Capacity Building Marketplace - unccd

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Newsletter

Capacity Building Marketplace

17th Edition

“Bringing needs and possible solutions” together”

February 2016 Table of Content Page 1

Letter from the Editor

Page 2

Marketplace hits the ground

Page 3

Capacity Building Marketplace leading the Change

Page 4

New E-learning course “UNCCD Process”

Page 5

Bringing the Marketplace to the people of Bonn

Page 6

Upcoming Events

Page 6

Internship opportunity. Apply now!!

Page 7

Connect with us!!

www.unccd.int/Marketplace

Read inside All New E-Learning Course “The UNCCD Process”

Letter from the Editor Dear Readers, I am happy that you have remained with us for 2016!! I promise you that we will do all in our power to produce for you an interesting and exciting newsletter for the rest of the year. For this edition we tease you with a little information about some of the very exciting programmes we will be undertaking for this year. We also tell about the competitions that will be held on the Marketplace and some of the prizes that you can. Further we hint at some of the other activities in which you can be involved throughout the year. We offer two feature stories this month. Firstly, senior assistant at the Marketplace Mr. Abraham Nida relates the story of his very interesting mission to East Africa where he among other things, was a guest of the Ugandan NGO, Assist Community Initiatives (ACI) Uganda. There he introduced them to the Marketplace, demonstrating how it can be most useful to them. It was an experience of the Marketplace meeting the people on the ground which proved to be most useful. We promise you that there will be more stories on the activities of the action of the Marketplace on the ground. So please stay tune. In our second feature story Ms. Amera Edwards, our intern who hails from Jamaica tells of her experience in organizing and hosting an exhibition of the Marketplace during the last Bonn United Nations day. Here she captures the joy of working with the Marketplace explaining how such an opportunity helps to introduce interns to a wider world. In this story she underlines how important people find the Marketplace to be and people’s willingness to engage with it. And as regards internship, we announced in this edition our search for new interns. Please visit the Marketplace for more information. Finally we tell you of the upcoming events around the world in the area of capacity building. In this regard I will like to invite you to tell us about your events so that we can help you promote the same. As a matter of fact we remind you that you can use our “Do you have something to offer button” on the Marketplace home page or at: http://www.unccd.int/en/programmes/Capacity-building/CBW/interaction/Pages/Addyourinformation.aspx to make you offers. I do hope you will enjoy reading this edition. And, as usual, we welcome your comments, criticisms and the like as these are crucial if we are to improve our service to you!! Most sincerely, Dr. Richard A. Byron-Cox Action Programme Alignment and Capacity-Building Officer United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

The marketplace hits the ground Addressing sustainable land management through microfinancing By Abraham Nida My recent travel to Uganda gave me the opportunity to visit projects being carried out by Assist Community Initiatives (ACI) Uganda, an NGO. ACI provides microcredit to smallholder farmers aimed at increasing their capacity to undertake sustainable land management and other activities to adapt to the changing climate.

The organization has been in operation since 2011 with the key mission of ‘supporting purposeful development’. Their target group is primarily women-led families to whom they render services such as child sponsorship, links to health networks, and most importantly, providing microfinance which is their main activity. The Microfinance program operates two schemes: the individual lending scheme, and the group lending scheme. This program serves over 5 districts in Central and Western Uganda with a portfolio size of 1 billion Ugx (Ugandan Shillings) or 288,000 USD. Microfinancing has long been identified as an innovative mechanism to promote investments in Sustainable Land Management (SLM). It can at the same time help foster poverty reduction, gender empowerment and appropriate responses to climate change. Benefits include financing for better agricultural techniques, capacity building and education, income diversification, improved access to credit for women, and improved soil, water and forest conservation. The clientele of ACI is made up of predominately rural small-scale land farmers who are recipients of over 80% of the loans with the remainder going to non-agricultural small business owners. Given Uganda’s heavy reliance on agriculture to sustain the economy, and the fact that farmers make up over 80% of the ACI client base; ACI provides group trainings on the importance of not just savings and loan management, but also applying good practices for sustainable agricultural land management. Continue reading on the marketplace

