Since June 2024, UN DESA has partnered with the UN Office of Information and Communications Technology and Accenture to develop SDG Chat. As the first proposal approved by the UN Secretariat’s Cross-functional Working Group on Generative AI, this tool uses GenAI to provide a single, intuitive interface for UN DESA’s SDG resources. By making critical data easily accessible, SDG Chat fosters global engagement and serves as a prime example of how public-private partnerships can accelerate sustainable development.
Speakers:
– Ms. Bjørg Sandkjær, Assistant Secretary-General, UN DESA
– Ms. Lan Guan, Chief AI & Data Officer, Accenture
– Lambert Hogenhout, Chief of Data and AI, UN OICT
Moderator: Martha Barreneche, Youth Advocacy & Well-being International Specialist, UN Youth Office
War is Mary Maker’s earliest memory. Born in South Sudan and named Niriak — meaning "war" — she spent her youth living and working in one of the world’s largest refugee camps. Now a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, she is raising her voice on behalf of those she left behind, helping refugee students land scholarships to top universities.
“I want to be seen. I want to be heard. I want to be acknowledged. I want to be at the table, making decisions and feeling like a part of something. Are you able to see us? Are you? Are you able to go beyond the news and really understand that this is someone like you?”
After her family fled to safety, Mary built a new life of opportunity through education and hard work – finding her feet, and her voice, on stage. In this episode, she shares how she overcame a childhood marred by death and conflict, and how theater became both her refuge and her path forward.
Source: United Kingdom UK Parliament (video statements)
MPs on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee question Rt Hon Steve Reed MP, Secretary of State, and Will Garton, Director General for Local Government, Growth and Communities, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for their work looking into the department.
Witnesses:
Rt Hon Steve Reed MP – Secretary of State
Will Garton – Delegated Permanent Secretary and Accounting Officer at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
A research mission set out from Brazil to explore the ocean’s ‘twilight zone’. Plunging from 200 to 1,000 metres deep, this is the largest #habitat on Earth and is estimated to contain 90% of the global biosphere.
Researchers on the Schmidt Ocean Institute vessel brought a groundbreaking microscope called the Squid, which uses lasers to scan living creatures – even single-celled ones.
The ocean could hold as many as 1.75 million undescribed #species. But habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, and overfishing all pose grave threats to ocean life.
Friends of Ocean Action is a group of leaders from business, science and civil society who use their knowledge to help conserve the #ocean and sustainably manage marine resources.
The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. It provides a global, impartial and not-for-profit platform for meaningful connection between stakeholders to establish trust, and build initiatives for cooperation and progress.
Find out more below:
World Economic Forum Website ► http://www.weforum.org/
YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/wef
LinkedIn ► https://www.linkedin.com/company/world-economic-forum
Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/worldeconomicforum/
Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/worldeconomicforum/
X ► https://twitter.com/wef
TikTok ► https://www.tiktok.com/@worldeconomicforum
WhatsApp ► https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaDcHBKGZNCihKxwiD0L
Threads ► https://www.threads.com/@worldeconomicforum
Flipboard ► https://flipboard.com/@WEF
Source: United Kingdom UK House of Lords (video statements)
The Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill is set to have its second reading in the House of Lords today, Tuesday 14 July. The bill aims to strengthen the cyber security of organisations in the UK that provide essential services, such as healthcare, drinking water and energy.
Find out more about the debate and see who’s taking part https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2026/july-2026/cyber-security-bill-has-lords-second-reading/
Catch-up on House of Lords business:
Watch live events: https://parliamentlive.tv/Lords
Read the latest news: https://www.parliament.uk/lords/
Stay up to date with the House of Lords on social media:
In this week’s Market Research Update, we present the latest data on Federal Vote, Consumer Confidence and Unemployment.
View the full Press Releases on our website at https://www.roymorgan.com/
Follow Roy Morgan on Social Media:
X: https://twitter.com/RoyMorganAus
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/roym…
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoyMorganAus/
Following reports of Iranian violations of Yemeni airspace and Saudi airstrikes at Sana’a International Airport to prevent Iranian planes from landing, Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari (13 Jul) called for de-escalation in order to “advance safe, predictable and sustainable civilian air access, among other priorities.”
Addressing an emergency meeting of the Security Council requested by the Yemeni government, Khiari said, “Yemen and the wider region cannot afford another cycle of escalation” and called on all actors “to constructively engage in negotiations under United Nations auspices.”
He noted that the parties had negotiated an agreement in May to release over 1,600 conflict related detainees, “the largest such release agreed since the start of the conflict in Yemen” which “demonstrates that mutually acceptable agreements remain achievable even amid complex and challenging circumstances.”
Unilateral measures, Khiari said, “will not bring Yemen closer to peace. On the contrary, they risk entrenching divisions, accelerating fragmentation and heightening the danger of renewed escalation and military confrontation.”
He urged all parties “to reduce tensions and address their differences through dialogue,” as well as to “refrain from measures that could undermine prospects for peace.”
Khiari said, “the United Nations remain committed to supporting the Yemenis in restarting a political process to end the conflict in Yemen, as noted by the Special Envoy and many members of this Council in previous meetings, regional de-escalation can create a more conducive environment for reviving the Yemeni political process.”
War is Mary Maker’s earliest memory. Born in South Sudan and named Niriak — meaning "war" — she spent her youth living and working in one of the world’s largest refugee camps. Now a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, she is raising her voice on behalf of those she left behind, helping refugee students land scholarships to top universities.
“I want to be seen. I want to be heard. I want to be acknowledged. I want to be at the table, making decisions and feeling like a part of something. Are you able to see us? Are you? Are you able to go beyond the news and really understand that this is someone like you?”
After her family fled to safety, Mary built a new life of opportunity through education and hard work – finding her feet, and her voice, on stage. In this episode, she shares how she overcame a childhood marred by death and conflict, and how theater became both her refuge and her path forward.
[00:00] Introduction
[00:48] The meaning behind her name
[02:15] War as her earliest memory
[07:20] The journey to Kakuma refugee camp
[11:50] Early life in the camp
[14:40] Hope through education
[19:06] Discovering her love of theater
[23:15] Loss, grief, and raising her sisters
[28:52] Being back at Kakuma looking for hope
[30:55] The TEDx talk that changed everything
[35:56] What keeps Mary awake at night
[43:31] “The exceptional refugee”
[46:37] Closing remarks
Listen to more Awake at Night episodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwoDFQJEq_0b6hu1e8oxsch9W0D7vkNqt
#podcast #UnitedNations #AwakeAtNight #Refugees #UNHCR
About Awake at Night
Hosted by Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, the podcast ‘Awake at Night’ is an in-depth interview series focusing on remarkable United Nations staff members who dedicate their career to helping people in parts of the world where they have the hardest lives – from war zones and displacement camps to areas hit by disasters and the devastation of climate change.
