UN – United Nations

A Year for Change: From Climate Talk to Climate Action

Everybody’s talking about the crazy weather.  The polar vortex walloped the Eastern United States with ice and snow while the West suffers through extreme drought.  Big parts of Britain were hit by record-breaking floods.  January 7 was the hottest day in Australian history, with an average high temperature of 105°F over the entire country. These unusual events are not unusual in themselves – but the pattern is consistent with what scientists have told us about […]

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Going to the Source: Teen Girls Give Advice on How to Empower Girls

What is one thing world leaders should do to empower girls worldwide? That’s the question we put to the Girl Up campaign’s current class of Teen Advisors. Girl Up works with youth to raise awareness and funds for United Nations programs that help some of the world’s hardest-to-reach adolescent girls. The Teen Advisors – 20 young leaders from diverse geographic, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds – share ideas and feedback on the campaign and help lead

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Make Peace a Priority | unfoundation.org

The countdown is on: President Obama will release next year’s budget request to Congress in less than two weeks – and considering Congress recently voted to slash UN Peacekeeping funding for FY14, we’ve got some serious ground to make up. The timing couldn’t be more critical: As we speak, peacekeepers are risking their lives to restore peace and save lives in war-torn countries like South Sudan.  The current budget for the U.S. underfunds UN peacekeeping

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Celebrate Your Birthday with Nothing But Nets

By Rick Reilly, ESPN.com Columnist and Nothing But Nets Champion A lit birthday candle means a lot to me, since I’m so old I remember when we invented fire. Good times. I still make a wish when I blow out my candles. Sometimes they even come true. But not everyone is that lucky. Every year, more than half a million children in Africa die from malaria – that’s one child every 60 seconds. Those children

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10 Facts about United Nations Peacekeeping

[Check out these updated stats from 2015] How much do you know about the brave men and women under the blue helmets who risk their lives to restore peace to some of the world’s most dangerous places? Check out these 10 facts about United Nations Peacekeeping to get to know them better: 1. UN Peacekeeping is made up of 116,919 total field personnel, with 123 countries contributing troops, police, and civilian personnel. 2. There are

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World Wildlife Day | unfoundation.org

Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared on Climasphere to mark World Wildlife Day on March 3. By Kellie Caught, National Manager Climate Change, WWF-Australia Imagine your favorite wild animal or place, like the majestic polar bear bounding across the northern ice tundras, a graceful turtle gliding through the Great Barrier Reef, a soulful orangutan swinging through the magnificent Borneo forest, or a small orange frog glistening in the Amazon. Now imagine a world without them.

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Connecting Entrepreneurs from the U.S. to Uganda

Last week, members of the United Nations Foundation’s Global Entrepreneurs Council (GEC) traveled to Uganda to meet entrepreneurs and innovators working to build a better world. During the trip, the GEC experienced firsthand the life-saving work of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) at the Nakivale refugee settlement, visited an innovation lab of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and met with local entrepreneurs and partner organizations – such as Unreasonable Institute, Pathfinder International, and WE

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4 Reasons to Take Action for International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day on March 8 celebrates the achievements of girls and women – it’s also a call to action to continue our work to empower girls and women worldwide. Throughout March, the United Nations Foundation will be taking action and raising awareness to support the United Nations and our partners around the world who are champions for girls and women. Here are four of many reasons why it’s so important that we act to

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#SXgood – Join the Social Good Conversation at SXSW 2014

By Julie Yost, Marketing Coordinator, SXSW Conferences & Festivals Beginning this week, the creative industries will converge in Austin for South by Southwest Music, Film, and Interactive. A celebration of innovation and creativity, SXSW is the perfect place for the Social Good community to meet, collaborate, and discover what’s next in the movement that is changing the world for the better. Photo credit: Merrick Ales For 2014, SXSW added new events that highlight social entrepreneurship and

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