UN75: American Voices

To help mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, UN Secretary-General António Guterres launched UN75 to gather ideas and opinions from people everywhere. The United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) gathered Americans’ voices from all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico in order to understand what Americans think about the current and future state of the world.

Quick Links

• Two-Page Overview of Findings (PDF)

• Full Summary of Findings (PDF)

• Region-Specific Findings (PDF)

• Social Media Toolkit

• UN75 Consultation Toolkit

 

OVERVIEW:

About the report findings

Through a series of virtual consultations, UNA-USA aimed to elevate American perspectives to answer the UN’s three big questions:

 

QUESTION 1:

Are we on track to secure a better world?

Participants cite the following barriers to building a better world:

 

  • Conflict and human rights violations

  • Displacement and homelessness

  • Growing inequity of access and opportunity

  • Health risks and lack of access to healthcare

  • Impact of climate change

  • Lack of education equity

 

  • Lack of gender equity

  • Lack of leadership

  • Lack of trust in and cooperation across governments

  • Limited and declining resources

  • Poverty, income gaps, job losses

  • Systemic racism, including policy racism

 

 

QUESTION 2:

What kind of future do we want to create?

Almost half of consultations reported quality education, reduced inequalities, climate action, and peace, justice and strong institutions as critical for the future. Constituents believe driving progress on these four Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will enable progress on other goals:

The chart above indicates the importance that consultation participants placed upon each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals to achieve a brighter future.

QUESTION 3:

What action is needed for a brighter future?

The following stakeholders are those that were identified by consultation participants as having a role to play in shaping the future that we want.

 

UNITED NATIONS

Address global issues and create change through advocacy, education, community engagement, international policy coordination and accountability measurement and tracking
 

UNA-USA

Engage local U.S. constituents (individuals, organizations, governments) in the UN’s efforts to drive positive change around global issues

 

INDIVIDUALS

Promote positive change by: Activism and community engagement, including engagement with local organizations; Civic engagement; Education of oneself and others; Sustainable lifestyle choices

 

ORGANIZATIONS

Address world issues through: Public private partnerships (community-based programs, government partnerships, education); Sustainable business solutions, including alignment with SDGs and progress tracking; Future growth investment; Equitable policy development

 

GOVERNMENTS

Foster action and collaboration through: Sustainable policies and services, including incorporating SDGs into policy development; Global collaboration, including ongoing engagement with the UN; Community engagement, support, and services; Public private partnerships

You Can Take Action

Take action in honor of the UN’s 75th anniversary
As a founding member of the United Nations, the United States plays a vital role in promoting peace and upholding human rights around the world. However, recent news regarding the UN funding crisis has alarmed many Americans across the U.S. Urge your Members of Congress to support strong U.S. leadership at the UN.
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UNA-USA Consultations on the Global Dispatches Podcast

UNA-USA teamed up with the Global Dispatches Podcast to capture insights from our thematic consultations. Listen:

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