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UAE showcases women empowerment model at UN forum
UAE showcases women empowerment model at UN forum

Dubai Eye

timea day ago

  • Politics
  • Dubai Eye

UAE showcases women empowerment model at UN forum

The UAE has reaffirmed its strong commitment to women's empowerment and gender equality during the 2025 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York. Speaking at the UN gathering, the UAE delegation showcased the country's model of inclusive development—built on empowering women, supporting families and driving progress through equality in education, work, and leadership. The delegation highlighted national milestones, including equal pay legislation, constitutional protections for gender equality, and the rising number of women in leadership—now making up 50 per cent of the Federal National Council and 26 per cent of Cabinet positions. Women also account for nearly half of STEM graduates and 80 per cent of the scientific team behind the Emirates Mars Mission. The UAE also emphasised its global efforts, including programmes like Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak's Women in Peace and Security Initiative, offering its experience to help accelerate gender progress worldwide. On the sidelines of the forum, the UAE Consulate and National SDG Secretariat hosted a roundtable focused on innovation in promoting gender equality beyond 2030. The event tackled the digital gender divide, care economy reforms, and boosting women in leadership—with voices from international experts, including ministers, UN leaders and private sector figures. Officials stressed that empowering communities, especially women and families, remains both the foundation and future of sustainable development.

UAE showcases women empowerment model at UN forum
UAE showcases women empowerment model at UN forum

TAG 91.1

timea day ago

  • Politics
  • TAG 91.1

UAE showcases women empowerment model at UN forum

The UAE has reaffirmed its strong commitment to women's empowerment and gender equality during the 2025 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York. Speaking at the UN gathering, the UAE delegation showcased the country's model of inclusive development—built on empowering women, supporting families and driving progress through equality in education, work, and leadership. The delegation highlighted national milestones, including equal pay legislation, constitutional protections for gender equality, and the rising number of women in leadership—now making up 50 per cent of the Federal National Council and 26 per cent of Cabinet positions. Women also account for nearly half of STEM graduates and 80 per cent of the scientific team behind the Emirates Mars Mission. The UAE also emphasised its global efforts, including programmes like Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak's Women in Peace and Security Initiative, offering its experience to help accelerate gender progress worldwide. On the sidelines of the forum, the UAE Consulate and National SDG Secretariat hosted a roundtable focused on innovation in promoting gender equality beyond 2030. The event tackled the digital gender divide, care economy reforms, and boosting women in leadership—with voices from international experts, including ministers, UN leaders and private sector figures. Officials stressed that empowering communities, especially women and families, remains both the foundation and future of sustainable development.

From Diamonds To Dirt: Sierra Leone Youth Bring Land Back To Life
From Diamonds To Dirt: Sierra Leone Youth Bring Land Back To Life

