Episodes
Chris Mburu’s life was transformed by a small act of kindness. Now the UN Resident Coordinator in the Republic of Congo, he grew up in a Kenyan family struggling to afford his education. That was until a stranger in Sweden offered to pay for him to go to school.
“When I look at poverty, it evokes memories of my own childhood. What keeps me going is the desire to keep as many people as possible out of poverty, because I remember my past, and where I was, I really do not want to see anybody...
Published 11/18/22
Deborah Lyons knows how to keep a cool head in a crisis. In August 2021, when the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, Deborah, in her former role as Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), was responsible for ensuring the safety of staff across the country, among them many women.
“I don't think anyone expected the chaos, the sadness, the carnage, the enormous shock of what happened in August.”
Since returning to power, the Taliban have severely curtailed...
Published 08/26/22
Adiba Qasim has shown extraordinary courage and resilience. She narrowly escaped when her village was stormed by Islamic State militants who killed and enslaved thousands of Yazidis. This is her story.
“We were surrounded by the Islamic State. And we had no weapons even to fight. We had nothing. We were left alone.”
Returning to northern Iraq in 2015, Adiba threw herself into humanitarian work, aiding survivors who had been enslaved by the militants. In this special bitesize...
Published 08/19/22
Ugochi Daniels was just six years old when her family fled the civil war in Nigeria. Now the International Organization for Migration’s Deputy Director General for Operations, she is often struck by the pain of uprooted children, most recently those escaping from Ukraine.
“I noticed this woman with a 10-year-old boy. He never looked up, his eyes were down, and he never blinked. And I just kept on thinking, what has this boy seen on his journey here?”
Women and children are...
Published 08/05/22
Giles Duley used to live the rock’n’roll life of a fashion photographer, but now travels the world’s war zones documenting the lives of those caught up in conflict. He stepped on a landmine while working in Afghanistan and lost three of his limbs, and very nearly his life. This is his story.
“It was a miracle I survived that day. I was just lucky, it just wasn’t my day to go.”
Incredibly fortunate to be alive, few of Giles’ family and friends believed that he would work again after...
Published 07/29/22
Serge Brammertz is one of the world's leading international prosecutors. As Chief Prosecutor of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, he leads the process of tracking down fugitive criminals from wars in the former Yugoslavia, and the genocide in Rwanda.
“Every single person indicted is exactly the opposite of a hero. And the only heroes in fact are the survivors and victims.”
Decades on from the brutal Balkan wars of the 1990s, genocide denial and glorification of...
Published 07/22/22
Despite monitoring multiple global crises, Rebeca Grynspan has never lost her faith in the power of change. As Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), she is assessing the impact of the war in Ukraine on cash-strapped countries still reeling from the pandemic.
“We don't have to be naive, but we have to believe in change, because change has happened. And we can make it happen again.”
A trio of crises – climate change, COVID-19, and the war in...
Published 07/01/22
Monique Sokhan survived the Cambodian genocide, having fled the Khmer Rouge terror when she was just a small child. Now, working as Senior Protection Coordinator, at UNHCR’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, she is still searching for answers about the atrocities that killed many of her family members.
“It’s difficult because you’re wondering why others have died and you’re alive. And for those who did not survive […] I felt like having a responsibility somehow to do something that...
Published 06/24/22
Osnat Lubrani knows first-hand the horrors of war. As UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, she has witnessed the dramatic changes since the Russian invasion and rapidly mounting needs as the war tears lives apart across the country.
“What is keeping me awake at night is the horror of knowing that it hasn't ended yet and that there are more people alive today that are very likely to be dead tomorrow.”
At least 15.7 million Ukrainians are now in urgent need of...
Published 06/17/22
Vladislav Kaim is dedicated to protecting the environment. A member of the UN Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change, he promotes green jobs, the energy transition, and generous climate finance - urgent priorities for our rapidly warming world. Yet the war in Ukraine has blown apart regional and global networks working towards a livable future. “The war is affecting the sustainable development of every single country in our region.”
As a Moldovan, Vladislav Kaim has seen how the devastating...
Published 06/10/22
What does it take to stay calm in the crossfire?
Unaisi Vuniwaqa has witnessed terrible suffering. As the Assistant Secretary-General for Safety and Security, she has worked as a UN peacekeeper in some of the world’s most dangerous places.
“Sometimes it can be very overwhelming, you really feel for the people and the suffering that they're going through.”
Peacekeepers have one of the toughest roles in the United Nations. Serving in brutal conflicts such as that in South Sudan can mean...
