How do you make sense of a world facing interconnected crises, from poverty and hunger to climate change, if the facts are scattered across dozens of different places?
The United Nations system is hoping to make that task much easier with the launch of the UN System Data Commons , a new online platform that brings together data and statistics from across the Organization into a single gateway.
Speaking at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday, Secretary-General António Guterres unveiled the new platform, which allows users to search, explore and access trusted publicly available data from 26 UN entities in one website.
" Behind every statistic is a human story ," the UN chief said, pointing to children whose futures depend on education, families struggling with rising food prices and communities facing growing climate risks.
"To serve them, we must understand their challenges - and know whether we are making a difference," he said.
One place for trusted information
The platform, available through data.un.org , allows users to search nearly 44 million data points using everyday language rather than navigating multiple websites and databases.
Users can explore trends, compare information across different topics and countries, and trace data back to its original source.
"Access to the knowledge of the United Nations system should never depend on knowing how to navigate its organigramme," Mr. Guterres said.
The Secretary-General noted that a policymaker often had to look across many different platforms to build a complete picture.
A result of the UN80 Initiative , the new portal removes those barriers by bringing together publicly available data and statistics from the entire UN system in one place.
A tool for the AI age
The launch comes as artificial intelligence is increasingly changing how people find and use information.
Mr. Guterres warned that although people have more information available than ever before, there is often less certainty about what can be trusted.
"If trusted facts are hard to find, unreliable data and misinformation will fill the void," he said.
He stressed that AI-generated answers are only as reliable as the information behind them and said the new platform is designed to help ensure trusted UN system data can be easily found and linked back to its source - by people and digital systems alike.
The website also allows researchers, developers and organizations to connect UN system data directly to their own applications and analytical tools through direct interfaces.
Turning evidence into action
The initiative, known as the UN System Data Commons, brings together public data from 26 UN system entities but does not replace their existing platforms.
Instead, it connects them through a shared gateway, making information easier to discover and access, in accordance with their respective terms of use.
"The UN system produces some of the world's most trusted public data," said Guy Ryder, Under-Secretary-General for Policy, who added:
"Yet, when that information is dispersed across multiple platforms, its full value is not always realized. The UN System Data Commons now brings this public good into one place, helping people everywhere turn authoritative data into better-informed decisions."
According to the Secretary-General, the project also demonstrates the goals of the UN80 initiative. It is shared infrastructure - built faster and more efficiently than if each UN organization acts alone.
Calling it "reform people can use," Mr. Guterres said in his remarks Thursday evening that the value of the new platform would be measured by whether it leads to better support for countries, better-informed decisions and stronger results for people around the world.
"Trusted evidence should not sit behind institutional walls," he said. "Let us bring it within reach of everyone working for a more peaceful, sustainable and just world."
