Marking its 75th anniversary, in January 2020, the United Nations launched a global consultation with the aim of gathering information about perceptions and aspirations concerning the world we want. The unprecedented initiative reached over a billion people through events, online concerts and games, and 1.5 million votes from people from over 195 countries and territories. Following the conclusion of the commemorative activities and the release of the final report on the first week of January 2021, this webinar will primarily address the context in which the initiative was conceived and the repercussion on the work of the United Nations towards its 100th anniversary in 2045.

In the framework of the Rethinking Diplomacy Program, the Duke Center for International and Global Studies (DUCIGS) will welcome Mr. Fabrizio Hochschild, UN Under Secretary General and Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the UN75 and his opening remarks, followed by a presentation of the UN75 consultations by Dr. Cecilia Cannon, Academic Advisor for the UN75. 

About the speakers:

Mr. Fabrizio Hochschild who has been serving as Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General since 2017, will support the Secretary-General in coordinating the preparation for the commemoration of the 75th  anniversary of the United Nations in 2020 and related celebrations, through a system-wide process of consultations and reflections on the role of the United Nations in advancing international co-operation and in supporting Member States’ ability to respond to emerging challenges and frontier issues. Also on January 22, 2021, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Fabrizio Hochschild Drummond of Chile as his Envoy on Technology.

Mr. Hochschild brings diversified United Nations senior leadership experience at headquarters and the field, having served as Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) in 2016, UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Colombia from 2013 to 2016, Director of the Field Personnel Division in the United Nations Department of Field Support, New York from 2010 to 2012; and as Chief of Field Operations and Technical Cooperation in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Geneva from 2005 to 2009.

He began his United Nations career in 1988 with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Sudan and served in subsequent postings with UNHCR, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and in peacekeeping.  He was posted in Sudan, Jerusalem, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Geneva, New York, Timor-Leste, Serbia and the United Republic of Tanzania. 

Mr. Hochschild is a graduate of the University of Oxford, United Kingdom.

Dr. Cecilia Cannon is the Academic Adviser to the United Nations for its 75th anniversary dialogues on global cooperation. She also directs the Graduate Institute’s Executive Master in International Negotiation and Policy-making, and lectures in the Master of International Development and International Affairs. Her research focuses on the design, reform and effectiveness of International Organisations. Her broader research looks at the role and influence of non-state actors in international policy processes; and migration policy. She served as Head of Research for the Global Governance Centre until December 2017, and currently directs the Graduate Institute's Summer Programme on the United Nations and Global Challenges. Cecilia previously worked for the Global Detention Project – an inter-disciplinary research endeavor that investigates the role detention plays in states’ responses to global migration. She additionally has professional communications and advocacy experience and advises government, non-governmental, private sector and United Nations on their advocacy, monitoring and evaluation projects. She obtained a PhD in International Relations/ Political Science at the Graduate Institute.

The event is open to the public but registration is required.

This event will launch the DUCIGS/Rethinking Diplomacy Program’s 75th Anniversary of the United Nations (UN75) series of webinars to address different priority areas highlighted in the UN75 online survey as well as to serve as a platform to gather input on upcoming UN75 follow-up initiatives.

The DUCIGS/Rethinking Diplomacy Program is supported by a grant from the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation Endowment Fund. This first event is also co-sponsored by Polis: Center for Politics and the IHouse (International House).