The UN75 People’s Forum for the UN We Need was held on May 14th and 15th.
With registered participants from 75 countries around the world, and over 600 attendees each of the two days, and more joining through YouTube and Facebook Live, “We the peoples” sent a strong message to the UN and Member States that a stronger multilateral system is needed as a matter of urgency, and that the UN75 High Level Event on 21 September needs to be the catalyst for the transformative changes urgently needed to successfully address 21st century global challenges.
The UN75 People’s Declaration and Plan for Global Action, “Humanity at a Crossroads: Global Solutions for Global Challenges,” was released in a formal handover ceremony Thursday May 14th involving the 74th President of the United Nations General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, who provided a statement that discussed the UN’s responses to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the evolving role of civil society at the United Nations.
The Declaration was also the subject of a video presentation at the virtual Forum. A second video reinforced the mission of the UN as seen from a young person’s perspective.
Four expert panels at the People’s Forum included a former Prime Minister, UN officials, ambassadors from the Republic of Korea and the European Union, and a range of civil society leaders.
Final reflections reviewed the UN Secretariat’s program for leveraging global dialogues on “The Future We Want and the UN We Need.” This segment featured a conversation with UN2020 Campaigner Jocelyn Jayasooria (Malaysia) and Fabrizio Hochschild, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Preparations for the Commemoration of the United Nations 75th Anniversary.
Both days were livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook and the recordings are available for watching now on both platforms.
But the UN2020 campaign does not end with the People’s Forum!
What you can do
1) Individuals and organizations are invited to endorse the UN75 People’s Declaration and Plan for Global Action.
2) As the United Nations celebrates its 75th anniversary, UN2020 is compiling an online Thank You UN book. What do you see as the UN’s achievements? How has it affected your life, or that of your family, community or country? Go to the online Thank You UN book and leave a personal message. You can also encourage family, friends, and colleagues to add their messages to the book. There are shareable images for various social media platforms that you can use.
3) Take the United Nations’ UN75 One Minute Survey to help inform the UN’s global priorities.
4) And sign up for UN2020’s email list to keep up to date.
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