Each of us has a role to play to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by world leaders last September. The good news is that there are exemplary innovators and entrepreneurs at all levels of society who are already leading the way. The United Nations Foundation, along with its partners, is helping to lift up these exceptional individuals and catalyze community efforts to get them the resources they need to drive change. On Wednesday, […]

“We need to change the world.” That’s the message we’ve heard over and over again today, the first day of the 2016 Social Good Summit. This two-day conference brings digital influencers, entrepreneurs, and world leaders together in New York around the United Nations General Assembly to discuss solutions to the greatest challenges of our time. Today we heard from a dynamic and diverse group of speakers – including comedian and TV host Chelsea Handler, UN

Climate change, refugees and migrants, peacebuilding, sustainable development, and gender equality are just some of the issues that are prominent this week at the United Nations General Assembly. And while they may seem vastly different, they are all connected. Let me share a few statistics: Climate change is causing more frequent and severe weather events. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre estimates that since 2008, an average of 26 million people per year have been displaced by disasters.

What if, as world leaders gathered at the UN General Assembly, people in more than 80 locations around the world joined them for a conversation about the biggest global issues? What would the conversation be about? Over the past two days at the annual Social Good Summit, thousands of people across the globe discussed the world we want to see by 2030, the target date to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals – the world’s plan

This year’s opening session of the United Nations General Assembly will be the last for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his present role. Over the past 10 years as the 8th UN Secretary-General, he has helped to catalyze global progress on issues including climate change, LGBT rights, women’s and children’s health, and sustainable development. The Secretary-General has spoken about how he grew up during the Korean War and how he witnessed firsthand the important work of

The opening of the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly, an annual gathering of world leaders to discuss key global issues, will mark two milestones in our collective work to ensure  better lives for everyone, everywhere. First, this General Assembly is the first since world leaders gaveled in the Sustainable Development Goals one year ago. It also marks the one-year anniversary of the updated Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s, and Adolescents’ Health, a

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. And this year’s opening of the United Nations General Assembly told a story about how when the world comes together in partnership, we can drive global progress. This year’s General Assembly raised awareness of urgent global challenges, including sustainable development, climate change, antimicrobial resistance, and the refugee and migrant crisis. It also brought together not just heads of state, but people from around the world who

The high-level week of the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly recently finished, bringing people – from heads of state to heads of companies and from leaders of nongovernmental organizations to grassroots advocates – to the UN to discuss the world’s biggest challenges, ranging from climate change to the crisis in Syria to inequality. A year after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, it’s clear that there is a lot of work

When people think of the United Nations General Assembly, they often picture heads of state speaking from the podium in the General Assembly hall. Yet the most inspiring people are often the ordinary citizens who have shown extraordinary courage in speaking out for human rights, justice, and equality. At the opening of the 71st session of the General Assembly, the UN made sure we did not just speak about people around the world, but with