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United Nations Information Centres
Abbreviation	UNIC
Formation	1946
Purpose	Information centre
Headquarters	New York
Head	António Guterres (2017–present)
Website	unic.un.org

The United Nations Information Centres (UNIC) were established in 1946, headquartered in New York, USA.^[2] Spread across 63 countries worldwide.^[3] These centers, until 2018, facilitated the exchange and sharing of current global events on behalf of the United Nations. Under the management of the Department of Global Communications within the UN Secretariat until 2018, UNICs were pivotal in communicating the organization's challenges. The Department of Global Communications oversaw and sanctioned all developmental initiatives, primarily concentrating on thematic campaigns promoting UN-related concerns, subsequently distributed through regional information centers.^[4]

History

Established in 1946 under the auspices of the United Nations Department of Global Communications (DGC), the United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) stand as integral pillars in fostering global collaboration and facilitating the exchange of vital information. The DGC, committed to serving the diverse populations under the United Nations umbrella, assumed responsibility for the oversight and coordination of UNIC operations.

The inaugural establishment of UNICs in 1946 marked the genesis of a network designed to bridge communication gaps on a global scale. Initially consisting of two centers, their mandate swiftly expanded over the years, extending their footprint to encompass 63 countries worldwide. Positioned as central hubs within their respective regions, UNICs assumed a pivotal role in the dissemination of pertinent information pertaining to the United Nations system.

From their headquarters in New York, USA, UNICs served as conduits for the transmission of updates, initiatives, and challenges encountered within the United Nations framework. By leveraging their strategic locations and robust communication networks, these centers fulfill their mandate of fostering a more informed and interconnected global community.^[5]^[6]

Head of Department is Ms. Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications. She leads the UN’s Department of Global Communications, which informs global audiences about the state of the world and engages them to build support for the work and goals of the United Nations.

The United Nations Information Centres (UNICs), the field offices of the Department of Global Communications, are the principal sources of information about the United Nations system in the countries where they are located. UNICs are responsible for promoting greater public understanding of and support for the aims and activities of the United Nations. UNICs deliver information about the United Nations in their respective countries, in local languages, to a wide range of people, including journalists, government officials, civil society representatives, students, educators and researchers.

Scope

United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) have been strategically established across various regions, including Europe, the Americas, the UAE, Asia & the Pacific, and Africa. These centers serve as vital conduits aimed at bridging communication divides by disseminating essential United Nations information to people worldwide. To ensure accessibility and comprehensibility, all information is meticulously translated and presented in the regional languages of their respective areas.

Often referred to as United Nations Regional Information Centres, these entities play a crucial role in fostering connections between the United Nations and the populations of developing nations. Their mandate extends to engaging with media outlets, educational institutions, and other stakeholders to facilitate coordination within the UN system. Additionally, UNICs forge partnerships with governmental, non-governmental, and private sector organizations to advance shared objectives and initiatives.

In line with their mission, UNICs maintain both physical and digital repositories of information, including libraries and electronic mediums. These resources serve as valuable assets in promoting awareness and understanding of the United Nations' work and objectives among diverse audiences across the globe.^[7]^[8]

Activities

UNICs are involved in various core activities aimed at disseminating the latest information about the UN system.^[9]

Communication - UNICs implement communication strategies utilizing current affairs, traditional festivals, and events. They ensure information is translated into the regional languages of the countries they serve.
Media Outreach - UNICs establish connections with national and regional media outlets to distribute information. These centers utilize press conferences, print media, electronic, and digital mediums to disseminate information collaboratively.
Information Resource Development - These centers develop and maintain resources such as libraries and websites through regional information centers. UNIC activities encompass training sessions for journalists to keep them updated on development projects. They regularly conduct television and radio broadcasts featuring UN stories in regional languages.
Events Organization - UNICs organize numerous events on international and national celebration days. Additionally, they coordinate seminars, sports, and 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:^[10]

African States

Centre	Established	Areas serviced	Director
UNIC Accra	1958	Ghana Sierra Leone	Sylvia Lopez-Ekra
UNIC Antananarivo	1963	Madagascar	Violet Kakyomya
UNO Asmara	1993	Eritrea	Susan Ngongi
UNIC Brazzaville	1983	Congo	Anthony Ohemeng-Boamah
UNIC Bujumbura	1961	Burundi	Garry Conille
UNIC Dakar	1964	Senegal Cape Verde Ivory Coast Gambia Guinea Guinea-Bissau Mauritania	Damian Cardona Onses
UNIC Dar es Salaam	1961	United Republic of Tanzania	Alvaro Rodriguez
UNIC Harare	1982	Zimbabwe	Bishow Parajuli
UNIC Lagos	1967	Nigeria	Ronald Kayanja
UNIC Lome	1962	Togo Benin	Damien Mama
UNIC Lusaka	1975	Zambia	Janet Rogan
UNIC Nairobi	1974	Kenya Uganda Seychelles	Nasser Ega-Musa
UNIC Ouagadougou	1982	Burkina Faso Chad Mali Niger	Metsi Makhetha
UNIC Pretoria	1995	South Africa	Masimba Tafirenyika
UNIC Windhoek	1992	Namibia	Rachel Odede
UNIC Yaounde	1965	Cameroon Central African Republic Gabon	Allegra Maria Del Pilar Baiocchi

