
The Next Page
Are you curious about the power of international cooperation? And how it affects our future? Tune in to the #NextPagePod, the podcast of the UN Library & Archives Geneva, designed to advance the conversation on multilateralism.
Latest episodes

Jul 7, 2023 • 1h 3min
Women who shaped the UN - a conversation with Rebecca Adami
We invited Dr. Rebecca Adami, Associate Professor, Senior Lecturer at Stockholm University, Award winner of the 2022 Bertha Lutz Prize for highest quality public writing and research on women in diplomacy by the Diplomatic Studies Section (DPLST) of the International Studies Association (ISA), for a conversation around the role non-Western women had in shaping the UN system, from the UN Charter to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In this rich conversation, Dr. Adami shares with us the context of situation post-World War II and tells us the story of how the rights of women were included in the text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She introduces us to several of the prominent non-Western women who were behind the negotiations both at the San Francisco Conference and for the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including Hansa Jivraj Mehta and Lakshmi Menon from India, Minerva Bernardino from the Dominican Republic, and Begum Shaista Ikramullah from Pakistan.
Resources
Adami, R and Plesch, D. (2022) Women and the UN: a new history of women's international human rights. London: Routledge
https://www.routledge.com/Women-and-the-UN-A-New-History-of-Womens-International-Human-Rights/Adami-Plesch/p/book/9780367478230#
Adami, R. (2019). Women and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. New York: Routledge
https://www.routledge.com/Women-and-the-Universal-Declaration-of-Human-Rights/Adami/p/book/9781138345355
Where to listen to this episode
Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fslNo-7U9hg
Content
Speaker: Dr. Rebecca Adami, Associate Professor,
Host: Francesco Pisano, Director, UN Library & Archives
Producer: Amy Smith
Editing & social media: Amy Smith & Nadia Al Droubi
Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

Jun 23, 2023 • 45min
Géopolitique des féminismes – une conversation avec Marie-Cécile Naves
Nous continuons notre série en lien avec le rapport du Secrétaire-général Notre programme commun, le Sommet pour les ODD, et le Sommet de l’avenir avec un épisode qui souligne l’importance de mettre l’égalité des genres au cœur de l’architecture multilatérale. Pour cet épisode, nous avons invité Marie-Cécile Naves, Directrice de recherche et Directrice de l‘Observatoire « Genre et géopolitique » à l’Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques (IRIS) afin qu’elle nous parle de son dernier livre « Géopolitique des féminismes » publié aux Éditions Eyrolles. Marie-Cécile Naves aborde la géopolitique par le genre et nous explique l’importance du gender maintreaming dans toutes les thématiques de l’agenda international. Elle nous emmène faire un tour de monde grâce à ses exemples inspirants dans la lutte pour l’égalité.
Ressources
Site de Marie-Cécile Naves : https://mariececilenaves.com/mcn/
IRIS : https://www.iris-france.org/observatoires/observatoire-genre-et-geopolitique/
Naves, M.C., 2023. Géopolitique des féminismes. Editions Eyrolles.
Naves, M.C., 2023. « Calmez-vous madame, ça va bien se passer ». Calmann-Levy.
Où écouter cet épisode
Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy
YouTube:
Contenu
Invitée : Marie-Cécile Naves
Animatrice : Amy Smith
Réalisation et montage : Amy Smith
Conception pour réseaux sociaux : Amy Smith & Nadia Al Droubi
Photo Marie-Cécile Naves : @ Xavier Desplas
Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

Jun 9, 2023 • 44min
Multilateralism & the UN today - a conversation with Richard Gowan
In this episode, we met with Richard Gowan, UN Director at International Crisis Group (ICG) to get his perspective on current issues and trends in multilateralism. He shared his thoughts on reasons for optimism and pessimism about the way multilateralism is functioning, the ways in which it is evolving and the values on which it stands. We also talked about the UN, possibilities of reform, the SDGs, the Secretary-General’s report Our Common Agenda and the Summit for the Future. Richard also explained the importance of the UN entities based in Geneva in the UN system.
Richard Gowan can be followed on Twitter @RichardGowan1
Resources
International Crisis Group: https://www.crisisgroup.org/
Where to listen to this episode
Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO1Vt8_OC7g&t=3s
Content
Speaker: Richard Gowan, UN Director, International Crisis Group
Host: Amy Smith
Producer: Amy Smith
Editing & social media: Amy Smith & Nadia Al Droubi
Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

