Top 3 Reflections on a Busy Week at the 2023 UN General Assembly
Insights from Gillian Tett, Financial Times; Jeremy Hillman, Mastercard; and Matthew Bishop, Sorenson Impact Institute
Thousands of people from around the world descended on New York City last week for the UN General Assembly meetings (UNGA78) as well as the associated events focused on global sustainable development.
For those not able to travel to NYC, recordings of many of the informative sessions are available online. (Stay tuned for our recap of how to watch many of our favorite sessions.)
We appreciate those UNGA participants who have written about their experiences and insights, giving us all a better perspective on what it was like to attend Global Goals Week in real life.
Here are three of our favorite thought pieces:
Why I haven’t given up on idealism yet
Financial Times | September 20, 2023 (paywall)
If you don’t yet follow Gillian Tett, do yourself a favor and follow her now. She writes frequently for the Financial Times as the co-founder of Moral Money and is active on Twitter/ X.
In this article, Tett explores the question, “can the UN actually do any good?” Her insights are honest and unflinching. She describes tedious security and UN bureaucracy, and a piece of art depicting an Afghan girl studying that is on display in the UN building despite the fact that current Taliban rule has crushed women’s rights in the country.
But after listening to a 12-year-old activist and a former US Vice-President give impassioned speeches, Tett settles on a more positive realization:
Rituals like this still matter, since even if they do not reflect the world as it is, they project a vision of how we would like it to be. Or, as Guterres told CNN with admirable candour, the point about the UN today is that “there’s no power and no money. What we have is a voice.” Yes, the UN badly needs reform, but I still believe the world would be worse off today if that voice did not exist.
Saving the World at UNGA
LinkedIn | September 25, 2023
Jeremy Hillman, Senior VP of External Engagement at Mastercard, strikes a balanced tone in his top 10 takeaways from his participation in UNGA78.
Hillman found the week to be generally energizing and productive, pointing out a strong private sector presence, the prevalence of technology — particularly AI — and how it can advance progress, and practical conversations around new financing opportunities in support of the SDGs.
On the growing acceptance that we are not on target to achieve a majority of the SDGs, Hillman first acknowledges the real success that we can now measure and stay accountable to SDG targets. On whether there’s enough time to course correct, Hillman notes:
At what point do we accept these goals are perhaps just aspirational and motivational, or alternatively start to see disappointment and resignation build at our collective failure to meet them. Reasonable people can disagree.
Recapping UNGA & Climate Week: Encouraging Developments & Forward Momentum
Forbes | September 26, 2023
In his role as Sorenson Impact Institute Senior Fellow, Matthew Bishop describes the slow but forward progress he witnessed during this year’s UNGA.
He focuses on the concrete steps the private sector is taking to drive SDG progress, including
- Creating and investing in “Nature Markets”;
- Changes at the World Bank that will hopefully “turbocharge the role of the Bank, particularly as a catalyst of investment in a sustainable, inclusive post-carbon economy”;
- Increased funding for the energy transition; and
- Tech innovations to advance environmental and SDG solutions.
The complex political climate in the US provides both reasons for optimism, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, and concern, like the backlash against ESG, especially leading up to the 2024 presidential elections. Similarly, COP28 also presents a mixture of feelings, given the role of the United Arab Emirates as the host country.
Have we missed any good UNGA activity recaps? Let us know and we will add them to our list.
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