Former Director of the Department of Development and Humanitarian Assistance (2012- 2014) at Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic: Peter Hulényi wrote the blog “Turning 50 together with UNDP” about the idea of celebrating this half-century together.
He enjoys that idea not because they both belong to the same generation, but because he has spent almost half of his career working with or for this UN agency.In the blog Mr. Hulenyi recalled the most important memories.The first one (Giving a hand to an ugly duckling) was from the Year 1996 – when he represented Slovakia at the UNDP Steering Committee in New York.The second one (UNDP as the midwife of SlovakAid) was from the Year 2002 – when the UNDP Regional Centre in Bratislava developed into a recognized and successful entity (and so did Slovakia).The last one (Mission accomplished. What next?) is from the year 2013 – when he returned to Bratislava following his second posting. He found the UNDP regional center and SlovakAid in a good state.
You can find more details about these memories here.
According to Mr. Hulenyi: “the story of Slovakia became an inspiring and attractive one for countries with similar ambitions and goals. We now frequently use the term ‘sharing transformation experiences’. I have no doubt about it: the Sustainable Development Goals agenda will bring new challenges for UNDP and Slovakia to tackle together but we’ll measure up to expectations.”