By Darshni Nagaria, Sara Niner and Elena Mayer-Bestin* BANGKOK | 7 November 2024 (IDN) — The financing needs of entrepreneurs varies depending on business size, reason for starting a business and opportunities for enterprise growth. Typically, necessity-driven entrepreneurs start a business venture to support themselves and their families’ livelihoods when there is a lack of […]
Re-evaluating the Milestones on Road to the Second World Social Summit
By Sweta C. Saxena* Remember to celebrate milestones as you prepare for the road ahead.” — Nelson Mandela ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia | 5 November 2024 (IDN) — The year 2030 is a pivotal milestone. By then, not only should we have achieved all 17 Sustainable Development Goals but also 100 years will have passed since […]
Strengthening Tsunami Preparedness in a Changing Climate
By Sanjay Srivastava, Temily Baker and Nawarat Perawattanasakul* BANGKOK, Thailand | 4 November 2024 (IDN) — This year’s World Tsunami Awareness Day (5 November) presents a moment of reflection 20 years on from the catastrophic Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004. The tsunami resulted in 225,000 fatalities across 14 countries and emphasized the urgent need for […]
Developing Countries Need 1.4 trillion US Dollar for Social Protection by 2030
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | NEW YORK | 28 October 2024 (IDN) — As the international community girds up its loins for next year’s Second World Summit for Social Development, the UN has warned that more than 4 billion people worldwide lack any social protection. Only 47 per cent of the global population is estimated […]
World Social Development Progress Under Threat
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | 25 October 2024 (IDN) — In view of the converging crises threatening world social development, the United Nations General Assembly decided earlier this year to convene the “Second World Summit for Social Development” in 2025, which would address gaps and recommit to the principles outlined in the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration […]
UN Summit Declaration Receives Critical Response
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 29 September 2024 (IDN) — When the much-publicized two-day Summit of the Future concluded on September 23, world leaders adopted a Pact for the Future which covered a broad range of themes including peace and security, sustainable development, climate change, digital cooperation, human rights, gender, youth and future generations, […]
Wanted A Non-Hegemonic New International Order Under the UN Charter
By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was originally published in Horizons and is being republished with the author’s permission. – Though the Summit of the Future has concluded, this article by SDG Advocate under Secretary-General António Guterres is of utmost importance. The Outcome Document of the Summit reflects some of the author’s recommendations for a […]
UN Needs to Open Doors to Citizens, Elected Representatives and Civil Society
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 19 September 2024 (IDN) — As the UN plays host to four high-level summit meetings next week—with possibly over 150 world leaders in attendance—a group of over 160 civil society organizations (CSOs) is calling on the United Nations to make global governance more “inclusive and accountable.” The UN needs […]
Explainer: Demystifying South-South and Triangular Cooperation
By IFAD ROME | 14 September 2024 (IDN) — South-South and triangular cooperation (SSTC) might sound like development jargon. But as a key driver of sustainable growth and innovation, it’s important that there be a shared understanding of the concept. “Global North” and “Global South” refer to two broad groups of countries that share political, […]
It Is Time We Embrace Politics to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
By Minh-Thu Pham, Co-founder and CEO, Project Starling This article was originally published as SDG BLOG in the September issue of UN DESA Voice. NEW YORK | 4 September 2024 (IDN) — Despite being an inherently political institution, the United Nations is not a place where we like to talk about politics—at least explicitly. And […]