Trending on the Global Agenda: APCO’s Top 10 Data Takeaways from UNGA79

With United Nations General Assembly High-level Week behind us, APCO teams are combining on-the-ground takeaways with a data-centric approach to highlight what stood out across the General Debate, public announcements and sideline conversations—with insights on top conversation drivers, trending influencers and events to back it up.

1. One of the most impactful moments of UNGA Week was the Summit of the Future, which was viewed as an opportunity to breathe new life into the multilateral system. The two-day event received an impact score of 80 out of 100, based on its high rank in mentions and total engagement across social and traditional media channels. The highlight of the Summit was the agreement on a new “Pact for the Future,” which outlines 56 negotiated “actions” for Member States to prioritize to help address challenges like climate change, poverty and inequality, geopolitical conflict and global health crises. Following a difficult negotiation, the Pact has been hailed as an important step towards more effective multilateralism, receiving 1.4k mentions, and with #OurCommonFuture and #PactForTheFuture also trending in relation to the announcement.
   
2. A major outcome of the Pact for the Future is a pledge for UN Security Council Reform (#4 trending topic with 2.3K media and social mentions), following a growing chorus of voices demanding for it to better reflect the 21st century world order. The G4 countries (Brazil, Germany, India, Japan) issued a joint statement calling for Security Council reform, while President William Ruto of Kenya and Nigeria’s Minister of Defense Mohammed Badaru Abubakar were trending influencers in alignment with their calls for expanded permanent members to include more countries from Africa. Leaders from Europe, New Zealand and Iraq, among others, called for reforms to the Council’s veto power to increase its effectiveness in addressing global conflict.
3. Out of monitored topics, Artificial Intelligence Governance was the #2 conversation driver by impressions (2 million), as the issue gains traction on the global agenda. The Global Digital Compact, adopted as part of the Pact for the Future, marks a significant step in creating a framework for responsible technology use and development, and provides policy recommendations for “Governing AI for Humanity” while addressing AI-related risks through a globally inclusive governance architecture. The recommendations emphasize the need for global collaboration and cooperation around AI, including twice-yearly policy dialogue, an international scientific panel on AI, a capacity development network and a new AI office within the UN Secretariat, among others.
4. Another standout event was the second High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), which received an impact score of 45 out of 100, reflecting this meeting’s importance to the global health community. Global leaders approved a political declaration that includes a target to reduce human deaths from AMR by 10% by 2030 with the help of diversified funding sources and contributions to the Antimicrobial Resistance Multi-Partner Trust Fund. Emmanuelle Soubeyran, the Director General of the World Organization for Animal Health, was the trending influencer of the event, and whose speech garnered the most engagement around the topic of antimicrobial resistance.
5. President Joe Biden was the #1 trending influencer of UNGA Week, with reach, resonance and relevance above other prominent figures. Last week, Biden addressed the UN for the last time as U.S. president, using his speech as an opportunity to encourage global cooperation at an “inflection point in world history.” Biden urged a diplomatic approach to addressing the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, emphasized continued support for Ukraine and stressed his Administration’s commitment to the UN Charter.
   
   
6. Climate change and sustainable development continued to be core themes across both UNGA Week, as both corporate and government leaders emphasized the urgent need for concrete action that moves beyond rhetoric to implementable solutions. Unsurprisingly, Climate Week received an event impact score of 100 out of 100; top climate conversation drivers by mentions and impressions were #1 renewable energy transition, #2 climate adaptation and resilience, and #3 climate financing for developing countries, emphasizing increasing interest in clean energy solutions and support for advancing climate resilience in vulnerable regions, and the positive, yet urgent sentiment around the need for a reliable and affordable global energy transition.
7. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres scored as another top influencer of UNGA Week, with media and social mentions that featured him garnering 8 billion impressions and sparking 6.7K likes, shares, and comments. In his speech to the General Assembly, Guterres described the current global situation as “unsustainable” and highlighted the urgent need for international cooperation, a renewed commitment to multilateralism and collective action to uphold the principles of the UN and ensure peace and prosperity for all. Guterres also called for G20 nations to take the lead on new climate action, including increasing financial contributions to the new Loss and Damage Fund.
8. With ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, Middle East Conflict was the #1 conversation driver, accounting for almost a quarter of all themes tracked during UNGA week and 5.4 million impressions across news media and social platforms. Reflecting current geopolitical tensions, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (#4), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Türkiye (#3), Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (#2) and Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (#1) were top-trending figures in conversations related to security, conflict and diplomatic resolution, indicating both a broad desire to address geopolitical tensions through international cooperation, combined with the reality of inaction and lack of multilateral mechanisms to achieve this.
9. Global economic challenges continue to be at the core of UNGA discussions, with #1 debt relief for developing nations and #2 reform of international financial solutions as the top two topics related to poverty reduction and global economic inequality. Multilateral cooperation was a top-5 trending topic across all tracked themes with 6 billion impressions and 14% of mentions across both social and traditional media platforms. These numbers capture broad sentiment for the multilateral system to be a more effective partner in catalyzing economic cooperation and investment, particularly in developing markets.
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    This year’s UNGA Week conversations will serve as a much-needed catalyst to reinvigorate the multilateral system and help deliver on the 2030 Agenda. Looking ahead to moments like the 2024 Fall Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group later this month, COP 29 in November and the Internet Governance Forum in December, the predicted top five conversation drivers and trending topics will be Renewable Energy Transition, AI Governance, Middle East Violence, Sustainable Development Goals, and UN Security Council Reform. And while the data can tell us what we can expect, it is what happens on the ground that determines the trajectory of the global agenda and the path forward.

These takeaways were derived from English-language traditional and social media data gathered September 22-28, using APCO Insight’s digital and social listening proprietary tools that help clients understand their operating environments through digital analytics. APCO also supports our clients at major global convenings, such as UNGA, COP 29, and beyond. To learn more about APCO’s global engagement work, reach out to the UNGA core team.