Dahadaleh Institute for Global Health Research Faculty Member Dr Idil Boran has been appointed Associate Director of the new CIFAL Centre at York University. CIFAL is the French acronym for International Training Centre for Authorities and Leaders (Centre international de formation des acteurs locaux) and is part of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), headquartered in Geneva with multiple regional offices worldwide. 

CIFAL York is part of UNITAR's global network of training centres across Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean for knowledge-sharing, training, and capacity-building for public and private leaders, local authorities, and civil society. CIFAL Centres are local and regional hubs for innovative, participatory and co-creative knowledge exchange opportunities to support decision-making processes, build capacity, and accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals. Established in 2020, CIFAL York is opening its doors in 2021 as the first CIFAL Centre in Canada. 

As the inaugural Associate Director of CIFAL York, Professor Boran will work closely with Professor Ali Asgary, Director of CIFAL York, to plan and deliver the centre's activities. The CIFAL Centre's focus areas encompass health, environment and development, disaster and emergency risk management, entrepreneurship and economic development, diversity and inclusion, and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The new centre will be a catalyst for positive change and extend York’s global reach that already includes more than 300 university, industry, and NGO partners in over 70 countries. In addition, CIFAL York will provide a platform for dialogue and a forum for the development of new ideas by providing public servants, decision-makers, and academics in the Western Hemisphere learning opportunities that facilitate knowledge sharing and improve decision-making processes.

Dr. Idil Boran is Associate Professor of Philosophy, LA&PS, and Member of Faculty at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research. At the Dahdaleh Institute, Professor Boran leads the Synergies of Planetary Health Research Initiative and Lab. Dr. Boran holds graduate program cross-appointments within York University with the Faculty of Environment and Urban Change Graduate Program. She is also affiliated as a Non-Resident Associate Researcher with the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik based in Bonn, Germany. 

With nearly 10 years of experience in active research engagement and outreach at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Dr. Boran brings expertise in multilateralism, global institutions, and the UN system, along with a wide network of researchers and practitioners around the world.  

As a Member of the Faculty at the Dahdaleh Institute, Dr. Boran will facilitate bridging the expertise at the Dahdaleh Institute toward co-creation of UN-level training, knowledge exchange, and capacity-building opportunities through CIFAL-York to educators and local, regional, and global leaders.

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