My name is Nika. I have worked with MAG in Ukraine since 2023 and lead a demining team, but I never imagined this would be my path. 

Before the war, my life was very different. I had never even heard of demining. I lived abroad and worked in the diving and tourism industries. I traveled the world, enjoyed life and everything it had to offer.  

In early 2022, I moved back to Ukraine. I was looking forward to being home and spending more time with my family.  

But just two months later, war broke out. 

Today, I lead a team of 11 men and women, who, every day, clear deadly explosives from the land. 

This is what war does to ordinary people. Families are torn apart, lives and livelihoods are lost. They face countless risks every day. 

But I want to be clear - despite all we have endured, we are not broken.

Accelerating progress to restore 1.5 billion hectares of degraded land around the world and jumpstarting a trillion-dollar land restoration economy will be the focus of this year’s Desertification and Drought Day on 17 June. The theme of Desertification and Drought Day 2025 is “Restore the Land, Unlock the Opportunities”, underscoring multiple benefits linked to land restoration.  

Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), said: “Land degradation and drought are major disruptors of our economy, stability, food production, water and quality of life. They amplify climate change, biodiversity loss, poverty, forced migration and conflicts over access to fertile land and water. Land restoration is an opportunity to turn the tide on these alarming trends. A restored land is a land of endless opportunities. It’s time to unlock them now.”

Healthy land underpins thriving economies, with over half of global GDP dependent on nature.

I am contacting you today to personally invite you to an online conference on 10-11 April, organized by the International Peace Bureau, International Trade Union Confederation, and the Olof Palme International Center. 

The event, entitled “Common Security Conference 2025: Redefining Security for the 21st Century” seeks to expand upon the work that we began in 2022 with the publication of the report Common Security 2022: For Our Shared Future and continued with last years’ Common Security in the Indo-Pacific report.

Our collective knowledge and experience is needed to fight for a better, less militaristic and more just conception of security. We sincerely hope that you will be able to join us on 10-11 April. Importantly, the conference will include regional discussions and an open discussion forum – for the full program schedule you can visit this page.

Registration is available here.

We are pleased to share that the UN Youth Office has officially launched the search for the next cohort of 17 Young Leaders for the SDGs!

On a biennial basis, the Youth office is proud to recognize outstanding young leaders between 15 and 35 years old for their agency, courage and ingenuity in finding lasting solutions to the world's greatest challenges. Becoming a Young Leader is a title of recognition from the United Nations for young people who are excelling in their contributions to helping deliver on the SDGs in their communities.

Throughout the two-year term, these 17 Young Leaders will engage young people for the 2030 Agenda, not only through their existing initiatives, platforms and networks but through advocacy opportunities with the United Nations and our partners. For inspiration, you can check out the profiles of previous Young Leaders from the 2022 cohort, 2020 cohort, 2018 cohort and 2016 cohort.