FA
CT
SH
EE
T
UNITED NATIONS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION (UNO/DPI)
Mandate
The United Nations Department of Public
Information (UN DPI) is the public voice of the UN
and the principal source of information about the
United Nations system. It promotes global aware-
ness and greater understanding of the work of the
UN, using various communication tools including
press, electronic and new media. It was estab-
lished in 1946.
At present, there are 63 Information Centres,
Services and Offices, which are part of the
Department of Public Information. They are key
to the Organization's ability to reach the peoples
of the world and to share the United Nations story
with them in their own languages.
By translating information materials into local lan-
guages, engaging opinion-makers, organizing
events to highlight issues or observances and
supporting the UN Country Teams (UNCT) in
implementation of their communications strate-
gies, the network of UN DPI Offices, Services and
Centers is one of the main vehicles through which
the UN tells its story.
UN DPI in Armenia
The UN DPI Information Office in Armenia
(UNO/DPI) was established in Yerevan in 1992
and is one of 63 UN Information Centres,
Services and Offices worldwide.
Besides its global mandate, and in accordance
with the United Nations Development
Assistance Framework (UNDAF), UNO/DPI
Armenia cooperates with the United Nations
Country Team (UNCT) to promote UNCT work
assisting efforts aimed at achieving the
Millennium Development Goals, promoting the
UN Human Rights standards, organizing the
commemoration of UN observances, arranging
thematic exhibitions and ensuring media cover-
age of all UN activities.
The UNO/DPI provides expert advice and assis-
tance to the UN Agencies, Funds and
Programmes regarding communication strate-
gies.
The UNO/DPI leads the UN Communication
Group (UNCG) aimed at uniting the efforts of UN
system in Armenia to increase visibility of the
UN's achievements and promote its success sto-
ries. This, in turn, helps to generate public cooper-
ation and support, leading to new achievements.
The UNO/DPI, working in close coordination with
the UNCT and its local partners, reaches out to
the media and educational institutions, engages
in partnerships with authorities on national and
local levels, civil society groups and the private
sector in bringing the core messages of the UN to
the people in Armenia.
To reach a wider Armenian audience, UNO/DPI
has prepared over 90 translated and locally pro-
duced UN materials in Armenian and dissemi-
nates this information to all interested partners,
including visitors of UN House, participants of
different events, state and non-governmental
organizations, libraries and educational institu-
tions. UNO/DPI staff, together with its col-
leagues from other UN institutions, regularly
conducts outreach lectures for students and
other interested groups in Yerevan and other
parts of Armenia.
The Office maintains UN Corners housed in cities
Hrazdan, Gyumri, Idjevan, Kapan and Artashat
Youth Centers together with the Center for
Organization of Youth Activities within the Ministry
of Sport and Youth Affairs. These UN Corners
serve for local public as the direct source of infor-
mation about UN and are used to promote youth
activism.
The UNO/DPI manages the bilingual website of
the UN Country Team in Armenia (www.un.am),
which serves as one of the main sources of infor-
mation about the activities of the Organization,
both locally and globally.
Together with its partners, the UNO/DPI and the
Armenian UN Association organizes Model UN
Conferences for the youth, which simulate the
work of different UN bodies.
The UNO/DPI Office also maintains two UN
depository libraries, located at the Yerevan State
University and the National Library. The Office
regularly updates their stock and trains their staff.
Traveling around Armenia with the Bibliobus of
the National Library, UNO/DPI distributes UN pub-
lications and information to the members of the
Library network in Armenia.
CONTACT: United Nations Office in YerevanDepartment of Public Information
UN House14 Petros Adamyan St.Yerevan 0010, Armenia
Tel: (374 10) 56 02 12Fax: (374 10) 56 14 06E-mail: [email protected]: http://unic.un.org
http://www.un.am