Podcasts about United Nations Development Programme

John Holdren is the Teresa and John Heinz Research Professor for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and co-director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program at the School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He is a former Professor of Environmental Science and Policy in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and Affiliated Professor in the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science. He is also President Emeritus and Senior Advisor to the President at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, a pre-eminent, independent, environmental-research organization. From 2009 to 2017, Holdren was President Obama's Science Advisor and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, becoming the longest-serving Science Advisor to the President in the history of the position. Before joining Harvard, was a professor of energy resources at the University of California, Berkeley, where he founded and led the interdisciplinary graduate-degree program in energy and resources. Prior to that he was a theoretical physicist in the Theory Group of the Magnetic Fusion Energy Division at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and a Senior Research Fellow at Caltech. He has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the MacArthur Foundation and Chairman of the Committee on International Security and Arms Control at the National Academy of Sciences. During the Clinton Administration, he served for both terms on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, leading multiple studies on energy-technology innovation and nuclear arms control. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also a foreign member of the Royal Society of London and the Indian National Academy of Engineering and a former President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His many honors include one of the first MacArthur Prize Fellowships (1981) and the Moynihan Prize of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences. In 1995, he gave the acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, an international organization of scientists and public figures. He holds SB and SM degrees from MIT in aeronautics and astronautics and a Ph.D. from Stanford in aeronautics and astronautics and theoretical plasma physics.Jennifer Spence is the Director of the Arctic Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, with expertise related to sustainable development, international governance, institutional effectiveness, and public policy. Spence currently co-chairs the Arctic Research Cooperation and Diplomacy Research Priority Team for the Fourth International Conference on Arctic Research Planning (ICARP IV), participates as a member of the Climate Expert Group for the Arctic Council's Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, and sits as a member of the Yukon Arctic Security Advisory Council. Spence was the Executive Secretary of the Arctic Council's Sustainable Development Working Group from 2019-2023. Previously, she taught and conducted research at Carleton University and worked for a 2-year term at the United Nations Development Programme. She also worked for 18 years with the Government of Canada in senior positions related to resource management, conflict and change management, strategic planning, and leadership development. Spence holds a Ph.D. in public policy from Carleton University, a MA from Royal Roads University in conflict management and analysis, and a BA in political science from the University of British Columbia.Ralph Ranalli of the HKS Office of Communications and Public Affairs is the host, producer, and editor of HKS PolicyCast. A former journalist, public television producer, and entrepreneur, he holds an BA in political science from UCLA and a master's in journalism from Columbia University.Scheduling and logistical support for PolicyCast is provided by Lilian Wainaina.Design and graphics support is provided by Laura King and the OCPA Design Team. Web design and social media promotion support is provided by Catherine Santrock and Natalie Montaner. Editorial support is provided by Nora Delaney and Robert O'Neill. 

My guest this week is Randi Stipes, the Chief Marketing Officer at The Weather Company, one of the world's most trusted brands and most accurate forecasters. No stranger to marketing transformation, Randi challenges marketers to think differently about the weather and its business implications across every industry. With nearly three decades in media and marketing, she has served in a variety of roles across product, editorial, sales, and marketing, all of which have provided her with a unique perspective to unlock creativity and drive high performance on the teams she manages. In her previous role at IBM, she led developer marketing and brand advertising, where she was instrumental in launching IBM's brand platform "Let's Create." She has received the industry's top recognitions and awards from Cannes Lions, Drum Festival, Media Globe Awards, and many more. She is proud to have been part of the 2024 award-winning "Weather Kids" global campaign, created in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, the World Meteorological Organization, and The Weather Channel. The campaign calls for urgent climate action for future generations. As an advocate for positive industry and societal disruption, she sits on the boards of the Ad Council, BRIDGE, and the ANA Brand Council. She's also a mentor at the Marketing Academy. 

This episode features a conversation with Boaz Paldi, Chief Creative Officer at the United Nations Development Programme. It was recorded in February 2025.In this role, Boaz oversees UNDP's advocacy, campaigns, events, and activations. For example, back in 2021, he launched the now iconic #DontChooseExtinction campaign, featuring a dinosaur gatecrashing the UN General Assembly, highlighting research that revealed that for every dollar pledged to tackle the climate crisis, four dollars are spent on fossil fuel subsidies that keep that same crisis alive. Last year, Boaz delivered the award-winning #WeatherKids campaign, which used children to deliver weather reports from the future, spotlighting the catastrophic consequences of global inaction on climate change and its impact on the next generations.Through these, and other, activations at the UN, Boaz continues to push the envelope on the kinds of communication we see when it comes to climate, more broadly, as well as shifting what's expected, and see as acceptable, when it comes to the messaging coming out of the most significant organization on the planet.Prior to joining UNDP, Boaz worked as a TV journalist for almost two decades, covering conflicts, natural disasters, and human-interest stories across Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe, first for the BBC, then for Reuters, where he worked as Executive Producer for TV News.Amongst other things, Boaz and I discussed the essential components of great climate campaigns, what happens behind the scenes to bring groundbreaking activations to life, and how the element of surprise can help us break through the noise.Additional links:Watch the #Don'tChooseExtinction campaign filmFind out more about #WeatherKidsWatch Weather Kids on YouTubeCheck out Activista AgencySee more from the Framestore Production HouseExplore work from climate writer Casey RandDiscover Anzu in-game advertisingSee more work from The ArterySee Oli Frost annoy fossil fuel financiersCheck out the documentary film, The Game Changers

The Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet Report 2024 is the first global, post-pandemic assessment of the World Bank's mission to end extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity in a liveable planet and take stock of its progress towards achieving these goals. It highlights the stark reality that these intertwined goals are out of reach under the current levels and patterns of economic growth.    About the speaker: Luis Felipe López-Calva is the Global Director for Poverty and Equity at the World Bank Group. He has over 30 years of professional experience working with international institutions and advising national governments. He rejoined the World Bank in 2022 from the United Nations Development Programme, where he served as UN Assistant Secretary General and Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean since 2018.  It is the inaugural lecture of the 2025 Development Matters series, which is kindly sponsored by Irish Aid.

Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza—raising hopes of an end to fifteen months of war. So, if the ceasefire holds, how long will it take to rebuild from the rubble? What would be the priorities? How much will it cost? And who will pay? We will look at all these with different guests, including the head of the United Nations Development Programme, Achim Steiner. Rice is the staple crop for more than half the world's population, but it's vulnerable to drought and flooding, impacting global harvests and prices. It's also a contributor to climate change; it uses more water than other grain crops. So, should we eat less rice? We will be joined throughout the program by two guests on opposite sides of the world: Zyma Islam, senior reporter for The Daily Star, who is in Malaysia, and Walter Todd, president and chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital in South Carolina.

A deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas to end the fighting in Gaza and secure the release of Israeli hostages. So, if the ceasefire holds, how long will it take to rebuild from the rubble? What would be the priorities? How much will it cost? And who will pay? We will look at all these with different guests, including the head of the United Nations Development Programme, Achim Steiner. Also in the program, you will hear that some US banks have had a good quarter—the earnings of Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Citibank, and JP Morgan Chase all came in above expectations, and their shares rose on the news.

Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to Angie Chioko and Nika Kokareva about clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance, in order to return safe land to their communities. At the end of 2024, The Landmine Monitor Report revealed that children suffer disproportionately from landmines across the world. The remnants of war remain in the ground for decades, claiming civilian lives, long after the fighting had ended.Angie Chioko is a Supervisor at the Mazowe Camp in Zimbabwe, working for The Halo Trust. Zimbabwe is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. The minefields were laid in the 1970s during a civil war by the country's ruling army. In Zimbabwe today, the landmines cut off access to water supplies, pasture land, and cause children to take longer routes to school. Nika Kokareva is a Team Leader in the Mykolaiv region of Ukraine, working for Mines Advisory Group. The country has seen a rise in landmines and unexploded ordnance since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. The United Nations Development Programme has said Ukraine is now the most mined country in the world, with potentially 23 percent of its land at risk of contamination with landmines and unexploded ordnance.Produced by Elena AngelidesImage: (L) Nika Kokareva credit Mines Advisory Group. (R) Angie Chioko credit The Halo Trust.)

Once a luxury good, the soft fiber is now everywhere — which has led to a goat boom in Mongolia. Zachary Crockett tugs at the thread. SOURCES:Myagmarjav Serjkhuu, manager of the Mongolian Sustainable Cashmere Platform for the United Nations Development Programme.Carolyn Yim, designer and owner of Ply-Knits. RESOURCES:"Sandstorms and Desertification in Mongolia, an Example of Future Climate Events: A Review," by Jie Han, Han Dai, and Zhaolin Gu (Environmental Chemistry Letters, 2021)."How Sustainable Cashmere Is Reversing Land Degradation in Mongolia," by Mariana Simões (United Nations Development Programme, 2021)."Exploding Demand for Cashmere Wool Is Ruining Mongolia's Grasslands," by Kathleen McLaughlin (Science, 2019)."From H&M to Gucci, Fashion Rethinks Cashmere, Citing Environmental Harm," by Matthew Dalton (The Wall Street Journal, 2019)."2018 Annual Cashmere Market Report," by Marco Spina (The Schneider Group, 2019)."How This Brand Made a Cashmere Sweater for $75 Ethically," by Esha Chhabra (Forbes, 2018)."Pastoral Nomadism in the Forest-Steppe of the Mongolian Altai Under a Changing Economy and a Warming Climate," by D. Lkhagvadorj, M. Hauck, Ch. Dulamsuren, and J. Tsogtbaatar (Journal of Arid Environments, 2013).

