With AI, We’re Building the Plane Mid-Flight - Doreen Bogdan-Martin - International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary-General
Release Date: 05/30/2024
What next for Syria’s refugees, with Gonzalo Vargas Llosa - UNHCR Representative to Syria
Awake At Night
Rather than follow in the footsteps of his late father, a Nobel-prize winning writer, Gonzalo Vargas Llosa opted instead to serve humanity. Now the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ Representative to Syria, he just witnessed a historic end to 14 years of conflict and crisis. “There were these long, long lines of cars of Syrian refugees coming back from Lebanon. So many of them stopped the car the moment that they entered Syria, they got out of the car, they kissed the ground … saying we are so happy to be back in this new Syria.” The fall of the Assad regime has brought fresh...
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Season 11
Awake At Night
Our troubled world can be a source of great joy, and great suffering. United Nations staff witness both, day in day out, as they serve humanity in some of the toughest places on earth. They do so at considerable risk, and with shrinking resources. Yet despite all the challenges, dedicated UN staff around the world continue to find the strength to keep making a difference to millions of lives. Join UN chief communicator Melissa Fleming as she gets to know the extraordinary people dedicating their lives to service. Coming soon from the United Nations, Season 11 of Awake at Night.
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Women’s rights are human rights, with Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda - ASG and Deputy Exec. Director of UN Women
Awake At Night
Having grown up in war-torn rural Zimbabwe, Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda overcame extreme hardship to pursue a career at the highest levels of the United Nations. Now UN Assistant Secretary-General, and one of two deputy executive directors of UN Women, she wants little girls everywhere to aspire to the same heights. “Peace is a prerequisite. It's so critical for development… for unleashing the potential of the little girls. Peace is so important for enabling mothers, widows to give the best they can.” UN Women works to uphold women’s human rights and ensure that every woman and girl...
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Protecting children in crisis, with Catherine Russell - Executive Director of UNICEF
Awake At Night
Catherine Russell never forgets the children she meets. As Executive Director of UNICEF, she bears witness to the stories of tens of millions of children and young people suffering around the world, and shares causes for optimism and hope wherever she finds it. “Children just want to be children. No matter what, the bleakest situation, the most terrible things, they still want to play right? They want to find some joy. They want to just be kids, and I think that's what we have to all work to protect.” 2024 was one of the worst years on record for children in conflict, a...
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The battle to protect children from online abuse, with Carmen Corbin - UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Awake At Night
Carmen Corbin dreamt of serving with the United Nations from an early age. Now head of transnational organized crime, illicit trafficking and terrorism prevention programs at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in East Africa, she is dedicated to protecting children from shocking online exploitation. “We won't know who is real and who is not real. We can't keep up. All of us, in some way, shape or form, will potentially suffer from the fact that we won't be able to trust anyone or trust anybody that we meet, because you're never sure if that person is truly who they say they...
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How to save humanity from climate breakdown with Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Awake At Night
Celeste Saulo has always been fascinated by the weather. Now Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), she is seeing climate breakdown warp global weather systems beyond recognition, with devastating impacts on countless lives and livelihoods. “We can see how many people are suffering…We can see that people are running out of food, are running out of water, and the real narrative is that this will affect everyone sooner or later.” The United Nations Secretary General has issued a red alert for the planet after a full decade of record-breaking heat driven by...
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Love Is the One Thing that Solves Everything - Benjamin Perks - Head of Campaigns and Advocacy - UNICEF
Awake At Night
Having overcome a childhood marked by violence, abuse and neglect, Benjamin Perks has always drawn strength from an innate sense of optimism. Now Head of Campaigns and Advocacy at UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, he helps protect young people in similar situations all over the world. “I think it was very clear that we were in a bad spot, though, being dealt a bad hand, but I was somehow optimistic that things would be better.” Having recently authored a book about his experiences, Trauma Proof, Benjamin Perks reflects in this episode on a lifetime campaigning for all children to...
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Love in the time of terrorism - Laura Dolci - Secretary of the Universal Periodic Review, Human Rights Council
Awake At Night
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. Just days before, she recalled, “he kissed us goodbye, and I remember telling him in my joking way: ‘Be sure you come back.’” 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...
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Peace is the Most Urgent Medicine - Hans Kluge - World Health Organization Regional Director for Europe
Awake At Night
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. “We cannot have health without peace. Peace is the most urgent medicine.” Stepping into his European role just as a global pandemic swept the earth, Dr. Kluge never dreamed that his previous experience in crisis-hit sub-Saharan Africa would prove so useful. In this episode, Dr....
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How Much Does it Cost to Feed the World? - Arif Husain - Chief Economist, World Food Programme WFP
Awake At Night
Arif Husain has spent the past decade raising his voice on behalf of those struggling to get enough to eat. Now Chief Economist at the World Food Programme (WFP), he is calling for the world to put a stop to mass hunger. “We want people to scream at the top of their lungs saying enough is enough […] We as humanity will not tolerate this, regardless of what and where it is happening. It's just not right if you are hurting women, children, innocent people.” There is no shortage of food in the world, yet the WFP says the number of people going hungry has more than...
info_outlineDoreen Bogdan-Martin’s fascinating career handed her a front row seat for the digital revolution. Now Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), she’s among those leading global efforts to set guardrails on the use of Artificial Intelligence.
“I think we've never seen anything like this before … the plane is in flight and we're building it while we're flying - it's tremendous.”
AI presents huge opportunities for humanity, but also poses great risks. In this episode, Doreen Bogdan-Martin reflects on working to ensure the humane and sustainable use of AI, on connecting the billions around the world who are not yet online, and on juggling a career with four children.
“2.6 billion people don't have access to the internet … if you're not part of the digital revolution, you're not going to be part of the AI revolution – we’ve got to close that gap.”