UN – United Nations

[Update: Tickets for Social Good Summit 2016 are now on sale! Visit socialgoodsummit.com]  Sometimes what starts as a conference culminates in a community. That is how I feel as I look back at some of the learnings of the past 48 hours. Over the past two days, the Social Good Summit community – made up of grassroots advocates, experts, business leaders, digital influencers, and community and non-governmental leaders – came together to share ideas on […]

“This is a time of fear and heartbreak…but this is also a time for hope.” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently spoke these words as the international community gathered at the UN for the General Assembly and a summit to adopt the new global goals for sustainable development, the world’s to-do list to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and stop environmental destruction and the threat of climate change. Around the world, millions face conflict,

The Measles & Rubella Initiative, of which the United Nations Foundation is a founding partner, works to ensure no child dies from measles or is born with congenital rubella syndrome. On September 15-16, the initiative held its annual meeting to discuss the challenges and opportunities ahead. During the meeting, we heard that the initiative has vaccinated over 1.8 billion children against measles since its launch in 2001, and that 15.6 million deaths from 2001-2013 were

Five years ago, the United Nations Foundation took a leap into adolescent girls’ empowerment with the launch of Girl Up, the first-of-its-kind “for girls, by girls” campaign. Since then, Girl Up has grown exponentially and evolved from a campaign largely focused on grassroots fundraising in the United States to a global community of half a million passionate advocates for girls around the world. The original premise was simple: encourage adolescent girls in the U.S. to

This week, leading innovators, communicators, and advocates from the international development community came together in New York for a “master class” to share stories, ideas, and inspiration on how to make progress on our international challenges. The class coincided with the UN General Assembly, the Social Good Summit, and the adoption of the new global goals for sustainable development. Over two days, these humanitarians gathered to share what they’re doing — and what needs to

Heny Rosdiana has a secret weapon to encourage couples to try an IUD: her husband. “Some clients wanted to hear directly from my husband on whether or not there are side effects,” she explains. “I think this approach is quite effective because couples can obtain comprehensive information on IUDs directly from users.” A midwife in her Indonesian village, Heny is one of the many individuals working around the globe to improve access to family planning

Editor’s Note: This post is part of a series on the founding of the United Nations 70 years ago. You can read the previous post here. The famously reform-minded mayor of New York from 1934 to 1945, Fiorello La Guardia, fought corruption and transformed New York’s public services. He was also a dedicated coordinator of international relief efforts after World War II. For nine months in 1946, La Guardia headed the United Nations Relief and

The wellbeing of the planet is directly tied to the wellbeing of its people. To achieve a future where no one lives in poverty and everyone lives with dignity, climate change needs to be at the forefront of our global agenda. At the end of September, the international community gathered at the United Nations for the annual General Assembly to talk about the world’s biggest issues, and climate change was an important part of the

On October 11, the United Nations and partners including the UN Foundation celebrate International Day of the Girl and the extraordinary power of girls in our world. This year’s theme, “The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030,” highlights the importance of girls to achieving the global goals for sustainable development. Simply put: To reach our global goals, we have to reach girls. Here are five reasons why empowering adolescent girls matters to all