For Mexican investigative reporter Alejandra Crail, who’s just been awarded the prestigious Breach-Valdez prize for Journalism and Human Rights, the COVID-19 quarantine has been a chance to reassert her conviction that the truth must be told about both the virus and other darker issues that she says have been ignored for too long. It’s a message that’s shared by the head of the UN Information Centre, Giancarlo Summa, writes UN Geneva’s Solange Behoteguy Cortes.

"It's like waking up in a movie one day and realising that the virus is everywhere," says Christian Lawrence Velez Zambrana, who’s better known in the Bolivian hip-hop world as "Krisso MC”.

It was a global first. For the first time in its 13-year history, the United Nations initiative Ciné ONU held its first virtual event to simultaneously reach people all over the world.

“Taking the fight to COVID-19 is all about sharing the right information about what we can all do to help halt the spread of infection. But how do you do this in Senegal, where there are more than a dozen languages? In a bid to find a creative and reliable solution, the UN information team in Dakar has joined forces with musicians who have a loyal following in the country and the wider West African diaspora. In our latest report on how the UN is helping communities cope with the new coronavirus, we talk to Damian Cardona, Director of the UN Information Centre (UNIC) in Senegal.

Singers like Lady Gaga are not alone in having found inspiration during the Covid-19 pandemic. Contemporary artists like Spain’s Cristobal Gabarrón have also used this period to release some creative juices.

Mahmoud Hossam, a UN information officer in Egypt, spoke to UNIS Geneva’s Solange Behoteguy Cortes about observing Ramadan and other changes during Covid-19.

Hélène Papper, head of UNIC Colombia, spoke to UN Geneva’s Solange Behoteguy Cortes about the many challenges and successes that she’s encountered during the pandemic.