Sustainable Development Impact Summit

For over a year, countries have struggled to address a pandemic that respects no borders, destroys lives and livelihoods, and deepens pre-existing global challenges like inequality, climate change and education. With less than a decade left to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, the fully virtual Sustainable Development Impact Summit 2021, hosted alongside the United Nations General Assembly, will bring together global leaders from diverse sectors, disciplines and geographies. Ensuring the world exits the pandemic stronger than it entered it will only be possible if leaders work together across sectors and borders to share and deploy know-how, innovation and promising approaches and accelerate the recovery.

#2030Now

To commemorate the start of the #GlobalDayofAct4SDGs, we accelerate the implementation, monitoring, financing, follow-up, socialization and evaluation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs within the framework of the Decade of Action. We urge people and organizations from all sectors to rethink the five areas of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership to undertake actions that reinforce their message and inspire.

Global Day Of Act4SDG

As part of the #GlobalDayofAct4SDGs, we invite you to highlight the achievements and increase the knowledge of people and organizations on how to materialize the 17 SDGs and their 169 goals. There needs to be a new commitment from all of us to ensure a sustainable recovery that reduces carbon emissions, conserves natural resources, creates better jobs, promotes gender equality, and addresses growing poverty and inequalities.

#Educational Response

One year after the crisis, almost 100 million children fail to demonstrate reading skills, while the poorest and most vulnerable are bearing the brunt of the crisis. The risks of returning to the classroom are high and some girls have been forced into child marriage or child labor. This day seeks to accelerate actions that place education based on gender equality at the center of COVID-19 recovery plans.

Digital Equity: Should Internet Access Be Free for Everyone?

Should Internet access be free for everyone? Maybe. But it’s complicated. There are approximately 3 billion people, nearly half the world’s population, who lack reliable, affordable access to the Internet. The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the chasm growing between connected and unconnected populations—in wealthy nations like the US and in the developing world. We all agree this is a problem, but the debate begins when we discuss viable solutions.

SDG Action Zone 2021

Bringing the UN to the world and the world to the UN.

Over the course of three days during the UN General Assembly, the SDG Action Zone brings together the highest levels of UN leadership, activists, government officials, business leaders, changemakers and disruptors in a virtual collaborative space – to highlight the ecosystem-wide solutions, plans, and investments needed to positively impact people’s lives and the future of our planet.

Progress to end child marriage: decade of driving forward

The global movement to end child marriage has brought about significant achievements ranging from political commitments to increased awareness, funding and programming – contributing to declining rates of child marriage. However, 1 in 5 girls globally are still married under 18. Marking 10 years of Girls Not Brides at this virtual event, we’ll hear from leaders on how the movement has driven positive change for girls, and the urgent priorities to build a more equitable future for all.

Celebrating 100 Data Partnerships: A Global Partnership Townhall

Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data has come a long way since we were founded six years ago. In 2016, we brokered three data partnerships across two countries.

This summer, we hit 100 partnerships in 35 countries. That’s hundreds of new connections to harness the power of data to bring us closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. We’re celebrating this major milestone with a Town Hall event during Global Goals Week.

GGWCUP Nigeria 2021

Global Goals World Cup Nigeria is a 5 aside football tournament for all-women teams. Each team champions one of the SDGs, and is ranked by the action taken for their Goal on and off the field. The teams are scored in four distinct categories: Action, Crowd, Style and Football. Those awarded not only win a tournament. They amplify their calls to action and create impact, locally and globally.

Thriving, Not Just Surviving: Youth Power for the Global Goals

Join us to celebrate #YOUTHPOWER and learn how young people are making an impact on the Global Goals.

This event will feature a diverse range of speakers sharing their own personal experience on the power of youth leadership and how we can support young people to thrive, not just survive. We will also be announcing who our winning Youth Power Hacks teams are and exploring the ideas they have developed to help tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges.

Launch of the 2021 Food and Agriculture Benchmark

The World Benchmarking Alliance will launch its first Food & Agriculture Benchmark, assessing 350 key global food and agriculture companies on their performance towards food systems transformation. The benchmark is the first of its kind to take a value-chain approach, measuring progress of companies across their environmental, nutritional and social impact towards 2030. Co-hosted with the Swiss government, the event will include speakers from government, business, farmers and civil society.