Victim participation at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has routinely been viewed as an empty promise of justice or mere spectacle for audiences in the Global North, providing little benefit for victims. Why, then, do people in Kenya and Uganda engage in justice processes that offer so little, so late? How and why do they become the court's victims and intermediaries, and what impact do these labels have on them?  Victims and the Labour of Justice at the International Criminal Court: The Blame Cascade (Oxford UP, 2024) offers a response to these poignant questions, demonstrating that the notion of ‘justice for victims' is not merely symbolic, expressive, or instrumental. On the contrary — as Leila Ullrich argues — the ICC's methods of victim engagement are productive, reproducing the Court as a relevant institution and transforming victims in the Global South into highly gendered and racialized labouring subjects. Challenging the Court's interplay with global capitalist relationships, the book makes visible the hidden labour of justice, and how it lures, disciplines, and blames both victims and victims' advocates. Drawing on critical theory, criminological analysis, and multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork in The Hague, Kenya, and Uganda, Victims and the Labour of Justice at the International Criminal Court illuminates how the drive to include victims as participants in international criminal justice proceedings also creates and disciplines them as blameworthy capitalist subjects. Yet, as victim workers learn to ‘stop crying', ‘be peaceful', ‘get married', ‘work hard', and ‘repay debt', they also begin to challenge the terms of global justice. Dr. Leila Ullrich is an Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Oxford's Faculty of Law. Her research lies at the intersection of international criminal justice, transitional justice, victimology, and border criminology. Her work focuses on how global justice institutions construct gendered and racialized subjects and how these groups engage with or resist these processes. Outside academia, Leila worked as social stability analyst on the Syrian refugee crisis at the United Nations Development Programme in Lebanon and she has also worked as an intern for the ICC. She has also worked for the German Bundestag and the BBC World Service. Alex Batesmith is an Associate Professor in Legal Professions in the School of Law at the University of Leeds, and a former barrister and UN war crimes prosecutor, with teaching and research interests in international criminal law, cause lawyering and the legal profession, and law and emotion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Victim participation at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has routinely been viewed as an empty promise of justice or mere spectacle for audiences in the Global North, providing little benefit for victims. Why, then, do people in Kenya and Uganda engage in justice processes that offer so little, so late? How and why do they become the court's victims and intermediaries, and what impact do these labels have on them?  Victims and the Labour of Justice at the International Criminal Court: The Blame Cascade (Oxford UP, 2024) offers a response to these poignant questions, demonstrating that the notion of ‘justice for victims' is not merely symbolic, expressive, or instrumental. On the contrary — as Leila Ullrich argues — the ICC's methods of victim engagement are productive, reproducing the Court as a relevant institution and transforming victims in the Global South into highly gendered and racialized labouring subjects. Challenging the Court's interplay with global capitalist relationships, the book makes visible the hidden labour of justice, and how it lures, disciplines, and blames both victims and victims' advocates. Drawing on critical theory, criminological analysis, and multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork in The Hague, Kenya, and Uganda, Victims and the Labour of Justice at the International Criminal Court illuminates how the drive to include victims as participants in international criminal justice proceedings also creates and disciplines them as blameworthy capitalist subjects. Yet, as victim workers learn to ‘stop crying', ‘be peaceful', ‘get married', ‘work hard', and ‘repay debt', they also begin to challenge the terms of global justice. Dr. Leila Ullrich is an Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Oxford's Faculty of Law. Her research lies at the intersection of international criminal justice, transitional justice, victimology, and border criminology. Her work focuses on how global justice institutions construct gendered and racialized subjects and how these groups engage with or resist these processes. Outside academia, Leila worked as social stability analyst on the Syrian refugee crisis at the United Nations Development Programme in Lebanon and she has also worked as an intern for the ICC. She has also worked for the German Bundestag and the BBC World Service. Alex Batesmith is an Associate Professor in Legal Professions in the School of Law at the University of Leeds, and a former barrister and UN war crimes prosecutor, with teaching and research interests in international criminal law, cause lawyering and the legal profession, and law and emotion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

Victim participation at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has routinely been viewed as an empty promise of justice or mere spectacle for audiences in the Global North, providing little benefit for victims. Why, then, do people in Kenya and Uganda engage in justice processes that offer so little, so late? How and why do they become the court's victims and intermediaries, and what impact do these labels have on them?  Victims and the Labour of Justice at the International Criminal Court: The Blame Cascade (Oxford UP, 2024) offers a response to these poignant questions, demonstrating that the notion of ‘justice for victims' is not merely symbolic, expressive, or instrumental. On the contrary — as Leila Ullrich argues — the ICC's methods of victim engagement are productive, reproducing the Court as a relevant institution and transforming victims in the Global South into highly gendered and racialized labouring subjects. Challenging the Court's interplay with global capitalist relationships, the book makes visible the hidden labour of justice, and how it lures, disciplines, and blames both victims and victims' advocates. Drawing on critical theory, criminological analysis, and multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork in The Hague, Kenya, and Uganda, Victims and the Labour of Justice at the International Criminal Court illuminates how the drive to include victims as participants in international criminal justice proceedings also creates and disciplines them as blameworthy capitalist subjects. Yet, as victim workers learn to ‘stop crying', ‘be peaceful', ‘get married', ‘work hard', and ‘repay debt', they also begin to challenge the terms of global justice. Dr. Leila Ullrich is an Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Oxford's Faculty of Law. Her research lies at the intersection of international criminal justice, transitional justice, victimology, and border criminology. Her work focuses on how global justice institutions construct gendered and racialized subjects and how these groups engage with or resist these processes. Outside academia, Leila worked as social stability analyst on the Syrian refugee crisis at the United Nations Development Programme in Lebanon and she has also worked as an intern for the ICC. She has also worked for the German Bundestag and the BBC World Service. Alex Batesmith is an Associate Professor in Legal Professions in the School of Law at the University of Leeds, and a former barrister and UN war crimes prosecutor, with teaching and research interests in international criminal law, cause lawyering and the legal profession, and law and emotion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-studies

Victim participation at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has routinely been viewed as an empty promise of justice or mere spectacle for audiences in the Global North, providing little benefit for victims. Why, then, do people in Kenya and Uganda engage in justice processes that offer so little, so late? How and why do they become the court's victims and intermediaries, and what impact do these labels have on them?  Victims and the Labour of Justice at the International Criminal Court: The Blame Cascade (Oxford UP, 2024) offers a response to these poignant questions, demonstrating that the notion of ‘justice for victims' is not merely symbolic, expressive, or instrumental. On the contrary — as Leila Ullrich argues — the ICC's methods of victim engagement are productive, reproducing the Court as a relevant institution and transforming victims in the Global South into highly gendered and racialized labouring subjects. Challenging the Court's interplay with global capitalist relationships, the book makes visible the hidden labour of justice, and how it lures, disciplines, and blames both victims and victims' advocates. Drawing on critical theory, criminological analysis, and multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork in The Hague, Kenya, and Uganda, Victims and the Labour of Justice at the International Criminal Court illuminates how the drive to include victims as participants in international criminal justice proceedings also creates and disciplines them as blameworthy capitalist subjects. Yet, as victim workers learn to ‘stop crying', ‘be peaceful', ‘get married', ‘work hard', and ‘repay debt', they also begin to challenge the terms of global justice. Dr. Leila Ullrich is an Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Oxford's Faculty of Law. Her research lies at the intersection of international criminal justice, transitional justice, victimology, and border criminology. Her work focuses on how global justice institutions construct gendered and racialized subjects and how these groups engage with or resist these processes. Outside academia, Leila worked as social stability analyst on the Syrian refugee crisis at the United Nations Development Programme in Lebanon and she has also worked as an intern for the ICC. She has also worked for the German Bundestag and the BBC World Service. Alex Batesmith is an Associate Professor in Legal Professions in the School of Law at the University of Leeds, and a former barrister and UN war crimes prosecutor, with teaching and research interests in international criminal law, cause lawyering and the legal profession, and law and emotion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law

Victim participation at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has routinely been viewed as an empty promise of justice or mere spectacle for audiences in the Global North, providing little benefit for victims. Why, then, do people in Kenya and Uganda engage in justice processes that offer so little, so late? How and why do they become the court's victims and intermediaries, and what impact do these labels have on them?  Victims and the Labour of Justice at the International Criminal Court: The Blame Cascade (Oxford UP, 2024) offers a response to these poignant questions, demonstrating that the notion of ‘justice for victims' is not merely symbolic, expressive, or instrumental. On the contrary — as Leila Ullrich argues — the ICC's methods of victim engagement are productive, reproducing the Court as a relevant institution and transforming victims in the Global South into highly gendered and racialized labouring subjects. Challenging the Court's interplay with global capitalist relationships, the book makes visible the hidden labour of justice, and how it lures, disciplines, and blames both victims and victims' advocates. Drawing on critical theory, criminological analysis, and multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork in The Hague, Kenya, and Uganda, Victims and the Labour of Justice at the International Criminal Court illuminates how the drive to include victims as participants in international criminal justice proceedings also creates and disciplines them as blameworthy capitalist subjects. Yet, as victim workers learn to ‘stop crying', ‘be peaceful', ‘get married', ‘work hard', and ‘repay debt', they also begin to challenge the terms of global justice. Dr. Leila Ullrich is an Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Oxford's Faculty of Law. Her research lies at the intersection of international criminal justice, transitional justice, victimology, and border criminology. Her work focuses on how global justice institutions construct gendered and racialized subjects and how these groups engage with or resist these processes. Outside academia, Leila worked as social stability analyst on the Syrian refugee crisis at the United Nations Development Programme in Lebanon and she has also worked as an intern for the ICC. She has also worked for the German Bundestag and the BBC World Service. Alex Batesmith is an Associate Professor in Legal Professions in the School of Law at the University of Leeds, and a former barrister and UN war crimes prosecutor, with teaching and research interests in international criminal law, cause lawyering and the legal profession, and law and emotion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Victim participation at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has routinely been viewed as an empty promise of justice or mere spectacle for audiences in the Global North, providing little benefit for victims. Why, then, do people in Kenya and Uganda engage in justice processes that offer so little, so late? How and why do they become the court's victims and intermediaries, and what impact do these labels have on them?  Victims and the Labour of Justice at the International Criminal Court: The Blame Cascade (Oxford UP, 2024) offers a response to these poignant questions, demonstrating that the notion of ‘justice for victims' is not merely symbolic, expressive, or instrumental. On the contrary — as Leila Ullrich argues — the ICC's methods of victim engagement are productive, reproducing the Court as a relevant institution and transforming victims in the Global South into highly gendered and racialized labouring subjects. Challenging the Court's interplay with global capitalist relationships, the book makes visible the hidden labour of justice, and how it lures, disciplines, and blames both victims and victims' advocates. Drawing on critical theory, criminological analysis, and multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork in The Hague, Kenya, and Uganda, Victims and the Labour of Justice at the International Criminal Court illuminates how the drive to include victims as participants in international criminal justice proceedings also creates and disciplines them as blameworthy capitalist subjects. Yet, as victim workers learn to ‘stop crying', ‘be peaceful', ‘get married', ‘work hard', and ‘repay debt', they also begin to challenge the terms of global justice. Dr. Leila Ullrich is an Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Oxford's Faculty of Law. Her research lies at the intersection of international criminal justice, transitional justice, victimology, and border criminology. Her work focuses on how global justice institutions construct gendered and racialized subjects and how these groups engage with or resist these processes. Outside academia, Leila worked as social stability analyst on the Syrian refugee crisis at the United Nations Development Programme in Lebanon and she has also worked as an intern for the ICC. She has also worked for the German Bundestag and the BBC World Service. Alex Batesmith is an Associate Professor in Legal Professions in the School of Law at the University of Leeds, and a former barrister and UN war crimes prosecutor, with teaching and research interests in international criminal law, cause lawyering and the legal profession, and law and emotion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

United Nations Development Programme is set to hold a summit for its global leaders in Johannesburg, next week. As the world moves closer to the year 2030, the summit seeks to highlight the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which serve as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure all people enjoy peace and prosperity. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP South Africa, Gloria Kiondo

