Summit of the Future

Some of the world’s poorest countries spend more on debt repayments than on health, education and infrastructure combined, severely hampering their chances of developing their economies. At the Summit of the Future, reducing inequality and improving people’s lives by overhauling the entire international financial system will be high on the agenda.

Countries must use a once-in-a-generation UN summit to address current and emerging global challenges and reform outdated international institutions, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday in New York. 

Ensuring that world leaders consider the impact their actions will have on the billions yet to be born this century, whilst addressing the inclusion of young people in important national and global decision-making, are central to the UN’s landmark Summit of the Future.

A surge in the development of powerful artificial intelligence (AI) tools is already improving lives but is also bringing fresh urgency to calls for regulation, as more and more governments wake up to the risks. Effective global regulation to ensure that AI is developed safely for the benefit of all is urgently needed.

The UN and other bodies set up in the wake of World War Two, are struggling to cope effectively with today’s global threats and challenges. At a landmark event in New York this September, world leaders will consider far-reaching plans to shake up international institutions and bring about major reforms for a safer, fairer future for all.

With conflict and violence at record levels, the UN Member States have called on Secretary-General António Guterres to come up with a template for a more peaceful, secure world. The “New Agenda for Peace” will be a key component of the Summit of the Future, a landmark event to be held at UN Headquarters this September.

A once-in-a-generation UN summit bringing together countries from around the world marks a critical opportunity for far-reaching agreements on international collaboration for a safer, more sustainable and more equitable world, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday as part of a global call to action to support the Summit of the Future, which begins on 22 September. 

Negotiations continue ahead of the Summit of the Future at UN Headquarters this month, where world leaders will enhance cooperation to tackle critical challenges facing the international community and address gaps in global governance. 

Is there another way the world could be run? And in the face so much global turmoil, how can we make the future fairer? This September, a major event at UN Headquarters is being billed as once in a generation opportunity for the international community to grapple with these questions, and forge a new path, for the benefit of all.

With just six years remaining to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global progress is alarmingly insufficient, with a mere 17 per cent of the targets currently on track, according to a new UN report released on Friday.