U.S. Council of Organizations

ECOSOC Youth Forum 2025 In-Person Panel
2025-04-16 13:00 - 14:30 UTC
ECOSOC YOUTH FORUM 2025 IN-PERSON PANEL
JOURNALISTS AND WRITERS FOUNDATION
Youth Voices Driving Innovation for Quality Education, Social Inclusion and Sustainable Development
Click here to RSVP
Date & Time: 16 April 2025, Wednesday | 1:00 – 2:30 PM
Location: Church Center for the UN 11th Floor | 777 United Nations Plaza, NY, 10017
Dear Young Leaders and Advocates of Youth Empowerment,
You are cordially invited to join us at the JWF`s ECOSOC Youth Forum 2025 In-Person Side-Event as this timely session will spotlight how young leaders across the world are transforming communities and advancing global progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Youth leaders will deliver their insights and projections on SDG 3: Health and Well-Being, SDG 4: Quality Education (with a focus on STEAM), SDG 5: Gender Equality, SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, and SDG 17: Global Partnerships.
The discussion will build on the aspirations of the Pact for the Future, particularly:
Section 3: Harnessing science, technology, innovation, and digital cooperation to address inequalities and close digital divides. Section 4: Elevating youth and future generations as key stakeholders in global decision-making and sustainable development.
Bringing together emerging youth leaders, innovators, and experts, the discussion will explore how youth-driven initiatives in education, health, gender equality, economic empowerment, and global cooperation are shaping inclusive and sustainable futures.
Click here to RSVP for this In-Person Panel

Submit an Oral Statement Here
Submit your oral statement for your voice to be heard globally at the JWF ECOSOC Youth Forum 2025 Side-Event.
Now is your chance to deliver an oral statement at this critical time when young human rights advocates from all around the world will convene at the United Nations to implement the Pact for the Future.
JWF will select 3 oral statements among the participants who can attend the event in person, and 2 oral statements will be selected to be presented through a pre-recorded video message.

Gender Equality at the Highest Level: Electing a Woman Secretary-General
2025-03-21 12:30 - 14:00 UTC
Date: March 21, 2025
Time: 12:30 p.m – 2:00 p.m. (EDT)
Location: Church Center, 10th Floor, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York (First Avenue & 44th Street)
RSVP here
WomanSG hosts this NGO/CSW parallel event in partnership with the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS). Jesselina Rana, UN Advisor at CIVICUS and member of the 1 for 8 Billion steering committee will be on the panel and will speak on behalf of the campaign.

Promoting Reconciliation and Health through Education in Women's unfinished issues
2025-03-20 10:30 - 12:00 UTC
Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025
Time: 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT)
Location: Salvation Army Auditorium (In-Person only)
To participate in this event, please register on the NGO CSW Forum platform.

This Beijing+30 event, organized by the Foundation for Subjective Experience and Research S.E.R. and co-sponsors, will focus on reconciliation, peace education, and gender-responsive financing. It features interactive discussions and speakers on women’s empowerment, including Nicoline Wazeh Nwenushi Tumasang on financing, Afrokids International e.V. on health and poverty reduction, and ERGOSOMA® International on fostering empathy through its Suitcase-Empathy Program.

Women Rise For All
2025-03-18 13:15 - 14:30 UTC
Date: Tuesday, 18 March 2025
Time: 1:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Location: ECOSOC Chamber, United Nations Headquarters, New York
Register here
Watch Live on UN Web TV
This event, convened by UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, will feature H.E. Ms. Halla Tómasdóttir, President of Iceland, and women leaders from various sectors to reaffirm commitment to gender equality and the SDGs.
As part of the Women Rise for All Initiative, it will showcase the transformative impact of women’s leadership, promote intergenerational collaboration, and strengthen networks driving progress on the Beijing Declaration and SDGs.

Advancing Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment
2025-03-18 11:15 - 13:15 UTC
Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Time: 11:15 a.m. (EDT)
Location: Baha’i International Community, 866 UN Plaza, Suite 120, NYC*
RSVP: [Registration required by Friday, March 14 at 12:00 p.m. ET]
*Note: This is an in-person event only, with refreshments provided.
Join WorldWIDE Network Nigeria, Osun State, UNANIMA International, and Habitat International Coalition for a parallel event alongside the 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women and in recognition of Beijing +30.

