The conference “The United Nations: Turning 80 in Turbulent Times” held on 6 November 2025 and organized by the Institute of Global Studies with significant contributions from the Department of International Relations, commemorated the 80th anniversary of the UN, offering reflections on its enduring mission and evolving challenges. After opening remarks by Bruno von Pottelsberghe, Rector of the Corvinus University, the event opened with a keynote address by Chhaya Kapilashrami, Deputy Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna, who discussed the UN’s past and present challenges.

A roundtable discussion followed, featuring representatives from UNHCR (Helena Behr), IOM (Dániel Bagaméri), FAO (Tamara Nanitashvili), and the Hungarian Youth Delegation to the UN (Annamaria Wettstein), who shared insights into admission policies and the realities of working within the UN system. In the afternoon, an academic panel examined the crisis in international law and its implications for the UN, addressing issues such as the use of force (Tamás Ádány, Pázmány Péter Catholic University), human rights (István Lakatos, Ambassador, Human Rights Advisor), NGOs’ role in the HR review mechanisms within the UN (Eszter Kirs, Corvinus University of Budapest), and environmental law (Vivien Köböl-Benda, Pázmány Péter Catholic University). The academic panel was moderated by Tamás Hoffmann (Corvinus University of Budapest) The day was closed by a practitioner-academic workshop (closed session) entitled ’Data and technology transforming the aid sector in Hungary in light of the digital acceleration advocated by the UN’. It was moderated by Beáta Paragi, whose Bolyai-research inspired the workshop.

The conference was organized by Bernadett Lehoczki (Corvinus University of Budapest).

Colleagues and students actively participated throughout the day, raising thoughtful questions and engaging in informal discussions with UN representatives during the breaks. The conference provided a platform for dialogue on the UN’s role in addressing today’s complex global issues.