Learning Managers Forum
2002

Learning Managers Forum

Providing staff members with regular learning and development opportunities is important for the advancement of the United Nations. Learning Managers play a fundamental role in this process by finding ways to make learning more accessible, exploring new approaches to learning and professional development, and providing insights on how to formulate a common learning agenda among UN agencies and other international organizations.

With a focus on facilitating strategic discussions around learning, in 1996 the Staff College, operating as a project supported by the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITCILO), conceived the Learning Managers forum – an annual gathering that brings together all those responsible for learning, training and staff development in United Nations agencies, funds and programmes as well as other international organizations. UNSSC held its first Learning Manager’s Forum as an independent UN organization in 2002. Since then, the Forum has been an annual offering of the College for Learning Managers and practitioners of the UN system to collaborate and partner on moving the UN system’s learning agenda forward. The Forum provides a unique space for learning managers to gain exposure to novel, innovative approaches to learning and professional development, with a focus on making the transition from both within and outside the UN system. It further serves as a platform for strategic discussions that enables Learning Managers to contribute to formulating a common learning agenda among UN agencies and other international organizations.

What was started as an annual gathering of Learning Managers, has now expanded to include the learning community at large,  with the Forum attracting more than 800 participants over the years.  Community building and networking initiatives like a social media group, periodic newsletters, the Innovation in Learning webinar series, and working group projects have contributed to identifying opportunities to streamline and co-create while building a community that has been able to flourish and support the spirit of working together. The Forum has helped build a go-to network and community for learning practitioners from across the System. It features active discussions around how to harmonize, create efficiencies, and constantly improve the learning products and services offered to the System while supporting one another in doing so.