31 October 2011 was a symbolic day for humanity – the world's population reached, and quickly surpassed, seven billion people.  The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) forecasts that the population will reach 8.9 billion by 2050, increasing the world's population by almost 50% in 50 years.

A collective "we" understand the significance of the moment. People live in fear, angry at diminished prospects and terrible contradictions. There is plenty of food but one billion in the world go hungry; a few are wealthy beyond comprehension but over three billion people live on less than $2.50 U.S. per day.  The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, has noted that "the biggest challenge facing governments is not a deficit of resources; it is a deficit of trust.  People are losing faith in leaders and public institutions to do the right thing."

Yet, this milestone is a sign of opportunity for the world to each take an action, however small, to make a difference in our communities.  With the launch of the "7 Billion Actions" campaign, the United Nations, led by the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), the world body commits to inspiring change that will make a difference by highlighting positive action by individuals and organizations around the world.

On 10 December 2011, the world celebrates Human Rights Day to focus on the basic rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The following year on 8 March will mark International Women's Day. In June, in Brazil, the world will converge for Rio+20, the 20th anniversary of the historic Earth Summit focusing on the environment. These are all opportunities to remind ourselves of the continuing challenges we face as our numbers grow ever larger – and how we, now 7 billion strong, can address them individually and collectively.

What UNifeed can do for YOU

These and all other issues related to the United Nations and its activities are covered by UNifeed, a unique resource for news providers offering timely broadcast-quality video from throughout the UN system to cover important global issues and under-reported stories directly coming from the field. Stories come from the global network of UN specialized agencies, funds and programmes, Peacekeeping Operations and UN headquarters. New stories are posted on the UNifeed website as soon as they become available on a daily basis (excluding Sundays):?

• 3-6 stories a day, with sound bites and natural sound, accompanied by shot lists and synopses
• Formats: web-quality Windows Media; broadcast-quality MPEG-2 (PAL and NTSC)
• Adaptable into local languages
• Free of charge and rights-free
• Easy and free registration and more information at http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/unifeed/

To find out more about all the UN Multimedia products (TV- Radio- Internet- Photo) please visit: www.unmultimedia.org