David Steven

David Steven is a senior fellow at the UN Foundation, where he led a team of partners supporting Our Common Agenda, the Secretary-General’s vision for the future of multilateralism. 

For Our Common Agenda, David co-authored background research papers on climate cooperation, health security, and future generations; compiled and analyzed research from thought leaders around the world; and contributed to the Secretary-General’s final report.

He supported a group of young leaders and thinkers who were asked by the Secretary-General to develop proposals for next and future generations, leading to the creation of the UN Foundation’s Next Generation Fellows program and the launch of the Unlock the Future coalition, which brings together the world’s leading organizations working with and for young people. 

David now leads the UN Foundation’s work on the future of multilateralism, which is currently focused on the Summit of the Future, to be held in September 2024. Recent publications include Multilateralism for the Future: New Challenges, New Models, New Solutions for the T20 India; From Justice for the Few to Justice for All; and the Next 8 Billion, a presentation for a special session at the 23rd International Futures Conference.

David is also a senior fellow at the New York University Center on International Cooperation, where he co-founded the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children and was founding director of the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, a multi-stakeholder partnership to accelerate action for the 2030 Agenda targets for peace, justice and inclusion (SDG16+). 

He led the secretariat for the ministerial Task Force on Justice for All and is an advisor to the Justice Leadership Group. David was a Senior External Adviser to and co-author of Pathways for Peace, the UN/World Bank 2018 flagship report on prevention, and was a co-author of the OECD’s States of Fragility Report in 2015. 

He is a former senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and co-author of The Risk Pivot: Great Powers, International Security, and the Energy Revolution (Brookings Institution Press, 2014).