Shared Futures across Borders

Dear friends,

As The Museum for the United Nations - UN Live moves through the first quarter of 2026, we're reminded that bringing people together across divides matters more than ever, and that connection often begins with the simplest acts of meeting, listening, and recognising each other across differences.

From connecting people and peers across Global We portals in Lagos, Addis Ababa, Næstved, Kigali, and Johannesburg, to global leaders gathering in Davos in the theme of ‘The Spirit of Dialogue’ can help navigate complexity, each asks the same question: What becomes possible when what people share takes centre stage? It reminds us that some passions are universally shared.

Through this newsletter, we explore how arts, culture and dialogue can help build bridges between people, between innovation and human values, and between the urgency of the world’s challenges and the imagination required to address them. Discover stories from Global We/Same Sun's latest portal dialogues, reflections from UN Live's presence at the World Economic Forum, new conversations in The Shift thought leader series, and updates from the Sounds Right music initiative as it expands into sports, dance, and poetry.

We also share what's been moving us at the Museum for the United Nations – UN Live lately, from artists reimagining their relationship with technology and nature, to students discovering they share the same sense of humor across continents, to knitters meeting across borders.  

We're glad you're here with us.

NATURE extends into New Spaces

Sounds Right partners have continued to support NATURE’s artistic development and presence, from the Danish underground music scene to Apple Music's global platform, showing how culture can make space for the planet in places we don’t always expect

NATURE on Apple Music: Mood Meets Conservation

For Apple Music fans: NATURE's mood-based playlists are now available, and currently among the only non-Apple curated playlists  promoted on the platform. From ‘Work out with NATURE’ to ‘Meditate with NATURE’, each playlist blends music and immersive nature soundscapes to support your daily rhythm while generating royalties that fund conservation around the world.

Whether you're starting your morning, finding focus, or moving your body, you can now tune in and let NATURE set the mood.
🔗 Listen here

NATURE x Drift Radio

Sounds Right, UN Live’s global initiative that credits NATURE as an artist and has committed over $625K in royalties and donations to conservation, is entering new territory. The Sounds Right music initiative has collaborated with Copenhagen-based digital music community Drift Radio to support 24 young artists from Denmark's experimental, queer, electronic, and DIY music scenes to release a new compilation where NATURE is credited as featured artist. These are communities that rarely feature in mainstream media but have historically been crucial for aesthetic and societal shifts. This is a part of the overarching effort to globally democratise the ability for more artists to collaborate with NATURE. You can read more about the artists and how nature inspired their tracks in this zine which accompanied the launch of the album at a release party on 7th February in Copenhagen. 

The Shift: Q&A with Kumi Naidoo & Jeff Gomez

We are continuing  the UN Live thought leader Q&A series with conversations with environmentalists, activists, artists, storytellers, and cultural leaders on the power of popular culture and how it can, shift mindsets, and generate the collective energy needed for change.

In January and February we’ve featured two powerful voices exploring how popular culture can be a force for transformation: global activist and champion of artivism, the powerful fusion of art and activism, Kumi Naidoo, and transmedia storyteller and world builder, Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment.

More Shift Q&As will follow soon — keep an eye on our social media channels.

Exploring What We Share Under the Same Sun

UN Live’s Global We/Same Sun initiative that creates spaces for people across continents to meet as equals through shared passions such as music, sport, crafts, and everyday curiosity with a premise to explore what we share under the same sun, continues to engage communities globally. The initiative kicked off 2026 with portals (repurposed shipping container) connecting Ethiopia, Denmark, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa. From students and choirs to knitting and theatre groups, scouts and cyclists, people met across borders over shared passions of singing, crafting, the performing arts, and explored deep human connection across cultures and contexts.

When students from African Leadership University in Kigali, Rwanda and the students at Næstved Gymnasium in Denmark met, they talked about exam pressure, AI, and the expectations of being young today. The conversation revealed common ground. As 18-year-old Natalie Fatouhi reflected after stepping out of the warm container:

"I didn't expect that we would actually be so alike in our thinking and our sense of humor. It was really great to talk to people who are so far away, and to share the things we share and find difficult. It shows that we're all just people on the same earth."