Published 06/03/22
What would it take to make that happen? Bo Viktor Nylund has always been drawn to complex, difficult places. As the Representative of UNICEF in Syria, he is a passionate advocate for the rights of children growing up in one of the world’s most thorny and protracted crises.
“When I meet with children, I just see that there's always that glimpse of hope in their eyes and that drive to make a future for themselves.”
Children continue to bear the brunt of Syria’s decade-old conflict, with...
Published 05/27/22
What is it like living and working in Afghanistan as a woman leader of a UN Agency? Mary-Ellen McGroarty witnessed the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in August 2021. As Head of the World Food Programme in the country, she has seen first hand the seismic shift in the economic, political and cultural landscape. “Some days, I sometimes wish I hadn't been here before the 15th of August, because then I wouldn't have seen the hope and the promise and the potential.” Now, over 50% of Afghans are...
Published 05/20/22
When war and catastrophe hit, the United Nations is there. Hear from more of the extraordinary people working at the frontlines of the world's most pressing crises in the new season of Awake at Night, coming on 20 May.
Published 05/13/22
Selwin Hart is one of the top United Nations officials tackling the global climate emergency. He has come a long way from his childhood in a small village in Barbados, where he grew up in a home without electricity. The first person in his family to attend university, Selwin soon found his passion in working to save our planet and refuses to give up.
Published 12/17/21
Rafael Grossi is Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Working for more than 35 years in the field of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, Rafael shares how a meeting in his twenties with atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima profoundly changed his perspective. He also explains benefits of nuclear technology as he prepares to launch Rays of Hope, an initiative to scale cancer treatment for women across Africa.
Published 12/10/21
What is a day like in the life of the epidemiologist heading the global response to COVID-19?
Maria Van Kerkhove is the World Health Organization’s Technical Lead in its response to the pandemic. For almost two years, Maria has worked around the clock with her colleagues to try to keep us all safe. In this episode, she explains the personal costs of her job and why she is more determined than ever that we take the right steps until COVID-19 is finally behind us.
Published 11/05/21
David Gressly is the UN's Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Coordinator for Yemen. With more than 20 million people in need of assistance, and the war now in its seventh year, Yemen represents one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. In this eye-opening episode, David shares his concerns about the dire situation and the likelihood of being able to sustain the response in the year ahead.
Published 10/22/21
Ilias Chatzis heads the team fighting human trafficking and migrant smuggling at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. In this role he has seen how rates of online exploitation and trafficking have surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, Ilias explains what drives him and why we must learn from history if we are to defeat the traffickers and smugglers.
Published 10/01/21
Sam Mort is UNICEF’s Chief of Communications in Afghanistan. She speaks to Melissa from Kabul, shortly after the country’s takeover by the Taliban. Sam shares her motivation to stay and help Afghan children as the humanitarian situation worsens. She tells stirring stories of loss, bravery and reaching to the stars for hope.
Published 09/17/21
Ingrid Macdonald is the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Raised in a small New Zealand mining town, Ingrid has worked in humanitarian, human rights and development roles worldwide. She is now tasked with supporting development in a country still deeply scarred by ethnic divisions and the legacy of war and the 1995 genocide at Srebrenica.
Published 09/10/21
Eddie Ndopu is an award-winning disability activist from South Africa. Eddie was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy and told by doctors that he wouldn’t live beyond the age of five. But with his mother’s unwavering support, he has excelled. Now, at age 30, Eddie is one of 17 United Nations advocates for the Sustainable Development Goals, part of his desire to be of constant service to humanity and the world.
Published 09/03/21
Nada Al-Nashif is the United Nations’ Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights. Since joining the UN 30 years ago she has served in Libya, Lebanon, Iraq and elsewhere, trying to boost development and protect human rights. Nada is also a survivor of one of the darkest days in the UN’s history: the 2003 Baghdad bombing that killed 22 of her colleagues.
Published 08/27/21
Simonetta Di Pippo is the Director of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs. She was also the first female director of the European Space Agency. Her work is integral in using space to impact our wellbeing here on Earth - from monitoring soil and water to grow healthier crops through meteorological data to tracking climate change using satellites. Simonetta shares her passion for space being preserved as a global common benefiting all humanity and on the importance of ensuring peace in outer...
Published 08/13/21
“If you want to address the majority of the people who really need you, target women.” Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is the Executive Director of UN Women. As a young teacher in South Africa, she joined the struggle to end apartheid and reshape her country, rising to Deputy President under Nelson Mandela. She used her positions to bring the advantages of a growing economy to the poor. She uses her current role to fight for gender equality through the Generation Equality Forum.
Published 06/25/21