Webinar Series

Due to the emergence of COVID-19 as a global pandemic, there has been a significant impact on societies, economies and individuals which is prompting governments to introduce a number of measures in order to mitigate the spread of the virus and contain the rate of infection. Despite the extensive difficulties faced as a result of the pandemic, Bahrain’s health response has received widespread recognition, proving that the local health system is both resilient and robust. However, from the economic and social dimension the crisis has visibly impacted some economic sectors such as tourism, entertainment and finance – it has also majorly disrupted the labour market. As with other countries, it is expected that the social and economic consequences of the crisis will continue to be felt in the months and years to come.

To raise awareness on the key issues arising as a result of the pandemic and to highlight the implications being felt across various sectors, the University of Bahrain (UOB) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bahrain begun hosting a series of webinars covering different topics under the main theme of COVID-19 and the SDGs. While the webinars largely focus on regional and/or global dimensions of the pandemic, the ultimate objective is to provide knowledge to Bahrain and foster discussions at the national level that can be informative and relevant to the local context.

The first webinar of the series was delivered by Stefano Pettinato, Resident Representative of the UNDP in the Kingdom of Bahrain and discussed the ‘COVID-19 Global Socio-Economic Response’. Whereas, the second session of its webinar series last month saw participation from Dr. Kishan Khoday, Regional Team Leader for Nature, Climate and Energy with the UNDP Regional Hub for Arab States and Dr. Abdul-Majeid Haddad, Deputy Regional Director UN Environment Programme (UNEP) West Asia Office. The session was delivered in partnership with UN Environment covered the topic of ‘COVID-19 and Environmental Sustainability’ and saw the attendance of approximately 100 participants. The next webinar will be taking place next week on the 28th of October and will focus on ‘COVID-19 and the Future of Education’ with speakers Danilo Padilla, Education Programme Specialist, Office for the Gulf States and Yemen, UNESCO and Kimberly Parekh, Senior Education Advisor, Gulf Area Office, UNICEF.