“I deeply believe we must find new and creative ways of engaging citizens in the United Nations mission. The UN Live Museum is an important step forward in our efforts to educate and engage.”
Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Sparking global empathy, action and global change
Museum for the United Nations – UN Live – is an agile extension of the United Nations; an unconventional, independent, borderless museum that sparks global empathy, action and change through the power of popular culture and dialogue.
Our vision is to connect people everywhere to the work and values of the United Nations and help build a world where everyone feels agency to contribute to a positive future for people and planet.
Our mission is to unleash the power of popular culture and dialogue to include, inspire and engage people towards positive action and a sense of global belonging.
The world is at a tipping point, with many interconnected crises: climate, conflict, declining biodiversity, increasing inequality, lack of empathy and polarisation. To avoid irreversible damage, the world needs structural change and technical solutions – but there is also a need for individual action, including behavioural and mindset change by the many. This way, we can create demand that pushes business and policy leaders to generate sustainable, just policies, and change – at scale.
Museum for the United Nations – UN Live addresses just that. We seek to build more empathy, agency, action, and a sense of global belonging. This is what we – borrowing from the UN Charter’s opening “We the peoples...,” – call a ‘Global We’.
In partnership with powerful organisations, brands, and popular culture platforms, UN Live catalyses large-scale cultural experiences, builds cultural programmes, and designs in-depth dialogues which connect people to each other and to global issues. Building on behaviour change science, which shows that popular culture can change norms, behaviours and opinion, we believe these inclusive experiences can encourage people to discover new ways and roles in the world – creating a stronger sense of agency to act.
Flipping the script of what a museum can be
Museums are often associated with physical gallery spaces, curated collections of artifacts or immersive exhibitions. At Museum for the United Nations – UN Live, we have taken the concept of a museum to a new level. Instead of a centralised building, UN Live is ‘borderless’ in the way we reach people – with no building but with global reach.
The significance of a museum lies in its dynamic experiences set out for education, enjoyment, reflection and knowledge sharing. Instead of creating these experiences within a building space, we meet people where they are, utilising different types of platforms to spark engagement and exhibit experiences of a connected world.
Our work is designed to move people to action through the things they love, making complex issues feel more relevant, by igniting reflections and social engagement through popular culture such as music, films, gaming, sports and more. These experiences and actions are collected and showcased, including our collection of global dialogues from the Global We platform, and actions taken through the ongoing Count Us In initiative.
FlipFlopi
Global We
My Mark: My City
Guardians of the Forest
Voz Terra
My Mark: My City
Our values: kindness, courage, authenticity, and a sense of urgency
We believe in the power of everyone to drive change. In our pursuit of our mission, Museum for the United Nations – UN Live subscribes to values that challenge negative norms, trigger innovation, and resonate with the core of humanity.
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We believe in the force of kindness not as a mere nicety, but as a revolutionary agent of change. Kindness challenges entrenched norms, dismantles barriers, and nurtures connections across diverse peoples. Our acts of kindness transcend surface gestures; they are the driving force behind a more inclusive, empathetic and just society. Through kindness, we cast ripples of compassion that shape a better world.
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In an uncertain world, we dare to create spaces that foster trust and innovation. We grapple with vulnerability, embracing it not as weakness, but as a wellspring of strength. We learn from setbacks, knowing that from failures spring learnings and the resilient spirit of progress. Our spaces are sanctuaries for unfiltered ideas, unconventional approaches, and audacious dreams that become reality. Through bravery, we forge pathways to solutions that defy the ordinary.
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Authenticity is our beacon, guiding us towards open communication, honest relationships, and trust. We embrace imperfections, own our vulnerabilities, and know good things come from them. By being true to ourselves, we empower others to do the same. In our authenticity, we weave connections that transcend borders, cultures, and backgrounds. Through our authenticity, we rewrite the narrative of genuine, lasting change.
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In response to the urgent need for rapid change in the world, we recognize the imperative for swift and meaningful action. Our organisation operates with a resolute sense of purpose, acknowledging that the traditional approach of enforcing control to drive rapid change has proven ineffective. Instead, we adopt a dynamic strategy by identifying, curating, and combining existing successful initiatives, serving as a catalyst for urgent transformation both within our organisation and on a global scale.
Our people and partners
Museum for the United Nations – UN Live is made possible thanks to the collaborative effort of hundreds of people and organisations from all disciplines and every corner of the world.
Our small, global team, together with a professional board of directors and partners across the globe, is dedicated to making a positive social impact and driving action.
Stay in touch
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