In focus: 78th session of the UN General Assembly

The Generation Equality Midpoint put a spotlight on accountability for gender equality and launched a call to action to contribute to the UN Secretary-General’s vision for the 2030 Agenda: “Let’s be clear: no country can afford to see this fail.” It was an opportunity to mobilize new commitments and momentum, inspire investment and leadership for impact at scale, and demonstrate how Generation Equality’s multi-stakeholder methodology is driving concrete progress on gender equality. The Governments of Iceland and Tanzania co-hosted the Midpoint Moment with UN Women, and stakeholders were invited to commit and re-commit political, programmatic, and financial support through the Generation Equality multistakeholder platform and methodology.

The Spotlight Initiative is a global United Nations initiative in partnership with the European Union and other partners aiming to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. The event on 17 September showcased its impressive results on ending violence against women and girls and as an accelerator for all the SDGs, proving that gender-based violence is not only preventable, but that we already have the tools we need to ensure every woman and girl lives a life free from violence. This high-level event featured statements and conversations with Heads of State; UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed; actress and UN Global Advocate Cecilia Suárez; actress, filmmaker, and philanthropist Natalie Portman; actress and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador Ashley Judd; as well as leaders from the European Union, Governments, civil society, the private sector, and other partners.

The 2023 SDG Summit will mark the beginning of a new phase of accelerated progress towards the SDGs, with high-level political guidance on transformative and accelerated actions leading up to 2030. Convened by the President of the General Assembly, the Summit will mark the half-way point to the deadline set for achieving the SDGs. It will be the centrepiece of the High-level Week of the General Assembly. It will respond to the impact of multiple and interlocking crises facing the world and is expected to reignite a sense of hope, optimism, and enthusiasm for the 2030 Agenda. UN Women and UN DESA recently released “Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshot 2023”, which provides a comprehensive analysis of gender equality progress across all 17 SDGs.

The HeForShe movement, one of UN Women’s flagship partnership initiatives, partners with men and boys to advance gender equality through transformative commitments and actions. The Summit is a gathering of HeForShe partners with representation at the highest level and acts as a progress reporting platform with the aim to inspire others to follow suit and take concrete action for gender equality. The event will feature HeForShe Champions, including H.E. the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo; the CEO of HSBC, Michael M. Roberts; and the CEO of Movember, Michelle Terry; as well as thought leaders from the Washington Post and Bloomberg.