UNDP
Connecting people from all over the world:
that's Pitang's business


Among the various organs of the United Nations is the UNDP – the United Nations Development Program. Present in 166 countries, the UNDP strives to combat poverty and inequality across the globe. For this reason, UNDP also works as a network of knowledge, experiences and resources, interconnecting nations and professionals involved in the same objective.

It is exactly for this reason that WIDE – the Web of Information for Development – was created, a tool maintained by C.E.S.A.R/Pitang in partnership with the UNDP. WIDE functions as a resume bank and also a virtual community linking professionals from all over the world who have some connection with the United Nations: teachers, engineers, doctors and other specialists who can help in diverse actions of the organization in response to catastrophes, devastation, epidemics and other crisis situations.

The tool, developed in .NET, is separated into three modules. The first, a Professional Profile Editor (PPE), is an environment where these professionals can register by leaving their contact information and curriculum vitae. The Roster Manager Desktop (RMD) is used by certain key people within the large community, who coordinate working groups of experts with certain characteristics in common. The last module is a professional search tool that can be used with countless variables such as nationality, spoken languages, education, specialties, publications, etc. C.E.S.A.R and Pitang work closely together to maintain and constantly improve these tools according to the demands made by the UN's head office in New York .

A practical example of the functionality of WIDE occurred after the tsunami disaster that struck parts of Asia in 2005, killing around 200,000 people and leaving hundreds of thousands of others destitute. Through this system the United Nations was able to identify and recruit specialists quickly in order to help reconstruct entire cities and provide health care for the survivors.