On Finance Day at COP29, UNDP's Sustainable Insurance Forum (SIF) released a pivotal report titled Supervisory Thinking on Insurance-related Climate Transition Plans. This comprehensive document offers valuable insights into the current supervisory landscape regarding transition plans and highlights the challenges in developing regulatory guidance for the insurance sector as it shifts toward a net-zero future. The report outlines several key findings: Early-Stage Supervisory Thinking: Insurance supervisors are in the early stages of conceptual thinking around insurers' transition plans. While these plans are recognized as essential components of risk management, specific requirements and guidance are yet to be established by most supervisory authorities. Complexity in Regulatory Development: The report identifies challenges in formulating supervisory requirements for transition plans. These include uncertainties surrounding the roles of financial regulators and supervisors, issues related to data adequacy and accessibility, and the absence of internationally standardized guidance. Support for Insurers' Transition: It emphasizes that supervisors can facilitate insurers' progress toward net-zero by providing clear guidance on metrics, enhancing capacity building, and improving access to relevant data. Marcos Neto, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP's Bureau of Policy and Programme Support said, "The SIF Transition Plans Working Group's report urges insurance supervisors to take immediate and proactive measures to guide the global transition to a sustainable economy. As many supervisors are just beginning to tackle the complexities of transition planning, their role is paramount. By providing clear direction, enhancing data transparency, and fostering collaboration, supervisors can create an environment conducive to the development of credible transition plans." The report also proposes essential next steps for insurance supervisors, which include: Enhancing coordination among authorities to share best practices and align frameworks. Advocating for the establishment of an international baseline and consistent global guidance. Assisting regulated entities in overcoming data-related challenges. Collaborating with the insurance sector to pool resources for capacity-building initiatives. Daniel Wang, Chair of the UNDP's SIF, said, "Insurance supervisors have a vital leadership role to play by engaging and working with the insurance industry amidst the global transition to a net-zero economy. The collective progress made now will contribute to a sustainable future. I extend my sincere thanks to my fellow SIF members, and in particular the SIF Transition Plans Working Group, for this critical work. Much more needs to be done on this journey and we all need to press on. The development of credible climate transition plans will help bring about a more resilient and sustainable financial system for all."

How prepared is your organisation to support employees through a crisis event? Can employers ensure their supply chains are fully ethical? Should politics and work ever mix? And what's behind the spooky rise of ‘ghost jobs'? CIPD Director of Profession David D'Souza is joined by David Bearfield, Director of the Office of Human Resources at the United Nations Development Programme; Berna Öztınaz, President of the European Association of People Management and CHRO at Genel Energy Plc; and Pete Collyer, consultant and former Chief People Officer at Ted Baker. This episode was recorded live at the CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition. Recorded 7 November 2024

Internet shutdowns in Mozambique following election In Mozambique, eleven people have lost their lives as law enforcement intensified its response to protests that erupted after the elections in October. For the second time within a year, authorities have suspended mobile internet services. Felicia Anthonio, the KeepItOn Campaign Manager at the digital rights organisation Access Now, who is based in Ghana, tells us about the impact. Legal digital ID in Namibia to improve access to services Namibia is implementing a verifiable digital identification system aimed at enabling a greater number of citizens to access online services and participate in various activities - addressing the disparity between those who are digitally connected and those who are not. Namibia, characterized by its vast territory and scattered population, presents challenges for many individuals who must travel to the capital, Windhoek, to obtain an identification card. The absence of such a card significantly hampers their ability to access essential services, including healthcare, education, and banking. In recent years, the United Nations Development Programme has collaborated with the Namibian government to advance the initiative of digital identification. Journalist Abigail Ruth Opiah, a reporter for the Biometric Update news platform tells us more.   The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell and the studio expert is Ania Lichtarowicz.   More on this week's stories: Keep it on Mozambique UNDP transforming lives in Namibia with digital legal ID initiative   Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz Production Manager: Liz Tuohy For new episodes, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or via this link: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/ Follow us on all the socials: Join our Facebook group Instagram Twitter/X If you like Somewhere on Earth, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts Contact us by email: hello@somewhereonearth.co Send us a voice note: via WhatsApp: +44 7486 329 484 Find a Story + Make it News = Change the World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What might it look like to live in a world that combines ancient wisdom with newer ideas about sustainable development? In his recent book Politics of Being, the social scientist Thomas Legrand explores the potential for shifts in perspective that could help us to face converging challenges.At the heart of his vision is an inner transformation, rejecting a paradigm that fuels separation while awakening values that promote collective consciousness. Although this is rooted in a spiritual worldview, Thomas says it's more about human ideals of freedom, virtue, truth and understanding – plus peace, love and happiness.We discuss how his agenda for action goes beyond the personal by looking at life in relational terms. Recognising interconnection leads to more holistic policies, which Thomas describes using real-life examples. However, we also reflect on obstacles to change – from entrenched vested interests to the underlying craving that drives an economy addicted to growth.Click here to download an excerpt from Politics of Being, or find out more via social media (he's on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn). Thomas also writes a Substack newsletter, and currently works with the Conscious Food Systems Alliance, convened by the United Nations Development Programme.

