United Nations Information Centres
AbbreviationUNIC
Formation1946
PurposeInformation centre
HeadquartersNew York
Head
António Guterres[1] (2017–present)
Websiteunic.un.org

The United Nations Information Centres (UNIC) is an organization founded in 1946 with its headquarters located in New York, USA. Operating globally in 63 countries, these centers serve as conduits for the exchange and dissemination of current events on behalf of the United Nations. Managed by the United Nations' Department of Global Communications within the UN Secretariat, UNICs play a crucial role in communicating organizational challenges. The Department of Global Communications reviews and approves all development projects, primarily focused on thematic promotional campaigns addressing UN-related issues, which are then disseminated through regional information centers.[2]

History

Established in 1946 by the United Nations Department of Global Communications (DGC), the United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) operate with the primary mission of facilitating collaboration and information exchange for the global community. DGC, an organization dedicated to serving the people of the United Nations, oversees the functioning of UNICs. The initial establishment saw the creation of the first two UN Information Centers in 1946, and since then, these centers have expanded their reach to encompass 63 countries. Serving as central hubs, UNICs play a pivotal role in disseminating information about the United Nations system to the countries in which they are located.[3][4]

Scope

United Nations Information Centres have been established in the regions of Europe, Americas, UAE, Asia & Pacific, and Africa. These centres are organized to reduce the communication gaps by providing information of United Nations to the people of the world. To make it more communicable all information have been translated and presented respectively in their regional languages. These centres are otherwise called United Nations Regional Information Centres and responsible for connecting United Nations with the people of developing countries. They reach out media, institutions with coordinating the UN system and get allianced with Government, Non-government, and private sector organizations in their projects. UNICs also maintain physical & digital resources of information like libraries and electronic information medium.[5]

Activities

UNICs are engaged in multiple cores of activities for sharing the latest information about UN system.[6]

  • Communication - UNICs follow communication strategies through the current affairs, traditional festivals, and events. They get information translated into regional languages of the countries they serve.
  • Media Outreach - United Nations get connected with national & regional media houses to circulate information. These centres use press conference, print media, electronic and digital medium to collaborate information.
  • Information Resource Development - These centres create & maintain resources like libraries, and websites through regional information centres. UNICs activities cover training sessions for journalist to keep them update with its development projects. They regularly conduct television and radio for broadcasting stories of UN in regional languages.
  • Events Organization - These centres organize many events on international & national celebration days. Besides, they manage to arrange seminars, sports & other competitions in educational institutions.

List of centres

The following are all of the current information centres, as well as all the areas they serve:[7]

African States

CentreEstablishedAreas servicedDirector
UNIC Accra1958 Ghana
 Sierra Leone
Sylvia Lopez-Ekra
UNIC Antananarivo1963 MadagascarViolet Kakyomya
UNO Asmara1993 EritreaSusan Ngongi
UNIC Brazzaville1983 CongoAnthony Ohemeng-Boamah
UNIC Bujumbura1961 BurundiGarry Conille
UNIC Dakar1964 Senegal
 Cape Verde
 Ivory Coast
 Gambia
 Guinea
 Guinea-Bissau
 Mauritania
Damian Cardona Onses
UNIC Dar es Salaam1961 United Republic of TanzaniaAlvaro Rodriguez
UNIC Harare1982 ZimbabweBishow Parajuli
UNIC Lagos1967 NigeriaRonald Kayanja
UNIC Lome1962 Togo
 Benin
Damien Mama
UNIC Lusaka1975 ZambiaJanet Rogan
UNIC Nairobi1974 Kenya
 Uganda
 Seychelles
Nasser Ega-Musa
UNIC Ouagadougou1982 Burkina Faso
 Chad
 Mali
 Niger
Metsi Makhetha
UNIC Pretoria1995 South AfricaMasimba Tafirenyika
UNIC Windhoek1992 NamibiaRachel Odede
UNIC Yaounde1965 Cameroon
 Central African Republic
 Gabon
Allegra Maria Del Pilar Baiocchi

