In 2015, the Government of Aruba, UNDP and the Kingdom of Netherlands agreed to create a Centre of Excellence COE for Sustainable Development of SIDS in Aruba.The Centre of Excellence (COE) for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States leverages best practices from SIDS - mainly technical expertise and experience in sustainable development - to provide a platform for strengthening innovation and resilience among SIDS through South-South cooperation and exchange of knowledge on sustainable practices in areas such as energy, public-private partnerships (PPP), water management, environment, tourism and health.

A project team is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the COE, which is under joint management arrangements with the Government of Aruba and UNDP Trinidad and Tobago that provides support to implementation.

Key outputs of the COE are training workshops, online learning sessions, knowledge products, in-country support and the provision of a virtual platform to facilitate knowledge exchange at www.sustainablesids.org

In keeping with UNDP’s policy for promoting national ownership and leadership, the COE, which is based in Aruba, is executed by the Ministry of General Affairs, Science, Innovation and Sustainable Development (GASIS). A Project Board with key stakeholders meets quarterly.

UNDP Kingdom of The Netherlands Government of Aruba University of Aruba TNO Caribbean Bureau Innovation IRENA Hamburg University Caribbean Tourism Organization Organization of Eastern Caribbean States World Bank Group and growing...