UN Live’s project manager, Anna Ebbesen also explained the vision: "When people meet about something they are passionate about, recognition and presence arise. With Same Sun, we want to give the opportunity to have that experience with people from across the African continent. When we meet as equals, we begin to see each other differently than just statistics and stereotypes, and that's necessary if we are to solve global challenges together."

The Same Sun portals will continue their journey to other locations through 2028. Contact us to hear more.

UN Live in Davos

UN Live was at Davos this year, bringing a simple conviction into a complex room, that how we connect, tell stories, harness culture, build community, and imagine shared futures matters just as much as the technical solutions on the table.

The discussions happening at the World Economic Forum on AI, inequality, geopolitical shifts, planetary pressures were  urgent and necessary, but so are the conversations about what kind of world we want to live in and how culture plays a role in that. The conversations we had connected human values with technological innovation, and explored how arts, popular culture, and cultural dialogue can foster empathy, inclusion, and community across difference.

Popular culture that moved the world this month:

Heidiseum Zurich

Heidi, Johanna Spyri's 1881 story of an orphaned girl sent to live with her grandfather in the Swiss Alps is now translated into over 50 languages and has been recognized by UNESCO as part of the Memory of the World programme, affirming the global relevance of a story that asks timeless questions: What does it mean to belong? How do we care for each other and the natural world when everything around us is changing? These are questions from a 19th-century Swiss novel that we're still asking today, and culture helps us explore them together.. 🔗 Learn more

Art and sport unite ahead of Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics
In preparation for Africa's first Olympic event, 15 graffiti artists from across the continent created a 300-meter mural at Dakar's railway station celebrating athletic excellence and Senegal's cultural legacy. Through the annual Dakar en Jeux festival, art, slam poetry, and sport are coming together to build excitement for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, proving that culture and athletics can belong on the same stage. 🔗 Read more

Samba schools honor Black Brazilian female authors during Carnival
In this year's Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, samba and literature are connected where two samba schools used their parades to celebrate Black Brazilian women writers who have been historically marginalized. Featuring 79-year-old Conceição Evaristo and the late Carolina Maria de Jesus, the parades became a transformative political act. As one professor put it: "Carnival suspends everyday rules, including those of a structurally racist society. It's when a crack appears." 🔗 Read the story

Changing The Theatrical Experience Forever — The Industry
David Larkin asks a provocative question: what if the five minutes after a film ends is the most valuable moment in entertainment, and Hollywood is doing absolutely nothing with it? This essay explores how theaters could turn that emotional peak into a ritual, a habit, a reason to come back, and something more than just an exit. 🔗 Read the essay

The Lake — Sundance Film Festival Documentary
A documentary produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, follows scientists and politicians racing to save Utah's Great Salt Lake from collapse. Director Abby Ellis captures a crisis unfolding in real time. It's urgent, beautiful, and it reminds us that the best stories inspire us to take action. 🔗 Learn more

Fandom Flux: Codes for Growth with Gen Z & Gen Alpha — Ogilvy
91% of young people say "mainstream" pop culture doesn't exist anymore. Culture is now driven by fandoms scattered across TikTok, Discord, Roblox, and countless other platforms. Ogilvy's report digs into how brands can actually participate in these communities rather than just advertise at them.  🔗 Download the report

What we are listening to:

Don't Know Why — Norah Jones
A timeless track highlighting simplicity as the most radical thing you can offer.  🔗 Listen here

El Niño — DjuehDjoah & lieutenant Nicholson

A hypnotic blend of Afro-Carribean rhythms and soulful storytelling. Sometimes the songs that stay with you are the ones that know how to breathe. 🔗 Listen here

What we are watching:

The language you're fluent in — but forgot how to hear | Louis VI (TED Talk)
Musical ecologist and Sounds Right ambassador Louis VI explores an idea of how humans are hardwired to understand nature's sonic language, but modern life has drowned it out.  🔗 Watch the talk

Bad Bunny’s Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show

Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny made history as the first Spanish-language artist to headline the Super Bowl halftime show. The performance was a celebration of Latin culture on one of the world's biggest stages, proving that popular culture can center voices and stories that shift what we consider "mainstream." 🔗Watch highlights