TEHRAN – The Vice Presidency (VP) for Science, Technology and Knowledge-based Economy and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have organized a training session for VP directors on child rights.

The training session was held in the last week of May, the UNICEF website announced in a press release on June 3.

A total of 18 VP directors and experts specialized in the fields of innovation, artificial intelligence (AI), knowledge-based economy, and cultural technologies attended the one-day training.

During the session, the participants gain insight into Results Based Management (RBM) and UNICEF’s Innovation Strategy.

They also discussed the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the relevant corresponding national legislation.

The session also covered government sectoral accountabilities, in developing national plans that contribute to the identification and addressing of the child rights deprivations in the country. 

Following the CRC briefing, several modules of the RBM were elaborated, underscoring UNICEF’s approach to planning, implementation, and monitoring of the 2023-2027 Country Program, which aims to improve the delivery of results for children and the realization of the rights of the children in the country.

The RBM training put implementation planning and monitoring at the front and center of program development by providing insights into implementation strategies, work planning, budgeting, risk and change management, resource, and progress tracking well as outcome and impact monitoring as a means of accountability towards children. 

The training ended with a brief overview of UNICEF’s global innovation strategy, UNICEF’s global artificial intelligence guidelines that focus on protecting the rights of children as well as sharing successful experiences of UNICEF innovations in programming with and for children. 

MOU to expand innovation ecosystem for children, adolescents

On January 27, Amir-Hossein Mirabadi, an official with the Vice Presidency, and Robin Nandy, the representative of UNICEF in Iran, signed a memorandum of understanding to develop an innovation ecosystem for children and adolescents in the country, IRNA reported.

During the meeting, it was decided to benefit from the participation of all related bodies to achieve tangible results and realize the anticipated goals.

One of the most important axes of cooperation between the parties is the technology exchange and transfer of experiences and innovative solutions among Iran and other countries with the participation of UNICEF.

Expanding the export of knowledge-based products and developing the impacts of knowledge-based companies’ activities on society and the national economy are among the government's priorities, Mirabadi added.

MT/MG