May 26, 2023 • 53min
A time for change and effective multilateralism – a conversation with Adam Day
In this episode we explore a recent report of the High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism - A Breakthrough for People and Planet: Effective and Inclusive Global Governance for Today and the Future (United Nations University, 2023) - which offers a pathway to revitalize the multilateral system in view of the Summit of the Future. The Summit of the Future will be a key moment to reaffirm and recommit to effective multilateralism in the interest of both people and the planet.
Adam Day is Head of the Geneva Office of United Nations University Centre for Policy Research. He oversees programming on peacebuilding, human rights, peacekeeping, climate-security, sanctions, and global governance, while also acting as co-lead on UNU-CPR’s support to the High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism.
Resources
United Nations University: https://unu.edu/explore
HLAB Report: https://highleveladvisoryboard.org/breakthrough/pdf/56892_UNU_HLAB_report_Final_LOWRES.pdf
High Level Advisory Board: https://highleveladvisoryboard.org/
Books mentioned:
Slaughter, Anne-Marie. (2018). The Chessboard and the Web: Strategies of Connection in a Networked World. Yale University Press.
Carayannis, Tatiana & Weiss, Thomas G. (2021) The “Third” United Nations: How A Knowledge Ecology Helps the UN Think. Oxford University Press.
Where to listen to this episode
· Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154
· Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy
· YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc7CX2RRWZ8&list=PLmzrhlc0gF6KlZ8KES5Jzho0d-UZdyuIx
Content
Speaker: Dr. Adam Day, Head of Geneva Office, United Nations University Centre for Policy Research
Host: Francesco Pisano
Producer, editing & social media: Amy Smith
Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

May 12, 2023 • 40min
Knowledge and Learning for Multilateralism - a conversation with UN Assistant Secretary-General Nikhil Seth
UN Assistant Secretary-General Nikhil Seth, Executive Director of UNITAR, joined Francesco Pisano for a conversation about knowledge and learning for multilateralism in this 60th anniversary year of UNITAR. UNITAR was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 1963 and started operating in March 1965.The Institute originally had its headquarters in New York and a European Office in Geneva. In 1993, UNITAR’s headquarters were moved to Geneva.
Over the past decades the Institute has acquired unique expertise, accumulating experience, knowledge and capacities to design and implement a variety of training activities.
Nikhil and Francesco discuss the work of UNITAR, the role of knowledge in multilateralism, and look at where we are going post 2030 and what we need to meet the challenges ahead.
Resources
UNITAR website: https://unitar.org/
Where to listen to this episode
Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy
YouTube:
Content
Speaker: United Nations Assistant-Secretary-General, Nikhil Seth
Host: Francesco Pisano
Producer: Amy Smith
Editing and social media designs: Sotheapanha Theng
Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

Apr 28, 2023 • 54min
Re-imagining International Relations - a conversation with Professor Amitav Acharya
Re-imagining International Relations - A conversation with Amitav Acharya
Taking as a starting point that today’s multilateralism is in urgent need of an upgrade, Library & Archives Director, Francesco Pisano talks with Professor Amitav Acharya about how Global International Relations could broaden the Eurocentric way concepts and ideas in international relations developed, so that the practice of international relations could transform to be better adapted to the pluralistic world in which we live.
Amitav Acharya is the UNESCO Chair in Transnational Challenges and Governance and Distinguished Professor at the School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC. Previously he was a Professor at York University, Toronto and the University of Bristol, U.K. He is currently Honorary Professor at Rhodes University, South Africa, and Guest Professor at Nankai University, China. He was the inaugural Boeing Company Chair in International Relations at the Schwarzman Scholars Program at Tsinghua University, Fellow of Harvard’s Asia Center and John F. Kennedy School of Government, and Christensen Fellow at Oxford.
Amitav Acharya is also the recipient of an International Studies Association (ISA) Distinguished Scholar Award 2023 for his “extraordinary impact” in globalizing the study of International Relations and “mentorship of emerging scholars”.
Resources
Website: https://www.american.edu/sis/faculty/aacharya.cfm
Amitav Acharya’s Blog, The Multiplex World: https://multiplexworld.com/
Twitter: @AmitavAcharya https://twitter.com/amitavacharya
Books:
Acharya, A. & Buzan, B. (2021). Re-imagining International Relations. World Orders in the Thought and Practice of Indian, Chinese, and Islamic Civilizations. Cambridge University Press.
Acharya, A. & Buzan, B. (2019). The Making of Global International Relations. Origins and Evolution of IR at its Centenary. Cambridge University Press.
Acharya, A. (2018). Constructing Global Order. Agency and Change in World Politics. Cambridge University Press.
Acharya, A. (2018). The End of American World Order, 2nd Edition. Wiley.
Acharya, A. (2013). Rethinking Power, Institutions and Ideas in World Politics. Whose IR? Routledge.
Where to listen to this episode
Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdteR2XP-A4&list=PLmzrhlc0gF6KlZ8KES5Jzho0d-UZdyuIx
Content
Speaker: Professor Amitav Acharya
Host: Francesco Pisano
Producer: Amy Smith
Editing & Social media designs: Amy Smith and Sotheapanha Theng
Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