Madam Secretary-General
2025-03-17 14:30 - 16:00 UTC
A groundbreaking appointment to transform the UN.
Date: March 17, 2025
Time: 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (EDT)
Location: CCUN (Church Center), 11th Floor, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York
RSVP here
This 1 for 8 Billion CSW side event will explore the need for an open and inclusive selection process for the first woman UN Secretary-General, ensuring involvement from all UN member states and civil society. The expert panel will also discuss the future of the global system and the urgency of appointing a bold woman leader at this critical moment.
To sign up as an NGO supporter of 1 for 8 Billion, visit here.

Save our City and our Planet through the Leadership of Women and Girls
2025-03-17 10:00 - 11:30 UTC
Sponsors: NGO CSW/NY, UCLG, Cities for CEDAW History and Futures Project, Coalition for the UN We Need (C4UN), WADHI, UN-Habitat.
Date: Monday – March 17, 2025
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (EDT)
Location: 10th Floor, Church Center (1st Ave & 44th Street, New York, NY)
To participate in this event, please register on the NGO CSW Forum platform.
This session will explore strategies to strengthen women’s leadership in cities, address barriers to their political participation, and enhance collaboration between feminist organizations, governments, and the UN in tackling the climate crisis. It will feature updates from the World Urban Forum, discussions on SDG 5 localization, and coalition-building efforts, linking local action with global frameworks like the Beijing Platform for Action, the SDGs, and CEDAW recommendations.
The program features Maria Fernanda Espinosa, former UNGA President and GWL Voices Executive Director; Kadie Philp, Commissioner/CAO, Pay Equity Commission (Ontario,Canada); and Esther Eghobamien-Mshelia, CEDAW Expert, Nigeria, and Founder of WADHI, alongside co-moderators Soon-Young Yoon from the Cities for CEDAW History and Futures Project and Cecile Roth from UCLG.
See Brief on Actionable Items to Localize CEDAW.

UN Civil Society Townhall
2025-02-12 11:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York)
Date: 12 February 2025
Time: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. (EST)
Location: UN Headquarters, New York, Trusteeship Council Chamber
RSVP here by 27 January 2025 – 12 p.m. (EST)
The Civil Society Unit in the UN Department of Global Communications will host a two-part Civil Society Townhall on 12 February 2025.
Session 1: Discussion with the President of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Philemon Yang, on his priorities and civil society engagement.
Session 2: Segment on the role of civil society engagement in the implementation of the Summit of the Future’s Pact for the Future and other Summit outcomes. Also, it is a moment to showcase civil society’s contributions towards inclusive multilateralism.
Register and submit your questions/expression of interest to speak by 12 p.m. (EST) on 27 January 2025.

2025 BASEL Intergenerational Forum on Peace, Climate Action and Nuclear Disarmament
2025-01-22 10:30 - 12:30 UTC
Date: Wednesday, January 22
Time: 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (CET)
Location: Turmzimmer Room, K-Haus, Basel and Online
Register for in-person and virtual participation here
Nuclear weapons policies and climate change continue to pose existential threats to current and future generations, threatening catastrophic humanitarian, economic, and environmental consequences. What national and international policies can address jointly appearing issues of climate change and militarism? How can the interests of global youth be included in policy decisions on these issues? Can the new UN Envoy on Future Generations make a difference? And what impact can the International Court of Justice have in its current cases on genocide, armed conflict and climate change, the latter case being led by youth?
The Basel Intergenerational Forum on Peace, Climate and Disarmament will bring together policymakers, youth activists and professionals to discuss these questions and international initiatives that might provide solutions for a sustainable future.
Then, the following day, the 9th edition of the Basel Peace Forum will take place on Thursday, 23 January 2025, in Basel, Switzerland. The hybrid program promises a variety of activities, including panel discussions, debates, and creative workshops, all designed to inspire and foster the exchange of innovative ideas among participants from around the world. See details here.

