Deep sea marine science key to unlocking potential of our oceans
There has never been a time of greater promise or greater challenge for the future of our oceans. This was the topic on everyone’s minds as the international community gathered in Copenhagen this week for the first Global Planning Meeting for the UN Decade of Ocean...
100 years of multilateralism – looking back, looking ahead
Guest post submitted by: Michael Møller, Director-General, United Nations Office at Geneva. 100 years ago this year, the League of Nations was created in Geneva. The end of the First World War marked a watershed in many ways, and one of them was the bankruptcy of...
Rethinking mobility: responding to opportunities in a changing world
By David Suttie, Global Policy Engagement Specialist, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Rural people often migrate seasonally with their herds, or to join the harvest in other districts. They frequently travel to towns and cities to trade, do...
The UN and the World Bank working together in crisis-affected situations
Guest Bloggers: Franck Bousquet and Oscar Fernandez-Taranco Creating sustainable peace and development solutions for countries affected by conflict, crisis and violence is a global responsibility for the international community. At the United Nations General...
Revisiting Prevention in an Interdependent World
Guest post by Jago Salmon; Advisor, Fragile and Conflict Affected States at United Nations On March 1st 2018, the United Nations and the World Bank released a joint study Pathways for Peace: Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict. This study originated...
Story from the field: Beirut and the Global Goals
How can media play a role in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 agenda? Our colleagues working in the UNIC-Beirut office believe that media, in all its forms, including online, audiovisual and print, can play a major role in spreading the word...
Selecting the United Nations Secretary-General
2016 will see the selection of a new Secretary-General of the United Nations, as Ban Ki-moon’s second term ends on 31 December 2016. Even though there is no limit to the number of terms a Secretary-General may serve, none has held office for more than two terms....
UN Television Series “UN in Action” Records Episode 1,500
In December 2015, United Nations Television achieved a major milestone with the production of show number 1,500 of its short feature series “UN in Action.” “UN in Action” was created in October 1987 when the Department of Public Information decided that it needed a...
UN film wins 1st Place at 2015 MY HERO International Film Festival
Every year, thousands of aid workers around the world put their lives in danger daily to help people in need. Join us in congratulating one of them here, UN staffer Ken Payumo, who has received the...
Behind-the-scenes: How Sudan turned #UNBlue for #UN70
Turning a landmark blue is not always as easy as it may look. Determined to join the global #UNBlue celebration to mark the UN's 70th anniversary, colleagues from the UN office in Khartoum went to exceptional lengths to light up the Meroe pyramids in Sudan. Faced...
The Architect Who Designed the UN Logo
This article was originally published on the Central Intelligence Agency News and Information blog. Oliver Lincoln Lundquist, a talented architect and industrial designer, worked for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), CIA’s predecessor, during World War II and...
Important changes now in effect for getting your UN ID Card
Ahead of this month's high-level events including the 70th session of the UN General Assembly, the Papal visit and the Summit on Sustainable Development Goals, several improvements have been made this year to make the process of acquiring UN ID cards run more...
Star Power Lights Up Sustainable Energy for All
Providing clean, sustainable energy to the 1.1 billion people currently without now has a new champion; a champion with a loud voice and global reach. Akon, R&B star and founder of the Akon Lighting Africa initiative, teamed up with Sustainable Energy...
100th edition of UN flagship TV magazine programme ’21st Century’
An eighteen-year-old Afghan migrant trapped in Greece; an Iraqi journalist dodging bullets; an Ethiopian child bride; a former bomb-maker for Al Qaeda now living a normal life; an Indian widow living in poverty; a deaf Finnish rapper; a Guatemalan woman fighting...
Detroit – water not flowing
by Francis Mead Motown = Motor City = famous artists = cars = shut-off water supplies = UN = human rights. Huh? Detroit combines all of the above. Two UN human rights reporters – officially they’re called “Special Rapporteurs” - visited the Michigan city recently,...
Preserving the Forests in the Solomon Islands
by Gill Fickling Eight pm on a Friday evening. My skype pings with an incoming message. It’s my cameraman/fixer, Wade Fairley, in the Solomon Islands where I’m due to be joining him the following Monday to shoot two stories for “21st Century”. There’s been a...
Fight against transphobia and homophobia highlighted in Vienna
Eurovision song contest winner Conchita Wurst got most of the headlines at a special event in Vienna on 3 November highlighting the need for for respect and tolerance for everyone, but a staff member, pictured above, also got an important shout out. "I am...
Update on Ebola Outbreak in West Africa
In March 2014, a rapidly evolving outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever started in forested areas of south eastern Guinea. As of 25 March, 86 suspected cases including 60 deaths had been reported. Thirteen cases tested positive for Ebola virus, confirming the first...
Guest post: The forefront of Palestinian consciousness
Guest post by co-star and producer Waleed F. Zuaiter following the screening of the Oscar-nominated Palestinian movie Omar at the United Nations in New York city on 1 May 2014, one of many special events taking place to mark the International Year of Solidarity...
Sci-Fi TV Show Revolution Ends with a Message for a Brighter World
Guest blog by Bahareh Seyedi, UNDP Energy Policy Specialist. As the screen fades to black and before the credits roll tonight on the series finale of NBC’s post-apocalyptic show 'Revolution', viewers will see the startling fact that 1.3 billion people worldwide...