Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation

The Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, ( sv, Stiftelsen Dag Hammarskjölds Minnesfond) is a non-profit foundation based in Uppsala, Sweden, that aims to strengthen policy on international cooperation, development and peacebuilding through its various programs.

History

The foundation was created in 1962 as Sweden's national memorial to Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary General of the United Nations from 1953 until his death in a plane crash on a mission to the Congo.

Mission

Its mission statement states: "By making possible the meeting of minds, experiences and perspectives through the organising of seminars and dialogues, the Foundation plays a catalysing role in the identification of new issues and the formulation of new concepts, policy proposals, strategies and work plans towards solutions. The Foundation seeks to promote in innovative ways on the debates on development, security and democracy, thereby continuously embarking on new themes in close collaboration with a wide and constantly expanding international network."

Focus areas

The foundation is currently focusing on the four following thematic issues:

UN development system renewal

This program was launched in 2014 and aims to assist the reform process within the United Nations system to attempt to strengthen governance and efficiency. In order to achieve this goal, the foundation has held forums and seminars, as well as released research
and policy papers. Additionally, the foundation works in partnership with various United Nations agencies, Member States and experts to help achieve the goal.

Building peace

This program was launched in order to promote coherent and inclusive peacebuilding strategies that lead to more resilient and stable societies. There are three main focus areas in this program:
# Support for the implementation Security Council resolution 2282, as well as General Assembly resolution 70/262
# Informing policy discussions on issues related to inclusivity in peacebuilding
# Promoting understanding and application of mediation and dialogue in peacebuilding

International development agenda (Agenda 2030)

The Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030 were both launched in 2015. Since then the foundation has attempted to follow the development and the implementation of the Agenda. It has done this by creating a seminar series, as well as via the creation of a Goal Tracker.

The seminar series is run in cooperation with UNDP Sweden and aims to raise public awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as to stimulate debate about the challenges and opportunities of the Agenda.

The Goal Tracker was launched in autumn of 2017 in cooperation with Data Act Lab (DAL) and aims to create a digital platform that can monitored to the needs and preconditions of participating countries in regards to their implementation of Agenda 2030.

Global governance

This program was launched in order to stimulate new ways of thinking about global challenges, and how to gather local responses in response to global challenges. In a series of meetings and seminars, the foundation has worked to raise awareness and contributions to knowledge-sharing on global issues such as climate change, antimicrobial resistance and issues related to violent conflict.

Dag Hammarskjöld legacy

The foundation also aims to continue the legacy of its namesake, Dag Hammarskjöld. It aims to remember Hammarskjöld via seminars and presentations, the most important of which is the annual Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture. Past lectures have been held by: António Guterres, Ban Ki-moon, Karin Landgren, Helen Clark, Tarja Halonen and Kofi Annan.

Board of trustees

The governance of the foundation rests with a Board of Trustees, of which there are nine. The secretary-general of the United Nations, Uppsala University, the Association of Swedish Higher Education, the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Hammarskjöld family each nominate one board member. The following are the current members of the board:

* Ruth Jacoby, Chair of the Board, Diplomat
* Karin Aggestam, Professor at Lund University

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