Live from New York and UNGA81 🇺🇳

This year marks the 81st UN General Assembly (UNGA), a critical milestone ahead of the 2026 UN Water Conference.

But first, what is the UN General Assembly? 🌍🔹 Every year, UNGA brings together all 193 UN Member States in New York to take stock on the world’s most pressing challenges and to discuss, debate, and advance cooperation across sustainable development, economic growth, peace and security, human rights, and education.

🔹 Around the formal UNGA programme, New York becomes a global hub for leaders from government, business, civil society, academia, young advocates, the financial community, and philanthropy, creating opportunities to build partnerships, exchange ideas, and accelerate action.

🔹 This year, water is at the forefront of high-level discussion across New York as private sector leaders, investors, philanthropists, governments and Member States, civil society organisations, and youth advocates discuss how interconnected water is to food security, digital infrastructure, energy transformation, multilateral cooperation, and economic growth.

Momentum is building for the 2026 UN Water Conference as public and private sector stakeholders alike are exploring new collaborations and opportunities to shape a new future for water action.

Snapshots below are from key moments in New York this week so far.