Scoop

time4 days ago

  • General
  • Scoop

From Diamonds To Dirt: Sierra Leone Youth Bring Land Back To Life

16 July 2025 But now, parts of the land have been restored. Crops are beginning to flourish and bees are buzzing around once again. The people responsible for this change are a hodgepodge group – former taxi drivers and miners, people who barely finished secondary school and some with higher education degrees. The unifying factor? Most have youth on their side. ' There is life beyond mining [but] we all grew up with the mentality that diamond is the only solution,' said Sahr Fallah, chairman of the Youth Council in Kono. Over 44 percent of the 1.3 billion people aged 15-24 are employed in agrifood systems. However, this group often does not have the same access to resources as older generations. Moreover, they are sidelined in the conversations which might change this systemic exclusion. ' A lot of the time, what we find is that young people are included in policy processes but it is a little bit tokenistic. They don't feel like their voice really matters,' said Lauren Phillips, a deputy director at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Decent work = economic growth The High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York has been convened this week and next, to discuss progress – or lack thereof – towards the globally agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), one of which guarantees decent work for all. Despite this commitment, over half of the global workforce remains in informal employment, according to the Secretary-General's report on the SDGs released Monday. This means that they do not have adequate social or legal protections. ' Decent work must be at the heart of macroeconomic planning, climate and diesel transitions and social recovery strategies,' said Sangheon Lee, director of employment policy at the International Labor Organization (ILO). Don't ignore youth Like other vulnerable groups, young people face unique challenges in the agrifood sector. Specifically, they often lack land rights and will struggle to act collectively to protect their interests. 'If you are not looking at data with a lens of age or gender, you are actually missing part of the story,' Ms. Phillips said. Among these assets are land titles – which the elderly may be reluctant to pass down because of insufficient social protections. Youth also are less able to access credit so they can invest in themselves and their families. Betty Seray Sam, one of the young farmers in Kono, said that her family never used to come to her when they were going through a crisis – they knew that she had no money and a child to support. But now, through an agricultural job in Kono, she can support her family during times of crisis. ' This project has had a rippling effect for the youth in terms of not only improving their livelihoods but also the livelihoods of their families,' said Abdul Munu, president of Mabunduku, a community-based farmer's organization in Kono. Bee a farmer Providing training to young people in agrifood systems is absolutely essential to ensure that they can practice sustainable agriculture. In Chegutu, Zimbabwe, FAO has helped establish Bee Farmers Schools where young people are taught how to support apiaries through hands-on training activities. 'The idea is that one of the apiaries can be turned into a classroom where youth from different parts of a district can come just like a school,' said Barnabas Mawire, a natural resource specialist at FAO. This training has helped support local youth beekeepers to move beyond local and small-scale honey production to a fully-fledged business model that has the potential to not just fight poverty but actually create local wealth. Evelyn Mutuda, the young entrepreneurs representative in Chegutu, aspires to plant Jacaranda trees which she says will improve the quality of the bees' honey and enable the beekeepers to export beyond local markets. 'We want to maximize all the profits so we can become better and bigger,' Ms. Mutuda said. From Facebook to TikTok Being able to form labour associations is one of the key factors of decent work. This sort of collective action is even more important for youth in agrifood who often lack the social capital to enact real policy change. 'Young people are just starting out, making bonds within their group but also with people outside of their group. Those bonds are important…because there is power in numbers,' Ms. Phillips said. She also noted that young people are forming these bonds across geographic distances, often by using technology. Agrifood influencers on Instagram and TikTok, for example, are increasingly shaping conversations about the sector. Ms. Phillips also noted that it is important to think of collective action for youth as intergenerational. 'While the report is focused on young people, it's not ignorant of the fact that young people live in families…There is a lot which talks about the need for solidarity between generations,' Ms. Phillips said. Youth optimism The next generation will be the stewards of the food we eat, so integrating them into that system now is essential for future food security and sustainability. ' Many youth integrate tradition with innovation, creating sustainability and community resilience,' said Venedio Nala Ardisa, a youth representative at the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, at an online side event during the high-level forum. Angeline Manhanzva, one of the beekeepers in Chegutu, said that the opportunity to become a beekeeper changed her life. One day, she dreams of owning her own bee farm. 'I will be an old person who has so much wealth and is able to buy her own big land to keep my hives and process my own honey.'

‘A Compass Towards Progress' – But Key Development Goals Remain Way Off Track
‘A Compass Towards Progress' – But Key Development Goals Remain Way Off Track

Scoop

time6 days ago

  • Business
  • Scoop

‘A Compass Towards Progress' – But Key Development Goals Remain Way Off Track

14 July 2025 The UN's key Sustainable Development Goals Report released Monday by Secretary-General António Guterres, chronicles both progress and setbacks – showing that the world has made significant advances but is still drastically off-track to achieve its development goals by 2030. Seize the day ' This report is more than a snapshot of today. It's also a compass pointing the way to progress. This report shows that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are still within reach, but only if we act – with urgency, unity, and unwavering resolve,' Mr. Guterres said. The release of the report coincides with the first day of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development which will convene over the next ten days in New York in the hopes of answering the UN chief's call to action. 'A global development emergency' In 2015, the General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda, which outlined 17 Sustainable Development Goals – including ending poverty and ensuring that everyone had access to healthcare and quality education. The ambitious SDGs were to be achieved by prioritising future generations through sustainable and climate-friendly initiatives. 'The 2030 Agenda represents our collective recognition that our destinies are intertwined and that sustainable development is not a zero-sum game but a shared endeavour that benefits us all,' said Li Junhua, UN Under Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. Ten years after this commitment, the agenda is facing increasingly strong headwinds, including a $4 trillion funding shortfall for the developing world and increasing geopolitical tensions which are undermining multilateralism. 'The problem is that the Sustainable Development Goals do not include the instruments that would be necessary to make them happen,' Mr. Guterres said. In light of these challenges, only 18 per cent of the SDGs are on track to be met by 2030. Around 17 per cent are experiencing moderate progress. But over half of the goals are moving too slowly – and 18 per cent of the goals have gone backwards. 'We are in a global development emergency, an emergency measured in the over 800 billion people still living in extreme poverty, in intensifying climate impacts and in the relentless debt service,' the Secretary-General said. Real lives transformed – and left behind Between 2015 and 2023, maternal death rates and death rates of children under the age of five dropped by approximately 15 per cent. During this same period of time, 54 countries eliminated at least one tropical disease, and 2.2 billion cases of malaria were averted as a result of prevention areas. 'These victories are not abstract statistics – they represent real lives transformed, families lifted from poverty and communities empowered to build better and more resilient futures,' Mr. Li said. However, just as some have had their lives transformed, many people around the world have been left behind. One in 10 people still live in abject poverty and one in 11 experience food insecurity. Over 1.1 billion people live in slums or informal settlements without basic services, including access to clean water and sanitation. And in 2024, one person lost their life to conflict every 12 minutes. In short, while many lives were transformed in the past ten years, many lives were not – and some were actually worsened or lost. 'What we have learned since then is that sustainable development is not a destination but rather a journey of innovation, adaptation and commitment to human dignity,' Mr. Li said. Data at the heart of development Reliable data is what underpins sustainable development, according to the Secretary-General's report. It is what enables the UN, State governments and civil society leaders to understand what progress has been made and how to target increased investments for areas which require more work. When the 2030 Agenda was first adopted in 2015, only a third of the SDGs had sufficient data and over a third lacked internationally agreed upon methodologies. Today, 70 percent of the SDGs are well-monitored and all indicators have internationally established monitoring mechanisms. However, the progress made in monitoring development progress is, like all parts of the development agenda, under increasing threat. 'This report tells the SDG story in numbers, but it is, above all, a call to action,' Mr. Guterres said. Multilateralism is non-negotiable The Secretary-General said that the SDGs cannot be achieved without significant reforms to the financial architecture, which must begin with an investment in multilateralism. ' This year's HLPF is a crucial moment that gives us hope and encourages us to think collectively outside the box,' said Lok Bahadur Thapa, Vice President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) at the meeting which opened the HLPF. This forum is an acknowledgement that the work is not yet done – the goals require more investment and more commitment in the next five years in order to ensure that the world does not leave more people behind. 'This is not a moment for despair, but for determined action. We have the knowledge, tools, and partnerships to drive transformation. What we need now is urgent multilateralism – a recommitment to shared responsibility and sustained investment,' Mr. Li said.

