Today, women are still in the minority across Vanuatu’s Police Department, but times are changing. In the final episode of Island Voices, Sergeant Bianca Simeon and her colleagues describe the challenges they face.

Vanuatu’s national parliament doesn’t have a single woman member, but two activists are committed to changing gender politics. In the second episode of Island Voices, Georgilla Worwor, and Anthea Arukole, a former political advisor to the Vanuatu Government, discuss their political ambitions.

In the Vanuatu, young women are taking their long boards to the water, refusing to accept the idea that surfing is only for men. ”Solwota Sista” is the first episode of Island Voices, a three-part podcast series which looks at the ways that women in Vanuatu are attempting to break down barriers.

The role that buildings have to play in climate change rarely gets the same level of attention as issues such as energy production or transport, but they are a significant part of the problem. The UN estimates that, in 2019, emissions from buildings hit an all-time high, accounting for more than a third of all energy-related greenhouse gases. In New York, home to UN Headquarters, these techniques are now being put into practice, and older buildings are being “retrofitted” with the latest materials, for the benefit of residents, and the environment. Conor Lennon went to visit some New York projects that could help the City and State to achieve its strict and ambitious climate goals.

Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated 76 years ago this week, and to mark Holocaust remembrance day in late January, the corridors of UN Headquarters are normally filled with the stories of survivors who come to bear witness.  But this year, the annual commemoration programme was held online for the first time ever, due to COVID-19, under the theme “Facing the Aftermath: Recovery and Reconstitution after the Holocaust”.   For this latest edition of our Lid is On podcast, Ana Carmo brings you some of those voices of survival, along with the poignant contribution of German leader, Angela Merkel, and leading UN officials, speaking out against intolerance and racism, with neo-Nazism seemingly on the rise.  

Hunger is often associated with developing countries, but food insecurity is also present in higher income countries, including the richest country in the world, the United States. Conor Lennon from UN News visited a community kitchen in Brooklyn, New York, to find out how reducing food loss and waste can make a big difference to some of society’s most vulnerable. Music credit: Within the Earth, Ketsa

In the midst of COVID-19, we have an historic opportunity to look at the world as it is, based on the facts, and then focus on collective solutions, according to a special project undertaken by the United Nations this year to mark its 75th anniversary. Tune in to this special edition of our Lid is On podcast -Nations United: Urgent Solutions for Urgent Times, hosted by Hollywood great, Julia Roberts.

Although COVID-19 continues to dominate the headlines, a host of other global challenges have not gone away, such as conflict, famine and the existential threat posed by climate change. In this edition of our Lid is On podcast, UN News’s May Yaacoub spoke to UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, to find out what his priorities are for the event.  

The UN has an entire office dedicated to lowering the risks. For this latest Lid is On podcast, Conor Lennon’s been finding out how the Office for Disaster Risk Reduction works to persuade governments to put it at the heart of their decision-making.

The manufacture of ukuleles by a company in Hawaii is helping to promote Hawaii’s culture of aloha, with the added benefit of reforesting the US Pacific Ocean island state. Daniel Dickinson reports from Hawaii, where climate action is mingling with an ancient Pacific culture.