Unlocking Women’s Potential for Economic Recovery

Facebook’s SheMeansBusiness reached its 5th-anniversary supporting women entrepreneurs across the globe. Join Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, and other distinguished women’s empowerment advocates to learn more and recognize the many women, organizations, and governments who work tirelessly to support women’s economic inclusion. This work supports SDG 8, a global call for decent work and economic growth, and SDG 5, to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

UN Innovation Room Series

The Microsoft Tech for Social Impact team is hosting the UN Innovation Room Series, a four-part series hosted by Tolu Olubunmi, that highlights how UN organizations are embracing a culture of innovation to reignite the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals in trusted, responsible, and inclusive ways. Throughout the series, WHO, United Nations, and UNICEF will share stories from the frontlines on how they are applying innovation and adopting digital tools and new models of collaboration to deliver on their missions and make a difference in people’s lives.

Sept 21 at 12PM ET – Leadership Panel with WHO, UNICEF, UN, and Microsoft: Harnessing digital and data for a Decade of Action 

Sept 28 at 12PM ET – WHO: Building the new home of global health data

Sept 29 at 12PM ET – UN: Delivering the next-generation in innovation, data, and digital capabilities for impact

Sept 30 at 12PM ET – UNICEF: Advancing digital innovation for children

Unlock the Future

This high-level virtual event marks the beginning of the coalition for young people and future generations. We will commit to working together to deliver young people’s priorities for the next and future generations and explore how we can overcome the barriers that prevent young people from acquiring the power and influence to shape their futures.

This meeting is hosted by the world’s most far-reaching youth-led and youth-focused networks and movements including Girl Up, Global Youth Mobilization, the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award (The Award), Restless Development, the World Economic Forum, and the UN Foundation.

UN International Day of Peace Youth Observance

The International Day of Peace Youth Observance is organized by the United Nations Department of Global Communications, and will take place online with the participation of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Messengers of Peace and students from around the world.

The theme for this year’s International Day of Peace is “Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world”.

UN Deputy Secretary-General’s Virtual Youth Dialogue on Climate

This event is part of a dialogue series that serves to connect representatives of the youth population with the Deputy Secretary-General to discuss thematic issues ranging from climate to innovation and equality to health. The youth speakers are thematic experts and come from diverse backgrounds and regions. They include but are not limited to representatives from grassroots movements, international organizations, civil society, academia, and the private sector.

SustainChain Day: Road to 2030

Join us in celebrating SustainChain™ Day! Hear from special guests UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, Jeffrey Sachs, and several SustainChain members who are contributing to our action initiatives around regenerative agriculture, resilient infrastructure, plastics, ocean energy, and more. We will also unveil the latest enhancements to the SustainChain platform that will make it easier to connect relevant players, actions, and funding across the sustainability ecosystem.

American Leadership in Advancing the SDGs

The Center for Sustainable Development at the Brookings Institution and the United Nations Foundation willhost the third annual “American leadership in advancing the sustainable development goals” event on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. This high-level virtual event will showcase how American leaders and institutions are using the SDGs to build resilient and inclusive communities across the United States.

SDG Moment

Convened by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Moment will provide world leaders with a platform to showcase the bold plans, actions and solutions that are needed to end the COVID-19 pandemic and set the world on course towards achieving the SDGs. The event will include more than 30 Heads of State, a key debate with UN leaders on the COVID-19 Response and Recovery and a musical performance by K-pop band BTS, Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generation and Culture of the President of the Republic of Korea. Leaders from business, civil society, local authorities, the SDG Advocates and the UN will highlight how to take solutions to scale.

World Humanitarian Forum New York 2021

Convened by the World Humanitarian Forum (WHF), the 2021 Forum will provide an invaluable opportunity for humanitarian leaders to join Heads of State, UN Principles and private sector c-level executives to discuss and find solutions to the key issues of today being discussed at the UN General Assembly. WHF will feature main stage discussions with heads of state and high-level roundtable discussions on topics ranging from climate finance and emergency responses to blockchain innovations in humanitarian organisations. By attending WHF New York you will be able to network, gain knowledge and find solutions to the problems faced by you and your organisation as we aim to build forward better while redefining humanitarianism in new contexts.