What does it take to become a UN humanitarian work? We interviewed Hovig Etyemezian, Head of Innovation at UNHCR, the UN Agency for Refugees to find out about his journey and how working in the field, in the frontlines, managing refugee camps logistics, finding ways to innovate in volatile situations teaches one to be agile and resilient, qualities he brings to his role as Head of Innovation at the UNHCR in Geneva. Support the show Subscribe to our newsletter https://theunbrief.substack...

Interview with Mark Manly, head of donor relations and resource mobilisation at the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The UNHCR focuses on providing international protection and solutions for refugees, internally displaced people, and preventing statelessness. Their fundraising strategy relies on flexible annual funding from government donors and increasingly from the private sector, including individual donations and corporate contributions. The organization has a presence in 140 ...

Seeking Common Ground in a World of Rivalry The organization led by Justin Vaisse, historian and diplomat, is supported by the French government and private sector sponsors, including Microsoft. There will be panels with AI companies and how they are engaging with governments, academics, and UN officials from Africa and Europe. Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith will be speaking on using AI in the humanitarian field, and their multiple partnerships with UN agencies in t...

I interviewed Bourhan Yassin, CEO of Rainforest Connection, a company that applies AI to acoustics for data insights to better inform conservation, preserve biodiversity, and protect the rainforests from illegal logging. They are currently working in 80 countries, including Brazil, where most of their work is happening. RFCx works with audio to monitor species of wild birds for instance, to analyse the sounds of the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest, and works with indigenous communities to help t...

Interview with Brazilian Diplomat Camila Olsen on Promoting Brazil Abroad and Attracting FDI Interview with Camila Olsen, Head of Trade, Investment, Agriculture and Energy Section at the Brazilian Embassy in Copenhagen Today I interviewed the Brazilian diplomat Camila Olsen, head of trade investment, agriculture and energy at the Brazilian embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark, where she oversees a portfolio of trade in agriculture, we also spoke about Foreign Direct Investment in Brazil, and how ...

UN Secretary General Calls for a Global AI Regulatory Agency These last couple of days have been quite busy on issues of AI and emerging tech governance at the UN and its agencies. We had the IGF meeting in Geneva with Maria Ressa and Vint Cerf, AI at the Security Council in New York, and the UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Turk calling also for a study on the impacts of new technologies and the possible creation of a Special Rapporteur on Tech is being floated. Become ...

The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and many other international human rights treaties state that the right to housing under international human rights law is the right to live in peace, security and dignity. The violation of the right to housing is often experienced by marginalized and disadvantaged groups including indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, ethnic and religious minority communities, people of color, migrants and refugees, wome...

Subscriber-only episodeWorld Health Organisation in Davos 2024Interview with Steve MacFeely, Director of Data and AnalyticsWe spoke about the upcoming UN Statistics Commission meeting that begins on the 23rd of February, in New York. The heads of all international organizations and national statistical offices will discuss a wide range of issues, and this year health is at the top of the agenda, with a full-day dedicated to it. We also talked about the right fora to discuss data governan...

Subscriber-only episodeJosef Aschbacher, European Space Agency Director-General, on COP28 and the Agreement With UNEP to Monitor Climate ChangeGetting things done at COP28: Watch my interview with the European Space Agency Director-General Josef Aschbacher where we do a 360 degree on climate action and ESAInterview with the ESA Director-General Josef AschbacherSpace travel is the stuff of dreams for most of us. I have dreamed of space missions since I organized a press briefing at the enginee...

Subscriber-only episodeI interviewed Francesca Perucci, Assistant Director, Statistics Division at the UN in New York, to speak about the UN World Data Forum. The 2023 Forum will take place in China, from 24 to 27 April, at the Hangzhou International Expo Center. Organisers are expecting government representatives, policymakers, private sector, data and statistics experts to address the data gaps in development. They will also identify data partnerships and showcase innovation in data ga...

Subscriber-only episodeInterview with Bogolo J. Kenewendo, former Trade Minister of Botswana. She is a global economist with deep expertise in international trade and development with a particular focus on Pan-African development and a passion for accelerating digitization and innovation across the continent.As the Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry in Botswana, she implemented reforms to significantly improve the ease of doing business, open up both domestic and international m...

Subscriber-only episodeWe interviewed Christian Saunders, Assistant Secretary General for the Office of the Special Coordinator for Improving the UN Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. Mr. Saunders just came back from a visit to Colombia where he met with community leaders and UN officials based in the country. We discussed what are the main tasks of the Office of the Coordinator for Improving the UN Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA)and the positive changes that are ...

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Subscriber-only episodeAsha Allen serves as Advocacy Director for Europe, Online Expression & Civic Space at CDT Europe Office in Brussels. Asha’s work focuses on advocating for the preservation of fundamental rights in European Union/Regional legislation, and democratic accountability in industry content policies. Asha has worked on projects with the United Nations, Council of Europe and OSCE. She coordinated the #HerNetHerRights II campaign which aimed to increase women’s safety an...

Subscriber-only episodeWomen in Diplomacy and International AffairsArgentina We interviewed Veronica Merlo, Senior Trade Policy Consultant for MERCOSUR, at the Ministry of Economy of Argentina. She has a Master's Degree in International Relations Europe - Latin America from the University of Bologna, Italy, studied Trade Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School for Government, and has a postgraduate degree in International Trade Law and Policy from the Geneva Graduate Institute of Internatio...

Subscriber-only episodeThe UN Brief spoke with Argentine’s Ambassador to the UN Office in Geneva and International Organisation, Federico Villegas, who was appointed as president of the UN Human Rights Council for 2022, to discuss how the international community is on-board to make the mandate for the new Special Rapporteur as impactful as it needs to be. The Special Rapporteur, Ian Fry said, in its first press conference last June, that the onboarding of Russia, India, and China was a “...

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Subscriber-only episodeWHO Ai and Ageism Policy Brief

Subscriber-only episodeWHO Report on Universal Health Care and the SDGs