Geneva - Switzerland

Emirates Room UN Geneva

World Family Summit 2017 in Celebration of its 70th Aniversary

“The Emirati sky from dawn to dusk”, inside Conference Room XVII is the present offered by the United Arab Emirates to the Office of the United Nations in Geneva. The genesis of the project stems from the emblem of the United Arab Emirates, a golden falcon upholding the Emirates’ flag surrounded by 7 stars representing the 7 Emirates of the Federation. At the foot of the falcon, the name of the United Arab Emirates is inscribed in Kufic script.

In September 2015 at an historic UN Summit for Sustainable Development, 193 world leaders approved the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Counting 17 Goals and 169 targets, this Agenda is a Plan of Action for People, Planet, Prosperity, Partnership and Peace.

On January 1st, 2016, the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development officially came into force challenging all sectors of society to mobilize efforts to implement it and in special to end all forms of poverty, fight inequality, tackle climate change and strengthen universal peace. The commitments to “leave no one behind” is a key feature that we must embark in a great collective journey, ensuring that the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the Global Goals are translated into effective actions reaching everyone over the next 15 years.

Leaving no one behind is the overarching principle and transforming the Agenda’s commitments into effective actions requires a precise understanding of the target population. Women, men, children, youth, older persons, persons with disability, people living with HIV, indigenous people, refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, all of them have in common the fact that they belong to a Family living at Local Level.

Supporting local authorities and families to implement the SDG 11 and SGD 12 is an exceptional opportunity to achieve better integration between community needs and public policy development leading to renewed hope, harmony, jobs and growth, while ensuring sustainability. The theme of the World Family Summit 2017 is “No Family Left Behind: Families and Local Authorities working together to transform cities and human settlements into inclusive, safe, resilient, sustainable with strong communities.”