Apr 14, 2023 • 59min
Inside the Human Rights Council – a conversation with Ambassador Federico Villegas
Inside the Human Rights Council – a conversation with Ambassador Federico Villegas, 16th President of the Human Rights Council
Human rights are a burning issue at the centre of the international arena because they are fundamental to humankind. The interpretation and respect of human rights and the response to their violations depend on discussions held annually by the Human Rights Council that convenes in Geneva. Ambassador Villegas was President of the Council in 2022, one of the most challenging years on the body's record. In this podcast episode, Ambassador Villegas explains why the Council is so important, talks about the state of human rights in the world today and shares his thoughts on the strong connection between human rights and multilateralism.
Resources
Website: https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/sessions
Where to listen to this episode
Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy
YouTube:
Content
Speaker: Ambassador Federico Villegas
Host: Francesco Pisano
Producer: Amy Smith
Editing & Social media designs: Sotheapanha Theng
Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

Mar 24, 2023 • 42min
The Emotions of Internationalism – a conversation with Ilaria Scaglia
The Emotions of Internationalism – a conversation with Ilaria Scaglia
Dr. Ilaria Scaglia takes us on an Alpine journey to explore the emotions that internationalists around the League of Nations sought to encourage and share. Along the way we hear mention of Heidi, the Pope, Einstein and Marie Curie, alpinists and climbers, as well as renowned doctors practicing in the Alps. Through this study of the history of emotions, we come to understand better the vision of international cooperation in the interwar period.
Resources
Scaglia, I. (2020). The Emotions of Internationalism: Feeling International Cooperation in the Alps in the Interwar Period, Oxford University Press. doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198848325.001.0001
Novick, P. (1988). That Noble Dream: The 'Objectivity Question' and the American Historical Profession (Ideas in Context). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511816345
Sluga, G., & Clavin, P. (Eds.). (2016). Internationalisms: A Twentieth-Century History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781107477568
Website: https://ilariascaglia.com/
Where to listen to this episode
Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy
YouTube:
Content
Speaker: Dr. Ilaria Scaglia
Host: Amy Smith
Producer: Amy Smith
Editing & Social media designs: Sotheapanha Theng
Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

Mar 10, 2023 • 38min
The Rise of Digital Diplomacy - a conversation with Jovan Kurbalija
The Rise of Digital Diplomacy
Francesco Pisano talks with Dr. Jovan Kurbalija, Director of DiploFoundation, about the mission of Diplo. We discover more about digital diplomacy and the impact it has on multilateralism and international cooperation. Jovan Kurbalija shares highlights from the 2022 Summit on Digital Diplomacy and Governance held in Malta and discusses the trends in digital geopolitics and geoeconomics. He underlines that diplomats need new skills to keep pace with changing technology in a digital world.
Resources
Diplo website: At DIPLO technology meets diplomacy
Resources - DiploFoundation (diplomacy.edu)
Report: Stronger digital voices from Africa
Geneva Internet Platform Digital Watch website: https://dig.watch/
Where to listen to this episode
Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy
YouTube:
Content
Speaker: Dr. Jovan Kurbalija
Host: Francesco Pisano
Producer: Amy Smith
Editing and social media designs: Sotheapanha Theng
Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

Feb 24, 2023 • 50min
The Right to Science - a conversation with Helle Porsdam & Sebastian Porsdam Mann
The Right to Science – a conversation with Helle Porsdam & Sebastian Porsdam Mann
In this episode, we host the editors of a recently published book, The Right to Science: Then and Now (2021). Professor Helle Porsdam, Professor of History and Cultural Rights at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Law (CIS) at the University of Copenhagen and who holds a UNESCO Chair in Cultural Rights, and Dr. Sebastian Porsdam Mann at the University of Oxford, speak about the fascinating history of this less well-known Human Right. They discuss what it means to participate and share in culture and science, the importance of diversity and inclusion, and what a human rights perspective brings to complex issues.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 27 - Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
Resources
Porsdam, H., & Porsdam Mann, S. (Eds.). (2021). The Right to Science: Then and Now. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108776301
Open access: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/right-to-science/right-to-science-then/B61DA8232EC2F7B539C224ACCBF48D92
Website: https://en.unesco.org/human-rights/science
Where to listen to this episode
Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy
YouTube:
Content
Speakers: Professor Helle Porsdam and Dr. Sebastian Porsdam Mann
Host: Amy Smith
Editor & Producer: Amy Smith
Social media designs: Sotheapanha Theng
Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva