Fifty years ago, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). UNIDO is the UN system’s industrial development arm, and continues to work to eradicate global poverty by assisting developing and middle income countries in achieving inclusive and sustainable industrial development.

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, UNIDO organized a series of events from 21 to 25 November at its Vienna Headquarters. The week-long celebration was attended by some 1,600 participants from over 190 countries, including high-level representatives of UNIDO’s 170 Member States, as well as leaders of international organizations and the private sector, and leading figures from academia. Around 300,000 people from all over the world took part in the celebrations via our social media channels, and were able to join us directly through the live streaming of selected events.

In total, 28 events were organized in the course of the week, including panel discussions and presentations, as well as food festivals and cultural performances. The events featured 155 speakers and focused on topics such as the way forward in achieving the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals; financing for development; industrial development for job creation to address root causes of migration; the Fourth Industrial Revolution and its implications for developing countries; and climate change. These events were successfully organized thanks to 48 sponsors, such as the Bank of China, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, City of Vienna, Intel, Hannover Messe…just to name a few.

On the sidelines of the celebration, UNIDO signed 18 cooperation agreements, including with the Austrian Federal Chancellor, the Austrian Development Agency, the Austrian Energy Agency, the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association, the China International Centre for Economic and Technical Exchanges, the German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, the governments of Japan, Norway and Switzerland, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, and so on.

In the run-up to the celebration week, UNIDO received over 50 congratulatory messages from heads of UN agencies and organizations, as well as from leaders of Member States, the donor community and the private sector. UNIDO also organized three Youth competitions which received around 1,000 applications.

 

View the event photo albums on flickr