Welcome to the United Nations
Summit of the Future is an opportunity to enhance cooperation on critical challenges and address gaps in global governance, while accelerating efforts to meet existing international commitments including to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the United Nations Charter. The main purpose is to strengthen international cooperation and restoring trust in the multilateral system while enabling us to respond effectively to new threats and opportunities for present and future generations.
This will be achieved through an action-oriented outcome document called the Pact for the Future, which comprises five chapters, as follows:
- Chapter I. Sustainable development and financing for development;
- Chapter II. International peace and security;
- Chapter III. Science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation;
- Chapter IV. Youth and future generations; and
- Chapter V. Transforming global governance.
At the Summit of the Future, world leaders adopted the Pact for the Future along with its annexes: the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration for Future Generations. The respective documents can be accessed in full at sotf-the-pact-for-the-future.pdf (un.org) however below are excerpts where Indigenous Peoples are mentioned.
Pact for the Future
Action 32. We will protect, build on and complement Indigenous, traditional and local knowledge.
56. We recognize the need for science, technology and innovation to be adapted and made relevant to local needs and circumstances, including for local communities, traditional Afrodescendent populations, and Indigenous Peoples, in line with the principle of free, prior and informed consent, as appropriate. We decide to: (a) Foster synergies between science and technology and traditional, local, Afrodescendent and Indigenous knowledge, systems, practices and capacities.
Action 55. We will strengthen our partnerships to deliver on existing commitments and address new and emerging challenges.
83. We recognize the importance of the United Nations engagement with national parliaments and relevant stakeholders, while preserving the intergovernmental character of the Organization. The challenges we face require cooperation not only across borders but also across the whole of society. Our efforts must involve Governments as well as parliaments, the United Nations system and other international institutions, local authorities, Indigenous Peoples, civil society, business and the private sector, faith-based organizations, the scientific and academic communities, and all people to ensure an effective response to our common challenges.
Global Digital Compact
13. We commit, by 2030, to:
(c) Target and tailor capacity-building for women and girls, children and youth, as well as older persons, persons with disabilities, migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons, Indigenous Peoples and those in vulnerable situations, and ensure their meaningful engagement in the design and implementation of programmes (SDGs 5 and 10).
Declaration for Future Generations
16. Recognize, respect, promote and protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples, their territories, lands and ecosystems, while safeguarding their traditions, spiritual beliefs and ancestral knowledge, strengthen their distinct political, legal, economic social and cultural institutions, while retaining their right to participate fully, if they so choose, in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the State; and ensure their right to participation in decision making in matters which would affect their rights, as determined by law and in accordance with international human rights obligations.
The Future Summit must address the gaps of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and new intergovernmental agreements must be achieved to forge a new global consensus on how to prepare for a future of risks, but also opportunities. This is where Indigenous Peoples are key actors, not only because of their ancestral knowledge and practices, but also because of their experience and harmony with the Mother Earth, and their role of protecting ecosystems and biodiversity. The path to the Future Summit is an opportunity to include the perspective of Indigenous Peoples to adapt and reinforce the commitment to the post-2030 Agenda.
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The 2024 UN Civil Society Conference in Support of the Summit of the Future (UNCSC) will be held under the title “Shaping a Future of Global and Sustainable Progress” and is the premier event in the civil society calendar at the United Nations. It is organized in close collaboration with four core networks of civil society organizations, namely the Major Groups and Other Stakeholders (MGoS) Coordination Mechanism, the Coalition for the UN We Need (C4UN), the Global NGO Executive Committee (GNEC), and the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO).
Action Days (20-21 September 2024)
To generate additional opportunities for the engagement of all actors, the Secretary-General of the United Nations is convening the Summit of the Future Action Days on 20 and 21 September 2024 at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Bringing together representatives from Member States, civil society, private sector, academia, local and regional authorities, youth, and many more, the Action Days will provide an opportunity for broad engagement and inclusion. These stakeholders have all played a key role in shaping the Pact for the Future and will be critical to its implementation.
The Action Days will kick off with a dedicated, youth-led afternoon followed by a Saturday programme which will focus on three priority themes – digital and technology, peace and security, and sustainable development and financing. In addition to the three themes, there will also be a dedicated focus throughout the day on future generations. Expected participants include Heads of State, Ministers, senior UN officials and representatives from the private sector, civil society and other actors.
The focal points for each thematic session are listed below. For all questions related to logistics or participation, please contact sotfactiondays@un.org.
In parallel to the Action Days, a limited number of high-level side events, organized by UN Member States, UN entities, relevant International Organizations and stakeholder networks working in partnership and identified through an open call, will take place during the Summit of the Future Action Days on 20 and 21 September only.
Side events will be selected through an open call via dedicated forms, which can be found below:
Please use this form to submit side event proposals to be held inside UN Headquarters.
Please use this form to submit side event proposals to be hosted off-site in New York City.
Past Activities related to the Summit
A two-day Conference was held on 9-10 May 2024 with opening and closing plenaries, parallel interactive sessions, and workshops, exhibits and side events at the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON).
The 2024 UNCSC will convene some 1,500 representatives of relevant multi-stakeholders from over 80 countries and representing hundreds of organizations, governments, UN entities and academic institutions.
The conference is chaired by two civil society representatives, supported by a Conference Planning Committee of around 30 representatives of civil society organizations who co-chair ten sub-committees. The Conference Co-Chairs are Ms. Carole Osero-Ageng'o, Global Initiatives Lead & Africa Regional Representative at HelpAge International; and Ms. Nudhara Yusuf, Executive Coordinator for Global Governance Innovation Network (GGIN) at The Stimson Center.
The Conference Planning Committee is led by DGC and the Co-Chairs and has membership from representatives of CSOs that are associated with the Department of Global Communications and/or in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
Registration was open to representatives of civil society organizations associated with the Department of Global Communications and/or in consultative status with ECOSOC. Civil society organizations, including academic institutions, private sector entities and other relevant stakeholders not included in these groups that are legally registered with the national/federal government of a Member or Observer State of the United Nations, are also welcome to register for the conference.
On 21 February 2024, a virtual consultation open to Major Groups and other Stakeholders (MGoS) and civil society representatives took place from 10 am to 1pm, to give opportunity to MGoS and civil society to share their feedback on the zero draft of the Pact for the Future. MGoS and civil society representatives interested in participating in the consultation are asked to register via this link. In addition to the consultation, MGoS and civil society representatives are also invited to submit written input to the zero draft of the Pact for the Future by 12 February. This option will be available in the coming days via the Summit of the Future website. For more information please visit: Summit of the Future website - EN | United Nations.
On January 2024, Germany and Namibia, co-facilitators of the Summit, released the zero draft of the Pact for the Future. The draft served as a starting point for the intergovernmental deliberations this year, with the ultimate aim of adopting an ambitious, concise, action-oriented Pact for the Future, per resolution 76/307.
On 13 November 2023 the Co-facilitators of the preparatory process for the Summit of the Future during the 78th session of the General Assembly, H.E. Ms. Antje Leendertse, Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations and H.E. Mr. Neville Gertze, Permanent Representative of Namibia to the United Nations, issued this letter inviting representatives of MGoS and civil society to a virtual consultation on 13 December. MGoS and civil society representatives interested in participating in the consultation were asked to register via this link.