Digital Roundtable on UNDP's New Strategic Plan 2026-2029
2024-11-19 08:00 - 09:30 UTC
Date: Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Time: 8:00 – 9:30 am (EST)
Register here
Join the upcoming UNDP Strategic Plan 2026-2029, in a digital roundtable format, co-organized between UNDP and civil society partners. This session is an integral part of the ongoing global consultation, open to all civil society actors at global, regional, and country levels. Initial contributions from UNDP senior management and CSO representatives will be followed by an open-floor discussion, where participants will be encouraged to share their valuable input on the overarching questions of the Strategic Plan Consultation, from their unique experience.

Launch of C4UN’s new series, Bilateral
2024-10-24 13:30 - 14:30 (America/New_York)
Join us on UN Day for the launch of C4UN’s new series, Bilateral!
Date: Thursday, October 24, 2024
Time: 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm (EDT)
Location: Virtual Event | Register here
Bilateral is a series of virtual fireside chats about transforming global governance and UN reform, hosted by the Coalition for the UN We Need.
In our first conversation, this UN Day, C4UN Senior Advisor Heba Aly sits down with Stefan Löfven, co-chair of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism, former Prime Minister of Sweden and Member of Club de Madrid, to discuss what it would take to create the UN we need.
The High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism released a flagship report in 2023, calling for six major shifts to transform global governance. Amid the line-by-line negotiations of the UN Summit of the Future, did states lose sight of these bigger-picture shifts? Did any of the Advisory Board’s recommendations get traction? Given the challenge of negotiating more modest reforms during the summit, in today’s polarized and politicized environment, what pathways exist to achieve the more ambitious changes laid out in the report? Join us on Thursday 24 October for a wide-ranging conversation unpacking these questions and more!
Have topics you’d like us to raise with Mr. Lofven? Email us with your suggestions at c4unwn@c4unwn.org.

A Raft for the Future - Can the Pact for the Future Deliver the Multilateral Titanic?
2024-10-24 09:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York)
A RAFT FOR THE FUTURE: Can the Pact for the Future Deliver the Multilateral Titanic?
Date: Thursday, October 24, 2024
Time: 9 am to 11 am (EDT)
Location: Virtual Event | Register here
On 22 September 2024, the United Nations adopted the Pact for the Future at the Summit of the Future (SOTF) in New York. FOGGS (Foundation for Global Governance and Sustainability) is convening representatives of global think tanks, civil society, academic institutions, diplomatic missions to the UN and foreign ministries, as well as the broader interested public, for a discussion on the Pact for the Future and next steps for strengthening global governance.
The first hour will be dedicated to an appraisal of the SOTF, the Pact for the Future and what could come next overall, while the second hour will focus more specifically on UN Security Council reform and on FOGGS’ proposal for a Global Resilience Council (GRC) – how they could be taken forward in light of the SOTF outcome and broader developments in the world.
– Recommended advance reading: For the Pact for the Future and the SOTF
– See the GRC Proposal here.
Please register to attend the Zoom call and participate directly in the discussion. The event will also be live-streamed on the FOGGS pages on YouTube and Facebook, where questions or comments can be submitted in writing.

Financing a Just World and a Sustainable Planet
2024-10-22 16:30 - 18:00 (America/New_York)
Financing a just world and a sustainable planet
Date: Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Time: 4:30 pm to 6 pm (EDT) | (Washington, D.C.) | 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM (Brasília)
Location: World Bank, Building I, Room I 2-250, Washington, D.C. (*In person only)
The event will feature representatives from Brazil’s Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil, and the World Bank, offering a unique opportunity to discuss Brazil’s G20 presidency efforts to promote financing for sustainable development and reduce social inequalities.
Plataforma CIPÓ, the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea), and T20 Brazil (Think Tanks from G20 member states) are pleased to invite you to the event “Financing a Just World and a Sustainable Planet”, an official side event of the Civil Society Forum of the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
More information here.

