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.