Umoja hosts workshop for DFS in Brindisi

The Umoja Team hosted a workshop for colleagues in the Department of Field Support in Brindisi from 24 to 26 May 2010. The goal of the workshop was to prepare participants for their role in support of the implementation of Umoja. Twenty-five participants representing field missions from across the globe became the first group of Umoja Leaders. Umoja Leaders are the primary focal points and overall coordinators for Umoja activities in their respective duty stations. At the workshop, the participants received an Umoja orientation, which introduced them to Umoja concepts, vision, guiding principles, and timeline.

The workshop was conducted in a highly interactive manner enabling participants to learn about Umoja through presentations, exercises, and discussions with the Umoja Team. A highlight of the workshop was the "Around Umoja in a Day" sessions. During these sessions, participants received detailed explanations of the administrative reforms embodied in the new Umoja processes covering financial, human and physical resources of the Organization.

The event included two remote participants. Paul van Essche, Umoja Director, joined the event via Skype on opening day, answering questions about the timeline, budgeting, and training. On the last day, Under-Secretary-General Susana Malcorra addressed the participants through a video-conference, responding to questions and conveying her strong commitment to the Umoja initiative.

According to the evaluation survey submitted by participants, the Umoja Leaders workshop was a great success. Ninety-six percent (96%) of participants rated the overall programme as "good" or "excellent". The survey responses also revealed that participants considered the interactive sessions to be very useful. Given the volume of information conveyed at the workshop, a number of participants suggested that the length of future workshops be increased from three to five days.

As part of a growing network of motivated individuals, more Umoja Leaders will be identified during the coming months to support the successful implementation of Umoja.

Visit us at http://www.unumoja.org to learn more about Umoja.

Umoja Times - May 2010 released

Catch up with Umoja in the May 2010 issue of the Umoja Times:

Umoja forges ahead
Working closely with expert colleagues to design solutions that meet the UN’s current and future administrative...

Umoja on the road to Entebbe
2010 Mercury Conference (22 - 27 March, Entebbe, Uganda)...

Umoja by numbers
A few interesting facts and figures on Umoja from that last 11 months...

A ‘colorful’ change is underway

Do you know the 'colorful' term that is used to refer to the seemingly endless parade of paperwork that accompanies many bureaucratic matters in governments and organizations? According to some, it started in ancient England where thick legal documents were bound or tied with a cloth ribbon of a specific color.

The term appears in historical records of the 16th century when Henry VIII besieged Pope Clement VII with about eighty petitions for the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and was later used by Charles Dickens and Thomas Carlyle.

Finally, the term became much more figurative in meaning and referred to any official routine or procedure marked by excessive complexities that result in delay or inaction.

So what is this 'colorful' term, which we find in so many bureaucracies? It is RED TAPE.

The Umoja team is working hard to ensure that the way the UN manages its resources in the future directly contributes to the goal of "Greening the UN" (as referenced on iSeek). Umoja will significantly reduce red tape through its streamlined processes and improved workflows. By leveraging modern technology, providing access to information online, and supporting electronic transactions, Umoja will further reduce paper, cartridge and power consumption.

Umoja Times - February 2010 released

The second issue of the Umoja Times provides an update on the Umoja team's participation in two events: the Galileo Conference and the Property Management Workshop, hosted by the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC). In this issue, we also introduce a new series on how Umoja will contribute to a "greener" UN.

United with our colleagues in the aftermath of disaster in Haiti

The devastation wrought by the earthquake in Haiti on Tuesday, 12 January 2010, ignited a deep sense of compassion in us all, and sparked an immediate, global outpouring of humanitarian assistance for those caught by this unexpected natural disaster. For all of us at the United Nations, our grief encompasses not only the scale of human casualties, but also the loss of dear colleagues whose untimely passing have now become a symbol of sacrifice made on behalf of world peace.

The Umoja team joins the UN family in expressing our heartfelt sympathies to the families and friends of our fallen colleagues and to all those who have lost loved ones. Our thoughts go out to the people of Haiti, and we stand behind our Organization as it continues to work with members of the international community in bringing much needed relief to those suffering the aftermath of this disaster. We remain hopeful that our missing MINUSTAH colleagues are safe, including those colleagues who shared their expertise as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) during the Umoja design sessions held in the second half of 2009.