What Would You Do If You Were the Next UN Secretary-General?
Imagine you have just been appointed the next UN Secretary-General.
The inbox is formidable. Conflict and geopolitical division are putting the multilateral system under extraordinary pressure. Climate change is accelerating. Development financing is strained. New technologies are creating opportunities and risks faster than institutions can respond. Trust in international institutions is being tested.
Where would you start?
The selection of the next UN Secretary-General creates a rare opportunity to ask not only who should lead the United Nations, but what we actually want that person to do once they get the job.
This interactive session, hosted by the United Nations Association – UK (UNA-UK), will turn that question over to the room.
Rather than another conversation about the qualities the next Secretary-General should possess, participants will step into the role themselves. What would you prioritize? Where would you spend your political capital? What would you change inside the UN? Which issues deserve greater attention? What would you stop doing? And where could a Secretary-General realistically make a difference within the constraints of the role?
The aim is to move from broad aspirations for UN leadership toward a sharper set of recommendations for the next Secretary-General and their team.
UNA-UK is already engaging with candidates and advisers during the selection process. This session offers an opportunity to bring perspectives from across the Sidebar community into that wider conversation.
What to expect
A playful but substantive working session built around a simple premise: you are the next UN Secretary-General. What do you do?
Participants will work through priorities, trade-offs, and ideas for the next administration, drawing on expertise from across climate, development, humanitarian action, philanthropy, civil society, business, and other parts of the international system.
The room will be pushed to prioritize rather than produce an endless wish list. Which changes are genuinely within the Secretary-General’s power? Which issues deserve scarce attention and political capital? And if the next Secretary-General could accomplish only a handful of things, what should they be?
UNA-UK will use the conversation to generate recommendations that can be shared with the incoming Secretary-General and their team.
Who this is for
This session is for people across civil society, international development, climate, humanitarian action, philanthropy, business, government, and the wider UN community who have ideas about what the next era of UN leadership should prioritize, including those who do not normally get asked that question.
What you will get out of it
A chance to step outside your institutional role and think like the next UN Secretary-General
A deeper understanding of the choices and constraints facing the next UN leadership
Perspectives from people working across different parts of the international system
An opportunity to debate what deserves the next Secretary-General’s limited political capital
A chance to contribute recommendations for the incoming Secretary-General and their team
Hosted by
United Nations Association – UK (UNA-UK)