Kaylee Werner was a teenager when a gunman attacked the Tree of Life Synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh, on October 27, 2018. It was the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the nation’s history, with 11 people killed and nine injured.

Kaylee, who is Jewish, wasn’t at the synagogue that day, but she bears the scars: one of her relatives was killed, and she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She now campaigns for religious tolerance and gun control.

In this episode of The Lid Is On, we look at how the attack has changed Kaylee’s life, and how to combat antisemitism and other form of religious hatred.
 

This post was originally published on UN News.

Kaylee Werner was a teenager when a gunman attacked the Tree of Life Synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh, on October 27, 2018. It was the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the nation’s history, with 11 people killed and nine injured.

Kaylee, who is Jewish, wasn’t at the synagogue that day, but she bears the scars: one of her relatives was killed, and she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She now campaigns for religious tolerance and gun control.

Ahead of the twentieth anniversary of the UN’s Durban Declaration, considered to be a milestone in the global fight against racism, we look at how the attack has changed Kaylee’s life, and how to combat antisemitism and other form of religious hatred.

This post was originally published on UN News.

Andrew Young’s long and eventful career saw him at Martin Luther King’s side during the civil rights era, becoming the first African-American US Ambassador to the United Nations under Jimmy Carter, and subsequently a two-term Mayor of Atlanta.

But the man he looked up to was Ralph Bunche, one of the earliest officials at the United Nations, and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

In this episode of The Lid Is On, Mr. Young shares his memories of Ralph Bunche, and what made him such an impressive figure in the history of the UN.

This post was originally published on UN News.

As head of the police component at the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), Satu Koivu says “good competencies and skillset”, regardless of sex, will go far for those with ambitions to pursue police leadership. 
 
With over 30 years of experience in law enforcement and policing around the globe, the Finland native acknowledges choosing a career in the force at 18 years old was not typical for females at the time, and is optimistic other women will continue to find their place in the field.

This post was originally published on UN News.

When it started, less than a decade ago, Formula E, the fully electric car racing championship, struggled to be taken seriously by the motorsports industry.

For this latest Lid Is On podcast, Conor Lennon has been talking to some of the major players involved, to find out what the sport, and the industry, are doing to advancing sustainable development, and fight the climate crisis.

This post was originally published on UN News.

Refugee farmers who grew up cultivating crops in Somalia have returned to the land, albeit in the United States, decades after fleeing their country’s civil war.

They’ve been resettled in the US state of Maine after living for years in UN-supported refugee camps in Kenya. For this latest Lid is On podcast from UN News, Daniel Dickinson reports from Maine.

This post was originally published on UN News.

The unprecedented rise in people requiring humanitarian assistance will continue unless countries collaborate better to combat conflict, climate change and disease, including COVID-19.

That’s the firm belief of the UN’s top aid official, Mark Lowcock, who leaves this week after four years heading its Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

He spoke in depth to UN News’s Dianne Penn.

This post was originally published on UN News.

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.

This post was originally published on UN News.

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 political advisor to the Vanuatu Government, discuss their political ambitions.

This post was originally published on UN News.

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.

This post was originally published on UN News.

This post was originally published on UN News.

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.  

This post was originally published on UN News.

While many in the developed world are home schooling via Zoom and other online tools these days, in South Sudan, it’s old-fashioned radio that’s proving the best way to keep children on track with schoolwork.

For this episode of our flagship UN News podcast, the Lid Is On, Conor Lennon reports on the radio renaissance underway, in the world’s youngest country.

This post was originally published on UN News.

Countries must not forget routine lifesaving immunizations for diseases like measles, while racing to find a vaccine that will save millions of lives and end the COVID-19 pandemic.

That’s the message from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) vaccination programme director, Professor Kate O’Brien, who’s been talking in-depth to UN News for this latest Lid is On podcast, stressing also the importance of getting the facts, as misinformation rages online.

Music credit: Ketsa, ‘Live With No Fear’

This post was originally published on UN News.

In this special edition of our Lid Is On podcast, from UN News, we hear from independent UN human rights expert, Tendayi Achiume, who warns that apart from the coronavirus that’s destroying so many lives and transforming societies around the world, a virulent xenophobia and tide of racial hatred has also been unleashed, aided by what she calls “entrepreneurs of intolerance”.

Music credit: Ketsa: “Within the Earth”, and “Awaiting Her Return”

This post was originally published on UN News.