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The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) was established in 1965 as an autonomous body within the United Nations with the purpose of enhancing the effectiveness of the Organization through appropriate training and research. UNITAR’s mission is to deliver innovative training and conduct research on knowledge systems to develop the capacity of beneficiaries. To concretize this mission UNITAR implements various training activities in the field of sustainable development, supporting countries, particularly those in development process, to enhance the capacity of their civil servants.

The training terminology was developed with the purpose of harmonizing and standardizing the terms used in UNITAR's training activities. This request was expressed by the Training Methodology working group on occasion of the consultation process of April 2007 and included in the Strategic Reform Plan 2007-09. The advantages of such a standardization are the improvement of the clarity of the information and a reduction of its ambiguity. It can also help in harmonizing the communication within the organization.

UNITAR's training terminology has not been developed as a novelty work. In most of the cases it is a research compilation of definitions already available in a number of websites, articles, books and various other sources available on-line, with all the sources being acknowledged.

The main elements of the Terminology site are found in the Table of Contents, which is accessible from the menu on the left hand side of the screen. The contents are so far organized in four sections: General Terminology, E-Learning Terminology, Knowledge Management Terminology and Toolkits. It is envisaged that other sections will be created; one already planed is Staff Development.

The General Terminology is the section that incorporates all the terms. Currently there are close to 400 terms in the web-site. Every term listed in the General Terminology page is an active link to its correspondent definition.

The E-Learning and the Knowledge-Management terminologies are derived from the General Terminology and simply compile the terms related to these specialized subjects, trying to facilitate the consultation to terms in these particular fields. The General Terminology is always the main root. New terms are included in this section; the E-Learning and Knowledge-Management’s lists of terms are updated accordingly.

In the Toolkits section you will find how to put into practice the tools and methods defined in the General Terminology: “how to” guides, general guidelines, step-by-step instructions, practical tips, instructions for facilitators, and job aids are some of the materials you will find in the Toolkits section.

Identifies every single term defined in the Terminology.

Identifies the Toolkits Section.

In the Toolkit section you will find other two icons:

Demonstrates the existance of a template that is ready to use.

Identifies a "carry-with-you" format for the term presented in the toolkit.

Corresponds to the web resources where one can find additional information related to the term.

Additionally there are two other icons that appear in the Bibliography section:

indicates all the books and articles that have been used to compile the definitions.

indicates the web-sites consulted.