The Importance of Connecting the Global Work of the United Nations with Local Field Work

By +SocialGood Connector Alejandra Acosta

Every year, the greatest leaders of our world gather at the United Nations General Assembly to discuss the most pressing issues of our time (for example sustainability, finance, and human rights). Thanks to these meetings, the whole world has the opportunity to present the work each country has been doing during the year and to discuss better ways to improve our work in the year ahead.

It is important that everyone understands that the General Assembly is just a space to present the work that has been already done, not a space to develop that work, because the space to do that is our local communities.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres addresses the General Assembly.

For many years, the representation of communities at the assembly was limited to presidents and high-level commissioners. However, things are starting to change.

More than ever, local leaders are becoming recognized as essential voices for the public debate. This is not because they are now doing things that they didn’t do before, but because they have been given the megaphones to amplify what they have already been doing. These megaphones are free and they democratize the access to information. These megaphones are social networks.

The amplification of local voices has changed the conversation in the General Assembly hall and around the world. The United Nations has escalated their efforts to map successful local initiatives, bring them to the table, and integrate their work into their plans.

United Nations Foundation CEO & President Kathy Calvin and I discussed local action at the Social Good Summit.

During this year’s Social Good Summit, I had the opportunity to have a quick conversation with Kathy Calvin, President & CEO of the United Nations Foundation, about the connection between the UN and the local leaders. She said that UN is raising up their efforts to reach local leaders because at the end of the day, they are the only ones capable of getting the work done and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in each country.

To accomplish the SDGs, we not only need to gather at the General Assembly once a year, we also need to strengthen the work of local leaders. Thin includes building their capacities and empowering them throughout the year, so that they can arrive at the General Assembly with the work done and with a real representation of local people.

Even though there is so much work to do, each year, the representation of local communities is wider.

During the General Assembly, I though a lot about what representation really means, and I believe that truly representing a community in a global environment means that the people affected by the public policies need a seat at the table so that they can actually decide how and when they want to be helped. We still have so much work to do to, but to get to this point someday I think we all can do three things to connect the local work with the global issues and be properly represented:

The +SocialGood Connectors are local actors that came together at the United Nations General Assembly to connect our local work with that of the UN.

• Know the work of the UN. We often see UN as a huge institution that is changing the world, but we barely understand its mission and how they accomplish it through their local offices. Lately, the UN is sharing the work they do on their social media pages and on their official website. I think it is important to research what the UN is doing on the issues we are concerned about because this knowledge can help us to detect how our local causes are addressed on a global scale. This will also allow us to know where we can add the most value to the global conversation. The United Nations has the responsibility of exposing the most important issues for the global agenda, but this can only be addressed through local leaders working around the globe and developing all the indicators of the 2030 agenda.
• Systematize the work you do. As a local leader, sometimes it is difficult to write down the processes you are going through, the victories and goals you are achieving, and the difficulties you are facing, but that is essential because that is the only way politicians and representatives can understand the local reality we face and the doors that need to be opened to keep growing and have a real representation. It would be ideal to have the possibility to be present at the General Assembly, but one way to wait until that happens and make sure our voices are still heard is during high-level panels.
• Organize public and visible conversations between politicians that represent your community, your organization, and the people from the communities you are working with. It is fundamental to map out who is representing your community at the General Assembly and make sure you give them feedback about the local reality. It is not only important to get the work done but also to tell it to the right people. As a consequence, more people will end up with solutions that improve the quality of life in our communities.

If there is something I learned during this General Assembly, it is that the debates that happen there are important, but they become useless if we do not go back home and form real partnerships and strategies to improve the lives of people living in our communities.