UN Summit Highlights Social Development and Global Progress

The opening segment of the Second World Summit for Social Development.

UN News tested a new way to cover major international meetings – by reporting directly from the conference floor.

At the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, our team piloted a concise, digestible format designed to bring readers closer to the action – what is actually being said, decided, and debated in real time.

Working alongside the UN’s Meetings Coverage Section – the press officers who track every statement and shift in international debate – we distilled hours of discussions into sharp, end-of-day snapshots.

Each update breaks down where countries stand, where they agree (or disagree), and what comes next.

Over three packed days of plenaries and high-level roundtables, delegates marked 30 years since the landmark 1995 Copenhagen Summit, reflecting on how far social development has come – and how far it still must go.

Poverty reduction, decent jobs, social protection, and inclusion topped the agenda, along with the ways climate impacts and rising debt are reshaping policy priorities worldwide.