About Us

The UN Office for Partnerships is your global gateway to co-create partnerships to deliver the SDGs.

Working globally, regionally and in countries—we convene, connect and co-create opportunities to accelerate solutions for people and for the planet. 

Decade of Action, ten years to transform our world.

Guided by the priorities of the UN Secretary-General, the UN Office for Partnerships (UN Partnerships) is mobilizing partners.

• The Office of the Executive Director convenes and connects thought leaders and drives innovation initiatives.
• The Secretary General’s SDG Advocates lead transformative change in their spheres of influence.
• The SDG Strategy Hub, chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General, leads a coordinated consultative multi-stakeholder platform and co-creates global SDG initiatives.  
• The Secretary General’s climate mobilization team drives coalition building and public mobilization for ambitious climate action.
• The UN Democracy Fund funds, co-designs, manages, mentors, and generates projects that empower civil society, promote human rights, and encourage the participation of all groups in democratic processes.
• The UN Fund for International Partnerships works with the UN partnership ecosystem to enable and develop the necessary instruments for partnership building and cooperates with the UN Foundation on innovative cross-sector projects implemented by the UN system globally.

See more information here. 

SDG Advocates: Mobilizing for People, Planet, Prosperity and Peace

In 2016, the UN Secretary-General appointed the first class of 17 SDG Advocates. Holding influential positions in governments, entertainment, academia, sports, business, and activist organizations around the world, the SDG Advocates are public figures who use their unique platforms to bolster ambition and action for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Each Advocate holds specific interests and expertise in areas ranging from poverty, health, education, equality, climate action, sexual violence, child labor, and much more. Their voices nudge world leaders, impact policy design, and rally millions of activists and followers to join the movement in building a sustainable future. 

In addition, the Secretary-General meets with the SDG Advocates annually to discuss the current state of the 2030 Agenda and to listen to their particular assessments and recommendations.

Since 2018, the United Nations Office for Partnerships (UN Partnerships) has hosted the SDG Advocates. UN Partnerships manages the day-to-day operations of the group, facilitates new partnerships within the group as well as with external global initiatives, and serves as the main point of contact for the UN system at large.

Current SDG Advocates

• Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados (Co-Chair)
• Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada (Co-Chair)
• Her Majesty Queen Mathilde of Belgium
• His Highness Muhammad Sanusi II, 14th Emir of Kano
• Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser of Qatar, Founder of the Education Above All Foundation
• Richard Curtis, Screenwriter, Producer and Film Director
• Hindou Ibrahim, Coordinator of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad
• Graça Machel, Founder of Graça Machel Trust
• Dia Mirza, Actress and Producer
• Edward Ndopu, Humanitarian and Activist
• Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University
• Forest Whitaker, Actor, Producer, Director and Founder of the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative
• Valentina Muñoz, STEM expert
• Kailash Satyarthi, Children’s Rights Activist
• Brad Smith, President of Microsoft 
• Black Pink, K-pop group
• Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder and CEO, Chobani and Founder of Tent Partnership Refugees

SDG Strategy Hub

Since its revitalization in 2018, the SDG Strategy Hub (The Hub) has been serving as a consultative and collaborative platform for enhanced coordination and movement-building for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Chaired by the UN Deputy Secretary-General and guided by the interdependence and interconnectedness of the SDGs, the Hub’s work is cross-sectional: to engage, convene, and leverage a wide range of stakeholders and initiatives to accelerate SDG mobilization, implementation, and accountability.

Over the years, the Hub has also mobilized and co-created with diverse stakeholders around public-facing SDG activations, such as the annual SDG Action Zone, the global film Nations United, the COVID-19 Creative Open Brief, the SDG Flotilla at the UN Climate Adaptation Summit, and the billboards takeover at Times Square and on the LinkNYC digital publicity screens across New York City. It has also played a central role in the conceptualization, development, and rollout of the Decade of Action to deliver the SDGs.

Mobilizing Climate Action 

The United Nations Office for Partnerships (UN Partnerships) works with networks within and beyond the UN system to mobilize partners to help raise ambition and drive concrete and credible climate action. 

In close coordination with the UN Secretary-General's Climate Action Team and the Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change, and collaboration with UN entities and Member States, the Office supports efforts to translate the commitments outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement into actionable solutions.

In support of the Secretary-General’s climate priorities, the UN Partnerships creates dynamic platforms and provides opportunities to empower and mobilize partners to discuss challenges and co-create solutions. 

