UN Talks and UN Day in Bonn

Twenty years ago, on 20 June 1996, the flag of the United Nations was hoisted in front of Bonn’s Haus Carstanjen in the presence of former Environment Minister Angela Merkel and UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. The United Nations Volunteers programme had just moved to Bonn, followed by the UN Climate Secretariat shortly after. This marked the beginning of Bonn’s development as Germany’s United Nations City. With roughly 1,000 UN employees and about 20 UN organizations, the location has become a powerhouse for global sustainability that is playing a key role at the international level. The UN SDG Action Campaign is proud to be one of the newest members of the UN Bonn family.

‘Shaping a Sustainable Future’ is the common theme for the work of all Bonn-based UN organizations. From Bonn, we are rendering a key contribution towards the achievement of the 17 SDGs by the year 2030. On the occasion of ’20 years of UN Bonn’, the work of Bonn’s United Nations organizations will be presented during our UN Talks this year.

Global Director of the UN SDG Action Campaign, Mitchell Toomey, addresses the audience from New York:

During the United Nations Talks on Friday, 28 October 2016, Bonn residents and local institutions had the chance to meet UN representatives, learn which contributions the UN in Bonn is rendering towards the SDGs and join the conversation.

The next day, on Saturday, 29 October 2016, Bonn residents and families enjoyed this year’s celebration of the United Nations Day, which took place in the city center on our Market Square in front of the Old Town Hall under the headline: ‘Jointly shaping a sustainable future: 17 goals for our future world’