Speaking to UN Social Media’s Charlotte Scaddan in the VIP Social Media Zone, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described what her Government is doing to tackle some of the big global challenges, from gender equality to climate change to migration.

By investing in data and making sure that it is used responsibly, some of the world’s biggest challenges can be solved, said Claire Melamed, CEO of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD), at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday.

It would be a stretch to describe Jaime Lannister, the character in the hit TV Show Game of Thrones, played by Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, as a positive role model.

The global explorer Bertrand Piccard piloted the first balloon to traverse the globe in 1999, and in 2016 he was at the controls of the first plane to fly around the world powered only by the sun: Solar Impulse.

Winston Duke, best known for his role as M’Baku in the hit film Black Panther, is an avowed activist and feminist.

Sea life, and the ocean that sustains it, is in “very deep trouble”, says the UN Special Envoy tasked with helping the world reach Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14, but it’s not too late to get there. At UN Headquarters for high-level week of the General Assembly, Mr. Thomson told Paulina Greer of UN News, a huge collective effort was needed now to save the ocean.

In an interview with UN News on Wednesday, Najat Rochdi, who is UN Deputy Special Representative and humanitarian coordinator in Central African Republic, explained that 64 per cent of people there need assistance this year, and the year's humanitarian budget is less than 40 per cent funded. Ms. Rochdi outlined the key challenges her teams face in CAR.

As former President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet knows the hard realities of politics that Heads of Government face as they try to push through their agenda.

Migration “is a force for good” for host nations, but Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD, tells UN News what Ethiopia and Rwanda have done to offer migrants economic opportunities closer to home. The UNCTAD chief also reflects on the passing of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, whom he describes as an inspiration for his moral leadership.

When it comes to tackling migration, climate change or seemingly intractable conflicts, the doctrine of collective responsibility, embodied by the UN, is the only way forward, according to Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. She spoke to Conor Lennon, who asked her what should be done to strengthen multilateralism.