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Editor's Note: This bulletin presents much more of the details on post changes which we first reported a few days ago. Subject: Future Focus Initiative, Bulletin #2 Dear Colleagues, As part of the on-going efforts to keep you informed on developments in the Future Focus Initiative (FFI), I am pleased to share with you this FFI Bulletin #2.

Kristof correctly points to the failure of the US and other major powers to pressure the UAE which is the principal funder of the RSF. Money talks!! Tom The World Has Again Failed to Prevent Atrocities in Darfur Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times Click here for the article Summary Nicholas Kristof argues that mass atrocities are unfolding in El Fasher, Darfur, amid global indifference and failed U.S. diplomacy.

 

FOGGS is shutting down. Sad indeed! Gautam

Greetings dear Participants! As some of you have started making their flight reservations, we are posting below the Zimbabwe Visa requirements and online application form for your information and action.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by UNICEF Jamaica (@unicefjamaica) UNICEF TACRO Press Release - 30 October Several days of torrential rains, storm surges and catastrophic flooding caused by Hurricane Melissa have impacted the lives of more than 700,000 children across the Caribbean, according to UNICEF estimates. The strong storm that directly hit Jamaica and Cuba and affected the Caribbean islands of Haiti and the Dominican Republic has left a heavy toll of displaced children and families. Infrastructure has been left broken, crops destroyed, and essential services such as health and education have been disrupted. “In the wake of relentless floods across the Caribbean, hundreds of thousands of children have seen their lives upended suddenly,” said Roberto Benes Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. “Children urgently need food, safe drinking water and sanitation, access to health and nutrition services and a path back to educat...

Summary  UNICEF is consolidating three operational functions — recruitment administration, individual consultant contracting, and regional/HQ travel services — into its Global Shared Services Centre (GSSC) to cut costs, standardize processes, and free Country Offices to focus on program delivery and advocacy. T

Something for the UNICEF downsized staff to remember - Lou By Callum Borchers The Wall Street Journal Click here for the article: https://www.wsj.com/articles/overqualified-job-market-layoffs-middle-management-ai-2c0c4d39 Summary U.S. companies are cutting white-collar roles and favoring cheaper, less-experienced candidates as they flatten management structures and adopt AI, leaving many mid-career workers stranded between senior roles they can’t reach and entry-level jobs they’re now considered overqualified for.

Gaza Mother in rubble: “This is a truce! What truce is this?” President Trump in Air Force One: “You have to understand. Hamas is a very small part of the Middle East. They have to behave.” John Gilmartin Israeli Strikes in Gaza Kill at Least 100, Local Health Officials Say By Liam Stack and Bilal Shbair The New York Times

Where beauty means resilience Minar Thapa Magar, Home Ground Lab Click here for the article Summary When the 2022 floods swept through Deh Kamangar in Pakistan’s Sindh province, not only were homes destroyed but aspirations were washed away.

Rethinking development again The carriage of human civilization has been on development track for centuries with a steam engine during agricultural revolution to high speed train during industrial revolution. It acquired supersonic speed with the spread of cyber technology. It is now at hypersonic speed with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI).

Statement to Third Committee   Mr Chair. Excellencies. Colleagues. Good morning. • 7 October 2025 marked two years since the brutal attack by Palestinian militants that killed 1200 Israelis and foreigners in southern Israel, it also marks the date when the most ruthless, prolonged and widespread attack against the Palestinian people in history was launched by Israel. • While the ceasefire and release of hostages and prisoners, offer hope, they cannot undo the devastation that has already occurred. Tens of thousands of lives have been lost, entire families erased. The Gaza Strip lies in ruins, rendered nearly uninhabitable. The psychological scars to the Palestinian people, and to the Israeli people, will echo through generations. We must also not lose sight of a painful truth: over the past two years, the actions of the Israeli government have consistently pointed toward a singular, harrowing objective—the systematic destruction of Palestinian life in Gaza. Excellencies, • Last ...

Dear All I’m in a mourning period. So please forgive any errors or over statement of UNICEF’s situation. I think you know I used to be part of the staff and very likely have heard me going on and on about some experience in a distant place. UNICEF gave me opportunity to meet people I never would have, to work on projects I loved, and do this in places I never expected to be in. I’m mourning because the headquarters of this organization is essentially being dispersed and reduced by 25%. I knew there was change coming, and felt some cutting and sharpening of focus would help. It now appears that by end December our main headquarters staff location will be Nairobi. It also appears that most of the programming functions are moving to a set of different cities, Rome, Valencia and Budapest. Admin staff moved to Budapest several years ago. The New York headquarters appears to be a thing of the past. Okay, it’s been in NYC 80 years, yes Eleanor Roosevelt was our first Exdir, yes it won the No...

