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Every Friday, you can find 14-year-old Alexandria Villaseñor sitting outside United Nations headquarters at work on her “full-time, unpaid job.” The job? Saving people and planet from the climate crisis. Whether in rain or shine – or even in sub-freezing temperatures – Alexandria is determined to call for greater action on climate change. (Earlier this year, she was almost unrecognizable keeping warm in a giant orange sleeping bag). She is one of many youth climate […]

Kate Gilmore works to safeguard human rights for all people across the globe, including families living in some of the most dangerous and repressive places on earth. Natalia Kanem helps build a future where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every girl’s potential is fulfilled. Nahla Valji advises the United Nations Secretary-General on all matters related to gender equality at a crucial moment in the history of the organization and, indeed, the

“My name is Lihle, and I am a young person living with HIV. I am here to bring hope to those who are feeling lost. Remember, you are not alone,” says Lihle Bhebhe, a young woman featured in 360HIV, a virtual reality film launched by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in 2018 to address a major obstacle in the AIDS response globally: The social stigma of living with HIV. In the 360HIV

How are we doing on reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their promise of a fair future for people and the planet?  The short answer: The results are mixed. The longer answer: According to the SDG progress report for 2019, we’re making progress in some areas, but not fast enough. And worse, we’re facing big threats – like climate change, conflict, and inequality – that threaten that progress. But this assessment is not a

Problems get a lot of news coverage, but just as deserving of attention are the plans to fix them. In 2015, the world came together around an ambitious vision for a safer, healthier, and more prosperous world by 2030. That agenda, articulated across 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), was designed intentionally to represent a new approach to development – threading together economic, social, and environmental dimensions, while acknowledging that decisions and approaches are related and

Leading medical and health organizations are calling climate change a “health emergency.” Scientists are warning that climate change is a key driver of extinction. And the United Nations is naming climate change as a major threat to human rights. These three headlines demonstrate that the climate crisis is not just a crisis for the climate. As the latest SDG Progress Report shows, the global climate challenge threatens to unravel decades of hard-earned progress across the

In a highly anticipated vote on July 12, the top human rights body at the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, voted to renew the mandate of the UN independent watchdog focused on LGBTI human rights. Here are five things to know about the vote and what it means for LGBTI equality globally. 1. The renewal effort was led by a coalition of Global South countries. The core group of countries quarterbacking the draft resolution

To change everything, we need everyone – and that means we need to harness the wisdom and leadership of girls and women to protect the planet and its people. Last October, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change offered a stark choice – greater food security and more protection for our oceans, coral reefs, biodiversity, and people, or disastrous levels of warming with higher risks of droughts, floods, extreme heat, and resulting poverty. We have

Stopping the spread of dangerous nuclear materials. Leading scientific work at the world’s top health organization. And protecting children in armed conflict. United Nations workers deal with the world’s toughest challenges in order to create a safer and fairer future for everyone. They are our heroes — or as we like to say — (s)heroes. Throughout the UN, women are leading the way. In fact, women make up half of the UN’s senior management team,