Capacity Building Marketplace Leading the Change 2016 promises to be a fantastic and exciting year for all involved and willing to be involved with the Capacity Building Marketplace. It began with a bang as in answer to popular demand we have launched a new E-Learning course “The UNCCD Process”. This course gives participants extensive information on the UNCCD, covering inter alia its history, structure and institutions, and the process of its implementation. On very successful completion participants have the opportunity to be awarded a certificate of excellence!! However we are only getting started! For the rest of the year users of the Marketplace can expect apart from the usual opportunities offered, the launching of our new Marketplace Development Programme. A main feature of this programme is the new opportunities for you to get more involved and be part of the Marketplace. This programme is more innovative, more engaging, and aimed at reaching and connecting more people in every corner of the globe. We want you and all others to be a part of this change, and the excitement we feel; and to promote this we will be launching a number of activities inviting the participation of all. So Coming Soon are: An ideas competition-This is competition was actually launched on 17/02/2016. This is your chance to have your idea of improving the Marketplace implemented! Participants are invited to send their ideas as to how we can make the Marketplace better in serving you. Exciting prizes are on offer and credits will be given for all ideas used by the Marketplace. Please check the Marketplace for rules and conditions for participation. A story competition- This is competition is scheduled to be launched later in the year and is one for budding writers. It is the perfect chance for individuals in particularly the youths to share with us your stories / experiences as they relate to capacity building to address sustainable land management and the question of drought. Tell us how you and/or your friends are impacting change within your communities. A photo competition- Do you like taking pictures? Would you like for your pictures to be shared with the world? And, how about being paid for doing it? Does this sound good to you? Well if it does, the Marketplace is the place for you and your picture-taking friends in 2016. Yes, we will be having a global photo competition for young amateur photographers. Here we will give you the chance not only to win a monetary prize but to show off your photographing skills while contributing to the achievement of the sustainable development goals as adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015. There is much, much more which will be on offer as we progress in 2016. For example, the Marketplace might well be coming to some place near you! Or, a member of the Marketplace team might just show up in your neighborhood to hold a Marketplace exhibition or exposition. Or, might just appear at your university to read a lecture. But you can be assured that outreach will be front and center in the Marketplace’s programme for 2016. In other words, the Marketplace was always all about you. In 2016 it will become even more so!! In short therefore, we are determined that the Capacity Building Marketplace will remain the first and best place for resources to promote capacity building as regards addressing sustainable land management and the question of drought. Our mission is to provide the most relevant information, tools, pathways, programmes and supporting partnerships to ensure that the users of the Marketplace are satisfied with the service offered, and will therefore increase their usage of the same while encouraging many others to do so. And, we intend to make 2016 a special year for this. It is our distinct pleasure to serve you and we hope you will take advantage of all these exciting opportunities to be a part of this, YOUR MARKETPLACE!!.

Our New e-learning course “The UNCCD Process” is now available!

Since its very beginning, the UNCCD Capacity Building Marketplace has developed several e-learning courses aimed at broadening the capacity and expanding the knowledge and expertise of students, professionals and the public in general interested in the diverse processes of the UNCCD, and who are interested in its efficacious implementation. Since its very beginning, the UNCCD Capacity Building Marketplace has developed several e-learning courses aimed at broadening the capacity and expanding the knowledge and expertise of students, professionals and the public in general interested in the diverse processes of the UNCCD and its efficacious implementation The team of the Marketplace continues working towards the achievement of this goal and has designed and developed three new and pertinent online courses to be launched in 2016. These courses cover: THE UNCCD PROCESS- Now Available!!! This 4-module online course launched early this month provides a detailed introduction to the UNCCD, covering inter alia its history, structure and institutions, and the process of its implementation. After taking this course participants will have a very good general understanding of the core processes of the Convention including that of its implementation. The course is now opened to the general public. THE ROLE OF THE NATIONAL FOCAL POINT TO THE UNCCD (revised edition) Coming Soon!! This 8-module online course was developed to provide clear, detailed and sufficient information to participants on the role of National Focal Points (NFPs) in relation to the different processes of the UNCCD. It is aimed first and foremost at NFPs, providing comprehensive information that will help them to perform their duties more efficiently and effectively. The course takes into consideration the latest relevant decisions taken at COP 12. This course will be launched in early 2016, and apart from the NFP, the public at large is welcome to participate. THE UNCCD NATIONAL ACTION PROGRAMME (NAP) PROCESS Coming Soon!!! The National Action Programmes (NAPs) are the key instruments to implement the Convention. This 4-module elearning course to be launched in early 2016 aims at providing a better and clearer understanding as regards undertaking the NAP process and its relationship with the UNCCD 10-year Strategy and the Sustainable development goals (SDG) agenda, including achieving land degradation neutrality. The course is one that National Focal Points (NFPs), policy makers and the public in general interested in the implementation of the Convention at national, regional and sub-regional levels should take. Read More on the Marketplace.

Bringing the Marketplace to the people of Bonn By Amera Edwards

One of the great joys of working with the UNCCD Marketplace is that you get the opportunity to interact with people from around the world in many ways. One of these is through participation in the various exhibitions and expositions regularly organized and hosted by the Marketplace. And, it was my distinct pleasure to spearhead the Marketplace exposition during the last Bonn United Nations (UN) Day. This event was held in the heart of city of Bonn and highlighted inter alia the 70th anniversary of the UN and the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals. The Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was among over 18 UN organizations participating in the exercise. The Capacity Building Marketplace was a central part of the UNCCD’s presentation at this event. And, as coordinator of the Marketplace’s exposition I had the opportunity to meet with many of the attendees at the event. It was indeed very interesting for me to explain to visitors to the expo the central role of capacity building in ensuring an efficacious implementation of the Convention. But it was exceptionally special to discuss with them the role of the Marketplace focusing on the huge variety of opportunities it offers users to improve their capacities as regards the question of sustainable land management and addressing the mitigation of drought. It was a great pleasure to see the interest of these visitors and the pleasant surprise some showed when they realized that a resource like the Marketplace actually exist and everyone can use it absolutely free of cost. Continue reading on the Marketplace.

Join the Competition now!! The prize for the Beat Idea is €150 Euro, second best is €100 Euro, and third best is €50 Competition Closes February 29th, 2016 General Rules – All ideas submitted are deemed to be submitted voluntarily and shall remain the property of Capacity Building Marketplace. – Without limitation, the Capacity Building Marketplace shall have the right to use submissions for any purpose throughout the globe. – Participants to this competition cannot demand compensation of any kind in the future for ideas submitted during this competition. – Participants must read and agree to the rules of this competition.

Upcoming Events Events related to capacity building within the framework of the UNCCD take place all over the world on a regular basis. The Marketplace offers you the opportunity to find, participate in and help promote events related to the issues of land degradation, desertification and drought. On the Events section of the Marketplace, you will discover a list of events organized by the UNCCD Secretariat and other international organizations, by country Parties, CSOs and other stakeholders involved in the UNCCD process. Here is a look at some upcoming events which may interest you: 

The Rural Development Conference 2016 13 March - 15 March, 2016 (Bangkok, Thailand)



XII International Workshop CubaSolar 2016 11 April- 15 April, 2016 (Holguin, Cuba)



5th International Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference 11 April – 15 April, 2016 (Portland, Oregon)



2nd Inter-American Congress on Climate Change 14 March – 16 March, 2016 (Mexico City, Mexico)

You can always find much more information at (Calendar of Events)

We are looking for new interns! Would you like the opportunity to join us and help support capacity building around the world? Well here is your chance!! The UNCCD Capacity Building Marketplace is looking for new interns to start mid-2016, to assist with content management and social media. The interns will inter alia provide support in collecting content for the Marketplace, and processing applications sent in by country Parties and other organizations, as regards placing information on the Marketplace. These interns will also assist in research for the preparation of online (elearning) courses. Apply Now!!

Current openings: Internship to assist in managing Chinese content for the UNCCD Capacity Building Marketplace (Germany)

Connect with us!

Follow us on our Social Media channels If you want to receive daily updates with the latest news and offerings on the Marketplace, follow us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, Youtube. We very much appreciate your involvement and feedback. If you wish to obtain any type of information about capacity building within the framework of the UNCCD, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]. We will be glad to help you!

www.unccd.int/Marketplace