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United Nations Headquarters in New York, 23 February 2017. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas
Kevin L. McCrudden

Maintaining Inspiration and Motivation to Build a ¹ú²úAVful and Sustainable World

The International Day of Conscience (5 April) provides another opportunity to focus single-mindedly on the vision and mission of the United Nations.

Chronicle Conversation: Ambassador William vanden Heuvel, 28 February 2020

Former US Ambassador William vanden Heuvel, Chair Emeritus and founder of the Roosevelt Institute, discusses the legacy of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the United Nations in the context of the Organization's upcoming 75th Anniversary. Drawing on decades of scholarship and diplomatic experience, Ambassador vanden Heuvel recalls the founding principles and enduring objectives of the United Nations, and Roosevelt's role in the creation of this indispensable international body.

Waterfall on the Upper Tana River in the Aberdares, which forms part of the water supply for Nairobi, Kenya. ©UN Environment Programme
Inger Andersen

Improving Water Resource Management to Address the Climate Emergency

Embracing adaptation and mitigation measures through water is a win-win-win proposal. It benefits sustainable water resources management and the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation.

A Plastic Patrol UK clean-up of Sheffield Canal in England, 2018. ©Andrew Hargraves Photography
Lizzie Carr

Reducing Single-Use Plastic Pollution: A Unified Approach

Organizations, partnered with the corporate sector and individual citizens at the local level, can significantly reduce plastic pollution around the world. 

Hand, Bura-Asinda-Sikka, Niger, 3rd–11th century, Terracotta Institut de Recherches en Sciences Humaines, Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey, Niger (AC3 BRK 85). © Photo Maurice Ascani. www.photographe-niger.com.
Max Hollein

The Creative Dynamism of the Sahel

Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara, an exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, examines—indeed celebrates—an important and relatively unfamiliar artistic legacy.

The University Teaching Hospital of Kigali, Rwanda, exterior. November 2019. ©Jennifer Oldfield
Jennifer Oldfield

The Problem of Lagging Data for Development—and What to Do About It

The promise of the data revolution has not been oversold, but the investment needed to build robust, validated models tends to be glossed over.

Vicuñas, an animal species endemic to the highlands of the South American Andes, were exploited to near extinction until they were listed in Appendix I of the CITES Convention in 1975. © Carolyn/Pexels
Ivonne Higuero

How Wildlife Conservation Can Benefit Sustainable Human Development

The work of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and other major wildlife and biodiversity conventions shows that implementing a global framework for conservation can yield results for human development.

An arsenic-free water plant has been established in Sirajganj, Bangladesh, enabling students to access arsenic-free water. Previously, they had to rely on pond water, making them susceptible to disease. 5 May 2016. ©GMB Akash
Jaffer Machano

SDG 11 and the Crucible of Sustainable Development Success

One of the most overlooked drivers of sustainable development is local finance, particularly in the context of developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs). When you consider the actual practice or mechanics behind the achievement of sustainable development, it becomes immediately clear that local governance is essential.

Reshma Saujani's nonprofit, Girls Who Code, is on a mission to close the gender gap in tech and change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. ©Girls Who Code.
Reshma Saujani

Closing the Gender Gap in Science and Technology

When I founded Girls Who Code, it was because I understood that STEM jobs had the power to lift entire families into the middle class and transform our modern-day technologies and economies.

Urban scene, United Arab Emirates. February 2016. Polona Mita/Pexels
Maimunah Mohd Sharif

Connecting Innovation and Culture for Cities of Opportunity

Ultimately, the Tenth Session of the World Urban Forum will be an important milestone event in the lead-up to 2030. We intend to establish as its most lasting legacy the opportunity to transform advocates into participants and policy into practice. 

Abu Dhabi skyline. November 2014. Wadiia.
H.E. Falah Al Ahbabi

Building Urban Development Strategies for a Sustainable Future

Today, we see a great opportunity in the World Urban Forum to refocus priorities and exchange knowledge about innovative practices to advance the sustainable development of cities, not just locally but around the world.

Primary school math students in the MatiTec program in Santa Fe, Mexico City, 20 March 2012. Talento Tec. Wikimedia Commons
Sylvia Schmelkes

Recognizing and Overcoming Inequity in Education

Education has proven to affect general well-being, productivity, social capital, responsible citizenship and sustainable behaviour.

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Muzoon Almellehan meets children at the temporary learning space set up by UNICEF and local education authorities in the main camp for displaced families in Mopti, central Mali.    20 August 2019. UNICEF/Keïta
Muzoon Almellehan

In the Darkness of War, Learning Gives Us Light

Education is the key to peace and prosperity, and the foundation of equality. Lack of education in many regions of the world is one of today’s greatest travesties and a major contributor to conflict, inequity and poverty.

Grade four student, Phonsivilay Primary School, Meun District, Laos. December 2018. Global Partnership for Education (GPE)/Kelley Lynch (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Stefania Giannini

Championing Education for People, Prosperity, Planet and ¹ú²úAV

Leaving no one behind is not a numbers game, but one that calls for re-evaluating and reimagining what education means and provides. This year’s International Day celebrates precisely how learning can empower people, foster peace, build shared prosperity and protect a fragile planet.

Chronicle Conversation with Inge Auerbacher, 14 January 2020

Inge Auerbacher recounts her experience as a Holocaust survivor, and describes her lifelong mission to educate people about the dangers of intolerance and the importance of love.