In an era when stories travel faster than policies, the work of documentary filmmakers extends far beyond the screen. This session will explore how documentary filmmaking can accelerate progress on the SDGs by turning urgent global challenges into stories that mobilize awareness, financing, and action. Through diverse examples spanning environmental innovation, economic justice, youth leadership and human rights, speakers will highlight how filmmakers leverage global streaming platforms to reach millions.
Speakers:
Farhoud Meybodi, Founder/Filmmaker, Ritual Arts
Tobias Deml, Director, Gaming Wall St on HBO Max
Sarah Kuck, Director, 100 Ways to Catch Wind
Moderator:
William Nix, Co-Executive Director, SIE (Social Impact Entertainment) Society
SDG Media Zone website: https://www.un.org/en/sdgmediazone
0:13 – Matt Damon on how to stop water poverty holding back women and girls: Actor Matt Damon has been a water activist since 2006, when a film shoot in Zambia brought him face-to-face with what a lack of clean water and sanitation looks like. He went on to co-found Water.org with sector expert Gary White. Here, the pair discuss their WaterCredit initiative, which extends affordable micro-loans to help people build, access and pay for their own water supplies and toilets.
04:57 – Yoshua Bengio has a solution to make AI honest and safe: As AI is rolled out rapidly by corporations and countries in heavy competition, is the world taking full account of the risks? Yoshua Bengio says not. Bengio is a world-renowned expert on deep learning and one of the people hailed as the ‘godfather of AI’. Here, Bengio explains why caution should be the watchword with AI.
10:04 – These microbes ‘upcycle’ plastic waste into medicine for Parkinson’s disease: Parkinson’s is a degenerative neurological condition that affects 8.5 million people around the world, causing issues with sleep, movement and cognition. Now scientists are using microbes to produce a drug that fights some of the symptoms of Parkinson’s, in a process that also reduces plastic pollution.
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Source: United Kingdom UK Parliament (video statements)
Parliament’s clock mechanics will be busy changing over 3000 clocks across the estate this weekend.
At 1am tomorrow morning, all UK clocks go forward an hour as we move into British Summer Time. Including the Great Clock in the Elizabeth Tower, which will also undergo scheduled maintenance. 🔧
From 6pm today, the hands will show the wrong time, and the bells will be silent. 🔇 By 2am on Sunday, the chimes should return, marking the start of British Summer Time.
Cold and rainy weather, severe overcrowding, deteriorating shelters and poor water and sanitation conditions have created a high disease-transmission environment across Gaza.
Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
– Strait of Hormuz
– Security Council
– Lebanon
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Myanmar
– Earth Hour
STRAIT OF HORMUZ
The conflict in the Middle East unfolds and threatens to intensify, disruptions in the maritime trade through the Strait of Hormuz risk creating a ripple effect impacting humanitarian needs and agricultural production in the coming months. While the Secretary-General is committed to making every effort to achieve a comprehensive and durable settlement of the conflict, immediate action is essential to mitigate these consequences.
To address these challenges, the Secretary-General has established a dedicated Task Force, led by Under Secretary-General Jorge Moreira da Silva, the Executive Director of UNOPS, the UN Office of Project Services. This Task Force will also include representatives from the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and the International Chamber of Commerce.
Additional entities may be invited to participate as needed. The primary focus of this Task Force is to develop and propose technical mechanisms specifically designed to meet humanitarian needs in the Strait of Hormuz.
Drawing inspiration from relevant UN initiatives, including the UN Verification, Inspection and Monitoring Mechanism for Yemen, the Black Sea Grain Initiative, and the existing UN2720 Mechanism for Gaza, this new mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz aims to facilitate fertilizer trade, including the movement of related raw materials. The mechanism’s operationalization will be done in close consultation with relevant Member States, with full respect for national sovereignty and established international legal frameworks.
If successful, it would also create confidence among Member States on the diplomatic approach to the conflict and constitute a valuable step towards a wider political settlement.
As part of his broader peacemaking mandate, the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Jean Arnault, will lead the political engagement with relevant Member States, supported by members of the Task Force.
SECURITY COUNCIL
The Security Council held this morning held closed consultations concerning the ongoing attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran, including educational and health facilities. Our Assistant Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Khaled Khiari, briefed, as well as Gemma Connell, on behalf of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
LEBANON
Turning to Lebanon, I want to reiterate our deep concern about the escalating rhetoric, the escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
The territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon must be respected. The Lebanese Government’s authority to have the monopoly on the use of force and the use of arms throughout its territory must also be respected.
Hezbollah must stop launching attacks into Israel.
And Israel must stop its military operations and strikes in Lebanon, which are hitting civilians the hardest.
As the Secretary-General has said, the Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon.
More than 1 million people are on the move in the country, that is one in five people in the Lebanon.
According to UNICEF, on average, 19,000 children are displaced every single day.
Israeli civilians on the southern side of the Blue Line have also been impacted.
There is simply no military solution to this conflict.
We urge all sides to avail themselves of diplomatic channels available to them and to recommit to the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701, which is the agreed roadmap toward a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution.
Yesterday, our peacekeepers from UNIFIL reported over two hundred rockets and artillery shells fired from the area of operations towards Israel. The Mission detected 1,325 trajectories from the south to the north of the Blue Line. That is the highest number since 2 March.
Peacekeepers recorded a high volume of artillery exchanges in the area of operations and observed 16 airstrikes, including in Sector East and in Sector West.
Amid the exchanges of fire yesterday, a bullet also shattered a window in the UNIFIL Headquarters in Naqoura.
An artillery shell impacting the vicinity of a UN position Al Qantarah in Sector West also caused damage to buildings on the base. No injuries thankfully were reported.
Once again, we reiterate that all sides must abide by their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and respect for the inviolability of UN personnel and premises.
For their part, our humanitarian colleagues are continuing to scale up assistance in the country, in close coordination with the Government of Lebanon.
Full highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-03-27
Source: World Trade Organization – WTO (video statements)
At a high-level event on 25 March, on the eve of the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé, ministers of 128 WTO members participating in the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement showcased initiatives with global partners to support implementation of the Agreement and to mobilize investment particularly towards developing economies. They reiterated their call for MC14 to incorporate the Agreement into the WTO legal framework to fully unlock its development potential. The event was organized by the Government of the Republic of Korea.
Download this video from the WTO website:
https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/webcas_e/webcas_e.htm
