DESA News for August 2014
Feature Articles
Empowering youth for sustainable islands
With less than two months until the UN Conference on Small Island Developing States in Samoa on 1-4 September, Conference Secretary-General Wu Hongbo brought together youth representatives from small island nations for a Google+ Hangout on 24 July 2014. Under the topic, ‘Samoa 2014: Empowering Youth for Sustainable Islands’, young people from Mauritius, Barbados and Samoa were invited to discuss with Mr. Wu, issues of importance to achieve sustainable islands and a healthier planet. Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have large youth populations. In 2014, about 27.4 per cent of the inhabitants of these nations were under the age of …
Read moreMental health in focus for youth day celebrations

Mental Health Matters is the theme of International Youth Day (IYD) 2014. Although an estimated 1 in 5 young people experience one or more mental health conditions, many are afraid to speak out and seek the support they need, due to the stigma doing so can entail. Taking place on 12 August, the IYD event will bring together young people, youth organizations, Member States, civil society and UN entities to discuss the issue of youth and mental health. Through UN DESA’s work on developing a technical paper on ‘the social inclusion of youth with mental health conditions’ in 2013, it …
Read moreUN General Assembly’s Open Working Group proposes sustainable development goals

The UN General Assembly’s Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals forwarded to the Assembly its proposal for a set of Goals that consider economic, social and environmental dimensions to improve people’s lives and protect the planet for future generations at the conclusion of the Group’s thirteenth and final session at UN Headquarters on Saturday, 19 July. The proposal contains 17 goals with 169 targets covering a broad range of sustainable development issues, including ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, making cities more sustainable, combating climate change, and protecting oceans and forests. With most targets of the Millennium …
Read moreGlobal Dialog on Development
- Options for effective sustainable development financing strategy
- Implementing the rights of indigenous peoples
- Major Groups and other Stakeholders Forum on partnerships for SIDS
- ECOSOC holds coordination and management meeting
- Parliamentarians bringing the future of development cooperation to post-2015
- The 2014 ECOSOC Annual Ministerial Review
- UN Millennium Goals ‘scorecard’ spotlights successes, gaps and path towards ‘the future we want’
- The High-level political forum demonstrates its potential
Trends and Analysis
Capacity Development
Publications and Websites
Calendar
- Fifth session of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing, 4-8 August, New York
- International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, 8 August, New York
- International Youth Day, 12 August, New York
- Major Groups and other Stakeholders Forum on partnerships for SIDS, 28-29 August, Apia, Samoa