Digital consent models, language barriers, and cultural differences are just a few factors that can exclude people from participating in genomic research. In this episode, our guests discuss these issues, and explore alternative methods such as in-person discussions and the use of trusted community figures to engage with their communities to increase awareness of genomic research. They also highlight the importance of communicating consent in ways that respect cultural dynamics, such as family involvement in decision-making. Our host, Naimah Callachand is joined by Maili Raven-Adams, researcher in bioethics and policy at Nuffield Council on Bioethics, Niharika Batra, Community Projects Manager at Southall Community Alliance and Trupti Patel, Policy Manager at Genomics England.   "I think it is about finding language to involve people, and figure out how the benefits of them donating data can relate to them and their community"   You can read the transcript below or download it here: https://www.genomicsengland.co.uk/assets/documents/Podcast-transcripts/How-can-we-ensure-equitable-access-to-genomic-medicine.docx   Niharika: People are usually comfortable giving their data when they feel that there is transparency from the data collector, they're being completely transparent, they come with you with clear benefits, how it's going to benefit the community.  And you are equally sort of agent of your own data and you feel involved in the research and you feel that you have power to give out your data and have control over the journey of that research. Naimah: My name is Naimah Callachand, and I'm the Head of Product Engagement and Growth at Genomics England. On today's episode, I'm joined by Maili Raven-Adams, researcher in bioethics and policy at Nuffield Council on Bioethics, Niharika Batra, Community Projects Manager for Southall Community Alliance, and Trupti Patel, Policy Manager at Genomics England.  Today, we're going to be discussing some of the ethical, legal and social implications of genomics research for diverse communities, and how we might overcome them to address the challenge of diverse communities health needs.  If you enjoy today's episode, we'd love your support, please like, share and rate us on wherever you listen to your podcasts.  First of all, I'm going to ask each of our guests to briefly introduce themselves. Maili: I'm Maili Raven-Adams, I lead on work at the Nuffield Council on Bioethics to do with genomics.  This has predominantly been looking at how to develop a best practice approach for genomics, and looking at the ethical implications of AI and genomics when they're used together in healthcare.  Before here, I worked at the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health, where I developed policies related to diversity in datasets and genomic discrimination, so I have a particular interest in this area. Naimah: Niharika, can we come to you? Niharika: Hello, everyone, I'm Niharika Batra, I'm the Community Projects Manager at Southall Community Alliance.  We are a charity based in Southall.  Prior to joining the charity, I was working as a Youth Community Engagement Assistant in United Nations Development Programme in India, and I have a background in gender and development.  I also bring with me lived experience of being a South Asian immigrant woman, and I'm really passionate about working with the immigrant communities in the UK. Naimah: It's lovely to have you.  And Trupti, can we come to you? Trupti: Hi, I'm Trupti Patel, I'm a Policy Manager at Genomics England.  I work primarily within the diverse data initiative and I lead the equity in health research workstream.  My background is in responsible research and innovation, as well as co-production, and more ethical ways in which members of the public can shape the direction of scientific advancements. Naimah: So, first of all, Trupti, can we talk about the challenges around equity in data, and what this means for diverse groups in the context of genomics? Trupti: Yes, as I mentioned, I lead the equity in health research workstream.  Now we talk very specifically about equity in health data.  As Genomics England, we are a biobank, and we hold health data on individuals who have consented to be a part of genomic research. When we talk about equity, primarily we're talking about those of non-European ancestry, and there are very specific reasons as to why that is.  So firstly, there's a wider issue about representativeness within health datasets more widely.  We know that across all health data sets that are located within Global North countries, the data held within them tends to not be representative of their populations. And what I mean by that is that they tend to overrepresent those of European ancestry, and underrepresent anyone who is not of European ancestry.  The consequences of this is that healthcare innovation might stand to leave these population groups behind. One of the other reasons that we talk about equity specifically, as opposed to things like equality, is that we're also aware that if we look at research on a global level, the majority of research funding is given out through grant bodies located in Global North countries.  So we already know that research portfolios can actually be quite skewed towards population groups who live in those countries themselves.  We know that there's a lack of financial investment as well within developing economies.  So it's natural to assume that health innovation projects which address the needs of these communities are more likely to be conducted by researchers who are based in developing economies.  However, their access to funding is very limited, and on top of that they tend to have much smaller life sciences sectors, so their access for private funding, as well as opportunities to collaborate with industry can actually be quite limited in itself as well. Another reason that we care about equity is that we actually know that there are some sub-populations that are very diverse within themselves.  So a good example is the genetic diversity of Africa as a whole is much larger than those who live outside of Africa itself.  And for that reason there tends to be a focus on actually oversampling from people who are of these ancestries.  And another example being South East Asians as well.  The final challenge when it comes to equity is that we also know that there has to be a need for medical innovation for these population groups, and a desire for people to actually buy this type of innovation.  So there's a need for demand for these therapies and medications.  Now if we already know that developing economies might be less likely to be able to afford these medications, then the demand will always be lower for these population groups.  And therefore the demand for innovation might also be lower population groups.  But as a country, because we would want to make sure that we're able to provide medication to everyone equally, we need to take an equitable approach. So one thing about the lack of diversity within datasets actually means that we can't always accurately predict whether or not someone does or doesn't have a condition.  So we're still at the stage where accuracy is not as good for these population groups as it is for others, and it leads to things that we call false positives and false negatives.  So where we think that someone does or doesn't have a condition, and in fact, they might or they might now.  The incidence rates of that happening for anyone of non-European ancestry are higher.  That's one of the tensions that we're playing with at the moment, especially when it comes to providing genomic healthcare via a healthcare service.  Understanding people's cultural background and nuances I think is really important.  For example, a lot of those cultural practices can actually play into whether or not someone decides to receive or not receive a form of healthcare.  And it's also important to understand things like timing, so the decision around whether or not someone decides whether or not they're going to take a preventative medication might be based upon cultural timings around things like giving birth or something. Naimah: How can we ensure equitable access to genomic medicine for all of these communities? Maili: So I think we need to understand that there are several understandable reasons that people might not have been involved in genomic research to date.  Efforts have been made to engage with different communities, but this has sort of been piecemeal and we need to see how that engagement can feed into research practices. So that people feel as if their information that they've given has been taken on board, and that those research practices have been co-developed, and they feel more willing to engage so that that representation can increase.  There's also been examples where research has been actively untrustworthy in the past.  You know, there's well known stories of Henrietta Lacks, whose cancer cells were taken without her consent, and then used to develop research.  And there's different examples across the globe that kind of mirror that sort of exploitation.  So we kind of need to take note of these, and understand why people aren't there, and then allow that to inform engagement practices.  So that research practice can change over time and be more inclusive and encourage people to get involved and give good reason for them to get involved in that. Niharika: Also, to add on to what Trupti and Maili mentioned.  First of all, why this data gap exists, why is there inequity in genomic data?  It's because historically South Asian communities or the marginalised communities have been used to extract a lot of data, be it social research or medicine research.  So when a researcher approached them or a data collector approaches them, they feel that they're just going to collect the data and there will be no feedback process, or it might not benefit the community.  The communities do not understand what the clear benefits of these researches are.  And in terms of genomics, when we talk about medicine research, historically these communities have been exploited.  There has been information asymmetry, and we have observed a case in 1960s where in Coventry Punjabi women, or South Asian women, were given radioactive rotis, and they weren't even aware what they were consuming.  And it was in the name of research.  So there's always this hesitancy when it comes to medicine research. One way to tackle the problem of the data gap in genomic research is by co-production . So when you're approaching the communities, it sort of helps who is collecting the data, there is no skewed power dynamic involved.  People are usually comfortable giving their data when they feel that there is transparency from the data collector, they are being completely transparent, they come with you with clear benefits, how it's going to benefit the community.  And you are equally sort of agent of your own data, and you feel involved in the research, and you feel that you have power to give out your data and have control over the journey of that research. So it is also important how you frame the message when you're collecting the data.  In our communities, the idea of sevā or Kismet is very embedded in the communities, which mean either giving out your services or your time for the benefit of the communities.  So it's not just donation, but it's just spending more time or just working with the communities for a common or a collective benefit.  So when the message is framed in such a manner that you are doing a sevā or you are helping your communities bridge the health inequalities and there might be a collective benefit for the communities, people are more motivated to give their data.  But when the word donating data is used, then it puts a sort of emotional burden on the participant.  So it all depends on the messaging, how you frame your messages when you're collecting the data, and it's important to be cognisant of the cultural sort of ideas.  And this is something that can be used with South Asian communities, sevā and giving back to the communities. Maili: I was just going to say, I completely agree with that, like 100%, it's really important as well that the global majority don't feel pressurised into giving that data because of the language that's being used.  You know, the global majority are not represented in these datasets, so it could be that the language used might put pressure on people to donate that data to fill that gap, but that's not the right language.  I think it is about finding language to involve people, and figure out how the benefits of them donating data can relate to them and their community, so it just wanted to say that.  And also, it's important when we're using language like genetic ancestry that those aren't conflated with things like race or ethnicity, which are social uses of that language.  So I think this is just another area where it is really important to think about language and work with communities, to figure out what the right language to use it, and understand the benefits of using certain types of language. Naimah: And it just kind of highlights how many different nuances there is, and areas that need to be considered. Maili: Yes, I was just going to say, within that, we need to think about barriers to participation as well that might affect certain communities.  You know, there might be some language barriers, to making sure that we've got translators, or there's investment in making sure that the resources are there to make the engagement and also the research accessible to people.  There's things like people have lives, they have childcare, they have jobs, so making sure that they can donate data if they want to, at times that work for them and environments that work for them.  And things like transport costs and that sort of thing might be covered by a research organisation, so that people are empowered to get involved, and there's not too many barriers to become involved if they want to be.  I think that's really important to address as well. Naimah: Trupti, did you have something to add? Trupti: Yes, I was just going to say, I think it was really interesting that Niharika actually framed the benefit around community benefit.  Because within the policy sphere, and actually even within wider conversations on data and health, people use frame benefit in terms of patient benefit specifically.  And what we find is that when we engage with diverse communities, most of their concerns around harms are actually not harms necessarily to themselves specifically, but harms around their whole community.  And I do wonder whether there needs to be a slight reframing in how we talk about benefit when it comes to genomics in particular.  Because most people when they donate their data they know that it has consequences for those who are related to them. Naimah: So I wanted to talk about research governance as well.  And in the context of history of medical racism, with medical innovation now heading towards personalised healthcare, what are they key considerations we should have when it comes to rules around access to data? Trupti: So, I mean, one of the rules that we have within our biobank, when it comes to access to data, is that we don't want it to lead to any discrimination, and we won't allow access for things, for research projects, that do lead to discrimination.  However, we already know that there are lots of unintended consequences when it comes to research in general.  And when it comes to medical research in particular, and thinking about genomics in particular, lots of communities are aware that because in the past there has been a lot of research outputs have been used in ways that actually don't benefit these communities, and actually have negative consequences for these community groups, it means that the barrier to encourage people to take part is actually quite high.  When it comes to genomics in particular, obviously there's been a history of eugenics, and at the moment, that's quite a big area that lots of universities, especially in the UK, are going through eugenics inquiries.  It has effects upon people's perceptions of genomics as an area, and whether or not people can be confident that those types of research won't be repeated, and the types of research that will happen will actually benefit them. I mean, there's a good example that one of the community members gave, not directly to do with genomics, but actually they knew that if you're first name is Mohammed, your car insurance is actually much higher, your premiums are much higher.  And so they were concerned that if you were grouping people within genomic ancestries, or genetic ancestries, what consequences that has for them can be quite nuanced in the first instance.  But in the long-term it would actually mean that people might be grouped within these ancestries and policies and things that are created as a consequence were quite concerning for them. Naimah: And Maili, I wonder if you could tell me how people might feel more comfortable in the ways in which their data is being used? Maili: I guess if there's transparent governance mechanisms in place and they can understand how their data is being protected, you know, that goes right through data access committees.  There's one at Genomics England that as Trupti said reviews data.  So if they can understand what sorts of considerations that committee are thinking about in respect to genetic discrimination, and they can understand that certain considerations have been taken into account when their data is being used, that's one thing.  Another could be through consent processes.  So there's different sorts of consent models that could be explored with communities to figure out which one they'd be more comfortable with.  So broad consent I think is the one that's used at Genomics England at the moment.  So that means that people give their consent once, and then that data can kind of be used for a broad range of purposes.  But it's not always clear to people what those purposes are, or where that might be used over time. So there's different sorts of mechanisms that could be explored, like dynamic consent, where people are updated over time about what their data is being used for, and they can either opt out or opt in to those research practices.  Or forms like things like granular consent, where when people give their consent there's different options of people that they'd be happy for their data to be shared with.  So we know that people are less trusting of private companies, for example, so people might be able to say, “Yes, my data can be shared with nonprofit organisations or research organisations affiliated with universities or the government, but I don't want my data to be shared with private companies.”  And that might make people feel more comfortable in donating their data, because they might feel like they have some more control over where that is ending up.  And I think transparency there is really important, so people can understand when they give their data or they donate their data, they can understand what benefit might be coming from that.  And that might encourage people to get involved as well. Trupti: I was just going to add to that comment about dynamic consent.  So actually an interesting thing that Niharika mentioned earlier was this feeling that the people that we engage with actually really wanted a sense of control over their own data still.  Obviously when you give broad consent, your giving your consent, as Maili said, to a wide range of research that will happen or can happen in the future.  But interestingly, dynamic consent, I think culturally it is really valuable for some population groups, partly because it fits in very nicely with the idea that your biological data is actually a part of who you are. And that cultural philosophy can still exist within a lot of these communities that we're engaging with and a lot of these communities that we're trying to encourage to actually provide us with data.  Do you ever think that there could be like a medium position, where it was actually dynamic withdrawal? Maili: Yes, I guess that is something that could be explored, and I think that's one of the models that sometimes is talked about in academia or in these sorts of forums.  I think if people were dynamically kind of withdrawing, it might be interesting to understand why they're withdrawing and their reasons for that, so that research practice can change and take account of why people maybe no longer want to get involved in a certain type of research.  And I know that's something that you've spoken about in your community engagement groups. Naimah: Niharika, do you have something you want to add? Niharika: Yes, so when we were engaging with our communities, we primarily engaged with Hindi speaking people from Indian origin, Punjabi speaking people from Indian origin, and Urdu speaking people from Indian origin, and we spoke to them about genomic research.  We also spoke to them about the branches of genomic research and how their data could be used.  So while their data could be used for innovation in pharmacogenomics, which seemed to be more palatable for the people as this is an extension for treatments they've already been using.  For example, treatment for a chronic condition like hypertension or diabetes.  Whereas they were quite reluctant when it came to their data being used for gene editing.  So in Hindu religion, humans are considered the creation of Brahma, who is one of our main Gods.  And similarly in Islam, humans are called (Islamic term), which means God's greatest creation.  So when it comes to gene editing, some people believe that it means you are playing God, it means that you're tampering with the DNA, you're tampering with God's creation.  So they were really reluctant in providing their data for an innovation that entails gene editing or genetic screening or gene therapy. And when it comes to consent, I know Genomics England takes a broad consent, and there's scope of dynamic consent.  Where people are constantly engaged on where their data is being used, how their data is being used, which innovation their data is being used for, which research their data is being used for.  And they have an opportunity to withdraw their data if they're uncomfortable with any aspect of research. Maili: I was just going to say something else about consent models.  When we're thinking about different forms of consent, like dynamic consent, it's also important to consider the accessibility of those, lots of those models would rely on the internet and people having access to laptops or phones.  And so when we're exploring those models, we need to make sure that people have access, and if they don't have access that there's other ways that that sort of consent model might be able to be replicated, or there is an alternative way, so that people aren't excluded through that. Naimah: Is there a question around language barriers as well with the consent models? Maili: Yes, when verbal consent is taking place, the same problems of language barriers are there within the online version.  You know, how do you make sure that things that are translated, and translated well as well?  Because genomics is a complicated area with lots of jargon and complex language.  So how can we make sure that we translate that language in a way that's done, where the meaning is kind of translated as well. Trupti: The language thing was something that came up within some of our community workshops.  And I think one of the things that really came out was that genomics research itself has so much technical language that often you simply cannot translate the word into other languages.  And different ways in which you can convey information, so that you're still making sure that you're getting informed consent from participants I think is really important for these groups, beyond simply translating written material.  Whether that's through analogies or visuals that convey information, I think that's quite an underexplored area actually, within research more generally, but as a starting point genomics. Naimah: And did any of those community groups identify any preferences for what way they wanted to be communicated with, for consent and things like that? Trupti: I mean, certainly having online consent was a huge barrier.  So the idea that you log into a platform online in order to provide your consent to something wasn't something that people were that comfortable with.  Especially since these participants are often very reluctant to take part in the first place, so you're almost creating a barrier to them as well, it's an extra thing that they have to do.  They did feel that consent should really be in person.  They also preferred the idea of being able to discuss genomics widely within less formal settings, so outside of healthcare settings, or outside of research settings.  Because it meant that they felt that they were primed for the questions that they might have. One of the things that I was going to add is actually for genomics in particular, I mean, I mentioned before about when people decide whether or not they would like to consent to take part in genomic research..  They feel like they're not just consenting for themselves, they're also consenting for people within their network.  And so these are people that they would consult probably as to whether or not they should or shouldn't take part.  And so when you are making that decision and you're having those consenting conversations, whether that be within a research setting or a healthcare setting, it's important I think for people to understand that those decisions have been taken not just by an individual, they are actually reaching out to a much wider range of people within their own communities. Naimah: And is there something around that these decisions are often made with family members as well? Trupti: Yes.  So in situations where there are people from some cultures who are much more likely to take part in cousin marriages, these particular populations have scientifically been shown to have much higher likelihood to develop genetic conditions.  Now if that is the case, that can lead to a lot of stigmatisation, and it can proliferate a lot of discrimination that these population groups might be facing already.  So I think that's something to be considerate of.  And it might influence their decision making as to whether or not they or their family members should or shouldn't take part. Niharika: Yes, just to add onto what Trupti and Maili actually said, while language plays a very important role in terms of consent, how consent is being taken, it also depends on the setting.  In our areas where we engage with communities, usually the consent, or consent regarding medical research or genomic research is taken via the GPs.  And the GP services here in our areas are so overwhelmed at the moment, there are long waiting lists, like three months.  And when people actually get through the waiting list and go to their GP, they're so done with the process of waiting that when their GPs ask them for consent, they just either feel that they need to succumb to the pressure of, okay, giving the consent.  Because there's this skewed power dynamic over them as their white man or white doctor asking for the consent.  But also, they don't know what exactly to do in that moment, they're very frustrating from the long waiting line.  And they feel they're okay, they might need a little time to sort of cool down, go back home, look at the consent form, what is it about?      And in South Asian settings usually the decision making is done in family setting, where you consult your families.  And when we spoke to older South Asian women and asked them how would they give their data and why would they give data, they mentioned that they would give data because their children or husbands have advised them to do so.  So yes, it's important to see the setting of where the consent is being taken, who is taking the consent, and if they have enough time to think about it and go back and give their consent.  Also, it came up during the workshops that it helps if the consent is being taken by someone the communities already trust.  So having accredited community champions seek the consent.  So once they're trained, once they have enough knowledge about genomic research and how it can benefit their communities, they're able to better bridge the gap between the researchers or the research organisations and the communities.    Maili: Yes, I completely agree.  And I was just going to add that it's important that healthcare professionals are properly informed and open and aware of those different cultural or contextual dynamics within those consenting conversations.  So that they can properly listen and understand where people are coming from and give that time.  And I get that that's difficult in pressurised situations, where healthcare professionals are under a lot of time pressure.  But that needs to really be built into that healthcare professional training over time so that carries on and people can talk about genomics in a really accessible way.  And that carries through as well to genetic counsellors who give results to families, they need to be able to do that in the right sort of way.  And they need to ask the right questions and understand the patient that they're talking with so that that information can be translated or got across in the best possible way.      And that's even more important I think where there is a lack of diverse data that's informing research and informing healthcare outcomes.  I think healthcare professionals should be transparent with patients about some of the accuracy of certain things or how different results might mean different things for different people.  And it's really important that those conversations are had very openly and for that to happen, healthcare professionals also need to get the training to be able to do that.    Naimah: Okay.  So we're going to move on to talk a bit about developing countries.  Niharika, I wanted to come to you for this question.  Why would diverse communities benefit from research being more collaborative with developing countries?    Niharika: So in recent times, we have witnessed growing diaspora in the UK.  And when it comes to collaboration with developing countries, there's increased collaboration with these developing countries.  It can be a win-win situation for both the countries, for example, there can be increased innovation for these developing countries in exchange of information.  And at the same time, people in the developing countries, if they provide their data, they have the sense that they are helping their own communities who are living abroad.    Naimah: You've touched on a few points already, but, Trupti, I wonder if you could talk about the considerations we should have when considering international partnerships?    Trupti: Yes.  So one of the things that Genomics England has tried to do in the past and is still trying to do is increase the number of international academics that can have access to our biobank.  Now we already know that internationally, especially in developing economies, there's often a lack of data purely because the resource to do things like whole genome sequencing is so expensive.  The resource to even have or host a biobank itself is so costly that the barrier to even developing the infrastructure is so high.  So one way that we're looking to encourage innovation within those settings is actually to allow access through particular partnership agreements to academics who are based abroad.  Now obviously that means that there's a benefit for them in terms of being able to do the research in the first place.  But one of the things is that as a biobank we're also known for being a very highly secure biobank, compared to others.  So that's something that as a data store people actually highly respect, and in particular, a lot of the data regulation within the UK is highly respected by other countries.      One of the things that we have seen happening recently is that essentially some of our data security laws and data protection regulations are being reproduced in other countries as a way to ease working with research datasets across geographic political boundaries.  When it came to engaging members of local primary communities they have three primary asks when it came to the international partnerships that we might be developing in the future.  One of them was that at the very least there would be tiered pricing.  If we ever came to a situation where we were charging for access to our data, that pricing should be tiered to address the fact that if you are someone based in a developing economy, your access to financial resource to do research is much lower.      The second ask was that there'd be some way for us to foster collaborations.  Now, whether that be led by an academic who is based abroad or an academic based in the UK was up for debate.  It was more that those collaborations have to continue and have to be enabled in some capacity.  And then the third thing that was a big ask was actually around IP sharing.  So what happens to the financial benefits of doing this type of research?  And also, more equitable basically knowledge sharing across these regions was what was asked.  So what we're looking at in the near future is whether or not these principles could be used in order to guide some of our international partnerships' work.    Naimah: And I think just on that point you raised about fostering collaborations, Maili, I wonder if you could comment on how we could foster collaborations between the researchers and the communities that they serve?    Maili: Yes.  I think here is when engagement is really important, and we need to get researchers and communities speaking to each other, to have some sort of meaningful dialogue that doesn't just happen once but is embedded into whole research practices.  So there's many different opportunities to feed in and that practice is shaped based on the feedback the researchers receive.  I think engagement is a really amazing thing, but it does need to be done well, and there needs to be clear outcomes from that engagement.  So people need to feel that the information that they're giving and the time that they're giving is respected, and that those practices do change as a result of that.  So I think we really need to make sure that engagement and practices are done well.  And I was just going to say something on collaboration between different researchers.  When researches are happening across borders, it's really important that that's done in a really equitable way, and that those conversations are had between different researchers to figure out what's going to work well.      We need to avoid instances of things like helicopter science, and sometimes it's called other things.  Where researchers for example from the UK would go into a developing country and undertake research and then leave, taking all the benefits with them and not sharing them.  And that's something that we really need to avoid, especially in the UK, we don't want to exacerbate colonial pasts.  And I think it's really important in this context that those benefits are shared with communities.  And again, we can do that through engagement and understanding that relationship and making sure that collaboration really is collaboration, and that we can provide things that maybe others need or want in the right sort of way.    Niharika: Just to reiterate our communities are still haunted by the colonial pasts.  There's always this constant fear that our data might be misused, there might be data breaches and we won't be protected.  And your DNA data contains a lot of personal information, so there's constant anxiety around your DNA or genetic data.  So it's important that the researchers maintain utmost transparency.  There's a constant focus on flattening the hierarchies, where you sort of bridge the power gap between the researchers and the communities.  And it can be done through, again, as I mentioned before, having community champions on board who understand the communities better, who are constantly in touch with the communities.  And they provide that sort of semi-formal settings, where they know that where they're in constant touch with the authorities or the GPs or NHS, but also at the same time have very good relationship with the communities.  So this is something that should be taken into consideration.  And then just be cognisant of the cultural values, and not have very imperial ideas when you sort of approach communities.    Maili: I think this becomes even more important as genomics continues to evolve and new genomic techniques are developing.  For example, with things like polygenic scores, where we can look at people's genomic data and predict how susceptible someone might be to developing a certain disease or trait or outcome, in relation to the rest of the population.  Those are developing, and people are interested in them, but the data that they're based off again is that European genetic ancestry data, and therefore is not accurate or applicable to lots of communities.  And it's not just genes that we need to be aware of, it's people's environments, and that data is really important to integrate with things like polygenic scores.  I think we need to really address these issues now and make sure that as genomics develops that these things aren't perpetuated and existing health inequalities aren't continued to be exacerbated.    Naimah: Okay, we'll wrap up there.  Thank you to our guests, Maili Raven-Adams, Niharika Batra and Trupti Patel, for joining me today as we discussed the ethical, legal and social implications of genomics research for diverse communities.  If you'd like to hear more like this, please subscribe to Behind the Genes on your favourite podcast app.  Thank you for listening.  I've been your host and producer, Naimah Callachand, and this podcast was edited by Bill Griffin at Ventoux Digital.

