Awake At Night

• Women’s rights are human rights, with Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda - ASG and Deputy Exec. Director of UN Women

  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 lives up to her full potential. In this episode, Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda reflects on a childhood touched by war, poverty and disease, on a lifelong love of learning, and on how a recent accident gave her a new perspective on inequality. "Never let your circumstances determine your future. They are just a stepping stone to who you truly are."

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  30:38
• Protecting children in crisis, with Catherine Russell - Executive Director of UNICEF

  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 devastating statistic that the United Nations is refusing to accept as a deadly new normal. In this episode*, Catherine Russell reflects on the impacts of childhood trauma, the limits of human resilience, and looks back on a childhood spent trick-or-treating for UNICEF. * Episode recorded end of 2024

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  34:58
• The battle to protect children from online abuse, with Carmen Corbin - UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

  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 are.” The UNODC supports law enforcement efforts in tackling all transnational organized crime and counter terrorism, including cybercrime. In this episode, Carmen Corbin reflects on the challenges of overseeing a wide portfolio, on the psychological strain of prosecuting the worst kinds of cybercrimes and shares her advice for a successful international career.

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  40:24
• How to save humanity from climate breakdown with Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

  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 human activity. In this episode, Celeste Saulo reflects on our shared responsibility to future generations, on an emotional meeting with the Pope, and on why she can never give up hope. “If you work with youth, you need to have hope, because for me, it's not fair not having hope… We need to work along the lines we believe are better opportunities for them, and we need to engage them, and I would say, to follow them.”

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  37:51
• Love Is the One Thing that Solves Everything - Benjamin Perks - Head of Campaigns and Advocacy - UNICEF

  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 be safe, seen, and soothed, and on how an encounter with a special teacher put his life back on track. “When I held my son in my arms, I knew that what had happened to me was now unimaginable to myself… that made me ask the question, if I can heal from it, if I can recover and not transmit it to my child, can we do this for the whole of humanity?”

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  39:49

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