ABSTRACT
The UN Intellectual History Project, started in 1999, took several years to take shape, was ten or 20 years in the making and filled a large and important gap in the whole record of the UN's work and achievements. UN Voices contained a summary and overview of interviews of 73 senior UN staff members, including the four Secretaries General still living at the time. Many emphasized how well the UN had adapted over the years to changes in international politics. The challenge of keeping the UN dynamic and responsive in and to a changing world was also given great emphasis. Relevance would need to evolve, with the creation of new institutions such as an Economic and Social Security Council, akin to the existing Security Council but focused on economic and social issues. By 2015 the Sustainable Development Goals became goals which applied to all countries, thereby for the first time in the UN making development a universal endeavour.
