News
UNDP releases 2025 Slovak Transformation Fund Annual Report
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Europe and Central Asia has published the 2025 Annual Report for the Slovak Transformation Fund (STF), highlighting how cities across the region are strengthening their capacity to manage complex urban transitions and connect…
M4EG: Leading cities when the compass fails
Originally posted at M4EG’s website, read the full article here. When familiar maps no longer work and the compass starts to spin, leadership is about learning to navigate the unknown. Tools alone are not the answer; if anything, cities have…
M4EG: What if the project is not the point?
Originally posted at M4EG’s website, read the full article here. Cities rarely move in straight lines. A tourism problem is also a skills problem, a public-service problem, a business-confidence problem and often a community-belief problem.…
UNDP and DFINITY Foundation Collaborate on Exploring Sovereign Cloud Infrastructure and Decentralized AI Deployment for Public Good
New York, Istanbul, Zurich, 25 August — The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the DFINITY Foundation today announced a new partnership to explore the deployment of sovereign cloud infrastructure and decentralized artificial intelligence to…
UNDP AltFinLab invites UN teams to apply for the 2026 SDG Blockchain Accelerator
The UNDP Alternative Finance Lab (AltFinLab) has launched an open call for the third edition of the SDG Blockchain Accelerator, inviting UNDP Country Offices and other UN entities to submit development challenges linked to active…
UNEP provides US$1.95 million to scale up Armenia’s circular bioeconomy transition
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), through its Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), has approved over US$2.2 million in funding to accelerate Armenia’s transition towards a circular bioeconomy – strengthening municipal systems, reducing organic…
Urban Talks series | Summary and takeaways
Urban Talks is an interactive webinar series that spotlights cities and initiatives that are building new inclusive visions across Europe and Central Asia and wider, and showcases how cities are demonstrating resilience, reinventing their economies,…
With support from Slovakia and UNDP, a Green Economy Hub has opened in Nizhyn, Chernihiv Oblast
On 30 July, the Green Economy Hub was opened in Nizhyn – a new space where residents, local authorities, businesses and academia can work together around a shared goal: to make the community more energy-resilient and…
Blockchain for Public Good: Insights from UNDP’s Paris Convenings
Governments around the world are accelerating their digital transformation efforts. As they do, blockchain has gained attention as one of several technologies that can help strengthen public systems, from digital payments and identity to climate…
Where does AI actually help a city? Ten municipalities spent three days finding out
Inside the CEF x AI Bootcamp in Podgorica, Montenegro – and what it taught us about building AI capability in local governments
AI x Cities webinar series: Session 1 – Starting where cities actually are
While information about AI is abundant, space to make sense of what it means in practice is not. That gap between the global AI conversation and where cities in our region actually stand is the focus of the first…
UNDP and the Stellar Development Foundation extend partnership to scale proven digital payment solutions
Building on research across seventeen countries and live pilots in five, the next phase establishes the governance and infrastructure for UNDP country offices to use blockchain-based digital payments as a regular part of programme delivery.
What blockchain VDAP opens for UNDP colleagues
UNDP teams are increasingly being asked to make sense of fast-changing digital systems before the institutional playbook is fully written. As part of this shift, blockchain is entering more practical development conversations, and UNDP’s ability…
UNDP launches open call for the BOOST: Innovation Ecosystem Accelerator in Moldova and Ukraine
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, is launching the BOOST: Innovation Ecosystem Accelerator – a new open call for business support organizations (BSOs) in Moldova and…
UN Blockchain Talks #9 | AI Agents, Federated Learning, and the Sovereign AI Stack
The ninth and closing session of the spring UN Blockchain Talks handed the floor to three private-sector builders working at the edge of AI and blockchain, and asked them a blunt question: what do you actually…
UNDP convenes municipalities in Podgorica to explore AI for urban transformation
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly shaping how cities deliver services, manage infrastructure, and make decisions. For many municipalities across Europe and Central Asia, the challenge is not simply adopting AI, but understanding where it genuinely fits their…
UNDP launches CEF x AI programme for municipalities across Europe and Central Asia
Artificial intelligence (AI) is opening new possibilities for how cities deliver services, make decisions, and manage complex systems. For municipalities, the question is no longer whether AI will play a role, but how to engage with it…
UNDP convenes high-level event in Paris on scaling blockchain for good
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will convene Scaling Blockchain for Public Good, a two-day high-level event bringing together blockchain ecosystem leaders, governments, development organizations, and academic institutions to explore the practical pathways through which blockchain technologies can strengthen public systems and support sustainable development. The programme is organized by UNDP’s Alternative…