Funmi Balogun

My newest blog. Women’s Meaningful Participation in Peacebuilding: Reflections from South Sudan  - African Feminism (AF) #WomenPeacePower #UNSRC1325 africanfeminism.com/womens-meaning…

Wishing a very happy 100th birthday to Sir David Attenborough. Thank you for opening our eyes to the marvels of this Earth, and for inspiring us to defend it, for all living things. Your work & dedication to protect our planet serves as an inspiration to us all.

Happy 100th birthday, Sir David Attenborough! And thank you for your lifelong, unwavering commitment to #ClimateAction. Here's how you can #ActNow and join him in protecting our planet: un.org/actnow

H.E. TOMÁS DO ROSÁRIO CABRAL, Minister of State Administration, today met with the United Nations Country Team, led by the UN Resident Coordinator @FunmiB to discuss strengthening UN support for Timor-Leste’s decentralisation agenda. The meeting reaffirmed a shared commitment to stronger municipalities, improved public services, and bringing government closer to the people. #TimorLeste #Decentralisation #LocalGovernance #UnitedNations

17.1 million is NOT just a number. It represents women and girls in #Sudan facing hunger, displacement, and violence. Their needs are clear, and the response must match their scale and urgency. 🔗 Learn more: unwo.men/3aCK50YJ5so #3YearsTooLong

FAO TL, under the UN Joint programme with @UNICEFTL, handed over 28 hand tractors & 28 threshers to 28 farmer groups in Viqueque 🇹🇱 FAO also provided 4 motorcycles to MALFF extension workers to support field activities 📷 #FAOTimorLeste #UNJP #Foodsystems

A feminist who pushed for women's equal participation in peace talks. She was a lesson in fortitude & perseverance Our weekly summary

#UNTimorLeste RC @FunmiB joined Goodwill Ambassador for Multilingual Education, Dr Kirsty Sword Gusmão, President Régio da Cruz Salu and the Regional Education team in #Oecusse for the launch of 2026 School Feeding Program at EBF 30 de Agosto Masin. The initiative strengthens children’s learning by ensuring better nutrition, promoting local foods, and supporting EMULI’s mother‑tongue-based education. The @UN remains committed to supporting #TimorLeste in building strong foundations for learning, nutrition, and youth development in #TimorLeste. 🇹🇱✨

#UNTimorLeste RC @FunmiB joined Dr. Kirsty Sword Gusmão, EMULI Ambassador, in the Municipality of Oecusse, visiting schools incl EBF 30 de Agosto Masin to highlight the expansion of Mother Tongue‑Based Multilingual Education (EMULI). Dr. Sword Gusmão emphasized that multilingual education enables children to learn to read and write more quickly and transition effectively to Tetum and Portuguese, while also strengthening their cultural and linguistic identity. The UN RC joined Dr. Sword and teams from the Ministry of Education, together with local partners, in visiting EMULI‑implementing schools, distributing learning materials, and assessing and supporting teacher training on multilingual education methodologies to strengthen classroom practice. The United Nations continues to support Timor‑Leste’s efforts to build strong foundations for learning, identity, and community engagement through EMULI and related initiatives. 🇹🇱✨

#UNMISS mourns the loss of our Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Nicholas Haysom, who inspired all those whose lives he touched with his principled leadership, wisdom, and unwavering commitment to peace in #SouthSudan 🇸🇸. tinyurl.com/3zre5n3k

UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres issued a statement on the passing of Nicholas “Fink” Haysom. His legacy "will endure in the peace processes he advanced, the institutions he strengthened & the principles he helped bring to life around the world." un.org/sg/en/content/…

'Equal rights, leadership and opportunities for women and girls are central to achieving the #SDGs in #TimorLeste.' #UNTimorLeste RC @FunmiB joined #IWD2026 celebrations at #UNHouse with Sec. of State for Equality H.E. Elvina Sousa de Carvalho & H.E. Maria “Gorumali” Barreto, President of Commission F of Parliament together with UN agencies and dev partners.

#UNTimorLeste RC @FunmiB met with H.E. José Andrade de Lemos, Amb of #Angola to #TimorLeste, to exchange views on strengthening collaboration between the @UN, Angola @angola_Mirex and CPLP @_CPLP. Discussion highlighted opportunities to advance national development priorities and accelerate progress towards the #SDGs.