Future Avenues for Science Advice in the UN – UCL – London's Global University
Future Avenues for Science Advice in the UN – UCL – London's Global University

Business Mayor

time19-05-2025

  • Science
  • Business Mayor

Future Avenues for Science Advice in the UN – UCL – London's Global University

Join us for this online webinar taking place on Thursday 22nd May from 16:00 – 17:00 PM BST to explore new research on science advice and the UN General Assembly This event is free. Event Information Leonie Dunn In the context of the complexity of 21st-century problems, there is an increasing need for science advice to inform the decisions of policymakers. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), with its 193 Member States, is one of the most representative forums for multilateral negotiations covering the entirety of global issues. Recently, through the Pact for the Future , world leaders agreed to 'Increase the use of science, scientific knowledge and scientific evidence in policymaking' and to increase efforts to 'revitalize the work of the General Assembly.' Yet, an institutionalised approach to integrating evidence into UNGA deliberations is currently lacking. Instead, science is included through a mix of informal pathways, ad-hoc formats, and only a few mandated formal channels exist for specific areas, such as the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. The International Science Council (ISC) supports the strengthening of science advice mechanisms within the UN. The ISC serves as co-chair of the UN Scientific and Technological Community Major Group; serves as joint secretariat with UNESCO to the Group of Friends on Science for Action, a coalition of UN Member States aiming to ensure that the UN and Member States have access to actionable knowledge for the purposes of evidence-based decision making; and serves as a member of the network of scientific organizations affiliated with the UN Secretary-General's Scientific Advisory Board, in addition to a variety of partnerships and ad-hoc collaborations with UN entities and Member States. In 2024, researchers at University College London's Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy collaborated with the ISC to analyse the needs of the UNGA for scientific advice, review past and current science advice mechanisms, and discuss potential strategies for establishing a robust, institutionalised science advice framework at the UNGA. In this webinar, the results of a research project will be briefly presented, highlighting issues of current science advice channels and potential alternative arrangements. A panel of global science advice experts will discuss the following questions: What is the role and potential of various actors in strengthening the use of evidence in UNGA decision-making? How can a reasonable balance between formal and informal pathways of science advice provision be achieved? What could an institutionalised UN Science Advice Mechanism look like regarding procedures, governance, access, and composition? How can the inclusiveness of evidence be enhanced? Reception and Introduction: Dr. Salvatore Aricò, CEO of the ISC Foreword: UCL STEaPP's activities on Science Advice in Multilateral Settings Arthur Petersen, UCL STEaPP Jean-Christophe Mauduit, UCL STEaPP Presentation of Report: 'Strengthening Science Advice in the UN General Assembly' Olivia MacDonald, Benedikt Schmidt, UCL STEaPP High-level Response: Strengthening Science Advice in the UN General Assembly Ambassador Mathu Joyini, Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations Panel Discussion Johannes Cullmann, UN University; former Chief Science Advisor to the President of the UNGA (TBC) Dr. Mobolaji Oladoyin Odubanjo, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Academy of Sciences Jessica Espey, University of Southampton Benedikt Schmidt, UCL STEaPP READ SOURCE

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