Bangkok--2 Nov--UN
ESCAP and partners to hold North?East Asian dialogues on cooperation on sustainable energy
development in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea
ESCAP, in collaboration with the Korea Energy Economics Institute (KEEI), will hold the Seventh
Session of the Senior Officials Committee on Energy Cooperation in North?East Asia (SOC?7) and the
Fourth North?East Asia Government?Business Dialogue (GBD?4) in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea, from
2 to 4 November. To be attended by government officials and experts from China, Mongolia, the
Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation, the SOC, which is the decision?making body of the
Intergovernmental Collaborative Mechanism on Energy Cooperation in North?East Asia, will (i)
review six years of its activities, (ii) share important results from joint studies elaborated by its two
working groups, which could have positive energy security implications for North?East Asia, and (iii)
discuss and agree on priority activities of the mechanism in 2012.
The GBD aims to enhance collaboration between the government and the business sectors for
expansion of sustainable energy development in the subregion and will be attended by CEOs,
business executives, and government officials from North?East Asian countries. The meeting will
identify regional cooperation measures to facilitate energy cooperation, trade and jointdevelopment
of energy resources. Discussions will also focus on the energy efficiency potential in
North?East Asia and developing a cooperation agenda for the sector in the subregion.
ESCAP regional statistics institute to launch new e?learning course
The Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP), an ESCAP subsidiary body, will launch a new elearningtraining course Introduction to System of National Accounts for selected countries for a twomonthperiod starting in November, using the newly developed “SIAP?Tokushima Univ. e?learning
system”.
The SIAP?Tokushima Univ. e?learning system is an internet?based self?learning system developed byTokushima University, a national university in Japan. It is a part of the SIAP training programme onofficial statistics, supplementing its regular Tokyo Metropolitan Area (TMA)?based training coursesand outreach programme.
The new system allows participants to receive SIAP training in their country, at their office, or at any
place with internet access and is expected to attract more potential trainees to participate in this
programme. This e?learning system is currently open only to a limited number of statistical officials
invited by SIAP. The Institute will improve the service to invite a wider range of stakeholders, both
producers and users of official statistics, to this programme.
The new system was proposed in the SIAP Strategic Plan 2010?2014 which emphasized “developingcomplementary training modalities with increased use of ICT”. While not replacing face?to?facetraining at SIAP, these modalities provide opportunities to reach a broader target group and providecontinuous and sustainable training for government officials/statisticians and training institutes. Thefull text of the SIAP Strategic Plan is available on the internet at the following address:
http://www.unsiap.or.jp/gc/stgplan09.pdf
United Nations regional trade research and training network to organize capacity?building
workshop in New Delhi, India
The ESCAP?affiliated Asia?Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (ARTNeT), in collaborationwith its member institute, the Research and Information System for developing Countries (RIS) willorganize the Capacity Building Workshop for Trade Research on use of Gravity Modelling from 9 to11 November in New Delhi, India. The three day workshop brings together junior researchers fromdeveloping and least developed countries of the region and will provide hands?on training on gravitymodelling, including data sources, dataset preparation, estimation, interpretation and policy
applications. ARTNeT was launched by ESCAP and Canada’s International Development Research
Centre in 2004. More information on ARTNeT activities, as well as on its research programmes and
publications, is available at http://www.artnetontrade.org.
ESCAP regional rural poverty centre to hold capacity building workshop on agriculture policy
research, Sri Lanka
The Centre for Alleviation of Poverty through Sustainable Agriculture (CAPSA), an ESCAP affiliate, isorganizing a five?day Capacity Building Workshop on Agriculture Policy Research under the theme
Sustainable Agriculture for Poverty Reduction and Food Security from 14 to 18 November in Kandy,
Sri Lanka. The workshop will bring together a core group of scientists and governmentrepresentatives to discuss sustainable agriculture, poverty reduction and food security as well as toexplore techniques of agricultural policy analysis, data base management and computer modelling.
The workshop is one of a series planned by CAPSA in the Asia?Pacific region to help governmentsidentify policy priorities to achieve agricultural production targets that are also environmentallysustainable and socially equitable. For more information, please visit:
http://www.uncapsa.org/MoreNews16?09?2011.asp
ESCAP to organize preparatory regional review of implementation of Madrid International Plan of
Action on Ageing
ESCAP, in cooperation with the China National Committee on Ageing, is organizing a Preparatory
Meeting for the Asia?Pacific High?level Intergovernmental Meeting on the Second Regional Review
and Appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) from 22 to 24 November
in Beijing, China. The Preparatory Meeting will identify key priorities related to population ageing in
the region and determine the agenda for the Asia?Pacific High?level Intergovernmental Meeting on
the Second Regional Review and Appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing in
2012. Population ageing experts from governments, research institutions and civil society
organizations as well as relevant international organizations will attend the Beijing meeting.