NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Extreme heat is one of the fastest-growing risks for cities and communities, with the greatest impacts often felt by low-income households, informal settlements and people with limited access to safe cooling.

Cool Talks spotlight innovative solutions, policies, and partnerships across the sustainable cooling landscape. From passive cooling and refrigerants to finance, technology, and just access, each session brings together global experts to exchange knowledge, inspire action, and accelerate progress toward a cooler, more resilient future.

This UNEP Cool Talk will explore findings from new research led by University of Michigan in Brazil, Colombia and Burkina Faso about how passive cooling interventions can reduce indoor heat exposure in vulnerable settlements. Taking place shortly after Heat Action Day and World Environment Day 2026, the discussion will connect evidence on indoor heat with practical city and community action, from housing improvements and passive cooling to urban planning, heat governance and implementation through Beat the Heat.

Speakers:

Ekta Jhaveri – Moderator & Program Manager, Climate-Health William Davidson Institute

Eva Gurría – Partnerships and External Relations, NBSAP Accelerator Partnership

Aynur Kadihasanoglu – Senior Urban Specialist, Red Cross and Red Crescent Climate Centre

Elsa Lefèvre – Programme Management Officer, Subnational Climate Action·United Nations Environment Programme

Ana Paula Pimentel Walker – Associate Professor, Urban Planning·University of Michigan

Julian Constantino Carvajal – Legal Consultant, Unidad Administrativa Especial de Servicios Públicos

Gabriel Harp – Director of Research and Creative Practice Development·University of Michigan

Access the agenda here.

Time: 15:00 – 16:00 CEST / 09:00 – 10:00 AM ET

Register Here

The African Youth SDGs Summit is Africa’s largest youth forum on the Sustainable Development Goals. Launched in 2017, the Summit has evolved to bring together a multi-sector coalition of youth, development experts, government and UN entities, NGOs and the private sector to create the Africa we want together.

Once again, the African Youth Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Summit will be held both virtually and physically. We look forward to welcoming participants across Africa and around the world to connect and participate virtually, alongside a limited, in-person gathering of participants in Accra,Ghana.

Connect, network, and learn from a pan-African audience and contribute to an inspiring and constructive debate on the role of youth in the SDGs. Africa’s future is ours if we reach for it together. Are you in?

Ex situ collections play a critical role in conserving crop diversity and supporting research, breeding and resilient food systems. The global botanical community is increasingly working to better understand the strengths and gaps in their collections, while expanding their impact through collaboration, including with genebanks.

Gap analysis helps identify how well collections represent the diversity found in nature, using geographic and ecological coverage as indicators. By revealing what is missing, it guides future collecting efforts and strengthens the overall conservation system.

In this GROW webinar, speakers will introduce the Gap Analysis and Metacollection Management tool GAMMa, a new, user-friendly interface that brings these methods into practice. Through real-world examples and a live demonstration, participants will explore how GAMMa can support more strategic, coordinated conservation of plant diversity.

Time: 15:00 CEST | 8:00 AM EST

Join us for a webinar exploring the upcoming findings of The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2026, the latest edition of the GSMA Connected Women programme’s flagship annual report.

The report provides a detailed analysis of the gender gap in mobile ownership and mobile internet use across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), highlighting key trends, the barriers women face and opportunities to further drive women’s digital and financial inclusion.

The upcoming report shows that the gender gap in mobile internet adoption in LMICs decreased slightly last year, continuing a slow but gradual narrowing since 2022. Women across these countries are now 12% less likely than men to use mobile internet. Yet progress remains slow, with a continued need for targeted action to ensure women are not left behind.

In this session, Emma Catalfamo, lead author of the report, will present the latest insights on the mobile gender gap. You will also hear from the Secretary General of the ITU, the CEO of Ethio telecom and the President of Devices and Sales at Reliance Jio, who will share their perspectives on the findings and discuss concrete actions that can be taken to accelerate digital inclusion for women.

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and practical recommendations on how to help bridge the mobile gender gap and ensure that everyone can benefit from the power of connectivity.

Time: 13:00 – 14:00 BST / 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM EST