UN – United Nations

Tomorrow the United Nations officially celebrates 70 years of promoting peace and progress around the world. It’s a special moment for people everywhere to show their support for the vital work of the UN and to rally around the new global goals for sustainable development. Join the worldwide celebration by sharing a photo of the UN’s critical efforts for #UN70. You can also view images of iconic landmarks around the world that are being lit blue […]

Editor’s Note: This post is the final post in a series on the founding of the United Nations 70 years ago. You can read the previous post here. I’ve really enjoyed writing this series of blog posts on the founding of the United Nations over the past four months. The research has taken me down unexpected paths from New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia’s little-known past as the head of a UN refugee agency to the

Yesterday, the United Nations Foundation joined an event hosted by the Obama Administration on increasing access to off-grid clean energy technologies. It may seem a wonky topic, but it has enormous global human impact. Energy does so much more than turn on lights and power machines – it transforms lives. Children can study at night; small business owners can keep their stores open longer, increasing their incomes; women don’t have to deliver their babies in

On October 24, the world came together to commemorate the United Nations’ 70th anniversary in a big way – by lighting more than 350 buildings, landmarks, and monuments across 85 different countries in the UN’s color of blue. Some of the world’s most famous landmarks – including the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Empire State Building in New York, the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, the leaning tower of Pisa in Italy,

Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared on the Energy Access Practitioner Network website. We spoke with Thomas Duveau, Head of Business Development at Mobisol, to discuss the company’s work in combining solar energy with payment plans via mobile phone, comprehensive customer service, and innovative remote monitoring technology. Interview edited for length. Can you tell us a little about Mobisol and its history? When was it created, and why? The founder of Mobisol, Thomas Gottschalk, traveled the world in

This post is authored by Kathy Calvin, President and CEO of the United Nations Foundation, and R. Venkataramanan, Executive Trustee of the Tata Trusts. Last month, world leaders gathered at the United Nations to adopt a new set of global development goals that aim to end extreme poverty, promote inclusive economic growth, and protect the planet. The result is an ambitious yet achievable agenda for the 21st century, if we harness 21st century development practices.

It is an exciting time to be an entrepreneur. The world is finally waking up to the idea that entrepreneurs are engines of economic growth and key drivers of global prosperity. One only has to look at Goal 8 of the Sustainable Development Goals, which addresses jobs and economic growth, to see that there is a new recognition of how the business sector can help accelerate progress on shared global initiatives. I strongly believe that

Photo credit: Stuart Ramson for UN Foundation It’s almost unfathomable to recall that in January 2012 the zero draft of the Rio+20 Outcome Document contained only two broad (and weak) mentions to health. Strong advocacy, hard data, and high-level political commitment resulted in a final outcome document with multiple references to health, with strong language stressing that health is a precondition for, an outcome of, and an indicator of all three dimensions of sustainable development.

Photo credit: UN Development Programme   In the run up to December’s Paris climate conference, when the United Nations’ 193 member states are expected to reach a new agreement on climate change, countries have developed and submitted national action plans that outline their efforts to fight climate. On Friday, the UN released a report analyzing the collective impact of those plans. Here are four highlights from the report and why these national plans matter. 1.