First Person

The study of astronomy can “shed light” light on the challenges the planet faces from climate change.
University of Hawaii/Henry Weilan

First Person: Looking to the skies to understand the climate crisis

29 June 2020
Climate and Environment

Could studying the cosmos help us to fight the climate crisis? Two astronomers at the University of Hawaii think that knowledge of the solar system may help to slow down the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Fred Cowell is the General Manager of Kauai Coffee Company in Hawaii.
ILO Photo/John Isaac

First Person: Innovation brewing at Hawaii coffee farm

25 June 2020
Economic Development

Innovation and experimentation are helping a coffee farm in the US state of Hawaii to prosper in a competitive market, an approach which has helped the company to get through the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed (centre), interacts with a young girl during a visit to Djibouti in the Horn of Africa in October 2019.
United Nations

First Person: Ending violence against women - ‘men and boys — I am talking to you’, says UN Deputy Chief

22 June 2020
Women

Men and boys who “turn a blind eye” to violence against women, must accept that they are “accomplices to violence” according to the UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. 

The UN estimates that estimates that about 25 to 50 per cent of the world's coral reefs have been destroyed and another 60 per cent are under threat.
ILO Photo/John Isaac

First Person: Collecting the ‘Book of Life’ for coral reefs

6 June 2020
Climate and Environment

With the climate crisis threatening coral reefs around the world, a researcher in Hawaii is part of a team pioneering new techniques to preserve living coral sperm and larvae, and ultimately save the biodiversity and genetic diversity of coral reefs not just in Hawaii but across the world.

OCHA's Gema Cortés (right) interviews and photographs a woman in Bolivar, Venezuela prior to the outbreak of COVID-19.
UN OCHA/Marrero

First Person: Countering COVID-19 misinformation in Venezuela

5 June 2020
Health

The virus of false information and fake news which has proliferated globally as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, has not spared the crisis-wracked South American country, Venezuela. But the United Nations there is countering the misinformation by making sure that Venezuelans receive trustworthy and reliable information about the deadly virus.