What I Learned from UNGA Week

Today marks the final day of UNGA week, when the United Nations General Assembly reconvenes in New York City. Foreign dignitaries descend on the city, traffic grinds to a standstill and participants are left staggering but standing at the end of a long week of social gatherings and intellectual convenings (Clinton Global Initiative, Goalkeepers, Bloomberg).

Here are my major takeaways from the week:

1. The Work Goes On, But Under a Different Name—Edelman has just completed a study with NYU Stern School on sustainability and its impact of sustainable claims on brand sales. This work now is best described as Social Sustainability. This includes A for Access, B for Basic Needs, C for Crisis Response, D for Disability/Veterans affairs and E for Economic Status. Note that three of the elements are economic, reinforcing what we found in our June Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report on brands for Cannes: the world has moved from We to Me. It is now about what brands can do to make me feel safe and optimistic.
2. Patriotism and Nationalism Are Different—President Emmanuel Macron of France delivered a stirring speech at the Atlantic Council on Wednesday night. He said that he is the most patriotic Frenchman, but he draws the line at nationalism, which he believes is contrary to effective governance. He argued for joint efforts on such fast-developing areas as artificial intelligence and misinformation.
3. The Massive Opportunity in Food Waste Reduction—Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, convened a group of companies at breakfast on Wednesday. Hamdi Ulukaya, founder and CEO of Chobani told a compelling tale of change in his supply chain that has significantly reduced waste in the harvesting of strawberries. He said that farm workers are instructed to select only the most perfect fruit, dropping the other pieces to the ground to rot. He now takes the imperfect fruit, chops and processes it at the farm before putting it into his strawberry yogurt. This California grown product substitutes for strawberries being flown in from Serbia, resulting in lower cost and better taste.
4. The Digital Divide in Brazil—The COP30 Deputy Director spoke at my apartment on Sunday evening about the necessity of connectivity for the residents of the Amazon. The Foundation for the Amazon is working with residents to establish fisheries and small plot agricultural production. This is to offset the temptation to work for illegal loggers and cattle or soybean farmers. Deforestation of the Amazon has gone down by over 50 percent in the past three years.
5. Global Urbanization—Fifty five percent of the eight billion global citizens now live in cities, up from 33 percent in 1960. This number is expected to rise to 70 percent by 2050, with the number of slum dwellers expected to rise from one to two billion in that period. Much of that urbanization will occur in the Southern Hemisphere. That is why the Indonesian Government is attempting to create a Southern Hemisphere Davos in February.
6. The Shock Waves from President Trump—The President issued a fundamental critique of the UN, calling out its failed peace-keeping efforts, its bloated bureaucracy and ineffective stewardship of its broader mandate of health and security. He did agree to bring America current on its back-dated bills. Meanwhile, President Javier Milei celebrated Argentina’s receipt of a $20 billion lifeline from the U.S. Treasury that will ward off speculators in the Argentine peso. At the Atlantic Council, Milei blasted left-wing woke critics who are interfering with his efforts to restore entrepreneurial vigor to the local economy.
7. The Parallel Universe—At the Clinton Global Initiative, former President Bill Clinton and California Governor Gavin Newsom provided an alternative theory of the world, from healthcare to immigration. There was a similar talking past each other moment around Israel and Gaza in the wake of recognition of the Palestinian state by the UK, France and Germany without clarity on the leader of that entity.

Kirsty Graham, our U.S. CEO, received an award from the Foreign Policy Association on Monday night. She gave an impassioned speech that catalogued all the global challenges from economic volatility to political polarization to loneliness to a compromised information eco-system. All of these, she said, are borderless issues. She asserted, “Leadership matters in this moment…. you must do what you say…you must listen.” But most important of all is the ability of leaders to connect, to establish personal relationships. She concluded on an optimistic note, citing the basic goodness of people who want the simple things of family, quality of life and happiness. This is our homework assignment from UNGA week.