Webcast on a UN for the future

The Global Challenges Foundation and the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs are organizing a webcast online discussion about a UN for the future on the International Day of Multilateralism, 24 April 2020, from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm CET (7:00 am-8:30 am EST). This will include a launching of the book by Augusto Lopez-Claros and IEF members Arthur Lyon Dahl and Maja Groff, Global Governance and the Emergence of Global Institutions for the 21st Century (Cambridge University Press).

As the UN is entering its 75th year of operation, different global challenges than the ones that sparked its formation have emerged. Global threats such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, the onset of pandemics such as the Corona virus and the Arctic’s accelerated ice melt share a commonality – they do not know or respect national borders. These threats are transnational by nature but we must ask ourselves if the governance structures required to meet them are strong enough.

The UN remains a key component in establishing a robust multilateral structure. Sweden and Qatar are jointly responsible for facilitating the intergovernmental negotiation on the Declaration for the Commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the UN. This declaration will be an important opportunity for the global community’s efforts to meet these common challenges.

For the webcast, after opening remarks by Mr. Jens Orback, Executive Director of Global Challenges Foundation, Mrs. Ann Linde, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sweden, and Mr. Jean Asselborn, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Luxembourg, there will be two keynote addresses. Mr. Fabrizio Hochschild-Drummond, Special Advisor on the Preparations for the Commemoration of the United Nations’ 75th Anniversary, will speak on: "What kind of UN does the people want? – Reporting on the global dialogue process The future we want – the UN we need". The second keynote by Dr. Augusto Lopez-Claros – co-author of Global Governance and the Emergence of Global Institutions for the 21st Century and winner of the New Shape Prize organized by Global Challenges Foundation, will be on "Global Governance for the 21st Century – a reform proposal for the UN". This will be followed by a panel discussion with Fabrizio Hochschild-Drummond, Augusto Lopez-Claros, Mrs. Anna-Karin Eneström, Sweden’s UN ambassador, Mrs. Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, Qatar’s UN ambassador, and Rosaline Marbinah, Chairman of the National Council for Swedish Youth Organizations.

The webcast link is https://globalchallenges.org/events/the-future-we-want-the-un-we-need/ and questions can be sent to info@globalchallenges.org. Viewers will be able to ask questions via chat.