This is a talk at the Black Spark Cultural Center in Melbourne, Australia. I feel that a lot of attention is being put on what I would describe as the symptoms of climate change, but few people are focused on the underlying root cause. We don't want to do that because it makes us too uncomfortable. We refuse to embrace the reality that consumerism (driven by greed and envy) which is rooted in our spiritual emptiness, is to blame. We don't want to accept it because that would really challenge us to consider what we collectively hold to be the goal of life. Only a spiritual perspective will empower us to embrace the fundamental changes needed to how we all live. Some of the quotes I used in the talk: “I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don't know how to do that.” - Gus Speth – American environmental lawyer and advocate, former dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, former Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme "We must shift America from a needs, to a desires culture, people must be trained to desire, to want new things even before the old had been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality in America. Man's desires must overshadow his needs." - Paul Mazur, Director - Lehman Brothers The last century saw “the rise of an idea that has come to dominate our society. It is the belief that satisfaction of individual feelings and desires is our highest priority.” - Adam Curtis, BBC documentarian and writer. EF Schumacher (Economist, Author) speaking of a proposal from perhaps the most influential economist of the last century, Lord Keynes, that prosperity, delivered by economic growth, brings all good. And the great engine to deliver economic growth was to cultivate greed and envy in people. Keynes – “the day might not be all that far off when everybody would be rich. We shall then, he said, “once more value ends above means and prefer the good to the useful”. “But beware!” he continued. “The time for all this is not yet. For at least another hundred years we must pretend to ourselves and to every one that fair is foul and foul is fair; for foul is useful and fair is not. Avarice and usury and precaution must be our gods for a little longer still. For only they can lead us out of the tunnel of economic necessity into daylight.” “The modem economy is propelled by a frenzy of greed and indulges in an orgy of envy, and these are not accidental features but the very causes of its expansionist success. The question is whether such causes can be effective for long or whether they carry within themselves the seeds of destruction.” - EF Schumacher “If human vices such as greed and envy are systematically cultivated, the inevitable result is nothing less than a collapse of intelligence. A man driven by greed or envy loses the power of seeing things as they really are, of seeing things in their roundness and wholeness, and his very successes become failures. If whole societies become infected by these vices, they may indeed achieve astonishing things but they become increasingly incapable of solving the most elementary problems of everyday existence.” - EF Schumacher The business model of big social media companies "is to create a society that is addicted, outraged, polarized, performative and disinformed. That's just the fundamentals of how it works." - Tristan Harris, Big Tech critic. “They have literally rewired our brains so that we are detached from reality and immersed in tribalism.” – Tim Kendall, former director

