First Person

Joenia Wapixana, activist for the rights of indigenous people in Brazil
UN News/Daniela Gross

First Person: A life dedicated to indigenous rights in Brazil

18 September 2021
Human Rights

For almost 30 years, Brazilian activist Joenia Wapixana, has been fighting for indigenous land rights and against “institutionalized discrimination” in Brazil. In a special interview with UN News, to mark the 20th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, she says it’s time to dedicate more resources to this fight.

Climate youth activist Marie Christina Kolo of Madagascar.
© Rakotondrazafy A. M. Ny Aina

First Person: ‘Youth won’t stay silent’ says Madagascar climate activist

22 April 2021
Climate and Environment

Young people around the world “won’t stay silent” about the global climate crisis according to a youth activist from Madagascar. 

A young girl at a plant nursery in Indonesia.
CIFOR/Ricky Martin

First Person: ‘The world is in your hands and begins at your door’.

18 February 2021
Climate and Environment

British celebrity gardener Monty Don, a UN advocate for plant health, is raising awareness of the links between human health, plant health and the well-being of the planet.

Chef Louise Mabulo, 2019 UNEP Young Champion of the Earth.
UNEP

First Person: Digging for victory in the Philippines

3 February 2021
Economic Development

Some farming techniques can have a devastating and negative effect on the environment, as farmers seek to harvest the maximum amount of produce from their land, but the efforts of a Filipino chef and activist are demonstrating that, with the right approach, agriculture can help to regenerate land, offer protection from the effects of climate change and extreme weather, and improve livelihoods.

UNICEF volunteer, Rasa Pattikasemkul (centre), interacts with a young boy in a rare face-to-face meeting during the COVID-19 lockdown.
UNICEF/Nipattra Wilkes

First Person: COVID education is child’s play for Thai UN volunteer

5 December 2020
Health

An innovative initiative to provide child-friendly information about COVID-19 has been launched by a UN volunteer (UNV) in Thailand who recognized that children needed to know more about the dangers of the virus but also have fun learning at home during the lockdown. On International Volunteer Day marked annually on 5 December, UNICEF’s Rasa Pattikasemkul talks about motivation, family loss and keeping children safe.

Luis Jose Faife, is a driver for UNHCR in Beira, Mozambique.
© UNHCR/Hélène Caux

First Person: ‘I’m happy to be able to give back’

3 October 2020
Humanitarian Aid

Luis Jose Faife, a UN refugee agency (UNHCR) worker from Mozambique, survived the devastation of Cyclones Idai and Kenneth, which killed more than 600 people in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, and displaced some 2.2. million people, in March 2019. Now COVID-19 is posing a new challenge to humanitarian workers, and the people they help.

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. 

Henry Lipkis in front of his monumental mural depicting a traditional parade in New Orleans.
ILO Photo/John Isaac

FIRST PERSON: An artist’s ‘obsession’ with New Orleans tradition

9 January 2020
Culture and Education

The International Labour Organization (ILO) marked its centenary in 2019 and as part of the commemoration has launched a photography project called “Dignity at Work: The American Experience”, to document the working life of people across the United States. UN News joined the ILO on a visit to the southern US state of Louisiana.

Dana Cormier has worked for 24 years at the Best Stop Supermarket which is owned by her family.
ILO Photo/John Isaac

FIRST PERSON: Cajun cuisine feeds expanding business

4 January 2020
Economic Development

The International Labour Organization (ILO) marked its centenary in 2019 and as part of the commemoration has launched a photography project called “Dignity at Work: The American Experience” to document the working life of people across the United States. UN News joined the ILO on a visit to the southern US state of Louisiana.

Captain Tucker Friedman is known as the alligator whisperer in Louisiana.
ILO Photo/John Isaac

FIRST PERSON: Louisiana alligator whisperer’s ‘dream job’

29 December 2019
Human Rights

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is marking its centenary in 2019 and as part of the commemoration has launched a photography project called “Dignity at Work: The American Experience” to document the working life of people across the United States. UN News joined the ILO on a visit to the southern US state of Louisiana.