Before a renovation saw its façade covered in scaffolding, it would be hard to miss the European-style yellow mansion perched on Guia Hill, at Estrada do Engenheiro Trigo. But while many Macao residents pass it frequently, few know that the building is a United Nations outpost in the city.
A discreet silver plaque outside the entrance reads “The United Nations University International Institute for Software Technology.” The landmark building is one of only three such institutes in Asia, alongside UNU International Institute for Global Health in Kuala Lumpur and the UNU Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability in Tokyo. It is also home to the University of the United Nations in Macau (UNU Macau).
In the run up to United Nations Day – held every year to mark the creation of the UN on 24 October, 1945 – UNU Macau researcher Yang Min told Macao News that “The UN is not something far away from us – it’s near you. UN action covers every issue, some of them closely related to your daily life, such as environmental protection or education.”
Yang, who holds a PhD in journalism and communication from the Communication University of China, was working at UNESCO’s office in Beijing before joining UNU Macau last January. International communication and information literacy are some of her research interests.
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Founded in 1992 with the support of the governments of the People’s Republic of China, Portugal and Macao, UNU Macau serves as a training and research institute and a think tank, focusing on projects that help the UN meet Sustainable Development Goals in areas such as gender equality, health and education.
“Those who need help, specially marginalised individuals, can benefit from our research outputs – we develop training based on the papers we produce, directly impacting the community,” Yang says.
She cites the organisation’s support for local gender equality, citing an event she recently attended, held by the Women’s General Association of Macau to “empower youth and further build the sustainable development society.” Yang also recently led a training session for young women on the subject of international affairs, with the objective of improving the attendees’ “knowledge and understanding about sustainable development goals, and how those goals relate to their lives.”
Technology is another area of interest to the organisation. Artificial Intelligence will take centre stage at an upcoming conference next April and UNU Macau is looking for researchers specialising in AI and data science to join its team.
To find out more about UNU Macau, visit its website and sign up for the bi-monthly newsletter, Collective.
