Global perspective Human stories

Interviews

UN Photo/Loey Felipe

‘Entourage’ star and UN Environment ambassador Adrian Grenier says we can all help protect the oceans

As well as starring in several high-profile films and TV shows, in particular as Vincent Chase in the long-running show Entourage, Adrian Grenier has spent many years advocating for environmental and social causes.

In recognition of his work, which includes founding the Lonely Whale foundation to protect the ocean environment, Mr. Grenier was named a UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador in 2018.

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5'18"
UN News/Conor Lennon

How an education campaign for young migrants forced the UK to change the law

Education is recognized the world over as a core driver of development and improved jobs prospects, but for migrants, even those who have the legal right to reside in a new country, getting access to a classroom can be an uphill struggle.

For many young migrants in the UK, the idea of going to university is almost an impossible dream, because they are charged “overseas student” fees, which can be around double those of “home” students.

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5'17"
UN Photo/Violaine Martin

Gazans faced ‘excessive and unlawful use of force’ in protests, says Human Rights Council-appointed investigator

A UN-appointed probe into violence in Gaza last year in which more than 180 Palestinian protesters were killed – including 35 children - said on Thursday that there was “no justification” for Israel to shoot protesters with live ammunition.

In an interview with UN News’s Daniel Johnson, Sara Hossain, Member of the Commission of Inquiry, discusses the report’s main findings.

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4'7"
United Nations Global Compact

Slow gender equality progress ‘almost a joke’: UN business chief

The slow progress of achieving gender equality in the workplace is “almost a joke,” Lise Kingo, head of the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, said in an interview with UN News.

Ms. Kingo pointed to many positive moves and best practices now followed by some large corporations, but spoke frankly about the many difficulties still encountered by working women, including recent signs of a growing backlash and resistance to gender equality.

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9'1"
Claude Etienne Tardy

70 years of reporting from the UN: celebrating the ‘the first draft of history’

Journalists have been covering key moments in the history of the United Nations for as long as it has existed.

On Monday, a new photography exhibition was officially opened in Geneva that celebrates their work over the last 70 years or so.

In an interview with UN News’s Daniel Johnson, Nina Larson, President of the Association of UN Correspondents in Geneva (ACANU), describes what it’s like writing the “first draft of history” day in, and day out.

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5'24"
© FAO/Fernando Reyes Pantoja

The world is losing the biodiversity that secures food production, UN expert says

Bees, soil, trees – even tiny organisms we can’t even see – all play a vital role in producing the world’s food. Yet, this biodiversity, which supports our food and agriculture systems, is under stress.

That’s according to a new report by the United Nations Food Organization (FAO), which finds that 33 per cent of fish stocks are estimated to be overfished and bee colony losses are on the rise – all factors that endanger the world’s future security.

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6'9"
UN Photo/Manuel Elías

Mother Language Day celebrates multilingualism and cultural diversity

Thursday, 21 February is International Mother Language Day – a day set aside to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

It is estimated that every two weeks a language goes extinct. But why try to protect these languages?  What is the real significance of this Day?

UN News’s Paulina Greer posed these questions to the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN Ambassador Masud Bin Momen.

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5'27"
UN Photo/Violaine Martin

World’s only multilateral venue for disarmament discussions ‘more crucial than ever’: top official says

The nuclear arms race “is back on”, the head of the Conference on Disarmament has warned. UN News’s Daniel Johnson spoke to Michael Møller who is the Secretary-General of the Conference, the only multilateral venue for disarmament discussions.

­In the interview, Mr. Møller explains why the forum has been deadlocked for more than two decades and what this could mean for the future of the world. 

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5'30"