In this enlightening discussion, Sebnem Sener, Head of Private Finance for the SDGs at United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Sustainable Finance Hub, provides a nuanced analysis of the vast financial gap preventing the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The current $4.2 trillion annual financing shortfall is daunting, yet Sener emphasizes that this represents merely 1% of global wealth, urging the private sector to increase investments in SDG-aligned projects, particularly in emerging markets. Sener explains the central role of the UNDP's Sustainable Finance Hub in mobilizing private capital to where it is most needed, highlighting the strategic use of the organization's global network of 170 country offices. This network provides critical local insight, market intelligence, and an understanding of country-specific policy priorities, which are essential for identifying SDG-aligned investment opportunities. A core theme of the conversation is the challenge of managing both financial and impact risks. Sener stresses the importance of impact management systems, urging businesses to consider impact risks on par with financial risks. She illustrates this by recounting her engagement with a maternity clinic in Tanzania, where environmental concerns around medical waste had to be addressed alongside the clinic's primary goal of improving maternal health. Sener's example demonstrates how embedding impact management frameworks into business operations can mitigate negative outcomes and enhance the overall sustainability of investments. The interview also sheds light on the critical issue of perceived risk in emerging markets, where investors often hesitate due to political instability, economic volatility, and regulatory uncertainty. Sener argues that these risks can be addressed through innovative financial instruments such as blended finance, guarantees, and green bonds, which help to de-risk investments and attract private capital. Deal origination remains a significant hurdle in emerging markets, and Sener introduces the SDG Investor Map as a vital tool for overcoming this challenge. The map helps identify areas ripe for investment by aligning with country-specific development needs and successful business models. The SDG Investor Map draws on the on-the-ground intelligence from UNDP's country offices, which play a pivotal role in vetting businesses and ensuring that they are truly aligned with SDG objectives, thus enhancing credibility for investors. Sener's insights also emphasize the importance of collaboration. The financial ecosystem for impact is broad and diverse, encompassing not only global banks and institutions but also regional and domestic investors whose efforts often go unnoticed. This intricate network, facilitated by UNDP, creates a more fluid and inclusive market for sustainable investments. Looking ahead, Sener remains cautiously optimistic. While the progress toward the SDGs is far from sufficient—only 15% of targets are on track—the realignment of financial systems to embed sustainability at their core presents a promising pathway forward. For Sener, the solution lies in rethinking how businesses operate, ensuring sustainability is at the heart of decision-making processes. Throughout the conversation, Sener's wealth of experience, from her time advising HM Queen Máxima of the Netherlands to her current role at UNDP, shines through. Her understanding of financial inclusion and sustainable finance, combined with her optimism for the future, presents a compelling vision for how the private sector can play a transformative role in achieving the SDGs. Thank you for downloading this episode of the Do One Better Podcast. Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 250+ case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship. 

Think of any infrastructure project in Africa, and it's likely a Chinese firm will be behind it. In 2020 Chinese firms were responsible for a third of all African infrastructure projects. So what does this mean for the continent? To find out Claude Grunitzky speaks to Hannah Ryder, the CEO of Development Reimagined (DR), an independent international development consultancy. They have offices in Beijing, Nairobi, and London. Hannah has over 20 years experience working as a diplomat and economist. She also led the United Nations Development Programme's work with China to help improve its development work in Africa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christopher's website:https://ozgard.netDr. Christopher McIntosh was born in England in 1943 and grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland. He studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford and German at London University, later returning to Oxford to take a doctorate in history with a dissertation on the Rosicrucian revival in the context of the German Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment. After working in London in journalism and publishing he spent four years in New York as an information officer with the United Nations Development Programme, then moved to Germany to work for UNESCO. In parallel he has pursued a career as a writer and researcher specialising in the esoteric traditions as well as nature-oriented belief systems. He has lectured widely and was on the faculty of the distance M.A. programme in Western Esotericism at the University of Exeter, England, now sadly discontinued. He is married to the scholar of religion Dr. Donate Pahnke-McIntosh. Their home is in Lower Saxony, North Germany. Contact via Facebook Messenger.❤support the podcast https://paypal.me/typicalskepticmediacashapp $kalil1121 venmo @robert-kalilor buy me a coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/typicalskeptic

We've always said that data science is a gateway to other fields on this show. From climate change to medical research, knowledge around numbers can be useful in just about every aspect of life. This is why we've brought back Kobi Abayomi to talk about his journey using data to get into the music industry on this episodes of Stats+Short Stories Dr. Kobi Abayomi is the head of science for Gumball Demand Acceleration, a software service company for digital media. Dr. Abayomi was the first and founding Senior Vice President of Data Science at Warner Music Group. He has led data science groups at Barnes and Noble education and Warner media. As a consultant, he has worked with the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, the Innocence Project in the New York City Department of Education. He also serves on the Data Science Advisory Council at Seton Hall University where he holds an appointment in the mathematics and computer science department. Kobi, thank you so much for being here today.

UN lights up rural PNG - one village at a time.

In this episode, United Nations Senior Policy Advisor Manav Sachdeva talks with students from the UC Riverside School of Public Policy about his insights from his decorated career in international policy and how he works to help countries navigate from conflict to stability.   About Manav Sachdeva: Manav Sachdeva is a senior policy advisor and emergency expert personnel deployed at short notice for the United Nations Development Programme. He has worked for the UN and UNDP in several capacities since 2007 including as programme specialist for Asia Pacific and Arab States, Development consultant, senior advisor to Afghanistan UNWOMEN, and as a proposal writing consultant for UNDP Somalia. Manav's cross-border cooperation and peace/stabilization missions have included, Afghanistan, India, Lebanon, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Guyana, Liberia, and Kosovo. He holds a graduate degree in Economic Development and State/Society structural relations from Columbia University and academic research experience with Harvard University. Podcast Highlights:   “The more you get knowledge of places on the ground, [and] the more you [hear] the stories about them, [you learn that they don't] have control over their own narrative... they have a whole set of issues that have not been listened to." -       Manav Sachedva on the topic of the importance of giving people the space to tell their own stories so they can advocate for what their communities need, especially in the Global South. “There are layers of suffering and we need to... listen. So the main thing I find in transition [from conflict to stability] is the mistakes we make when we don't listen…there is a cost to not listen in this line of work” -       Manav Sachedva on the topic of the importance of intentionality and learning from the locals when helping areas transition from times of conflict to stability.   “We did a project and we dug a well where we didn't even check if the ground were levels were good enough - people do silly things out of hubris. So, check yourself a little bit because if you do it with humility you will have such a happy life." -       Manav Sachedva on a project he worked on in Afghanistan and the value of maintaining humility when trying to help others.  Guest: Manav Sachdeva (United Nations Senior Policy Advisor)  Interviewers: Rachel Strausman (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean's Vice Chief Ambassador) Dinara Godage (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean's Ambassador)  Music by: C Codaine ⁠https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Minimal_1625⁠⁠https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Phase⁠ Commercial Links:⁠ https://spp.ucr.edu/ba-mpp⁠⁠https://spp.ucr.edu/mpp⁠  This is a production of the UCR School of Public Policy: ⁠https://spp.ucr.edu/⁠  Subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss an episode. Learn more about the series and other episodes via ⁠https://spp.ucr.edu/podcast⁠. 

Moss Pure was created during a startup competition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in June 2020, where it won First Place Startup in Track 1B: Health, Energy, and Waste Management (MIT Lebanon Challenge). It then went on to participate in the United Nations Development Programme where it won Top 10 Startup in August 2020. While most moss wall companies use preserved moss that is no longer living, Moss Pure is the first and only live moss air filter and stress relief device. Their patent pending science extends the lifespan of live moss within our design without needing any watering, sunlight, or maintenance. All while being an aesthetically pleasing decor piece in your modern space. Founder Jamie Mitri joins Justin to discuss this “growing” company!

Guest post by Ian Scarffe is a serial entrepreneur, investor, key opinion leader and Blockchain consultant with business experience from around the world. The Power of Web3 for Social Impact: How Blockchain is Transforming Philanthropy and Humanitarian Aid Introduction In today's world, people have become increasingly concerned about the welfare of humanity and social impact. Conveniently, the introduction of Web3 has significantly transformed technology, and philanthropy and humanitarian aid are not excluded. Web3, the next iteration of the internet, has emerged as a distributed and decentralized network of interconnected devices. It has paved the way for new possibilities in social impact through blockchain technology, which enables transparency, accountability, and immutability in charitable giving. In this article, we will explore how Web3 transforms philanthropy and humanitarian aid, the benefits of blockchain technology for charitable giving, and the challenges and ethical considerations associated with using Web3 for social impact. Blockchain's impact on Philanthropy How Web3 is Changing Philanthropy and Humanitarian Aid Web3 has revolutionized the way people engage with philanthropy and humanitarian aid. It enables donors to bypass traditional intermediaries, such as governments and non-profits, and directly impacts the lives of people in need. Web3 has also opened up new possibilities for charitable giving by creating a decentralized and transparent platform that facilitates peer-to-peer donations. According to a report by the United Nations Development Programme, blockchain technology can "increase transparency and accountability, and thus reduce corruption, while enabling quick and efficient disbursement of funds" in humanitarian aid. This is a gamechanger, although it has not been utilized to half its potential, web3 can completely eradicate corruption in philanthropy. Another survey, conducted by Fidelity Charitable found that 75% of millennial and Gen Z donors expressed interest in donating cryptocurrency to charity. These are some of the few possibilities that could come from using the blockchain for humanitarian aid. The Benefits of Web3 for Charitable Giving There are many benefits that could come with the use of web3 for humanitarian aid. Some of these are mentioned below: Increased transparency in charitable giving Elimination of intermediaries and middlemen, resulting in faster and more efficient donations Reduced risk of fraud and corruption in aid systems Smart contracts that ensure donations are used for their intended purpose Ability for donors to track their contributions and ensure they reach their intended recipients Creation of a decentralized and transparent platform that facilitates peer-to-peer donations Immutable ledger that provides complete transparency and accountability in donations Increased trust between donors and aid organizations Ability for donors to have a more direct impact on the lives of people in need The most significant benefit of using Web3 for charitable giving is transparency. Blockchain technology enables the creation of immutable ledgers that provide donors with complete transparency and accountability in their donations. This means that donors can track their contributions and ensure that they reach their intended recipients. Furthermore, blockchain technology eliminates the need for intermediaries, ensuring that donations reach their intended recipients quickly and efficiently. Creating Transparency and Accountability with Blockchain Blockchain technology provides transparency and accountability in philanthropy and humanitarian aid. The technology gives donors the ability to track their donations and ensure that they reach their intended recipients. The immutable ledger created by blockchain technology ensures that all transactions record permanently and cannot alter or delete. This means that donors can have complete confidence in their contributions and the impact th...