Addressing the Invisible Labour behind the Cobalt Industry
2024-04-15 15:00 - 16:30 (America/New_York) | UN Headquarters, New York, Conference Room 12, United States
A presentation of the film Cobalt Rush and panel discussion
Date: Monday, 15 April
Time: 15:00 – 16:30
Location: UN Headquarters, New York, Conference Room 12
The International Labour Organization in cooperation with the World Council of Peoples for the UN and the Permanent Mission of the Democratic Republic of Congo, invite you to a presentation of the film Cobalt Rush and an interactive panel discussion on how to improve the working conditions of the women and men who are the “invisible face” of an expanding multi-billion-dollar industry.
This event will be held at the margins of the first-ever UN General Assembly Sustainability Week in April where the President of the General Assembly will convene a global stocktaking on sustainable energy marking the completion of the ongoing efforts to implement the plan of action of the Decade of Sustainable Energy for All (2014-2024) and building on the follow-up to the high-level dialogue on energy, to further accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 7 of the 2030 Agenda.
Cobalt is an essential element for electric vehicles and consumer electronics. As such, it is critical for efforts to combat climate change, and for information technology, resulting in high global demand and a lucrative industry. Yet, the workers in cobalt mines face numerous challenges that require a multifaceted approach from the international community to ensure that the drive for essential elements like cobalt does not exacerbate health concerns, poverty, and exploitation among miners. As we navigate these complexities of the global energy transition, the event will serve as a crucial platform for addressing how the extraction of cobalt, a linchpin in this transition, intersects with the Decent Work Agenda’s goals of promoting jobs and enterprise, guaranteeing rights at work, extending social protection and promoting social dialogue. The event will serve as an opportunity to incorporate social justice into the discourse on sustainable energy by underscoring the imperative to harmonize the technological and environmental milestones of sustainable energy with the fundamental rights and dignities of workers.
The event will also underscore the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships in scaling up efforts to improve energy access and efficiency by exploring how the cobalt industry can contribute to alleviating energy poverty through ethical and sustainable mining practices. It will advocate for increased ambition and accelerated implementation of innovative solutions, echoing the global stocktaking event’s call for a concerted effort to meet the energy challenges of our time. By integrating these considerations, the event aims to foster a comprehensive understanding of how ethical cobalt sourcing is integral not only to the energy sector’s sustainability but also to the global pursuit of equitable and inclusive development.
By weaving together the principles of decent work, social justice, and sustainable development, the event aims to catalyze a comprehensive understanding that ethical cobalt sourcing is essential not only to sustainability but also to fostering a globally equitable and inclusive development paradigm. This integrated perspective promises to drive forward a future where the benefits of the green transition are shared equitably, ensuring that no community is left behind in the global quest for sustainable energy solutions.

About the Film
As an essential element in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and consumer electronics, cobalt plays a critical role in the global low-carbon transition to combat climate change, and in the diffusion of information technology. Over the past decade, there has been a boom in cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Two thirds of the global supply of cobalt comes from the DRC, and a considerable portion of this supply is mined by an informal workforce of artisanal miners, called “creuseurs,” who face dangerous human rights and labour conditions. They are the ‘invisible face’ of a multi-billion-dollar industry supporting the demand for EVs relied on to meet Net Zero Carbon targets.
Cobalt Rush is a portrait of three individuals working in the Southern Congolese cobalt mining town of Kolwezi. It explores the universal themes of resilience, hope, and the obligation to make ends meet, as we see our protagonists hunt meaning and opportunity out of their dismal circumstances. Their stories are fraught with danger, and set amidst a context of corporate greed, exploitation, and neo-colonialism. Ultimately, our own complicated relationship with “green” technologies and climate change is revealed, as we are confronted by the invisible side of the insatiable global demand for cobalt.

Programme
Moderator: Ms. Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon, ILO Special Representative to the UN
Proposed Speakers:

H.E. Mr. Zenon Ngay Mukongo, Permanent Representative, Democratic Republic of the Congo to the UN
Ms. Cristina Duarte, Under-Secretary-General and Special Advisor on Africa, UNOSAA
Mr. Roy Maconachie, Director, Cobalt Rush and Researcher, University of Bath
Mr. Siddharth Kara, Author, Cobalt Red
Mr. Casper Edmonds, Head, Manufacturing, Mining, and Energy Unit, ILO
Mr. Glen Npufane, Mining Director, IndustriAll Global Union
High-Level Representative of Employers [TBC]

Closing: Ms. Shamina de Gonzaga, Vice-President, WCPUN, & Chief Editor, Centerpoint Now
