For most AMUN representatives, summer is a time for the outdoors, catching up on sleep and time with friends. The UN staff isn’t so lucky: summer is a busy time leading up to the General Assembly session in the fall. The agenda is packed. Here are just a few of the many discussions and meetings happening over this summer.

The Ocean Conference (5-9 June): Last week, the international community and the United Nations system came together to discuss marine health and how to protect one of the world’s most precious natural resources (part of Sustainable Development Goal #14). The summary of the meeting outlines numerous steps that states intend to take in the years ahead.

BioQuest Studios premiered Our Ocean, Our Future, a short film on the dire needs of our oceans.

Our Ocean, Our Future from BioQuest Studios on Vimeo.

ECOSOC Elections (15 June): Later this week, the General Assembly will elect 18 new members of ECOSOC. Keep an eye on who will join the Council in 2018. Positions on ECOSOC are distributed according to the five regional blocs and require a ⅔ majority for election.   

General Assembly High-level Event on education (28 June): The President of the General Assembly has called for a special, one-day meeting of the General Assembly to focus on universal access to education.

International Forum on ICT and Education 2030 (10-11 July): UNESCO and the Government of China will host a two day symposium on how information and communication technology can advance the education-related Sustainable Development Goals. The meeting will be in Qingdao. The event may add some new insights for our WSIS+10 simulation this fall.

ECOSOC High-level Political Forum (17-20 July): ECOSOC holds an annual, minister-level summit centered around an annual theme. This year’s session focuses on poverty eradication  and will be  hosted in New York at UN Headquarters. Next year, the HLPF will return to Geneva.

Restoring Humanity and Leaving No one Behind: Working together to reduce people’s humanitarian need, risk and vulnerability (21-23 July): ECOSOC’s annual humanitarian discussion takes on an increased urgency this year. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) will help lead the discussion on how to meet the needs of refugees and displaced persons. The forum comes during one of the greatest times of humanitarian need since World War II. The event covers everything from the technical (cash-based transfers for famine response) to the political (financing future humanitarian crises).