UN at 75: Prospects and Potentials: The Future We Want

In connection with the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations Charter, there was a forward-looking global discussion on the future of the United Nations hosted by the Bahá'í International Community and featuring three IEF members. Under the banner of “the future we want, the UN we need,” we reflected on the global institutional arrangements that we currently have — and that may be needed in the future — to respond to the complex and inter-related challenges facing our world, including global pandemics, economic shocks, inequality, climate instability, and threats to peace and security. We considered how we can harness our collective strength among governments, global civil society, UN agencies, the business community, youth and the general public to design The Future We Want, The UN We Need.

In an era of accelerated connectivity and advanced technology, we presented a fresh, modern perspective to the UN Charter’s founding principles to update our vision and promote a truly “people-centered” architecture for global collective action.

The event followed on from the 26 June 2020 UN Charter Day, and prepared for the UN General Assembly’s 75th Session and high-level meeting on Monday, 21 September 2020 on the theme, 'The Future We Want, the UN We Need: Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism'.

Event Partners: UN2020; Faculty of Global Governance and Global Affairs (FGGA), Leiden University, The Hague; The Stimson Center; Together First (TF); Global Governance Forum (GGF); Chinese Initiative on International Law; Bahá’í International Community, New York; United Nations Association of The Netherlands

PROGRAMME
● Opening Remarks: Daniel Perell, Representative to the UN, Bahá’í International Community, New York
● Setting the Stage: The United Nations at 75
- Alanna O’Malley, Chair of UN Studies in Peace and Justice, Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs Leiden University
- Simone Filippini, United Nations Association of The Netherlands (NVVN)

Current Prospects, Civil Society Engagement and Near- and Medium-term Reforms
● UN75 Political Declaration: The Good, The Bad, & Not-So-Ugly Ways Forward
- Richard Ponzio, Director, Just Security 2020 Program, The Stimson Center
● UN2020 and the UN75 People’s Declaration and Plan for Global Action
- Denison Jayasooria, Co-Chair, Malaysian CSO-SDG Alliance
- Jocelyn Jayasooria, UN2020 Communications Associate, Australia
● Together First (TF): Stepping Stones for a Better Future: A Global To Do List
- Enyseh Teimory, Communications Officer, UNA-UK
● UN75 Global Governance Forum & its Innovation Track for Revitalizing Global Institutions
- Cristina Petcu, Research Associate, Just Security 2020 Program, The Stimson Center

Longer-term UN Reforms:
● Global Governance and the Emergence of Global Institutions for the 21st Century
- Augusto Lopez-Claros, Chair, Global Governance Form (GGF), former Director, Global Indicators Group at the World Bank Group
- Maja Groff, International Lawyer, Visiting Professor on the topic of global challenges at Leiden University College (LUC), Faculty of Global Governance and Global Affairs (FGGA)
- Arthur Dahl, President International Environment Forum, former Deputy Assistant Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

UN75 Process of the UN Secretariat
● Natalie Samarasinghe, Chief of Strategy, UN75 Office