UN 75 Dialogue On Multilateralism- Culture, Tourism, Sports
/
4:03
/
MP4
/
300.4 MB

Edited News | UNITED NATIONS

UN 75 Dialogue On Multilateralism- Culture, Tourism, Sports

On the eve of the 75th anniversary of the UN Charter, young researchers discuss the future of Sports, Culture and Tourism with top international officials

Around the world, the United Nations’ 75th birthday on the 26th of June is providing the backdrop for a global discussion about the future of the organization and the role multilateralism can play in resolving today’s challenges.

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has brought a new urgency to this discussion, highlighting even more the benefits of cooperation across borders, sectors and generations but also the impacts it has on culture, sports and tourism – the focus of an event today in Geneva, the UN’s European hub, in which young researchers exchanged views with top representatives of the key international agencies in these areas.

“Multilateralism has always been an interplay of national and shared global concerns and it is increasingly so as we are now more interdependent, more interconnected than ever. Culture, tourism and sports, be it in different forms, have all served as inspiring expressions of national identity and pride, ” said Fabrizio Hochschild-Drummond, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General, addressed the audience in an inaugural video message.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has brought us to a pivotal moment. Although many are longing to get back to normal, now it’s precisely the time to end ‘business as usual’, he said.

“Now, it’s the time to put into practice the commitment to future generations that it is central to the UN charter and to make progress on the future we want. That is the spirit in which the UN75 anniversary is conceived of by the Secretary-General last year.”

The UN75 event was organized by UN Geneva, in cooperation with the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, the University of Geneva and foraus, the Swiss Think Tank on Foreign Policy. In addition to hosting many UN agencies, Switzerland is also home to a number of international sports organizations, such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Covid-19 had had a massive impact on large sports events, and has led to such as the postponement of the Olympic Games in Tokyo this year.

This UN dialogue comes at an important and most appropriate time. The world is looking for new ways to better understand and to address the far-reaching consequences” said Thomas Bach, President of the IOC, in a video message in which he stressed sport as a school of life that can teach values.

“The first lesson we all learn from this crisis is: we need more solidarity. Solidarity within societies and solidarity among the nations of this world. Solidarity is at the heart of the Olympic games which unite the world in all our diversity. In these difficult times, we need the Olympic values of excellence, friendship, respect and solidarity more than ever,” Bach said.

In a post-Covid-19 world, the relationship with culture is being increasingly mediated through the digital interface. However, this relationship continues to be fraught with several socio-economic, as well as legal-ethical tensions.

For Paras Arora, a Master's degree candidate at the Graduate Institute “the virus has entered our cultures now, right. That is it ok for us, to attend for example the death of a very close relative, a Sunday sermon for that matter through Zoom. How is that impacting our religious engagement with, you know, ourselves? So, to treat cultural changes at this point of time as deeply ethical changes with herself is also extremely important. And that can only happen with a more multilateral engagement across borders and across levels of governance”.

Tourism, a complex sector of the economy was badly hit by the pandemic. Beyond a spectacular drop at the international and national scales, local impacts of the crisis are very difficult to quantify. For Raphael Languillon-Aussel, Researcher at the Université de Genève "it is difficult to synthesize the diversity of impacts that tourism has at the local level and it is true that local actors are a little invisible behind major events and large international groups that focus their attention on the media, they focus people's attention”.

Sports can work toward multilateralism in many aspects particularly through the Sustainable Devleopment Goals (SDGs). “If we think about multilateralism and also our SDG’s, actually I think it is number 5 and number 10 that are talking about gender equality and also to reduce all kinds of inequalities”, said Yalan Liu, Graduate Institute, Swiss Forum on Foreign Policy (Foraus). “We think sports can have a strong social impact for increasing this kind of social inclusion. We want to gather people, like both female and male of all ages, of all kind of race, to be together to have the strong solidarity to overcome this global health crisis and we believe sports can play a role in building back strong”.

  1. Wide shot: Auditorium at Graduate Institute, Geneva, Switzerland
  2. SOUNDBITE (EN) – Fabrizio Hochschild-Drummond, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General: “Multilateralism has always been an interplay of national and shared global concerns and it is increasingly so as we are now more interdependent, more interconnected than ever. Culture, tourism and sports, be it in different forms, have all served as inspiring expressions of national identity and pride”.
    1. Close up, student listening
    2. SOUNDBITE (EN) - Fabrizio Hochschild-Drummond, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General: “The Covid-19 pandemic has brought us to a pivotal moment. Although many are longing to get back to normal, now it’s precisely the time to end ‘business as usual’. Now, it’s the time to put into practice the commitment to future generations that it is central to the UN charter and to make progress on the future we want. That is the spirit in which the UN75 anniversary is conceived of by the Secretary-General last year.”.
    1. Close up: Student listening
    2. SOUNDBITE (EN) – Thomas Bach, President of International Olympic Committee (IOC): “This UN dialogue comes at an important and most appropriate time. The world is looking for new ways to better understand and to address the far reaching consequences”.
    3. Medium shot: Audience listening
    4. SOUNDBITE (EN) – Thomas Bach, President of International Olympic Committee (IOC): “The first lesson we all learn from this crisis is: we need more solidarity. Solidarity within societies and solidarity among the nations of this world. Solidarity is at the heart of the Olympic games which unite the world in all our diversity. In these difficult times, we need the Olympic values of excellence, friendship, respect and solidarity more than ever”.
    5. Close up: Cameraman
    6. SOUNDBITE (EN) – Paras Arora, Master's candidate & Hans Wilsdorf Scholar, The Graduate Institute, Geneva: “The virus has entered our cultures now, right. That is it ok for us, to attend for example the death of a very close relative, a Sunday sermon for that matter through Zoom. How is that impacting our religious engagement with, you know, ourselves? So, to treat cultural changes at this point of time as deeply ethical changes with herself is also extremely important. And that can only happen with a more multilateral engagement across borders and across levels of governance”.
    7. Close up: Young man looking at screen
    8. SOUNDBITE (FR) - Raphael Languillon-Aussel, Researcher, Université de Genève : « Il est difficile de synthétiser la diversité des impacts que le tourisme a au niveau local et c’est vrai que les acteurs locaux sont un peu invisibilisées derrière les grands événements et les grands groupes internationaux qui eux focalisent l’attention des médias, ils focalisent l’attention des populations ». "It is difficult to synthesize the diversity of impacts that tourism has at the local level and it is true that local actors are a little invisible behind major events and large international groups that focus their attention on the media, they focus people's attention”.
    1. Medium shot: Moderators in auditorium
    2. SOUNDBITE (EN) – Yalan Liu, Graduate Institute, Swiss Forum on Foreign Policy (Foraus): “If we think about this multilateralism and also our SDG’s, actually I think it is number 5 and number 10 that are talking about gender equality and also to reduce all kinds of inequalities. We think sports can have a strong social impact for increasing this kind of social inclusion. We want to gather people, like both female and male of all ages, of all kind of race, to be together to have the strong solidarity to overcome this global health crisis and we believe sports can play a role in building back strong”.
    3. Wide shot, auditorium
    4. Various shots, audience

