Virtual Event: "Strengthening Information Integrity in the Humanitarian Context"
Technological advances revolutionized communications, connecting people on a previously unthinkable scale. They have supported communities in crisis, elevated marginalized voices, mobilized global movements for racial justice and gender equality. Yet these same advances elevated risks to information integrity undermining trust, shared understanding, and public discourse. New and escalating risks brought by AI technologies made strengthening information integrity one of the urgent tasks of our time. This clear and present global threat demands coordinated global action.
Virtual Side Event: "Women Who Shaped the Universal Declaration of Human Rights"
The virtual side event "Women Who Shaped the Universal Declaration of Human Rights" took place 20 March 2025, reflecting on the significant contributions of women in the drafting and adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The discussion explored the historical context, challenges these pioneering women faced, and the profound impact and legacies of their work on contemporary movements for gender equality and the work of the United Nations, as well as addressing current advocacy efforts for gender equality and human rights globally.
ECOSOC Partnership Forum Parallel Event: Inclusive Partnerships and Digital Global Citizenship Education
The 2025 United Nations ECOSOC Partnership Forum Parallel Event, Inclusive Partnerships and Digital Global Citizenship Education: Advancing Social Cohesion for a Sustainable Future, took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City on February 4th, 2025, 3-5pm EST (New York Time). The goal of the event was to deliver insights on how Global Citizenship Education (GCED) fosters social cohesion, empathy, and action on global challenges through amplifying youth-led solutions leading to strengthened networks and improved implementation of digital learning tools to achieve Agenda 2030.
UN OSAA Academic Conference on Africa 2024
The UN OSAA 2024 Academic Conference on Africa took place from 3 to 5 December, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. New York Local Time. Under the theme "Power, Justice, and the People: Human Rights and the Rule of Law for Africa’s Transformation", the hybrid event was held at the United Nations Headquarters, Conference Room 2. It was broadcast on UN WebTV with live interpretation and streamed on the OSAA YouTube channel, with the possibility of engaging in real-time through the YouTube chat.
UN DESA Global Policy Dialogue: Preparing the Most Vulnerable for Future Shocks
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and UN Academic Impact (UNAI) hosted a special Global Policy Dialogues for the Classroom featuring the authors of the latest “World Social Report” on 25 November. UN experts presented in-depth, the major findings of this flagship report that examines the impact of converging crises on social development and calls for global action. The information was presented to highlight its relevancy for people working or studying in colleges and universities.
UN Summit of The Future Action Day Side Event: Peace not War
At this side-event during the UN Summit of the Future, under the theme "A Peaceful Future for All," distinguished speakers explored how concrete actions in peace, justice, and inclusion can advance the Sustainable Development Goals. They emphasized the need for integrating collaborative approaches into the broader framework of international cooperation, as outlined in the Pact for the Future. Learn from the peace processes in Colombia and Ireland how concrete actions on inclusion, good institutions, information integrity and education can be key drivers of peace.
Building Bridges through Science Diplomacy: Accelerating progress toward sustainable development.
The Summit of the Future (September 2024) was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance cooperation on critical challenges and address the knowledge-action gap in global governance, reaffirm existing commitments including to the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Charter, and foster a reinvigorated multilateral system that is better positioned to positively impact people’s lives. At the same time, there is growing awareness among Member States and across the UN system of the vital role of science as a critical, cross-cutting tool to support multilevel, multisectoral action across the entire multilateral agenda.
Engaging Youth and Academia with Data for the Future Session 2
Ahead of the once-in-a-generation Summit of the Future, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs continued to build on its interdisciplinary strength to evaluate the continuing social and economic impacts of the pandemic, global conflicts and climate change, providing UN Member States and key stakeholder groups with policy recommendations and support for a transformative, sustainable and inclusive recovery that delivers progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Engaging Youth and Academia with Data for the Future Session 1
Ahead of the once-in-a-generation Summit of the Future, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs continued to build on its interdisciplinary strength to evaluate the continuing social and economic impacts of the pandemic, global conflicts and climate change, providing UN Member States and key stakeholder groups with policy recommendations and support for a transformative, sustainable and inclusive recovery that delivers progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
HESI Global Forum 2024: The Future of Higher Education for Sustainable Development
Each year, the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI) organizes a global forum as a special event to the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) – the UN’s main platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The forum highlights the critical role of higher education in achieving sustainable development.
Launch of SET4HEI: Sustainability Evaluation Tool for Higher Education Institutions
'Measuring higher education’s contribution to the SDGs', on 15 July 2024, launched the Sustainability Evaluation Tool for Higher Education Institutions (SET4HEI). The hybrid event included a panel discussion and the presentation of the final SET4HEI self-evaluation indicators and certification. The recording is now available online on the UNESCO IESALC Youtube channel.
Panel discussion on "Strengthening Gender Equality in Generative AI"
This event aimed to facilitate a discourse on academic research related to generative AI with a specific focus on advancing, promoting, and safeguarding gender equality. It delved into the incorporation of human flaws, such as gender bias, into generative AI systems and emphasized the responsibility of academia and users in ensuring gender equality within these applications.
Making the Universal Declaration of Human Rights a Reality: The Role of Higher Education
The United Nations was born in the aftermath of World War II in 1945. An essential component of the Organization’s work from the start was the promotion and protection of human rights, as enshrined in its Charter. Three years later, in 1948 this element was further strengthened with the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Now, as we mark the 75th anniversary of the UDHR, this groundbreaking Declaration is not only a set of rights, but also a guiding instrument that serves as the basis of International Human Rights Law and of all the mechanisms at the global, regional, national, and local levels created to protect those rights.
Higher Education and Multilateralism: Teaching and Researching about the United Nations
Seventy-eight years after the foundation of the United Nations as the cornerstone of multilateralism, its principles and values remain valid. In the current global context, with the emergence of crises and conflicts and several global challenges, the United Nations is a center to harmonize actions and a beacon of hope for billions. For decades, institutions of higher education, particularly its faculty, have been studying this Organization extensively while teaching, researching, and writing about it. Lecturers, professors, and scientists have made significant contributions to the work of the United Nations. Moreover, the interest in the United Nations, and the expectations about the Organization, have grown significantly. And in parallel to it, youth, particularly university students, have been increasingly seen as more actively advocating for the different campaigns, causes, and initiatives the United Nations carries out.
Engaging Youth and Academia with the Global Sustainable Development Report 2023
In the Decade of Action for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs is building on its interdisciplinary strength to help, through its Policy Dialogues, all stakeholder groups respond to multi-dimensional and systemic risks in today’s interconnected world while showcasing the thought leadership of the Department on such critical issues as economic and financial instabilities, rising inequalities, population, and implementation of the SDGs. A set of live virtual dialogues explicitly held for college and university audiences has been developed within this framework. These “Global Policy Dialogues for the Classroom” will feature an expert presenting in-depth the major findings of one of the Department’s flagship reports, with time for questions from the audience.