Online courses on knowledge management

14 July 2010, Rome - The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) have signed a cooperation agreement to deliver jointly a series of online courses on knowledge management and web 2.0 technologies for developing countries.

The UNITAR/FAO interactive tutor-facilitated online courses will be certified using internationally recognized quality standards schemes, and will be based on self-paced e-learning materials developed by FAO and partners as part of the Information Management Resource Kit.

The first online course, jointly designed by UNITAR and FAO, is entitled: "Innovative Collaboration for Development" and covers social media tools, social networking, collaboration and knowledge exchange.  The course will focus on training development professionals to realise the potential of social media tools to enhance the efficiency of their work, increase their organizations' outreach, and contribute to the effectiveness of their work. The online course is scheduled for the third quarter of 2010.

The UNITAR/FAO partnership aligns with the United Nations calls for enhanced interagency collaboration and improved synergies among agencies in capacity development. The partnership builds on the strengths of both institutions in providing high quality courses taking full advantage of digital technologies to provide learning opportunities to professionals in developing countries.