Born out of World War II’s devastation to save future generations from conflict, the United Nations officially marks its 75th anniversary Monday at an inflection point in history, navigating a polarized world as it faces a pandemic, regional conflicts, a shrinking economy, and growing inequality.
Criticized for spewing out billions of words and achieving scant results on its primary mission of ensuring global peace, the UN nonetheless remains New York City the one place that its 193 member nations can meet to talk.
And as frustrating as its lack of progress often is, especially when it comes to preventing and ending crises, there is also strong support for its power to bring not only nations but people of all ages from all walks of life, ethnicities, and religions together to discuss critical issues like world peace and climate change.