The records in S-1913 document the project files and training and study activities of the Department for Technical Co-operation for Development (DTCD) with United Nations member states, in the regions of Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe. The bulk of the records dates from 1979 to 1983 and details the planning and implementation of fellowships and training programmes for developing countries. The function of S-1913 is derived from DESA.DEV.062 and DESA.DEV.063 of the retention schedule of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), dated 21 January 2013. The records largely consist of country files documenting the Technical Assistance Fellowship Programme, in addition to records related to interregional seminars, and regional and interregional training centres.
Technical Assistance Fellowship Programme
The DTCD’s Fellowship Section within the Support Services Branch of the Division of Programme Support oversaw the Technical Assistance Fellowship Programme for developing countries. Nominated by country governments, individuals were awarded fellowships for study in academic institutions, participation in training courses, observation studies, and interregional seminars. Following the completion of the fellowship, fellows were required to submit a final report evaluating the course to the DTCD Fellowship Section.
These files, arranged alphabetically by country, include memoranda, correspondence, fellowship project documents, and final reports. S-1913 documents fellowships in the fields of: tax administration, customs, statistics, transport, development planning, public administration, computer processing, hydrology and mining.
Interregional Seminars
The Interregional and Regional Projects Section of the Middle East, Mediterranean, Europe and Interregional Projects Branch of DTCD oversaw the planning and implementation of interregional seminars, symposiums, workshops, study tours, and expert group meetings. Participants included fellows and experts intending to gain more experience in their field. The level of knowledge and ability of participants ranged from the novice to junior and senior levels and determined the type of meeting. For example, senior experts would participate in an expert group meeting, such as the Interregional Expert Group Meeting on Curricula Design for Management Development (Arusha, Tanzania, 20-24 July 1981).
The records in S-1913 document interregional seminars in the fields of economic planning, public administration, finance, demographics, community development, natural resources, energy and water resources and include seminars such as: the Interregional Symposium on Development Process and Technological Options in Developing Countries (Lome, Togo, 2-26 May 1979); United Nations Symposium on World Coal Prospects (Katowice, Poland, 15-23 October 1979); and the Interregional Meeting of International River Organizations (Dakar, Senegal, 5-14 May 1981). The files include correspondence and memoranda pertaining to the implementation and planning of interregional seminars; country monographs, technical papers, and reports such as rapporteurs’ reports and final reports of seminars.
Regional and Interregional Training Centres
The files contain documentation related to UN regional and interregional demographic training and research centres including: Institut de Formation et de Recherches Démographiques (IFORD), Yaoundé, Cameroon; Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS), University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana; Centre Demographique ONU-Roumanie (CEDOR), Bucharest, Romania; and the Interregional Demographic Research and Training Centre, Cairo, Egypt where training courses and seminars were held.
In addition to documenting the recruitment of fellows, consultants, associate experts, professors and directors to training centres, the records include job descriptions; work programmes; project budget revisions; requests for equipment; cables and memoranda detailing travel arrangements; reports; memoranda and correspondence.
These records contain agreements between the UN and the training centres’ country’s government addressing, for example, the extension of the agreement between the UN and the Government of Cameroon regarding continued support of IFORD; a project document, work plan and institutional framework containing short-term and long-term objectives for continued assistance to the Demographic Research and Training Centre in Cairo, Egypt; a project request for a Computer Facility at RIPS; correspondence and memoranda about the fellowship programme at CEDOR; and reports of RIPS experts and fellows.
S-1913 also contains files related to the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), Nagoya Japan which was established in June 1971 under the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Resolution 1086-C (XXXIX) through a Funds-in-Trust arrangement with the Government of Japan. UNCRD provided training in regional development to officials who were engaged in the planning, management and implementation of development activities in developing countries in the Asian region.. Training and staffing of the UNCRD was provided by UN consultants and experts.
The UNCRD records include: budget plans and proposals; reports; job descriptions; correspondence and memoranda related to the planning and implementation of advisory meetings, expert group meetings, and seminars; as well as administrative arrangements for UNCRD experts and consultants. These files also include a variety of reports on specific missions or topics, authored by UNCRD experts such as “Report of the Consultative Meeting of Experts on Training for Regional Development, 29 January - 4 February 1980.”
S-1913 also contains records of the Latin American Institute for Crime Prevention and Treatment of Offenders (ILANUD) in San Juan, Costa Rica, which carried out training programmes and seminars for policymakers, planners and administrators; produced guidelines; and provided advisory services to governments in the field of crime prevention and treatment of offenders. The records include: budget revisions; programmes of activities; job descriptions; memoranda and correspondence about workshops; administrative arrangements and travel arrangements for ILANUD personnel.
S-1913 also documents the coordination between DTCD and the Environnement et Développement du Tiers-Monde (ENDA) for the Joint Programme on Exchange of Experience and Training in Grass-Root Community Development and Appropriate Technologies (APTEC), a project to support technical co-operation by facilitating the exchange of experience at the local level. These records include: travel arrangements; reports by participants; job descriptions for consultants; and various publications issued by ENDA.