This is a special episode of the podcast, recorded live from the World Government Summit in Dubai.
This is a conference dedicated to ideas and technologies to make government work more effectively. It’s sort of a cross between TED talks and Davos. You have people like Neil deGrasse Tyson discussing government’s role in science research, fancy presentations of drone technologies, and virtual reality stations. But you also have UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson discussing the Sustainable Development Goals and international superstars like Mary Robinson and Mohammad Yunus keeping it real by maintaining a focus on harnessing these technologies and ideas in service of humanity at large.
It’s been an interesting few days, and I have two interviews from the summit for you, which reflect the dual tracks of this conference.
First up is Princess Sarah Zeid, who is a long time UN employee and humanitarian worker. (Her spouse is the Jordanian diplomat and royal and current UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.) She is spearheading efforts in the UN system and beyond to sharpen the international community’s focus on providing maternal and reproductive health in humanitarian emergencies. Up to now, this is not something that the international community has done very well, for reasons she explains. She discusses candidly the very personal reason that she decided to take on this cause.
Next up, I speak with Justin Hall-Tipping, a venture capitalist who is investing in nano-technology in the clean energy
space. We have a discussion about the potential of nano technology to revolutionize things like access to clean water and clean energy, and what it will take to realize some very promising scientific discovery.
So, like I said, two somewhat different issues, but all under the rubric of this conference and both interesting. Have a listen!
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