Launched in 2018, Awaaz Afghanistan has become a vital communication lifeline, connecting over 3 million people to essential services and humanitarian aid amid conflict and crisis.

“I don't think you can underestimate the capacity of human ingenuity to come up with solutions at a blistering pace.”

Acclaimed actor, filmmaker and three-time Academy Award nominee Edward Norton has long been raising his voice on behalf of the planet and its most vulnerable communities. As a UN Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity, he is championing the protection of biodiversity for the well-being of all.

“It’s quite heartbreaking. I started diving, when I was 14, in the Caribbean. The change to the reef environments in the Caribbean in my adult lifetime is staggering and really upsetting [...] It looks like a burnt forest or something. It’s just not, it’s not as alive.”

Working closely with communities in East Africa and around the world, Edward is pushing for conservation that also tackles poverty by providing sustainable sources of income for local communities. In this special episode, the Hollywood star reflects on his activist upbringing, his hopes for his children, and on balancing a successful acting career with a rich, varied and meaningful life.

Photo: ©UN Photo/S. Cardi

Digital platforms have transformed how news and information are created, shared, and consumed. Online content creators are reshaping the dissemination of information, influencing diverse audiences. However, this raises concerns about content reliability, professionalism, and ethics. The rise of generative artificial intelligence adds complexity to the information landscape and requires heightened vigilance and critical thinking. This year’s Global Media and Information Literacy Week (24-31 October) highlights the importance of media literacy intended for public interest information.

IFAD is partnering with the Mobile Journalism Awards to offer a US$ 1,000 prize for the best film highlighting a compelling story about rural people and issues, with the winner also receiving the opportunity to present their film at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia in April 2025. Enter here! 

Yakwetu is transforming Kenya's film industry by disrupting piracy through a legitimate pay-as-you-go streaming model that supports local creators and combats the illegal copying of content.

The World Health Organisation has partnered with TikTok to promote health literacy and combat misinformation through engaging, science-based content on the platform.

The 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly marks a crucial milestone in the global effort to accelerate progress towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN Department of Global Communications hosted its annual flagship SDG Media Zone featuring impactful in-depth interviews and dialogues on global issues that matter to people around the world. See our live coverage of the week that brought together world leaders, influencers, activists, experts, content creators and media partners to highlight actions and solutions in support of the #GlobalGoals.

UNESCO's “Support for Ukrainian Refugees through Media” project has improved refugees' access to reliable information and fostered understanding between refugees and host populations. 

“How, in our age, do we overcome this competition between ecology and economy, which is leading us to so many destructive and ultimately, increasingly catastrophic realities around the world?”

Born in Brazil to German parents, Achim Steiner knows first hand the power of cultural exchange to drive international cooperation. Now head of UNDP, he leads global efforts to secure a better future for our planet and its people.

“The clearest lesson from 50 years of modern development thinking is don't try and just pick one aspect and put all your eggs in that basket. Society is complex, development is about choices. And you will either get them right and succeed or you will fall apart.”

In this episode, Achim reflects on the thorniest challenges facing humanity, on his hopes for a fairer, cleaner future, and on the vital lessons he learned in rural Pakistan.

Photo:©UNDP Afghanistan/Oriane Zerah

Technological advances have revolutionized communications, connecting people on a previously unthinkable scale. Yet they have also enabled the spread of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech at an unprecedented volume, velocity and virality. New risks stemming from AI technologies have made strengthening information integrity one of the urgent tasks of our time. The Secretary-General is launching the UN Global Principles for Information Integrity, a framework for coordinated international action to address the pressing global challenges to the integrity of the information ecosystem.

“Human rights … is the strongest tool that we have in our hands to be a voice of those who don't have power and to speak truth to those who have the power and to make sure that they understand that yes, that there are limits to power.”

Volker Türk has the greatest respect for those able to hold onto hope when all appears to be lost. As UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, he has devoted his life and career to helping the world’s most vulnerable people.

“What has always struck me was encounters with people who are extremely resilient … who actually see hope, including in the most atrocious circumstances, and who just keep doing the right thing.”

In this episode, Volker reflects on holding rulebreakers to account, the strength displayed by refugees, and why the best ideas often arrive in the dead of night.

"[...] for me refugees almost become... They epitomize, they represent us in our humanity."

Photo:©UN/Anthony Headley

“The evidence is pretty overwhelming that it doesn't even take very long for migration to actually pay out pretty significantly for the communities who host the migrants, and definitely for the communities that migrants are coming from.”

Amy Pope has always championed humane and orderly migration as an opportunity for societies, not a problem. Now the first female Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) she is campaigning for a fundamental shift in attitudes towards newcomers.

“You just give somebody a little space. Everybody has purpose. Everybody has dreams, everybody wants to be seen.”

Human migration is likely to rise over the coming decades, with the IOM predicting that hundreds of millions of people could be displaced due to climate change alone. In this episode, Amy reflects on how better to prepare communities and why celebrating the contributions of migrants is a win-win for societies around the world.

Photo:©IOM 2024/ Muse Mohammed

"What worries me a lot is whether we are focusing on any given day the crisis of today, and forgetting about the crisis of yesterday and the day before [...] whether we are forgetting the crises that are not in the news today."

Big or small, Joyce Msuya has always found ways to give back. Now Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in OCHA, she oversees the global response to the world’s worst crises.

From Gaza to Ukraine, Haiti to Sudan, the UN estimates 300 million people around the world are in need of life-saving assistance and protection. In this episode, Joyce reflects on keeping hope alive despite waking to fresh crises every day, on the shocking impacts of climate-related extreme weather, and on the long-term benefits of a strict boarding school.

Photo: ©OCHA/Marc Belanger

“2.6 billion people don't have access to the internet … if you're not part of the digital revolution, you're not going to be part of the AI revolution – we’ve got to close that gap.”

Doreen Bogdan-Martin’s fascinating career handed her a front row seat for the digital revolution. Now Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), she’s among those leading global efforts to set guardrails on the use of Artificial Intelligence.

“I think we've never seen anything like this before … the plane is in flight and we're building it while we're flying - it's tremendous.”

AI presents huge opportunities for humanity, but also poses great risks. In this episode, Doreen Bogdan-Martin reflects on working to ensure the humane and sustainable use of AI, on connecting the billions around the world who are not yet online, and on juggling a career with four children.

Photo: ©ITU/D.Woldu

Globalizate Radio serves as a crucial lifeline for Venezuelan migrants in the Dominican Republic, offering essential information, community support, and a platform to challenge stereotypes and promote unity.