American States

Centre	Established	Areas serviced	Director
UNIC Asuncion	1962	Paraguay	Jorge Meza
UNIC Bogota	1954	Colombia Ecuador Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of	Helene Papper
UNIC Buenos Aires	1948	Argentina Uruguay	Tamar Hahn
UNIC La Paz	1963	Bolivia (Plurinational State of)	Mauricio Ramirez-Villegas
UNIC Lima	1960	Peru	Maria del Carmen Sacasa
UNIC Mexico City	1947	Mexico Cuba Dominican Republic	Giancarlo Summa
UNIC Panama City	1984	Panama	Harold Robinson
UNIC Port of Spain	1962	Countries: 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 Janeiro	1947	Brazil	Maurizio Giuliano
UNIC Washington	1946	United States of America	Robert Skinner^[11]

Arab States

Centre	Established	Areas serviced	Director
UNIC Algiers	1963	Algeria	Eric Overvest
UNIC Beirut	1962	Lebanon Jordan Kuwait Syrian Arab Republic	Marguerite El Helou
UNIC Cairo	1949	Egypt Saudi Arabia	Radhia Achouri
UNIC Khartoum	1963	Sudan Somalia	Gwi-Yeop Son
UNIC Manama	1977	Bahrain Qatar United Arab Emirates	Samir Al-Darabi
UNIC Rabat	1962	Morocco	Fethi Debbabi (Acting Director)
UNIC Sana'a	1994	Yemen	Lise Grande
UNIC Tunis	1960	Tunisia	Diego Zorrilla

Asia and Pacific States

Centre	Established	Areas serviced	Director
UNIC Canberra	1948	Australia Fiji Kiribati Nauru New Zealand Samoa Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu	Christopher Woodthorpe
UNIC Colombo	1961	Sri Lanka	Hanaa Singer
UNIC Dhaka	1981	Bangladesh	Mia Seppo
UNIC Islamabad	1951	Pakistan	Vlastimil Samek (Acting Director)
UNIC Jakarta	1985	Indonesia	Francyne Harrigan (Acting Director)
UNIC Kathmandu	1964	Nepal	Sara Beysolow Nyanti
UNIC Manila	1953	Philippines Papua New Guinea Solomon Islands	Ola Almgren
UNIC New Delhi	1947	India Bhutan	Darrin Farrant
UNIC Tehran	1950	Iran (Islamic Republic of)	Maria Dotsenko
UNIC Tokyo	1958	Japan	Kaoru Nemoto
UNIC Yangon	1959	Myanmar	Knut Ostby

Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States

Centre	Established	Areas serviced	Director
UNO Almaty	1993	Kazakhstan	Abdurahim Muhidov (Officer-in-Charge)
UNIC Ankara	1975	Turkey	Irena Vojačkova-Sollorano
UNO Baku	1992	Azerbaijan	Ghulam Isaczai
UNRIC Brussels	2004	Countries: 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 Geneva	1947	Switzerland	Alessandra Vellucci
UNO Kyiv	1992	Ukraine	Osnat Lubrani
UNO Minsk	1992	Belarus	Joanna Kazana
UNIC Moscow	1948	Russian Federation	Vladimir Kuznetsov
UNIC Prague	1947	Czech Republic	Michal Broza (Officer-in-Charge)
UNO Tashkent	1992	Uzbekistan	Helena Fraser
UNO Tbilisi	1992	Georgia	Vinton Louisa
UNIS Vienna	1984	Austria Hungary Slovakia Slovenia	Martin Nesirky
UNIC Warsaw	1995	Poland	Mariola Ratschka (Officer-in-Charge)
UNO Yerevan	1992	Armenia	Shombi Sharp

References

^ "Secretary General Biography". United Nations. 22 December 2016.
^ Nations, United. "Who We Are". United Nations. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
^ Nations, United. "United Nations Information Centres - Directory". United Nations. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
^ "Who We Are". United Nations Information Centres.
^ "UN Information Centre". United Nations Foundation. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018.
^ UN Information Centers & Services. United Nations. 1998. p. 1461. ISBN 978-9-211008401.
^ "Partnerships". United Nations Information Centres.
^ "United Nations Information Centres portal". unic.un.org. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
^ Yearbook of the United Nations. United Nations. 2003. pp. 635–636. ISBN 978-9-211009057.
^ "UNIC Directory". United Nations Information Centres. Department of Global Communications, United Nations. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
^ "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.