The 2024 UNGSC Robotics Competition reached a new level of engagement. In only its second annual edition, attendance nearly doubled, with 1150 participants and 39 schools from across the Valencian Community converging at L'Alqueria del Basquet to mark UN Day.
UN Day is less than one week away.
"Together, we can shape a future for the UN where technology and resource efficiency go hand in hand, leading to more resilient and equitable outcomes for all." - Assistant Secretary-General and Chief Information Technology Officer, Bernardo Mariano Junior
"We are at a time of profound global transformation. We are confronted by rising catastrophic and existential risks.... Yet this is also a moment of hope and opportunity." - The Pact for the Future
In the recently adopted Pact for the Future, Heads of State and Government committed to strengthening "meaningful youth participation at the national and international level" including at the United Nations.
At UNGSC, both in Brindisi, Italy and Valencia, Spain, we are proud to continuously engage young people across our Services.
Digital technology is a key theme of the UN's Summit of the Future. At UNGSC, in partnership with the UN Office of Information and Communications Technology, we work to adapt new technologies to the UN’s operational needs. To explore developments on the horizon, we invited Info-Tech “Technology Trends” researcher Brian Jackson, to share his views:
UNGSC is pleased to contribute to the efforts of the Valencian NGO Soñar Despierto with a donation of 32 computer monitors.
Soñar Despierto works to ensure that minors who grow up in protection centers or marginalized environments can avail of the same opportunities as their peers.
In the changing landscape of peace operations, UNGSC's support for missions at all stages of their life cycle has become increasingly critical. The abrupt termination of MINUSMA (the decade-long UN peacekeeping mission in Mali) is a key example. Recognized as one of the most difficult environments known to peacekeeping, its drawdown and liquidation posed significant challenges. To tackle them effectively, UNGSC summoned lessons from previous experiences, namely the African Union - United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).
As environmental concerns and resource scarcity become more pressing issues globally, businesses and other types of organizations are increasingly looking for ways to redesign their supply chains to operate more sustainably, and the concept of circularity is a key part of this important shift.
A core value of the United Nations, multilingualism has been recognized by the UN Secretary-General as "an essential factor in harmonious communication among peoples and an enabler of multilateral diplomacy." At UNGSC, staff members can avail themselves of the UN's language programmes; Laura Marrocchi, a student of Chinese, and Procurement Assistant, shared her experience: