The Society, in order to reach its statutory objectives, collaborates with the main national and international Institutions, especially with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, with the organizations of the United Nations system, with the European Union and with the European Council. Furthermore, it constantly cooperates with several Italian Diplomatic Representations abroad and with Foreign Representations in Italy, with some of the most important Italian and foreign Universities and with other international institutions.
SIOI is the Italian Association for the United Nations (UNA-Italy), and it is a founding member of the World Federation of the United Nations Associations (W.F.U.N.A). As UNA-Italy it assists, in collaboration with UNICRI (United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute), the United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe (UNRIC) in the promotion of the action of the United Nations, in the celebration of events related to the United Nations Day and Human Rights Day, and in the support for the global Organization’s goals.
SIOI’s membership to WFUNA –which dates back to 1946- has represented the starting point of a close and productive relationship between the two organizations, which has been expanding and getting stronger over the years. As a member of WFUNA, SIOI actively collaborates to the realization of common international projects which involve International Organizations in Italy. For the first time in Italy, SIOI organized the meeting of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) and, in particular, of WFUNA’s European UNA Network, which depends on it. The meeting took place from May 19th to May 21st, 2019. WFUNA’s European UNA Network is an informal network among the different United Nations Associations within Europe, which was established in the mid-1990s in order to integrate the EU dimension and to act as a contact point between the different European UNAs.
SIOI-UNA Italy, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, promotes and organizes –since 2017- the United Nations Youth Delegate Programme (UNYDP). Its aim is to promote the inclusion of young people in national diplomatic missions as delegates of youth issues. The Youth Delegates act as spokespersons for their peers’ proposals, support the implementation and development of youth policies both at the national and international level, and spread the UN values and activities among young people.
Since 1946, SIOI has been a member of the International Union of Diplomatic Academies, based in Vienna, which gathers in a yearly Forum the main global Institutes of Diplomatic and International Training. As a member, SIOI compares its programmes with the most important diplomatic schools and collaborates closely with some of the most prestigious International Diplomatic Academies in the world.
SIOI is part of the Italian Network of European Documentation Centres. As an European documentation centre, set up in 1958 at the request of the European Commission, SIOI spreads information at a national level and takes part in the Network’s internal meetings and in intra-networks meetings. Furthermore, it organizes, promotes and spreads the events that the Network sets up every year in order to encourage the citizens’ participation and to promote European values.
Since 2018, SIOI is a member of UARCTIC – the University of the Arctic
UArctic is a network of universities, colleges, research institutes and other organizations concerned with education and research in the Arctic Regions. It shares programmes, resources and expertise in order to help promote education and shared knowledge. Uarctic’s strategic goal is to create a strong circumpolar region by enhancing human capacity in the North, promoting viable communities and sustainable economies, and forging global partnerships.
Environmental issues have long been among SIOI’s main concerns. Therefore, the Society encourages research in the Arctic Regions, it organizes the yearly Master’s Degree in Sustainable Development, Geopolitics of Resources and Arctic Studies, and it promotes international conferences on the geo-strategic and economic importance of the Arctic, involving experts, companies, and institutional and academic authorities.
