Overview
- The United Nations opened the global “Shared Lives, Shared Future” exhibition at its New York headquarters on Oct. 21 with remarks by Secretary‑General António Guterres.
- Guterres urged a recommitment to multilateral cooperation, emphasizing support for vulnerable people, the everyday role of international standards, and the value of dialogue among states.
- The exhibition brings together more than 200 personal stories from 193 countries to show how UN agencies affect daily life.
- Featured emergency work includes UNRWA’s life‑saving aid in Gaza after educating roughly 300,000 children before the war, as well as UNHCR support for people displaced by Sudan’s conflict, including 878,000 who have crossed into Chad.
- The stories also spotlight protection and sustainability efforts, including a UNFPA safe space that stopped a forced child marriage in Yemen, UNDP equipment for Beirut firefighters, UNIDO eco‑industrial parks in Ukraine, and a UNCTAD partnership in Malaysia that saves 10 million litres of water each year.