Agora is UNICEF's global hub for learning and development.

Functional overview

Agora is UNICEF’s Global Hub for Learning and Development. It offers tailored learning solutions to UNICEF’s staff, partners and supporters. Launched in 2015, Agora provides personalized access to over a thousand learning opportunities. The portal also supports career development and development planning through innovative online tools.

Agora is managed by the Learning and Knowledge Exchange Section in the Division of Data, Analytics, Planning and Monitoring (DAPM).

Agora aims at supporting all UNICEF learning activities, globally. Learning is considered in a broad sense: staff development, career development, and capacity building. Learning activities that can be integrated and/or managed include: online self-learning courses, tutored courses, videos, face to face workshops, webinars, MOOC-like courses, podcast and informal learning activities (stretch assignments, coaching, readings,…). The portal is open to staff members, consultant but also partners and the general public. 

Agora aims at facilitating access to quality learning activities in support of UNICEF’s mandate. It also provides all the content publishing, activities management and reporting features one can expect from a modern learning management platform.

Technical overview

Agora is built on the Open Source Learning Management System “Totara Learn”. Totara itself builds on the Moodle platform, which has been the most widely used educational LMS for over a decade. Moodle is a modular platform, which accepts a number optional plugins, blocks, themes or activities. Totara adds a layer that includes features needed by most corporate clients for the management of their learning needs (which Universities do not need): integration with HR systems, development planning, advanced reporting, creation of programmes, management of audiences, line manager services,… UNICEF partnered with a Totara vendor to add number of additional features, mostly to improve the user experience with the learning catalogue, content publishing, access to reports and development planning.

The platform aims at being user centric, with a self-service approach and an intuitive interface. It is continuously improving based on feedback and request from users, trainers and stakeholders. You can learn more about the “Agora Vision”.

For an overview of how the Moodle, Totara and custom Agora layers work together, you can check this mind map: