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. 

The United Nations Global Pulse initiative on Friday announced a partnership with Twitter that will provide the United Nations with access to the platform's data tools to support efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders in September last year. [...] UN Global Pulse is an innovation initiative of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that harnesses data science and analytics for sustainable development and humanitarian action.

World leaders meeting at the United Nations starting on Monday will try to make progress on two intractable problems at the top of the global agenda — the biggest refugee crisis since World War II and the Syrian conflict now in its sixth year, which has claimed over 300,000 lives.

On International Youth Day, which is celebrated annually on Aug. 12, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon chose Palestinian youth Hussein Murtaja from Gaza City to be part of the Advisory Group of Experts for Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security. [...] This group includes 21 youth experts who work in the framework of a project with the aim of finding a new role the youth can play in peace and security building.

Candidates vying to become the next United Nations Secretary General are taking questions from the public via social media and answering concerns from member states. The five permanent Security Council members - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – normally chose the UN chief in a secretive process. But this time, part of that process is happening on live television in a debate broadcast globally by Al Jazeera.

How is democracy promoted around the world? What techniques are successful? Established state democracies are by no means the only inspiration for democracy or for good governance; these ideas can find inspiration in other cultures and societies, such as Myanmar.

Kim Byong-woo, superintendent of the North Chungcheong Province Office of Education, said he is strengthening cultural exchange programs for students to become global leaders. "I think it is especially important for students to experience various cultures overseas," Kim told The Korea Times in a recent interview, citing the office's unique program called Ban Ki-moon Global Leadership Overseas Training. 

To celebrate the power of the volunteerism, United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon is marking the International Volunteer Day by emphasizing that volunteering fosters creativity, “draws strength from our passions and connects us to those who need us most.”