In September 2023, UN Partnerships inaugurated the SDG Pavilion. Nestled among artworks and sculptures at the UN Headquarters, this Pavilion served as a focal point for a series of engaging talks, panels, and artistic performances during the General Assembly's high-level week. The sessions featured in-depth discussions around climate justice, green transition and carbon pricing as the important measures in our collective efforts to tackle the climate emergency, and save lives and protect livelihoods. 

This year at COP28, UN Partnerships concentrated its efforts on strengthening the narrative of the interconnections between climate action and the SDGs through partnerships. The Office undertook three key activities: COP28 Dialogues, support for the SDG Advocates, and partnership building. 

The UN Partnerships, in collaboration with the Department of Global Communications, hosted two COP28 dialogues, aligning closely with the Conference’s daily themes, with a particular focus on energy transition and the Women Rise for All initiative. 

The Office also supported the Secretary-General's engagement with key stakeholders, including the Roundtable with young climate leaders and civil society organisations. Additionally, it facilitated engagements of SDG Advocates, including their participation in various events, key announcements, meetings, and media opportunities. Read statement by members of the SDG Advocates here. 

On the sidelines of COP28, SDG Advocate and UN Environment Programme Goodwill Ambassador Dia Mirza engaged in a dynamic conversation with UN Secretary-General António Guterres about the pressing need for climate action. Watch the full interview here. 

United Nations Democracy Fund

The United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) was created by UN Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan in 2005 as a United Nations General Trust Fund. It was welcomed by the General Assembly in the Outcome Document of the 2005 World Summit (A/RES/60/1, paragraphs 136-137).

UNDEF supports efforts around the world that increase civic space, empower civil society, promote human rights, and encourage the participation of all groups in democratic processes. 

UNDEF initiatives focus on the following areas:

• Youth Engagement.
• Women’s leadership
• Strengthening Civil Society Interaction with Government;
• Rule of Law and Human Rights;
• Media and Freedom of Information;
• Electoral Processes;

The majority of UNDEF funds go to local civil society organizations — both in the transition and consolidation phases of democratization. The Fund subsists entirely on voluntary contributions from governments. So far, UNDEF has supported over 900 projects in more than 130 countries.

United Nations Fund for International Partnerships

The UN Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP) is a trust fund, set up to serve as the primary point of contact between the United Nations and the UN Foundation – an independent charitable organization created to work closely with the UN to drive global progress on key issues and tackle urgent problems.

For more than two decades, UNFIP and the UN Foundation have worked in close collaboration on hundreds of innovative and cross-sector projects, as well as initiatives implemented by the UN system around the world. In doing so, the Fund works towards the achievement of the SDGs.

The work of UNFIP is overseen by the UNFIP Advisory Board, which is chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General and provides the Secretary-General with advice about the relationship between the UN and the UN Foundation.

The Advisory Board, aside from the Chair, is composed of high-level UN representatives, including the President of the Economic and Social Council, Chairman of the Second Committee of the General Assembly, Under-Secretary-General for Management and Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, as well as experts from academia, foundations, and civil society organizations. The members of the Board serve by virtue of the office that they are holding, which means that some of the Board members rotate on an annual basis. The Executive Director of UNFIP serves on the Advisory Board as an ex-officio member.

As per the Revised and Restated Relationship Agreement between the United Nations and the UN Foundation, the UNFIP Advisory Board shall primarily provide the Secretary-General with advice of a strategic nature concerning the relationship between the United Nations and the UN Foundation, about any important reputational issues arising from the activities of the UN and the UN Foundation under the Relationship Agreement as well as concerning projects, campaigns, fiduciary grant-making or grant-management activities, and other activities funded by the Foundation or otherwise coordinated with the Foundation. The UNFIP Advisory Board shall also monitor the operations and activities of UNFIP.

Current Members: 

• H.E. Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General (Chairperson)
• H.E. Ms. Paula Narváez Ojeda, President of the Economic and Social Council 
• H.E. Mr. Carlos Amorin, Chair of the Second Committee, UN General Assembly
• Mr. Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
• Ms. Catherine Pollard, Under-Secretary-General for Management, Strategy and Compliance
• Ms. Yassine Fall, Economist
• Mr. Luis A. Ubiñas, President of the Board of Trustees, The Pan American Development Foundation
• Ms. Annemarie Hou, Executive Director, UN Office for Partnerships (ex officio)