Rising seas, rising stakes: What increasing sea-levels mean to humanity
31 August 2026 - The ocean is rising faster now than at any point in recorded history. The impacts are already being felt and the threats are growing. Land is being inundated, homes are flooding, livelihoods are being lost, driving significant hardships on people in search of a more secure future.
UN DESA Development Policy Seminar Series examines productivity convergence, technology diffusion and AI
27 August 2026 - Leading researchers came together for UN DESA’s three-part Development Policy Seminar series hosted by the Economic Analysis and Policy Division in July to discuss productivity convergence — the process through which lower-income economies narrow productivity gaps with more advanced economies.
Land degradation is costing far more than restoring: UN deputy chief
25 August 2026 - Globally, up to 40 per cent of land is degraded, weakening food production and livelihoods, while droughts have increased in frequency and duration by 29 per cent since 2000. By 2050, as many as three in four people could be affected. Speaking at the high-level opening of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Ms. Mohammed called on governments to move beyond individual restoration projects and put national plans into action, backed by predictable financing and greater decision-making power for the people who depend on the land.
Can restoring land create jobs? These young entrepreneurs are proving it
25 August 2026 - From Ecuador to Bangladesh, a new generation of entrepreneurs is turning land restoration into economic opportunity. Whether repurposing agricultrual waste, building greenhouses or deploying AI-powered sensors, they are showing, with support from a United Nations-backed initiative, that restoring land can also generate income and improve livelihoods.
Protecting our 'most vital infrastructure': Pushing back on desertification
18 August 2026 - As heatwaves are turning deadlier, fires and disasters are razing cities — and rising seas are erasing territories — one environmental crisis remains dangerously overlooked: the degradation of the land beneath our feet. Desertification, the phenomenon whereby fertile land becomes unproductive and desert-like, is spreading at alarming rates across the globe due to rising temperatures, droughts and deforestation.
Indigenous midwives - safeguarding life and well-being
14 August 2026 - Indigenous midwives are much more than healthcare workers. They are caregivers, educators, and knowledge holders who play a crucial role in ensuring the continuity of Indigenous Peoples’ ways of life for future generations. On 9 August 2026, the vital role of Indigenous midwives took center stage as the United Nations observed the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. To mark the occasion, UN DESA convened a virtual commemoration on 10 August, under the theme “Honoring Indigenous Midwives: Safeguarding Life and Well-being”, which brought together Indigenous midwives, knowledge holders, policy and human rights experts.
Youth advocates gather in New York to launch new AI standards
13 August 2026 - As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly transforms everything from how we learn, to the job market, children are adopting the technology – exposing them to unique opportunities and risks. The UN hosted more than 600 young people from around the world on Wednesday at New York Headquarters to discuss how AI can support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
What unites young people across borders?
12 August 2026 - While their daily realities can look very different, young people everywhere share many of the same aspirations: quality education, decent work, good health, including mental health, a voice in decisions that affect their lives and the opportunity to build a better future. That idea is at the heart of this year's International Youth Day theme, "Different Contexts, Common Aspirations."
For Brazil's Indigenous youth, visibility is resistance
10 August 2026 - As climate change reshapes Indigenous territories across Brazil, a new generation is turning to culture and digital platforms to defend their lands and their future. They are watching rising temperatures, vanishing food sources, devastating wildfires and the accelerating loss of ancestral territory – but they are also claiming new space online, using social media, music, photography and dance as tools of resistance.
Honouring Indigenous midwives: Advancing rights, ensuring cultural continuity and promoting intergenerational well-being
6 August 2026 - The 2026 International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples (IDWIP), under the theme "Honouring Indigenous Midwives: Safeguarding Life and Well-being," highlights Indigenous midwifery as a vital expression of self-determination, linking health, culture, spirituality and land. It recognized Indigenous midwives as knowledge holders and custodians of values, responsiblites and practices that ensure the continuity of Indigenous Peoples across generations.
Global Justice Report examines long-term pathways for equality and sustainability
4 August 2026 - Last week, Professor Thomas Piketty of the Paris School of Economics presented the recently released Global Justice Report at a webinar hosted by the UN DESA Division for Inclusive Social Development. Produced by the World Inequality Lab, the report lays out an ambitious, quantified roadmap to simultaneously achieve equality, environmental sustainability and human wellbeing by 2100.
Making the global tax system work for everyone
3 August 2026 - What would it take to make the global tax system work for everyone, not just the countries best equipped to navigate it? That question continues to drive negotiations on a United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation (UNFCITC) at its Fifth session from 3 to 13 August 2026.
UN-GGIM: Putting geospatial information at the heart of sustainable development
27 July 2026 - Global geospatial experts are coming to New York the week of 3 to 7 August 2026 for the sixteenth session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM). Anchored by the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework “UN-IGIF”, UN-GGIM promotes a country-owned and country-led approach to strengthening national geospatial information management. The objective is not merely to produce better maps, but to establish trusted and interoperable information systems that support national priorities and global commitments.
'I am somebody': Street-smart youth take their declaration to the UN
27 July 2026 - When Samantha Richards and Angela Hifume walked into the Hall of Flags at United Nations Headquarters last week, they carried more than a folder of paper. They carried the voices of hundreds of street-connected children who had never expected anyone to listen. The two young leaders, both alumnae of Street Child United (SCU), were presenting the United Declaration of the Street Child World Cup 2026 – a document built around football, and around the campaign message “I Am Somebody”.
From lithium to nickel: How the UN is helping countries make the most of critical minerals
24 July 2026 - The world's shift to clean energy is driving huge demand for critical minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and copper. Digging them out of the ground may be the most straightforward part of the process. Around the world, the United Nations is helping countries make sure these valuable resources create decent jobs, protect the environment and benefit local communities – not just global supply chains.