Reviving its historic link with Morocco’s Chefchaouen, a small town in southern Spain, proves that cross-border cooperation can dismantle prejudice and offer a working model for the Alliance of Civilizations’ vision of intercultural understanding. As governments tighten borders and harden rhetoric, some communities are proving that diplomacy can start at street level. In southern Spain,…
“The UNESCO Global Geopark des- ignation was created in 2015. It rec- ognizes geological heritage of inter- national significance. Geoparks serve local communities by combining the conservation of their significant geo- logical heritage with public outreach and a sustainable approach to develop- ment. UNESCO continues to promote the geopark concept in regions where geoparks are…
The United Nations Headquarters in New York has arguably the highest concentration of diplomats per square foot — especially during the annual General Assembly High-level Week, which this September will gather for its 80th session. In the world of international diplomacy, ambassadors usually wear suits, negotiate resolutions, and bang gavels. But lately, some of those…
For decades, artificial intelligence (AI) has been quietly revolutionizing healthcare, long before it became the buzzword it is today. While headlines celebrate AI’s latest feats—whether it’s diagnosing diseases with uncanny accuracy, assisting in robotic surgeries, or accelerating drug discovery—few realize that AI’s roots in medicine stretch back more than half a century. This is the…
UNODC’s 2024 report shows that trafficking victims rose sharply after the pandemic, with children and forced labor at the center of the surge. Human trafficking is deepening in the shadows of today’s crises — expanding amid conflict, climate pressures, and the vulnerabilities left behind by COVID-19. A United Nations report warns that traffickers…
With global defense budgets soaring to heights unseen since the Cold War, NATO and regional powers are racing to fuse intelligence, technology, and early-warning systems into the core of modern deterrence. Twelve days of brutal warfare in the Middle East may have subsided, but the region remains a tinderbox of uncertainty. A cease-fire — fragile…
Becoming the first female prime minister may be a milestone in other countries. For Japanese, her qualifications are more important. As I sat amid the larch forests of mountainous Nagano watching news coverage of the naming of Japan’s first female prime minister in October, something seemed strange. The milestone is big news here, to be…
John Gast, American Progress, 1872 Columbia, the female figure of America, leads Americans into the West and into the future by carrying the values of republicanism. MANIFEST DESTINY Manifest Destiny is defined as “the concept of American exceptionalism, that is, the belief that America occupies a special place among the countries of the world.” The…
One Midwestern city is using refugee ambition to rebuild neighborhoods America forgot. A city of some 500,000 people lying practically in the geographic center of North America, Omaha, Nebraska, has a well-earned reputation for its delicious steaks, its generous billionaires, and its long tradition of supporting progressive causes. Lately, the city has been drawing accolades…
New York, NY — Envoy Magazine today announced that Stéphanie Fillion has been named Editor-in-Chief, bringing nearly a decade of reporting from United Nations Headquarters and a track record of award-winning global-affairs journalism across major international outlets. Fillion is a Canadian reporter specializing in foreign affairs and human rights and a United Nations…
As global instability mounts, the stakes are high for the 79th Unit- ed Nations General Assembly week. While tensions in Europe and the Middle East continue to dominate the diplomatic agenda and shake up the global order, all eyes will be on New York in September for leaders to set the diplo- matic agenda for…
When the earth freezes in Mongolia, a large part of the economy freezes with it. In this agrarian society where livestock outnumbers humans twenty to one, the winter disaster known as a dzud threat- ens lives and livelihoods for all. And the climate crisis is tightening its icy grip. Typical of Mongolia’s harsh climatic con-…
At the 2025 Google I/O conference, CEO Sundar Pichai declared a watershed moment in technological evolution: “We are in a new phase of the AI platform shift, where decades of research are becoming reality for people all over the world.” This bold proclamation didn’t just mark another product launch—it represented the culmination of decades of…
Decades of asylum abuses, shifting harm-reduction efforts and competing federal priorities have left Brazil with a patchwork system struggling to meet the needs of people who use drugs. I came to Brazil, and to a health clinic in this northern coastal city, to research how this vast and diverse country cares for people who use…
As the United Nations opens its 80th General Assembly this week, Secretary-General António Guterres stood before journalists in New York and delivered a blunt assessment: The world is drifting toward “an endless nightmare” of conflict, inequality, and institutional paralysis. His words were not just a curtain-raiser for a week of diplomacy, but a stark reminder of what…
The United Nations Security Council will hold a high-level open debate on Wednesday on artificial intelligence (AI) under the “Maintenance of international peace and security” agenda, chaired by Republic of Korea President Lee Jae Myung. Briefings will come from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Yoshua Bengio and Yejin Choi (Stanford University). The debate will explore AI’s…
