The event gathered over 250 participants, including the representatives of UN agencies, diplomats, experts, and academic youth. In his keynote address, Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski referred to the crucial question asked by the international community in the face of today’s global crises: is the UN needed and is multilateralism worth defending?

Minister Sikorski underlined that despite the fact that many arrangements from 1945 need revisiting, the answer to the current threats does not lie in abandoning the system but in protecting it. 'During its 80-year history, the UN has more than once proved its efficiency by preventing many conflicts and supporting the recovery process after wars and disasters', observed the chief of Polish diplomacy.

'Poland is standing up for multilateralism just like we are standing up for democracy, protecting it from autocracy. We are not doing this for the sake of this or any other institution but in the name of the rule that law and dialogue are better than violence and the lack of conscience,' said Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski. At the same time, he pointed to the need for the UN to evolve.

'We need to become more open towards civil society, the private sector, and the young generation. The reform of the most important UN bodies is the key, including the Security Council, whose composition does not reflect the current balance of power,' remarked Minister Sikorski. He added that we need to rebuild trust in institutions and the people who make them.

Poland’s top diplomat welcomed the Secretary-General’s efforts, including the UN80 Initiative, as an important step towards reinvigorating the framework of global cooperation. Reforms are needed as a number of arrangements from 1945 are no longer suited for modern times. But the simple solutions proposed by populists and autocrats cannot be the answer. The UN must evolve and the trust in this institution must be rebuilt.

Later on during the conference, participants in three thematic panels discussed the role of UN agencies in the UN80 reform process, Poland’s place within the UN, and the role of young people in shaping the Organisation’s future.

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The UN80 initiative is the United Nations’ reform effort, launched by Secretary-General António Guterres in March 2025 as the UN marks its 80th anniversary. It aims to make the United Nations more responsive and resilient so that the organisation is better prepared to respond to today’s global challenges and its members’ needs.

The UN80 Initiative seeks to create a UN that is:

• more efficient,
• more responsive to crises and countries’ needs,
• more effective in the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals,
• more transparent and accountable to taxpayers and the people it serves,
• more supportive of UN staff and their mission-critical work.