UN, the Ilo agency in Turin turns 60

The Turin 'mission' of the Ilo, the United Nations agency dedicated to labour, is 60 years old. A history made up of commitment in the field and prestigious visitors, from Queen Elizabeth to Alfred Hitchcock, passing through all the Italian Presidents of the Republic and all the Secretaries-General of the United Nations. A reality that generates impacts on the city, both direct and indirect, of over 49 million euro, 57 if one considers the impact on the entire country. The headquarters functions as a real campus, with spaces for training activities, translation services and 200 rooms and suites for guests.

"In over half a century of history, the Centre has trained civil servants, workers, employers and students, accompanying the great transformations in the world of work and proposing innovative teaching methods and avant-garde courses," says an Ilo note accompanying the exhibition organised precisely to tell this story through images and which will open its doors on 24 October. "We want to tell the story of the work that is done on the Campus and make known a structure that is important for the city," say the exhibition's organisers, "which maintains a strong international connotation given that between trainers and users of the activities, we have hosted over 170 different nationalities. Promoting decent work at every latitude, 'cultivating social justice for lasting peace', this is the mandate of the UN agency whose work in the Turin headquarters has evolved by flanking its in-presence training activities with online courses, through innovative tools such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence applications. The theme of inclusivity has remained on the Turin Campus since the beginning of its history, with training activities for trainers from developing countries starting as early as the 1960s. The Turin School of Development, affiliated with the International Training Centre of the Ilo and the University of Turin, is also active on the campus. It offers advanced training courses in various fields related to the Centre's international activities, from the Master in International Trade Law, which kicks off on 1 November, to courses dedicated to sustainable development.

The photo exhibition, therefore, celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Centre through the pictures of the people who frequented it, the authorities who visited it and the pages of the newspapers that reported on it. The history of the International Labour Organization's International Training Centre (ITCILO) actually begins in 1961.

In that year, Turin hosted the International Labour Exhibition, organised to mark the centenary of the Unification of Italy. On that occasion, numerous infrastructures were built, including the Palazzo del Lavoro and, on the other side of Corso Unità d'Italia, the 19 pavilions of the Italian Regions. After three years in Rome, the Italian government and Ilo signed an agreement, on 24 October 1964, and thus Palazzo del Lavoro - a building designed by Pier Luigi Nervi - became the Centre's first headquarters, while in the pavilions along the banks of the Po, the Campus was built to house participants in courses and workshops. In the mid-1980s, the Centre moved to its current location, where the United Nations International Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and the Staff College of the United Nations System (UNSSC) also arrived. Three United Nations System organisations are now active on the Campus with more than 300 courses and training activities in an international environment.

Over the years, the Ilo headquarters in Turin has embarked on a path to improve its environmental impact and energy performance, with a 28% reduction in energy consumption, a 66% reduction in waste production (from 696 to 234 kilograms per capita) and a 55% reduction in CO2 emissions, or 1,500 tonnes of CO2.