Second World Summit for Social Development 2025: UN Global Horizon Scanning for Governance and Social Development

Join the UN Futures Lab/Global Hub and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government for a side event at the Second World Summit for Social Development 2025: UN Global Horizon Scanning for Governance and Social Development. This event aims to contribute to the Solutions Sessions at the summit by engaging a diverse range of stakeholders to collaborate in: (i) understanding the evolving and complex development landscape through key governance interlinkages from a social lens, (ii) advancing the discourse on emerging solutions and challenges in shaping development futures through signals, trends, and drivers of change, and (iii) promoting lived experiences and diverse voices to Leave No One Behind through a facilitated participatory foresight process.

Speakers

Mr. Navid Hanif, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)
Mr. Chris Earney, Head, UN Futures Lab/Global Hub
Ms. Adriana Alberti, Chief, Programme Management and Capacity Development Unit, Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government, UN DESA
Mr. Gregory McGann, Programme Management and Capacity Development Unit, Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government, UN DESA
Ms. Elena Proden, Economist, Resident Coordinator’s Office in Mauritius and Seychelles (RCO Mauritius and Seychelles)
Ms. Sunglim Chloe Kim, Head, Insight and Accountability Unit, Strategic Planning Service, United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS)
Ms. Daiana Banciu, Human Rights Officer, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Mr. Repaul Kanji, Technical Lead & Co-Founder of GRRID Corps
Ms. Narue Shiki, Head, Strategy and Futures Team, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Mr. Bastian Richter, Team Leader, Policy Planning Team, Policy and Best Practices Service, United Nations Department of Peace Operations (DPO)
Mr. Pedro Morais de Sousa, Political Economist, Strategic Foresight pillar, Agrifood Economics and Policy Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Ms. Cairo Eubanks, Co-Chair, United Nations Department of Global Communications Civil Society Youth Representatives Steering Committee

Background

The Second World Summit for Social Development will take place in Doha, Qatar, from 4 to 6 November 2025, bringing together Heads of State and Government, Ministers, and Delegates from around the globe. Thirty years after the landmark 1995 Copenhagen Summit, the Summit will provide a unique opportunity to assess progress, address gaps, and renew global commitments to the three interrelated pillars of social development:

Poverty eradication
Full and productive employment and decent work for all
Social integration

Bringing together horizon scanning insights across the UN System in an efficient and accessible manner

In a world shaped by accelerating change, the ability to anticipate emerging risks and opportunities is critical for decision-makers across the UN system. Horizon scanning brings together the perspectives and collective intelligence of different stakeholders to map possible changes. These present a wealth of information on signals, trends, and drivers of change that can be harnessed to inform decision-making, planning, and programming. To this end, the UN Futures Lab/Global Hub and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government are collaborating on the UN Global Horizon Scanning initiative to develop an AI tool that can efficiently harness, consolidate, and analyze insights of horizon scanning initiatives from across the UN system.

This joint project aims to help users to draw on existing intelligence to deepen analysis, bridge synergies, facilitate cross-fertilization, and motivate collaboration in advancing their work. Building on the enthusiasm generated during a panel discussion and live demonstration of the AI tool at the 2025 STI Forum side event, improvements have been introduced based on feedback from participants representing UN entities, government, non-government organizations, private sector, and academia/think tanks. This is part of an iterative process to ensure that the initiative can meaningfully support the UN’s delivery of its mandates to its stakeholders. The UN Global Horizon Scanning AI Tool will be launched in December 2025 and will be made accessible to the entire UN system; by drawing on strategic foresight methodologies and processes, the tool will thus support more forward-looking and anticipatory planning, programming, and decision-making across the UN’s work. The outcomes of the session will feed into the learning and scaling process of the UN Horizon Scanning initiative ahead of the official launch of the UN Global Horizon Scanning AI Tool in December 2025.

What to expect

This virtual side event will feature a brief introduction to the UN Global Horizon Scanning initiative, including a short live demo of the UN Global Horizon Scanning AI Tool. This will be followed by a presentation of emerging insights generated by the tool, with a specific focus on the Summit’s thematic priorities and the Draft Doha Political Declaration:

Emerging signals, trends, and drivers of change related to the Summit’s three pillars: (i) Poverty eradication, (ii) full employment, and (iii) social integration and their interlinkages with governance
Key interlinkages, convergences, and divergences among cross-cutting issues: (i) Governance; (ii) food security and nutrition, (iii) physical and mental health, (iv) digital transformation, (v) education, (vi) climate action (vii) disaster reduction, (viii) gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, (ix) combatting racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance (x) housing, water, and sanitation, (xi) ensuring safe, orderly, and regular migration pathways, and (xii) financing sustainable development

Participants will then engage in an interactive dialogue using virtual tools to allow for exchange and joint reflection, and a multistakeholder panel will unpack the implications of these insights on broader issues of governance, security, and human rights, with a specific focus on linking insights with decision-making.

Programme

Moderator: Mr. Chris Earney, Head, UN Futures Lab/Global Hub

Time (GMT+3)	Activity
4:45pm – 4:50pm	Opening Remarks Mr. Navid Hanif, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), United Nations Reflection on the importance of strategic foresight in tackling social challenges in today’s complex and evolving landscape
4:50pm – 4:55pm	Introduction: UN Global Horizon Scanning Chris Earney, UN Futures Lab/Global Hub Mr. Gregory McGann, Programme Management and Capacity Development Unit, Division for Public Institutions and Digital Objectives and overview of the initiative’s evolution, including a quick preview of the UN Global Horizon Scanning AI tool’s interface, features, and functionalities
4:55pm – 5:05pm	Presentation: Horizon Scanning Insights on Social Development Ms. Adriana Alberti, Chief, Programme Management and Capacity Development Unit, Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government, UN DESA Insights collected from Horizon Scanning reports analyzed by the UN Global Horizon Scanning tool
5:05pm – 5:55pm	Lightning Panel Reactions: Critical considerations and implications Development: Ms. Narue Shiki, Head, Strategy and Futures Team, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Peace and Security: Mr. Bastian Richter, Team Leader, Policy Planning Team, Policy and Best Practices Service, United Nations Department of Peace Operations (DPO) Cross-cutting issues: Mr. Pedro Morais de Sousa, Political Economist, Strategic Foresight pillar, Agrifood Economics and Policy Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Sectoral representative on gender and youth: Ms. Cairo Eubanks, Co-Chair, United Nations Department of Global Communications Civil Society Youth Representatives Steering Committee Panellists draw on their sectors to build on emerging insights from the UN Global Horizon Scanning AI tool and/or participant feedback on Mentimeter.
5:55 pm – 6:00 pm	Closing Remarks: Synthesis and conclusion Speaker: Chris Earney, UN Futures Lab/Global Hub Key takeaways from the session as the basis for continued engagement in participatory foresight, enhanced impact, and inclusive futures – including next steps on the launch of the AI tool

Learn more and watch the recording of the STI Forum 2025 side event

Learn more about the Second World Summit for Social Development 2025