Historian Alanna O'Malley explores how Global South actors have shaped the United Nations, arguing we should view today's challenges as an opportunity for a UN 'renaissance' rather than a collapse. She highlights invisible histories, multi-alignment strategies, regional and minilateral developments, and the need for Charter reform, greater legitimacy, accountability and public engagement to renew multilateralism.

Professor O'Malley reflects from a historical point of view on the upcoming process of selection and appointment of the next Secretary-General highlighting the importance that broad global perspective and public traction need to play and urges recognizing the UN as a flexible, multipurpose institution that must be retooled and better resourced to protect sovereignty, human rights and equal representation.

Resources: Ask a Librarian!

https://www.eur.nl/en/people/alanna-sylver-omalley

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Guest: Professor Dr. Alanna O'Malley

Host, production and editing: Amy Smith, UN Library & Archives Geneva

Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva 

This is AI x Multilateralism, a playlist of conversations at the Commons, our space at the UN Library & Archives Geneva for sharing knowledge on multilateralism. In this series, we’re joined by experts who help us unpack the many ideas and issues at the nexus of AI and international cooperation.  

In this episode we ask: can AI help us better predict, respond to, and recover from crises? We’re joined by Dr. Martin Waehlisch, Associate Professor of Transformative Technologies, Innovation and Global Affairs at the University of Birmingham. He’s also part of the Research Team of the Crisis Computing Project, a global community of scholars and practitioners who are driven to put computation to better use.  

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Guest: Dr. Martin Waehlisch 

In this episode we speak with Jean-Claude Burgelman about what open science means, why it accelerates innovation, and why we need it now.

Jean-Claude Burgelman discusses practical benefits for businesses and NGOs, barriers like paywalled publishing and academic incentives, and the urgent need to make publicly funded data usable.

Jean-Claude argues for multilateral infrastructure—a global open science cloud—and a new social contract for science, drawing on insights from this year's Frontiers Science House at Davos.

The episode closes with a call to rethink institutions and governance so open science can drive faster, fairer solutions to global challenges.

Resources: Ask a Librarian!

Frontiers Planet Prize: https://www.frontiersplanetprize.org/ 

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Guest: Jean-Claude Burgelman

Hosts: Amy Smith and Wouter Schallier

Production and editing: UN Library & Archives Geneva

Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva 

This is AI x Multilateralism, a mini-series on The Next Page, where experts help us unpack the many ideas at the nexus of AI and international cooperation.

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Guests: Jacob Taylor and Joshua Tan

Our final episode of the year invites listeners into the life and legacy of U Thant, the longest‑serving Secretary‑General of the United Nations and a quiet architect of peace during some of the most dangerous moments of the Cold War.

Drawing on the perspective of historian Thant Myint‑U, his grandson, the conversation revisits

Grounded in Buddhist ethics and a deep belief in multilateral cooperation, U Thant’s leadership connected decolonization, social justice, and environmental concern long before these agendas were widely recognized on the global stage. Through archival stories and family memories, the episode explores how his example can inform efforts today to organize peace and renew trust in international institutions, as we reimagine the UN’s potential in a fractured world.

Resources: Ask a Librarian!

Myint-U, T. (2025). Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World. W. W. Norton & Company. 

https://www.thantmyintu.com/peacemaker 

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Guest: Dr. Thant Myint-U

Host, production and editing: Amy Smith, UN Library & Archives Geneva

Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva 

On the launch of the latest publication in the UN Historical Series, published by the UN Library & Archives Geneva, this episode of The Next Page explores the history of intellectual cooperation around the League of Nations, tracing the creation of the International Committee in Geneva and the Paris-based International Institute for Intellectual Cooperation.

Guest speakers Dr. Martin Grandjean, University of Lausanne, and Professor Daniel Laqua, University of Northumbria, discuss the Institute’s ambitions, institutional rivalries with Geneva, questions on elitism, inclusivity and the nature of the project, and examples of initiatives—from textbook debates and student exchanges to heritage and scientific cooperation—that helped shape cultural diplomacy and paved the way for later multilateral efforts like UNESCO.

Resources. Ask an Archivist!  Ask a Librarian!

Grandjean, M. and Laqua D. (eds). Intellectual Cooperation at the League of Nations: Shaping Cultural and Political Relations. UN Historical Series.

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Guests: Dr. Martin Grandjean (University of Lausanne) and Professor Daniel Laqua (University of Northumbria)

Host, production and editing: Amy Smith, UN Library & Archives Geneva

Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva 

This is AI x Multilateralism, a mini-series on The Next Page, where experts help us unpack the many ideas and issues at the nexus of AI and international cooperation.  

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Guest: Dr. Rachel Adams

In this episode, we host Associate Professor Disa Sauter from the University of Amsterdam, and Edward Mishaud from The Beyond Lab at UN Geneva, to explore affective science and the role of hope in driving individual and collective sustainability action. They explain active versus passive hope, how different emotions shape decision-making, and why hopeful, solution-focused communication matters for sustainable development.

The conversation highlights practical pathways for bringing emotion research into multilateral spaces, the secret of storytelling as a tool to cultivate hope, and real-world examples of collective impact. Listeners learn how hope can mobilize agency, bridge individual and collective action, and inform better policy, negotiations and outreach.

Resources: Ask a Librarian!

The Beyond Lab: https://www.thebeyondlab.org/

The International Day of Hope: https://www.un.org/en/observances/hope-day

https://www.thebeyondlab.org/article/international-day-of-hope-2025 

Brosch, T., & Sauter, D. (2023). Emotions and the climate crisis: A research agenda for an affective sustainability science. Emotion Review, 15(4), 253–257. https://doi.org/10.1177/17540739231193741 

McKibben, B. (2025). Here comes the sun: A last chance for the climate and a fresh chance for civilization. W.W. Norton & Company.

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Guests: Disa Sauter, University of Amsterdam

Edward Mishaud, UN Geneva Beyond Lab

Host, production and editing: Amy Smith, UN Library & Archives Geneva

Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva 

This is AI x Multilateralism, a mini-series on The Next Page, where experts help us unpack the many ideas and issues at the nexus of AI and international cooperation.  

Resources mentioned: 

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Guest: Dr. Jérôme Duberry

Host, production and editing: Natalie Alexander Julien 

Recorded & produced at the Commons, United Nations Library & Archives Geneva 

In this episode, Amy Fraenkel, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), discusses the Convention’s first State of the World’s Migratory Species report, the urgent threats facing migratory animals, and the need for international cooperation and ecological connectivity to protect them.

The conversation covers key findings from the report, main threats such as habitat loss and over-exploitation, successful cross-border conservation efforts, and practical ways governments, communities, scientists and industry can work together to safeguard migratory species.

Resources: Ask a Librarian!

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals

 State of the World's Migratory Species Report:

https://www.cms.int/publication/state-worlds-migratory-species

Central Asian Mammals Initiative: https://cami.cms.int/about-cami

Where to listen to this episode 

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Guest: Amy Fraenkel, Executive Secretary, Convention on Migratory Species

Host, production and editing: Amy Smith, UN Library & Archives Geneva

Recorded online & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva