mx/en/

Environmental Cities of the Mediterranean 2-3 December, Marseille, France

Eco Cities is a regional forum addressing environmental challenges and opportunities in cities across the region and the world.The forum aims to promote eco-friendly policies, strategies and programmes.

For more information visit:www.eco-cities.net/static/main.html

Documents

UNIDO Times