About the Virtual Classroom

What are the Objectives of the Virtual Classroom?

The main objectives of the Virtual Classroom are:
to facilitate and support information exchange and communication about the dev
elopment of national PRTR systems
to allow countries to access individuals and organizations with experience and
knowledge on PRTRs; and
to create a virtual environment to support PRTR capacity development by using
modern technology
How Does the Virtual Classroom Operate ?
The Virtual Classroom has an ongoing Open Forum which serves as the central "mee
ting place" for all registered participants. All participants that have register
ed for the Virtual Classroom will be automatically enrolled in the Open Forum. F
or general registration, please see the section on "How to Register". In the Ope
n Forum, general questions can be asked, documents can be posted, emails be sent
and chats organized.
In addition to the Open Forum, specific groups of limited duration and membershi
p can be established. Each of the specific groups will have a moderator. Within
each specific group, discussion fora, chats, and emails and document exchanges a
re also possible, but are limited to registered group members only.
How to Become a Participant in the Virtual Classroom
All participants that had already registered for the pre-phase of the Virtual-Cl
assroom were automatically registered for the Virtual-Classroom pilot phase in 2
004, but are asked to update their Profile. All newly interested participants wo
uld need to reqister to become a member of the Virtual Classroom. Please fill ou
t the online form. You will then receive your Username and Password via email.
Institutional Implementation of the Virtual Classroom
As a result of its experience with PRTR training and capacity building, UNITAR h
as agreed to host the PRTR Virtual Classroom. In supporting the PRTR VC, UNITAR
will work closely with the OECD, UNECE and UNEP, as well as with other members o
f the IOMC PRTR Coordinating Group. It is suggested that discussions about the P
RTR VC become a standing item of the Group s meeting.
As the central node for the PRTR VC, UNITAR will establish close links with exis
ting PRTR initiatives that may contribute to PRTR capacity building, including t
he OECD PRTR Taskforce, the UNECE Working Group on PRTR and Task Force on Emissi
on Inventories, the tri-national (United States of America-Canada-Mexico) Commis
sion for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) and regional supporting organisations s
uch as the Regional Environmental Centers (REC). In practice this means maintain
ing close contacts with the secretariats of these organisations, thereby facilit
ating access to information generated by their existing technical networks in an
ongoing manner.