We have reached a defining moment in human history.

The people of the world have asked us to shine a light on a future of promise and opportunity.

Through the millennia, shipping has united the world by carrying the goods and commodities that underpin the global economy. Today, shipping is a modern, highly technical, professional discipline that requires a great deal of skill, knowledge and expertise from the maritime workforce. The mariner of today cannot learn the skills required for success simply through work experience or learning on-the-job. A safe, secure and clean shipping industry can only be built on effective standards of education and training, which is the theme for this year's World Maritime Day.

            This year’s International Day of Peace comes at a time of deadly violence
and destabilizing conflicts around the world. Rather than succumbing to despair, we have a collective responsibility to demand an end to the brutality and impunity that prevail.

            I call on all warring parties to lay down their weapons and observe a global ceasefire. To them I say: stop the killings and the destruction, and create space for lasting peace.

ITU focus group on Digital Financial Services hosts telco and financial services regulators from across the globe in Kuala Lumpur

Not so long ago, humanity stood on the brink of a self-inflicted catastrophe.  Our use of ozone-depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) had torn a hole in the ozone layer that protects us from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation.  

But we tackled this challenge.  Thirty years ago, the international community signed the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer.  Under its Montreal Protocol, the world united to slash the production and consumption of CFCs and other ozone-depleting substances.

Civil society is the oxygen of democracy.

We see this clearly in the world’s most vibrant and stable democracies, where Government and civil society work together for common goals. Civil society acts as a catalyst for social progress and economic growth.  It plays a critical role in keeping Government accountable, and helps represent the diverse interests of the population, including its most vulnerable groups.

The United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation highlights the progress being made by the global South.

            Literacy, a human right that empowers individuals and advances societies, is needed more than ever as the United Nations prepares to adopt a new global agenda for sustainable development.

Visit of the UN Secretary General's High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing co-chairs to Moscow

In May this year the UN Secretary General announced the appointment of a High Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing to address one of the most important challenges facing the humanitarian system today, namely the growing gap between the increasing numbers of people in need of assistance and sufficient resources to provide relief.

The International Day of Charity coincides with the anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her work to overcome poverty. Upon receiving the prize, she famously gave the money that came with it
to some of the poorest people in India.