  Mali shuts schools and universities as jihadist blockade worsens fuel crisis   Basillioh Rukanga, BBC News ,  27 October 2025. 

  A bit too long but fascinating to hear the daughter of Edward Said, probably the most prominent Palestinian in the Western world. Her story is interesting in the sense that she represents the newer generation of Palestinians who grew up away from the MidEast and took on citizenships in many western countries. PS. It is a shame that she uses the "um" so much in her talk..it distracts from the message and her story. For an actress her phonetics are not so great. Fouad

 

Three UNICEF colleagues reunite at a café in Valletta, Malta: (L to R) Samuel Koo, Helene Gosselin, and Margherita Amodeo.  The reunion at Cafe Cordina on Helene's birthday was sparked by a Facebook connection between Samuel, visiting Malta with Helene at a mutual friend's invitation, and Margherita, a Maltese national.  Both Helene and Margherita formerly served as chief regional information and communication advisors based in Abidjan.

Greetings all.  I am sure this statement from a very respected and well known colleague to many people, comes as a very sobering reflection that resonates with many in various shades of meaning:  "One cannot celebrate humanity and the organisations that work on aid when both are largely paralysed in the face of a genocide that has been unfolding for almost two years." (Khaled Mansour, New Humanitarian).  It may be good to reflect, ourselves, on what new advocacy can really rest on on/build on, in the future, in the aftermath of both Gaza and now Sudan, the new inconvenient silent disaster.   Above all what are we learning from the huge groundswell for social justice, for protection for rights, that DOES exist across the world, manifest in the many demonstrations, protests, demands for change etc? How to narrow the gap between the caller and the listener and what does re-imagined humanity mean?  Angela

Ten years ago, India took a bold step — to view children in conflict with law not as offenders, but as lives capable of change. The JJ Act, 2015, gave us a framework built on care, rehabilitation, and protection — a law that redefined justice through empathy. But a decade later, the mirror reflects both pride and pain. From strong adoption networks and active CWCs, to overburdened shelter homes and patchy implementation — the story of the JJ Act is still being written every day, by every child it touches.

Wajã Xipai: ‘As an Indigenous man, I know very well the pain of the forest, because its body is an extension of ours.’  Photograph: Soll I am the first Indigenous journalist to exclusively interview António Guterres. How many others will listen? Waja Xipai, 

Pour la version française, voir ci-dessous See the French version below Come join us for a live Q&A with your Pension Fund!   The next global virtual Pension Townhall sessions will focus on "Ask Your Pension Fund – Q&A for retirees and beneficiaries." These interactive sessions are designed to give you a chance to ask questions directly and get them addressed by experts from the Fund. Bring your pension questions and join the conversation. We're here to help. Ask your Pension Fund - Q&A for retirees and beneficiaries Date: Wednesday, 29 October 2025 Time: 09:00 to 11:00 a.m. (NY time) Language: English Click here to join the session The purpose of this session is to address questions you may have relating to your entitlements from the Fund, for example, how to change address or payment options, how to comply with the Fund's annual Certificate of Entitlement exercise, or entitlements for survivors. We will also take a moment to show you some useful we...

 

Dear Colleagues,   I am pleased to share the decisions regarding the relocation of fixed-term (FT) posts to lower-cost duty stations.     Relocation is a key component of our Future Focus Initiative (FFI), aimed at bringing teams closer to the children we serve through our programmes and country operations, enhancing efficiencies and realizing cost savings over the next quadrennium (2026-2029) and beyond.   Relocations of FT posts from New York and Geneva    PFP : 95 percent of posts relocated with the majority in Rome.    DAPM :100 percent of posts will be relocated to Florence in line with the consolidation of DAPM and GoRAF to the new Office of Strategy and Evidence.   DPC : 89 percent of posts relocated with the majority in Budapest and Istanbul.   DGCA : 75 percent of posts relocated with the majority in Rome and Valencia.   Evaluation Office : 100 percent of posts to be relocated to Rome.    EMOPS : 59 percent...