Ken and Marck scale the Externsteine to discover the secret chapel, wonder at alchemical delights, and search for hidden Rosicrucian adepts of Germany. Our Reiseführer this week is returning guest, author, and adept of the highest standing Christopher McIntosh. This week: Is Germany the true cradle of the Western Esoteric Tradition, Is the Golden Dawn origin story a lie, Just how Rosicrucian is Germany, and much more. Joining me in Exernsteine Chapel this week is Marck Satyr Main theme by Simon Smerdon (Mothboy) Music bed by chriszabriskie.com Buy Occult Germany (affiliate links) https://amzn.to/3U4Tri5 (UK) https://amzn.to/3U1MFcE (US) Christopher McIntosh Bio: Dr. Christopher McIntosh was born in England in 1943 and grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland. He studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford and German at London University, later returning to Oxford to take a doctorate in history with a dissertation on the Rosicrucian revival in the context of the German Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment. After working in London in journalism and publishing he spent four years in New York as an information officer with the United Nations Development Programme, then moved to Germany to work for UNESCO. In parallel he has pursued a career as a writer and researcher specialising in the esoteric traditions as well as nature-oriented belief systems. He has lectured widely and was on the faculty of the distance M.A. programme in Western Esotericism at the University of Exeter, England, now sadly discontinued. He is married to the scholar of religion Dr. Donate Pahnke-McIntosh. Their home is in Lower Saxony, North Germany. Contact via Facebook Messenger. Source – https://ozgard.net/

The United Nations Development Programme, or UNDP, works in 170 countries and territories around the world to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality. Not surprisingly, that work aligns in a variety of ways with nature conservation. Leading the UNDP's Nature Hub is Midori Paxton. WCS Wild Audio checked in with her to discuss the work of the hub and the implementation of its Nature Pledge. Reporting: Nat MossGuest: Midori Paxton

WCS Wild Audio returns for its 4th season on March 6 with a conversation with Midori Paxton, who heads the Nature Hub for the United Nations Development Programme. During our break, we were thrilled to receive the Audience Honor in both the Podcasts and the Conservation & Preservation categories, and the juried Gold Honor in the Conservation & Preservation category, of the Shorty Impact Awards, which recognize short form digital content for a better world. As we look to the launch of a new season, check out these highlights from Season 3. You can hear all of our previous episodes at this site and, as always, thanks for listening!

Long after Harry Nilsson said, “one is the loneliest number,” and after Bob Seger sang about feeling like a number, music streaming services are using data to help of discover new music that connects to our frequent plays and preferences. Dr. Kobi Abayomi helps break that all down in this episode of Stats+Stories. Dr. Kobi Abayomi is the Head of Science for Gumbel Demand Acceleration - a Software as a Service (SaaS) company for digital media. Dr. Abayomi was the first and founding Senior Vice President of Data Science at Warner Music Group (WMG). He has led data science groups at Barnes & Noble Education and Warner Media; as a consultant, he has worked with the United Nations Development Programme, The World Bank, The Innocence Project, and the NYC Department of Education. He also serves on the Data Science Advisory Council at Seton Hall University, where he holds an appointment in the Mathematics & Computer Science Department. He serves on the Advisory Council at the Ivan Allen College at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Faculty Council at Barnes & Noble Education, and the Advisory Council for Modal Education.

Welcome to the Great Women in Compliance Podcast. In this episode, Hemma Lomax visits with Gitanjali Sakhuja, a Fractional Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer based in Washington, D.C. In her current role, Gitanjali works with small to mid-cap companies and nonprofits in the strategic implementation and management of their ethics and compliance programs. Gitanjali mentors regularly with StreetWise Partners, hosts Compliance Socials, a DMV-based community for ethics and compliance professionals and is currently also founding a path for Eyesea, an app mapping pollution in the oceans. She previously worked for the United Nations Development Programme in New York, Geneva and Jakarta and both UNICEF and Maersk in Copenhagen. Gitanjali received her J.D. from the Santa Clara University, School of Law and is CCEP certified. Gitanjali is a passionate lawyer with a unique approach to compliance and diplomacy, known for her creative infusion of dance into her work. Gitanjali's perspective on the "dancing lawyer's unique approach to compliance and diplomacy" is rooted in her belief that her passion for dance enhances her compliance skills and fosters a positive collaborative atmosphere. She likens the unique rhythm and movement of every dance to the tailored approach required in her compliance work, seeing a synergy between the two. Gitanjali's experiences in diverse communities and international organizations have shaped her belief that all complex problems can be solved by understanding the intricacies of the business and finding creative, practical solutions with business partners. Join Hemma Lomax and Gitanjali Sakhuja on this episode of Great Women in Compliance to delve deeper into her unique approach. Key Highlights ·      The Vibrant Connection: Dance and Compliance ·      The Dance of Diplomacy: A UN Career ·      Creative Problem Solving for Compliance Success ·      Leveraging relationships for impactful influence ·      Leveraging diverse experiences for diplomatic superpowers ·      Harnessing Influence: Empowering Change Through Collaboration Resources Join the Great Women in Compliance community on LinkedIn here. 

EPISODE 1896: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Kevin Casas-Zamora, Secretary General of International IDEA, about the fragile state of democracy around the world in 2023Dr Kevin Casas-Zamora, PhD has been the Secretary-General of International IDEA since August 2019. Casas-Zamora has more than 25 years of experience in democratic governance as a researcher, analyst, educator, consultant, and public official. He embodies the rare combination of a distinguished academic career—strongly focused on electoral systems and democratic institutions—with practical experience as a high-level public official in his home country as well as in multilateral organizations. Casas-Zamora is Senior Fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington, DC-based policy research centre. Until recently, he was member of Costa Rica's Presidential Commission for State Reform, and managing director at Analitica Consulting (Analitica Consultores). Previously, he was Costa Rica's Second Vice President and Minister of National Planning; Secretary for Political Affairs at the Organization of American States; Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution; and National Coordinator of the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Report. He has taught at Georgetown University, George Washington University, and the University of Texas in Dallas, among many higher education institutions. He holds a Law degree from the University of Costa Rica, a Masters in Government from the University of Essex, and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Oxford. He has authored several studies on campaign finance, elections, democratization, citizen security and civil-military relations in Latin America. His doctoral thesis, entitled “Paying for Democracy in Latin America: Political Finance and State Subsidies for Parties in Costa Rica and Uruguay”, won the 2004 Jean Blondel PhD Prize of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) and was published in 2005 by the ECPR. He was selected as Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2007. In 2013, he became a member of the Bretton Woods Committee.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.

Actuaries are vital to the insurance industry and national economies, but the profession is still emerging in many developing countries. That's why Milliman and the United Nations Development Programme have launched a program to increase actuarial capacity around the world. In this episode, five Milliman volunteers reflect on the initiative's first year and their work in 10 countries, from Nigeria to Nepal.You can read the episode transcript on our website.

“The primary concern is: how can we leverage technology for the betterment of humanity?” In this episode, Manas Chawla interviews Robert Opp on the evolving nature of technological risks and the potential of digital technology in advancing global development. During his conversation with Manas, Robert explores the importance of inclusion in the digitalisation process, the increasing global differential in technological access, and the potential for digital technology to “leapfrog” development in the Global South. Robert also considers where we may see the next big technological innovation and the role of the UN in enabling opportunities for international development. Robert is the Chief Digital Officer of the United Nations Development Programme. He leads the agency's digital transformation, aiming to harness the power of new technology to improve the lives of those furthest behind. Prior to this role, Robert was Director of the Innovation and Change Management Division within the World Food Programme, where he founded and led ShareTheMeal, a smartphone app dedicated to fighting global hunger.

There are similarities between the UN's efforts to pursue a disarmament strategy for nuclear weapons and the regulation of the military applications of AI. Given the multiple parallel initiatives on this issue, inputs would also have to be gathered from a range of stakeholders already working on the issue, such as the REAIM participants, the United States, and other countries, in order to regulate AI in the military domain. The private sector has a role here to drive governance on this topic as well, given that most of the technology emanates from their R&D efforts. Here, more regulation should not be seen as a roadblock to innovation; instead, it can accelerate it. This is because empirically-based regulations would allow the adoption of such AI systems to be faster. The lack of any such regulation could even lead to undesirable outcomes, which may hamper the growth of the industry.  In this episode of Interpreting India, Izumi Nakamitsu joins Konark Bhandari to discuss the military applications of AI.EPISODE CONTRIBUTORSIzumi Nakamitsu assumed her position as under-secretary-general and high representative for disarmament affairs on May 1, 2017. Prior to taking on this post, she served as assistant administrator of the Crisis Response Unit at the United Nations Development Programme since 2014. She has many years of experience within and outside the UN system, most recently as special adviser ad interim on follow-up to the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants between 2016 and 2017. She was previously director of the Asia and the Middle East Division of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations between 2012 and 2014 and director of the Department's Division of Policy, Evaluation and Training from 2008 to 2012. She holds a Master of Science degree in foreign service from Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and a Bachelor of Law degree from Waseda University, Tokyo.Konark Bhandari is a fellow with Carnegie India. He is a lawyer who has researched certain areas in the digital economy, focusing primarily on approaches to antitrust regulation of companies in the digital realm. He had earlier worked at India's antitrust regulator, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), where he worked closely with senior officials on a variety of matters. He is also an avid follower of the regulation of the space technology ecosystem and is keen to contribute to that discipline. While at the CCI, he was a member of the Internal Coordination Committee on the Think Tank on Digital Markets. Konark was also attached to the office of the chairperson of CCI, where his duties involved providing a briefing on live cases as well as speechwriting responsibilities. Konark has published papers in the areas of antitrust, intellectual property, and corporate law. 