American States

CentreEstablishedAreas servicedDirector
UNIC Asuncion1962 ParaguayJorge Meza
UNIC Bogota1954 Colombia
 Ecuador
 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
Helene Papper
UNIC Buenos Aires1948 Argentina
 Uruguay
Tamar Hahn
UNIC La Paz1963 Bolivia (Plurinational State of)Mauricio Ramirez-Villegas
UNIC Lima1960 PeruMaria del Carmen Sacasa
UNIC Mexico City1947 Mexico
 Cuba
 Dominican Republic
Giancarlo Summa
UNIC Panama City1984 PanamaHarold Robinson
UNIC Port of Spain1962Countries:
 Antigua and Barbuda
 Bahamas
 Barbados
 Belize
 Dominica
 Grenada
 Guyana
 Jamaica
 Saint Kitts and Nevis
 Saint Lucia
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
 Suriname
 Trinidad and Tobago
Other areas:
 Aruba
 Bonaire
 Curaçao
 Saba
 Sint Eustatius
 Sint Maarten
Juan Miguel Diez
UNIC Rio de Janeiro1947 BrazilMaurizio Giuliano
UNIC Washington1946 United States of AmericaRobert Skinner[8]

Arab States

CentreEstablishedAreas servicedDirector
UNIC Algiers1963 AlgeriaEric Overvest
UNIC Beirut1962 Lebanon
 Jordan
 Kuwait
 Syrian Arab Republic
Marguerite El Helou
UNIC Cairo1949 Egypt
 Saudi Arabia
Radhia Achouri
UNIC Khartoum1963 Sudan
 Somalia
Gwi-Yeop Son
UNIC Manama1977 Bahrain
 Qatar
 United Arab Emirates
Samir Al-Darabi
UNIC Rabat1962 MoroccoFethi Debbabi (Acting Director)
UNIC Sana'a1994 YemenLise Grande
UNIC Tunis1960 TunisiaDiego Zorrilla

Asia and Pacific States

CentreEstablishedAreas servicedDirector
UNIC Canberra1948 Australia
 Fiji
 Kiribati
 Nauru
 New Zealand
 Samoa
 Tonga
 Tuvalu
 Vanuatu
Christopher Woodthorpe
UNIC Colombo1961 Sri LankaHanaa Singer
UNIC Dhaka1981 BangladeshMia Seppo
UNIC Islamabad1951 PakistanVlastimil Samek (Acting Director)
UNIC Jakarta1985 IndonesiaFrancyne Harrigan (Acting Director)
UNIC Kathmandu1964   NepalSara Beysolow Nyanti
UNIC Manila1953 Philippines
 Papua New Guinea
 Solomon Islands
Ola Almgren
UNIC New Delhi1947 India
 Bhutan
Rajiv Chandran (National Information Officer)
UNIC Tehran1950 Iran (Islamic Republic of)Maria Dotsenko
UNIC Tokyo1958 JapanKaoru Nemoto
UNIC Yangon1959 MyanmarKnut Ostby

Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States

CentreEstablishedAreas servicedDirector
UNO Almaty1993 KazakhstanAbdurahim Muhidov (Officer-in-Charge)
UNIC Ankara1975 TurkeyIrena Vojačkova-Sollorano
UNO Baku1992 AzerbaijanGhulam Isaczai
UNRIC Brussels2004Countries:
 Andorra
 Belgium
 Cyprus
 Denmark
 Finland
 France
 Germany
 Greece
 Holy See
 Iceland
 Ireland
 Italy
 Luxembourg
 Malta
 Monaco
 Netherlands
 Norway
 Portugal
 San Marino
 Spain
 Sweden
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Other areas served:
 European Union
Deborah Seward
UNIS Geneva1947  SwitzerlandAlessandra Vellucci
UNO Kyiv1992 UkraineOsnat Lubrani
UNO Minsk1992 BelarusJoanna Kazana
UNIC Moscow1948 Russian FederationVladimir Kuznetsov
UNIC Prague1947 Czech RepublicMichal Broza (Officer-in-Charge)
UNO Tashkent1992 UzbekistanHelena Fraser
UNO Tbilisi1992 GeorgiaVinton Louisa
UNIS Vienna1984 Austria
 Hungary
 Slovakia
 Slovenia
Martin Nesirky
UNIC Warsaw1995 PolandMariola Ratschka (Officer-in-Charge)
UNO Yerevan1992 ArmeniaShombi Sharp

References

  1. "Secretary General Biography". United Nations. 22 December 2016.
  2. "Who We Are". United Nations Information Centres.
  3. "UN Information Centre". United Nations Foundation. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018.
  4. UN Information Centers & Services. United Nations. 1998. p. 1461. ISBN 978-9-211008401.
  5. "Partnerships". United Nations Information Centres.
  6. Yearbook of the United Nations. United Nations. 2003. pp. 635–636. ISBN 978-9-211009057.
  7. "UNIC Directory". United Nations Information Centres. Department of Global Communications, United Nations. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  8. "Robert Skinner, Director, The United Nations Information Center". UN Association of the National Capital Area. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  1. United Nations Information Centres Website
  2. United Nations
  3. United Nations Information Centre Washington
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