This month, Forbes published its annual 30 Under 30 recognizing bright young entrepreneurs, breakout talent, and change agents in 20 different professional sectors. Seven of these leaders studied abroad on State Department exchange programs early in their careers. These experiences shaped their identities and in many cases motivated them to become leaders and thinkers in the United States and around the world.

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Platform for Peace is a unique platform put forward by human rights activists and representatives of non-governmental organizations and civil society of Armenia and Azerbaijan [...] He noted that for the first time since the beginning of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, representatives of the Armenian and Azerbaijani civil society have decided to create such a platform.

With only 41 percent of countries regularly producing data on violence against women and only 13 percent of countries having a dedicated gender statistics budget, the first-ever United Nations World Data Forum explored ways to close these data gaps on January 17. [...] The panel, titled 'Gender Data for Decision-making: Strengthening the Links,' was among the nearly 100 sessions and parallel events scheduled throughout the 15-18 January gathering in Cape Town, South African, of more than 1,400 data experts around the world.

The U.N.’s second secretary-general Dag Hammarskjold defined the job’s role as a diplomat who has the ability and courage to navigate a course independent of the major powers and in defense of the world’s population. [...] Once Ban was installed at the U.N. in 2007, he broke with tradition by naming Americans — two former State Department diplomats — to be his chief political officers during his ten-year tenure. 

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi stayed away this year, India followed a strategy of quiet diplomacy while projecting its soft power at the world body, even as it suffered a setback in the fight against terrorism. India had a low profile on the diplomatic front that masked a lot of behind-the-scenes diplomacy. After having made a trip to Washington to address the Congress, Modi did not attend the annual general debate of the General Assembly.

Despite sharing an island, comparing the Dominican Republic and Haiti is a slippery slope. Like most neighbors, the two nations have experienced moments of tranquility, moments of teamwork, and moments of tension. Culturally and economically dissimilar, the two interdependent countries are divided by more than a politically-imposed border.

It’s not every day that a young Israeli entrepreneur accompanies the prime minister on his visit to the United Nations. Sivan Borowich-Ya’ari recently presented her organization ‘Innovation: Africa’ to the UN’s general assembly, alongside Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and African leaders. Providing African villages with Israeli solar, water and agricultural technologies.

“Upholding human rights is in the interest of all. Respect for human rights advances well-being for every individual, stability for every society, and harmony for our interconnected world,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.