First in a four-part series of special Borderlines episodes with UC Berkeley Law guest hosts Professor Roxanna Altholz and Professor Laurel E. Fletcher shining a spotlight on human rights champions—all guest speakers in their Human Rights Practice Workshop course, where leading practitioners working in a variety of institutional settings share their struggles against corruption and impunity, the relationship between legal and social justice, and the future of the human rights movement. Don't miss an episode – subscribe to Borderlines today!Episode 17 of Borderlines spotlights guest host Professor Roxanna Altholz, Co-Director of both Berkeley Law's Clinical Program and its International Human Rights Law Clinic, in discussion with Paul Goodwin ('13) about his work with the United Nations Development Programme. The UNDP serves as the UN's global development network dedicated to advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience, and resources. Mr. Goodwin works as a legal and policy analyst with the Social and Environmental Compliance Unit (SECU), the UNDP's independent accountability mechanism tasked with ensuring the proper implementation and adherence to the UNDP's Social and Environmental Standards. Listeners will come away educated about the role of UN-created international accountability mechanisms – their promise as well as limitations in halting corporate human rights abuses.Borderlines from Berkeley Law is a podcast about global problems in a world fragmented by national borders. Our host is Katerina Linos, Tragen Professor of International Law and co-director of the Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law. In each episode of Borderlines, Professor Linos invites experts to discuss cutting edge issues in international law.For a transcript, please visit the episode page on the Berkeley Law podcast hub. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EventMobi recently acquired virtual events platform Run the World, which held an astonishing 50,000 virtual events during the pandemic for heavy hitters such as Forbes, Meta, Amazon, the United Nations Development Programme and Harvard University. Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson sat down with event management software company EventMobi founder and CEO Bob Vaez to explore the benefits of the acquisition as face-to-face meetings have rebounded post-pandemic, as well as his take on some of the major meetings and events technology issues impacting the industry. Hear why EventMobi is upping its hybrid meetings offering, and why you should continue to explore both standalone virtual events as well as meetings that combine virtual with in-person.

Dr. Umar Saif comes back on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the Start-up Space in India and Pakistan, on this deep dive podcast we discuss what a Billion Dollar Start up Idea looks like, how Agritech can revolutionize Pakistan, what makes Start-ups investable, what are some red flags for investors, the history of Pakistani politics, and how the Indian IT industry grew. Umar Saif is a Pakistani computer scientist and academic. He is the founder and CEO of aiSight.ai, Chief Digital Officer of the Jang Group and CEO of Khudi Ventures. He is also serving as an advisor to the United Nations Development Programme in Pakistan. The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations. Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience To support the channel: Jazzcash/Easypaisa - 0325 -2982912 Patreon.com/thepakistanexperience And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications. Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89 Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:00 Umar Saif coming on The Pakistan Experience 4:00 Why there is no Start up Boom in Pakistan 8:00 How the Indian IT Industry grew 10:30 Skills and IT Training and Capacity Building 18:30 Using Technology and IT in Agriculture 32:00 Dil ka Rishta 33:30 Government helping small farmers and farmer cooperatives 37:00 History of Pakistani Politics 47:00 Skype and Estonia 50:30 How to bring a digital revolution in Pakistan and Start up Waves 57:00 What makes Start ups uninvestable 1:08:00 What is stopping an IT Revolution in Pakistan 1:12:30 Incentive for Government to invest in E-Commerce 1:14:00 Fund of Funds 1:17:00 Start up Valuations 1:19:00 What does a Billion Dollar look like? 1:21:40 Start up Red Flags 1:28:00 Audience Questions

Some of the main headlines we see in the news these days is the devastating effects of climate change around the world. Hottest temperatures on record, massive amounts of rainfall and flooding, record drop in the Antarctic ice sheet etc. A leading environmental lawyer and advocate former who formerly served as dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and as the former Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme made the following insightful statement: “I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don't know how to do that.” Wow – its all caused by selfishness, greed and apathy – spiritual sickness. Another quote I use is from the banker Paul Mazur of Lehman Brothers around 1920: "We must shift America from a needs, to a desires culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things even before the old had been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality in America. Man's desires must overshadow his needs."

Itto Outini is an international journalist, Fulbright scholar, human rights activist, accessibility advocate, and author of the forthcoming memoir Blindness is the Light of My Life. She holds an MA in journalism and strategic media from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, has practiced print and radio journalism in the US and Morocco, and has been invited to speak for organizations including Cal Tech University, Verizon Wireless, and North Seattle College.  Her work experience spans the for- and non-profit sectors and includes a stint with the United Nations Development Programme. In 2021, she founded Fulbrighters with Disabilities, a global, virtual chapter of the Fulbright Association dedicated to supporting students and scholars with disabilities around the world. In June of 2022, she made history by co-chairing a panel at the 15th Session of the Conference of State Parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. That same year, her life story was featured on BBC Outlook, and she and her husband, Mekiya Outini, co-founded The DateKeepers, an international media platform committed to publishing independent journalism, showcasing untold stories, and highlighting well-lived lives, especially those of people with disabilities, advocates, and allies worldwide.  Mekiya Outini is a writer and co-founder of the DateKeepers, an international media platform. He earned his MFA in fiction from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and his short stories, essays, and poems have appeared in outlets such as Chautauqua Literary Journal, the Michigan Quarterly Review, and Willow Springs, respectively. His unpublished novel, Ashes, Ashes, has been selected as a finalist or semi-finalist in several contests, including the Chanticleer Somerset Awards, and its first two chapters were published in the West Trade Review. He lives with his partner in business and life, Itto Outini, in Kansas City, MO. Fulbright Scholar | Human Rights Activist | Founder of Fulbrighters with Disabilities | Co-Founder & Journalist at The DateKeepers | +1 (479) 502-3244 |

Today's guest exemplifies what it truly means to ethically harness data and technology to transform the most vulnerable nations in the world. Yolanda Jinxin Ma, Head of Digital Policy and Global Partnerships at the United Nations Development Programme, joins Jeff on today's show to address digital transformation in the UN's international development.  Yolanda leads the development and implementation of the UNDP's digital strategy. She advises on multi-disciplinary initiatives in numerous countries. This includes public sector digital transformation, innovative financing for sustainable development, digital public goods proliferation, and cross-sector public-private partnerships. Yolanda has such a unique perspective on today's digital, social, political, and economic landscape. Listen-in as Jeff and Yolanda explore what it means to transform societies in an era of digital division and rapid technological change, and how nations can overcome the challenges that accompany such important work. 

Amy is joined by Dr. Islah Jad to discuss her book, Palestinian Women's Activism: Nationalism, Secularism, Islamism, and the many roles of Palestinian women as they resist oppression.Dr. Islah Jad is a tenured Assistant Professor of Gender and Development at Birzeit University. She is also the co-founder and current Director of the Institute of Women's Studies at Birzeit and a Core Group Member of the Arab Families Working Group. A prominent figure in the Palestinian women's movement, Jad also helped to establish the Women's Affair Centre in Gaza and Nablus, Les Amies du Francis, the Child Corner project in el-Bireh, and the WATC (Women's Affairs Technical Committee). Jad carried out Gender Consultancy for the United Nations Development Programme and was a co-author of the United Nation's Arab Human Development Report of 2005. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Cairo University, a master's degree in political theory from the University of Nantes, and a Ph.D. in gender and development studies from the University of London. She currently teaches at Birzeit University.

Since the Human Development Index was established in 1990, it has trended gradually upward, as people's health, wealth and opportunities have improved. But in 2019, it went into a decline then made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic and the fallout from the war in Ukraine. The impacts of these events on reversing human progress could be dwarfed by climate change, says Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Development Programme. However, the solutions to the climate problem also offer the potential to build a more inclusive and fair future that allows humanity to thrive.  Bloomberg Green reporter Akshat Rathi asks Steiner about the opportunities and threats climate change poses to global development, how countries can plan for more climate refugees, and what rising inequality means for a world facing multiple crises. Read Oxfam's report on inequality and climate change, here. Read a transcript of this episode, here. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim, Sommer Saadi and Stacey Wong, as well as Robin Pomeroy at the World Economic Forum for arranging studio space. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael welcomes Achim Steiner, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and co-chair of UN Energy. Michael had questions for Steiner on UNDP's roster of initiatives, balancing climate priorities with development goals, and how to clear a path to financing billions of dollars of clean infrastructure in the midst of a global energy crisis.Like, share and subscribe to Cleaning Up for more essential conversations around the net zero transition. Links and Related Episodes: Learn more about UNDP: https://www.undp.org/energyOver 120 countries are part of UNDP's Climate Promise: https://climatepromise.undp.org/Discover UNDP's Sustainable Finance Hub: https://sdgfinance.undp.org/Many of the episodes mentioned can be found in our ‘United Nations' playlist on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvl91lgPsUg&list=PLe8ZTD7dMaaDVAOrAyAwuMKrmq3G9ih75Watch Episode 98 with Bill McKibben: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W9uR6eTe94Watch Episode 59 with Alain Ebobissé: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep-59-alain-ebobisse-meeting-africas-infrastructure-needs/Guest BioAchim Steiner became Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme in 2017, and is also the Vice-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group. Steiner has been a global leader on sustainable development, climate resilience and international cooperation for nearly three decades.Prior to joining UNDP, he was Director of the Oxford Martin School and Professorial Fellow of Balliol College, University of Oxford. He led the United Nations Environment Programme (2006-2016), and was Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi. Steiner previously held positions including Director General of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and Secretary General of the World Commission on Dams.Steiner graduated in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (MA) from Worcester College, Oxford University, and holds an MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

Some Republican politicians are attacking environmental, social and governance investing strategies. One listener is wondering what the fight is really about. We’ll explain. Plus, are crypto losses tax deductible? And we’ll answer more of your questions about whether more immigration can help tame inflation, and developing vs. developed countries. Here’s everything we talked about today: “Crypto tax guide” from Fidelity “Are FTX Losses a Tax Write-Off? IRS Deduction Advice” from Bloomberg “Who are the developing countries in the WTO?” from WTO “Human Development Index” from the United Nations Development Programme “Florida, DeSantis yank billions in investments from ‘woke’ BlackRock over ESG investing” from USA Today Republicans Ramp Up Anti-ESG Campaign for 2023 from Bloomberg “Fed Chair Finds Trump-Era Immigration Policies Still Harm Economy” from Forbes “Scoop: Biden administration plotting immigration reform in 2023” from Axios “A seemingly surprising factor in inflation? Immigration” from NPR If you've got a question about the economy, business or technology, let us know. We're at makemesmart@marketplace.org, or leave us a message at 508-U-B-SMART.

Some Republican politicians are attacking environmental, social and governance investing strategies. One listener is wondering what the fight is really about. We’ll explain. Plus, are crypto losses tax deductible? And we’ll answer more of your questions about whether more immigration can help tame inflation, and developing vs. developed countries. Here’s everything we talked about today: “Crypto tax guide” from Fidelity “Are FTX Losses a Tax Write-Off? IRS Deduction Advice” from Bloomberg “Who are the developing countries in the WTO?” from WTO “Human Development Index” from the United Nations Development Programme “Florida, DeSantis yank billions in investments from ‘woke’ BlackRock over ESG investing” from USA Today Republicans Ramp Up Anti-ESG Campaign for 2023 from Bloomberg “Fed Chair Finds Trump-Era Immigration Policies Still Harm Economy” from Forbes “Scoop: Biden administration plotting immigration reform in 2023” from Axios “A seemingly surprising factor in inflation? Immigration” from NPR If you've got a question about the economy, business or technology, let us know. We're at makemesmart@marketplace.org, or leave us a message at 508-U-B-SMART.