Similar Stories

Justice for Syria's disappeared - Riyad Avlar – 06 October 2025

1

1

1

Edited News

Justice for Syria's disappeared - Riyad Avlar – 06 October 2025 ENG FRA

Syria prison survivor seeks justice for the missing with UN backing.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk at Human Rights Council on Ukraine: “This war needs to end”

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk at Human Rights Council on Ukraine: “This war needs to end” ENG FRA

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned that three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war in Ukraine has entered an even more dangerous and deadly stage for Ukrainian civilians, under relentless bombardment of their schools, hospitals, and shelters.

30 minutes in a Gaza hospital - UNICEF - WHO - ICRC

1

1

1

Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , ICRC

30 minutes in a Gaza hospital - UNICEF - WHO - ICRC ENG FRA

Quadcopter victims, terror and death: 30 minutes in a Gaza hospital 

UN aid teams on Friday highlighted the disturbing situation in Gaza’s makeshift hospitals, where premature babies cry for scant oxygen and medics attempt to save child survivors targeted by airstrikes in their tents and quadcopter victims reportedly shot while fetching bread.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk’s Oral update to the Human Rights Council on the situation in Haiti

2

1

2

Edited News | OHCHR

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk’s Oral update to the Human Rights Council on the situation in Haiti ENG FRA

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday delivered his oral update to the UN Human Rights Council’s 60th session on the human rights situation in Haiti.

The High Commissioner welcomed Wednesday’s decision of the UN Security Council to strengthen the Multinational Security Support mission by transitioning to the Gang Suppression Force for Haiti, stating it is a strong signal of international support for the Haitian people.

Gaza aid update - UNICEF, OCHA 30 September 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF

Gaza aid update - UNICEF, OCHA 30 September 2025 ENG FRA

Gaza: As world waits for US peace plan news, UN aid teams stress need for ceasefire

UN agencies reiterated calls for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday to help alleviate Palestinian suffering, as a new US 20-point plan raised hopes of a halt to the fighting.

Gaza healthcare attacks – WHO

1

1

1

Edited News | WHO

Gaza healthcare attacks – WHO ENG FRA

The ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza City continues to overwhelm the war-torn enclave’s medical professionals, with four more hospitals forced to shut down this month alone, the UN World Health Organization said on Friday.

UN Report: Civilian detainees subjected to troubling patterns of torture and ill treatment since Russia’s full scale attack on Ukraine

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Report: Civilian detainees subjected to troubling patterns of torture and ill treatment since Russia’s full scale attack on Ukraine ENG FRA

A UN Human Rights report released today details the dire situation of thousands of civilians detained since Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine in 2022. 

Sudan cholera update WHO - UNICEF

1

1

1

Edited News | WHO , UNICEF

Sudan cholera update WHO - UNICEF ENG FRA

Sudan war: Life-saving cholera vaccination campaign begins in Darfur

Amid the devastating war in Sudan, UN aid teams are overcoming major obstacles to curb a cholera outbreak claiming lives across the country, with young children particularly at risk.

Afghanistan earthquake response – UN Women 19 September 2025

2

1

2

Edited News , B-roll | UN WOMEN

Afghanistan earthquake response – UN Women 19 September 2025 ENG FRA

Women and girls still reeling from Afghanistan's recent deadly earthquake face even greater suffering rebuilding their lives and livelihoods without much more help from the international community, UN Women said on Friday.

UN report: Sudan crisis deepens amid rising civilian casualties - UN Human rights spokesperson Jeremy Laurence and OHCHR Sudan Representative Li Fung

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN report: Sudan crisis deepens amid rising civilian casualties - UN Human rights spokesperson Jeremy Laurence and OHCHR Sudan Representative Li Fung ENG FRA

Rising civilian casualties, growing ethnic violence and the grim humanitarian situation in Sudan underscore how the crisis there is deepening, according to a UN Human rights report published today.

'Not a Target' UN Geneva Protest - 18 September 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | UNITED NATIONS

'Not a Target' UN Geneva Protest - 18 September 2025 ENG FRA

United Nations agencies staff demonstrates on Place des Nations in Geneva to denounce the killing of their colleagues in Gaza.

WMO - World Water Monitor 18 September 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | WMO

WMO - World Water Monitor 18 September 2025 ENG FRA

The world’s water resources face growing pressure from climate change while emergencies related to the vital resource are increasingly impacting lives and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.