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Just days before, she recalled, “he kissed us goodbye, and I remember telling him in my joking way: ‘Be sure you come back.’”

UN official Laura Dolci was feeding her baby son when she heard the devastating news that her husband Jean-Sélim Kanaan had been killed in a suicide bomb attack on the UN Headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq. It was August 19, 2003: the darkest day in UN history, and the darkest day in her life.

Working through tremendous trauma, Laura Dolci became a fierce advocate for terrorism victims – calling for recognition and support to those affected by what she calls a senseless crime. At the United Nations, she is now a distinguished leader in international human rights. 

In this episode, Laura reflects on the meaning of the term resilience, on her late husband’s legacy, and on her hopes for their son.

“One of the first things I had to tell [my son] was, ‘Your father was killed.’ … The weight of that word in a family is big. How do you make sure that the next generation can still believe in justice, in mediation, in respect, in resolving tensions and conflicts?”

Photo: ©Laura Dolci’s personal archives

“We cannot have health without peace. Peace is the most urgent medicine.”

As a doctor, Dr. Hans Kluge helped save lives in some of the toughest places on Earth. Now the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe, he is working to improve the health of hundreds of millions of people - in a region stretching from Vladivostok to Lisbon.

“My dream and my vision is that we have a culture of health [...] independent of your financial means, your sexual orientation, whether you are documented or an undocumented migrant, that you are empowered to live a healthy life, [...] we have to have universal health coverage.”

Stepping into his European role just as a global pandemic swept the earth, Hans never dreamed that his previous experience in crisis-hit sub-Saharan Africa would prove so useful. In this episode, Hans reflects on lessons learned during COVID, the mental health crisis, and on surprising methods to build trust with remote communities.

Photo: ©WHO

Launched in 2018, Awaaz Afghanistan has become a vital communication lifeline, connecting over 3 million people to essential services and humanitarian aid amid conflict and crisis.

“I don't think you can underestimate the capacity of human ingenuity to come up with solutions at a blistering pace.”

Acclaimed actor, filmmaker and three-time Academy Award nominee Edward Norton has long been raising his voice on behalf of the planet and its most vulnerable communities. As a UN Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity, he is championing the protection of biodiversity for the well-being of all.

“It’s quite heartbreaking. I started diving, when I was 14, in the Caribbean. The change to the reef environments in the Caribbean in my adult lifetime is staggering and really upsetting [...] It looks like a burnt forest or something. It’s just not, it’s not as alive.”

Working closely with communities in East Africa and around the world, Edward is pushing for conservation that also tackles poverty by providing sustainable sources of income for local communities. In this special episode, the Hollywood star reflects on his activist upbringing, his hopes for his children, and on balancing a successful acting career with a rich, varied and meaningful life.

Photo: ©UN Photo/S. Cardi

Digital platforms have transformed how news and information are created, shared, and consumed. Online content creators are reshaping the dissemination of information, influencing diverse audiences. However, this raises concerns about content reliability, professionalism, and ethics. The rise of generative artificial intelligence adds complexity to the information landscape and requires heightened vigilance and critical thinking. This year’s Global Media and Information Literacy Week (24-31 October) highlights the importance of media literacy intended for public interest information.

IFAD is partnering with the Mobile Journalism Awards to offer a US$ 1,000 prize for the best film highlighting a compelling story about rural people and issues, with the winner also receiving the opportunity to present their film at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia in April 2025.  

Yakwetu is transforming Kenya's film industry by through a legitimate pay-as-you-go streaming model that supports local creators and combats the illegal copying of content.

The has to promote health literacy and combat misinformation through engaging, science-based content on the platform.

The 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly marks a crucial milestone in the global effort to accelerate progress towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN Department of Global Communications hosted its annual flagship SDG Media Zone featuring impactful in-depth interviews and dialogues on global issues that matter to people around the world. See our live coverage of the week that brought together world leaders, influencers, activists, experts, content creators and media partners to highlight actions and solutions in support of the #GlobalGoals.

UNESCO's “” project has improved refugees' access to reliable information and fostered understanding between refugees and host populations. 

“How, in our age, do we overcome this competition between ecology and economy, which is leading us to so many destructive and ultimately, increasingly catastrophic realities around the world?”

Born in Brazil to German parents, Achim Steiner knows first hand the power of cultural exchange to drive international cooperation. Now head of UNDP, he leads global efforts to secure a better future for our planet and its people.

“The clearest lesson from 50 years of modern development thinking is don't try and just pick one aspect and put all your eggs in that basket. Society is complex, development is about choices. And you will either get them right and succeed or you will fall apart.”

In this episode, Achim reflects on the thorniest challenges facing humanity, on his hopes for a fairer, cleaner future, and on the vital lessons he learned in rural Pakistan.

Photo:©UNDP Afghanistan/Oriane Zerah

Technological advances have revolutionized communications, connecting people on a previously unthinkable scale. Yet they have also enabled the spread of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech at an unprecedented volume, velocity and virality. New risks stemming from AI technologies have made strengthening information integrity one of the urgent tasks of our time. The Secretary-General is launching the UN Global Principles for Information Integrity, a framework for coordinated international action to address the pressing global challenges to the integrity of the information ecosystem.

“Human rights … is the strongest tool that we have in our hands to be a voice of those who don't have power and to speak truth to those who have the power and to make sure that they understand that yes, that there are limits to power.”

Volker Türk has the greatest respect for those able to hold onto hope when all appears to be lost. As UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, he has devoted his life and career to helping the world’s most vulnerable people.

“What has always struck me was encounters with people who are extremely resilient … who actually see hope, including in the most atrocious circumstances, and who just keep doing the right thing.”

In this episode, Volker reflects on holding rulebreakers to account, the strength displayed by refugees, and why the best ideas often arrive in the dead of night.

"[...] for me refugees almost become... They epitomize, they represent us in our humanity."

Photo:©UN/Anthony Headley

“The evidence is pretty overwhelming that it doesn't even take very long for migration to actually pay out pretty significantly for the communities who host the migrants, and definitely for the communities that migrants are coming from.”

Amy Pope has always championed humane and orderly migration as an opportunity for societies, not a problem. Now the first female Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) she is campaigning for a fundamental shift in attitudes towards newcomers.

“You just give somebody a little space. Everybody has purpose. Everybody has dreams, everybody wants to be seen.”

Human migration is likely to rise over the coming decades, with the IOM predicting that hundreds of millions of people could be displaced due to climate change alone. In this episode, Amy reflects on how better to prepare communities and why celebrating the contributions of migrants is a win-win for societies around the world.

Photo:©IOM 2024/ Muse Mohammed

"What worries me a lot is whether we are focusing on any given day the crisis of today, and forgetting about the crisis of yesterday and the day before [...] whether we are forgetting the crises that are not in the news today."

Big or small, Joyce Msuya has always found ways to give back. Now Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in OCHA, she oversees the global response to the world’s worst crises.

From Gaza to Ukraine, Haiti to Sudan, the UN estimates 300 million people around the world are in need of life-saving assistance and protection. In this episode, Joyce reflects on keeping hope alive despite waking to fresh crises every day, on the shocking impacts of climate-related extreme weather, and on the long-term benefits of a strict boarding school.

Photo: ©OCHA/Marc Belanger