This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to collect information about how you interact with our website and allow us to remember your browser. We use this information to improve and customize your browsing experience, for analytics and metrics about our visitors both on this website and other media, and for marketing purposes. By using this website, you accept and agree to be bound by UVic’s Terms of Use and Protection of Privacy Policy.  If you do not agree to the above, you can configure your browser’s setting to “do not track.”

Skip to main content

CIFAL Victoria

The Breakwater in Victoria, BC at sunset
Logo of CIFAL Victoria depicting a global network
Logo of UNITAR, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research with the United Nations emblem

A UN-accredited training centre at the University of Victoria

The University of Victoria is the host of CIFAL Victoria, the first accredited International Training Centre for Authorities and Leaders (known by the French acronym CIFAL) on North America's west coast.

CIFAL Victoria joins a global network of 30+ CIFAL training centres governed by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. These centres serve to develop and strengthen local capacity to respond to global challenges and facilitate City-to-City partnerships.

Visit the CIFAL Victoria website to learn more about our training, research and partnership opportunities.

Focus areas

CIFAL Victoria delivers training activities and research that builds on UVic's commitments to sustainable development and decolonization. It connects the region with the global community and supports international knowledge-sharing and partnerships, as well as gathering and measuring data on our impact, with a focus on four key themes:

Oceans, climate & sustainability
Salmon swimming in water

Human impacts on the environment have accelerated at a devastating pace. We address the urgent challenges facing oceans, lands, human well-being and the economy through collaborative and multi-disciplinary partnerships.

Innovation & entrepreneurship
A 3D printer

We explore how the ways we interact with devices, manage our information and connect with other humans affect communities ability to thrive in our technological modern world.

Decolonization & Indigenous knowledge
Woven cedar bark

Indigenous knowledges offer crucial insights and effective strategies for a regenerative future. We are learning, listening and nurturing a community which centres these ways of knowing.

Global health & well-being
A health care worker administers an injecting into a patient's upper arm.

Multiple and complex factors contribute to health and wellness across our lifespans. We focus on improving health and wellness for all living beings. Together, we can create a future where everyone thrives.

Sustainable Development Goals

CIFAL Victoria is part of UVic’s commitment to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by UN member states in 2015. These goals are a shared call-to-action to end poverty, protect the planet and increase peace and prosperity worldwide.

We aim to:

  • enable the transfer of knowledge, experience and best practices
  • encourage co-operation and multi-stakeholder partnerships
  • provide networking opportunities
  • contribute to the development of local and national strategies to meet the SDGs
  • serve the Pacific Coast through local, regional and global partnerships

The SDGs are a priority at the University of Victoria. Universities will play a key role in achieving global, national and local progress towards the UN SDGs by 2030. In commitment to the SDGs, UVic is driving innovative research, building connections with communities, and nurturing critical thinking for a resilient and inclusive future.

CIFAL Victoria is working to empower the UVic community and university leadership to deliver on the SDGs.

Upcoming events

Our team

Contact us

Centre for Global Studies
Sedgewick Bldg C188
www.cifalvictoria.org     LinkedIn      Instagram