#UNTimorLeste RC @FunmiB met Lao Hamutuk at #UNHouse, reaffirming UN support to #CivilSociety & #NGOs on evidence-based budgeting & execution, agri-food systems, MSMEs, human capital & fiscal sustainability. Diversification must link livelihoods, policy reform & institutions. #TimorLeste #SDGs

When emergencies strike, strong coordination saves lives. The UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Timor-Leste brought development partners together to strengthen coordination and preparedness to support Government-led responses during Level 3 emergencies—with one clear interface for engagement, from response to recovery. Preparing together before crises happen helps protect communities and leave no one behind. 🇹🇱 #EmergencyPreparedness #HumanitarianCoordination #Partnerships #Resilience #SDGs #UNTimorLeste #LeaveNoonebehind @FunmiB

A Productive dialogue with the president of National Parliament H.E. Fernanda Lay on Parliament’s role in advancing the #SDGs through effective budget alignment and tracking progress that truly leaves no one behind. #LNOB #leavenonebehind #Timorleste #SDG #unitednationstimorleste @FunmiB

Thank you @NorwayUN, @UNPhilippines, @Portugal_UN, @QatarAtUN, @ROK_Mission, @SLOtoUN, @SpainUN, @SwedenUN, @swiss_un, @UNTimorLeste, @UAEMissionToUN, @UKUN_NewYork (3/3)

To all UN staff, everywhere: a heartfelt thank you. To those in the field. To those who have sacrificed. To those too often unseen. As we enter 2026, let us take pride in what we do: to serve humanity and keep hope alive. Let us keep believing in the UN Charter and our work at the United Nations, because you do make a difference in a world of turmoil.

@toluogunlesi Thank you! 1966 is my year of birth and with younger Nigerians a bit disconnected from Nigeria’s history, so glad you are undertaking this interesting project. I will definitely be following very ardently

Introducing The 1966 Archive: I've spent a lot of the last couple of months thinking about the year 1966, and what it means for #Nigeria. A symbolic year in a number of ways: 1. The year our first democratic experiment as a nation ended (the First Republic), succeeded immediately by the first of several military regimes. 2. The Nigerian civil war didn't officially start until 1967, but looking back, 1966 was arguably when the descent began. Had 1966 turned out differently, a Nigeria may have emerged that never saw a civil war. 3. A youth angle: The year that gave us the youngest leaders ever to lead Nigeria. Probably the year in which Nigeria's modern history was most influenced by young people. We even got a Head of State so young he was unmarried and child-free. 4. The year Dodan Barracks became Nigeria's seat of power. It would remain so for the next quarter of a century, making it Nigeria's second-longest-serving presidential residence, after Aso Rock. I have a personal fascination with Dodan Barracks, which has intensified since I saw it up close in January 2023: x.com/toluogunlesi/s… 6. A year of military decrees, and extensive bans (on political, tribal and cultural organisations), and intense debate about what kind of governance structure the country should adopt—the year of the first Constitutional Conference since Independence. A year of massive changes of political and governmental titles and nomenclature. 7. It was also a year of much high-level bloodshed -- two Heads of State assassinated in the same year, alongside several politicians and military officers. Not like Nigeria had not seen political violence and turmoil—1964 was a pretty turbulent year, marked by electoral violence—but the violence of 1966 was unprecedented. Of course it would then go on to be ecplised by the violence of the following three years. But no one knew this in 1966. 8. Interestingly, on the economic front, as democracy was vanishing, the macro-economy seemed to be picking up. Q1 1966 was an outlier Q1 for external trade since Independence in 1960, delivering a record trade surplus. In fact, the preceding two Q1s, 1965 and 1964, delivered trade deficits. 9. One of the major reasons for this surplus was that Nigeria's first oil refinery, in Port Harcourt (wholly private at the time, owned and run by a Shell-BP consortium), had opened at the end of 1965, and so Q1 1966 saw a 75% decline in the import of petroleum products. 10. It was also a peak year for Nigerian oil production (soared above 500,000 barrels per day), before the war sent output tumbling. In 1966, the number of companies that had made commercial discoveries of oil in Nigeria jumped from 2 to 7. That's how big a deal the year was, for oil. You can indeed say 1966 was the year Nigeria's 'oil-rich' status truly began. Why all the story? I find 1966 fascinating enough to focus on as a history project, as we mark its 60th anniversary this year, 2026. So many threads, so many questions, so many lessons. What should you expect? Stories, dates, interviews, a podcast, videos, essays, in-person events, maybe even a pop-up museum, and a commemorative book. Plenty ideas (because ideas are cheap), let's see which ones come to fruition. It will go live at: the1966archive.ng (link not active yet, but watch this space). Logo below done with the help of Gemini. What does it symbolise for you?

@Finallyismail @Mochievous Yes it is

@FunmiB @Mochievous Is it visa on arrival?

2026 Travel List. Well, I would likely not do all of these but are the places I am prioritizing (some are repeat countries for me) 1. Latin America Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Mexico 2. East & Southeast Asia China, Thailand, *Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Timor-Leste and Brunei 3. Middle East Levant & Gulf Oman, Lebanon, ****, *****, Jordan 4. Southern and Central Europe Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria 5. Central & Southern Africa Zambia, Zimbabwe, São Tomé & Príncipe, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea **Bonus: Antarctica *: Getting an indonesia visa from Nigeria now involves you peeing in a cup at NDLEA office. The chances i would do that is zero **: Antarctica has to be a sponsored trip please. E too cost ****: redacted to avoid unwarranted comments *****: same as above

@Mochievous Yes I am😏 Best is through Bali but because of visa issues for Nigerians, the alternative is through Singapore

@FunmiB omg you are there? I really wanted to go last year but this year for sure. What’s the best way to connect it?