The 73rd General Assembly session got off to a fast start on Monday morning with the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit. In his statement, Secretary-General António Guterres said, “We need to face the forces that threaten us with the wisdom, courage and fortitude that Nelson Mandela embodied.”

With the help of K-pop band BTS and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Lilly Singh, the Secretary-General also launched the UN’s new Youth Strategy (#Youth2030) on Monday. “I want the UN to become a leader in working with young people: in understanding their needs, in helping to put their ideas into action, in ensuring their views inform our processes,” the Secretary-General said.

VIP Social Media Studio

The VIP Social Media Studio was also a bustling hub of activity throughout the day, with dozens of world leaders stopping by to go Live on Facebook. Check out their conversations:

Josep Borrell, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain

Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, Special Representative on the Central African Republic

Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway

Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Amina J. Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General

Filipo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees

María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd Session of the General Assembly

Related and side events:

The UN put a global spotlight on the world-wide drug problem during a high-level event on Monday

Yemen: amid major roadblocks, an ‘unprecedented’ response to an unprecedented tragedy

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