The Global Citizen: a podcast by Katoikos.world

#22 - P5 and Shifting Power: Is a Realistic Path to UN Reform Possible? | Daryl Swanepoel

🌎 This episode of the Global Citizen podcast presents a deep dive into the critical and complex issue of UN reform, focusing on the need for a more representative and effective Security Council.
🗣️ Today's guest is Daryl Swanepoel, CEO of the Inclusive Society Institute and an expert in global governance. Daryl takes us on a journey through some of the most pressing structural challenges facing the UN, steering away from discussions on the Summit of the Future to focus on the “elephant in the room” — the entrenched power dynamics of the P5 veto system and the need for a more inclusive Security Council.
☑️ In this episode, we explore pragmatic approaches to reforming the UN, why past efforts have struggled to deliver meaningful change, and what can realistically be done to achieve a more balanced and representative global governance structure. Tune in to hear Daryl’s insights on how to create a UN that reflects the realities of today's world.
Thanks once again for tuning in, and we hope you enjoy this episode!
Sponsored and published by:
📰 ⁠⁠⁠katoikos.world⁠⁠⁠ 📰
🏛️ ⁠⁠⁠FOGGS ⁠⁠⁠🏛️
The opinions expressed in this podcast by the host(s) and/or guest(s) do not in any way represent the official positions of FOGGS, katoikos.world, or any other affiliated organization.

#21 - Preparing for the Future: Disaster Risk and Global Sustainability | Cilene Victor

🌎 This episode presents an engaging conversation on the critical intersection of disaster preparedness and global sustainability. As the world faces increasing environmental crises, understanding how to effectively communicate risk and prepare for disasters is more important than ever.
🗣️ Today's guest is Cilene Victor, a professor, journalist, and expert in disaster risk communication with over 30 years of experience. Cilene has worked extensively with UNESCO and the Brazilian government on projects aimed at enhancing disaster preparedness through media and communication strategies. Her work focuses on how global institutions, media, and civil society can collaborate to improve disaster readiness and foster resilience, especially in vulnerable regions.
☑️ In this episode, we explore the role of disaster communication in global governance, the lessons learned from her extensive career, and what the Summit of the Future can achieve in addressing the growing need for disaster preparedness in the face of climate change and other global challenges.
Thanks once again for tuning in, and we hope you enjoy this episode!
Sponsored and published by:
📰 ⁠⁠⁠katoikos.world⁠⁠⁠ 📰
🏛️ ⁠⁠⁠FOGGS ⁠⁠⁠🏛️
The opinions expressed in this podcast by the host(s) and/or guest(s) do not in any way represent the official positions of FOGGS, katoikos.world, or any other affiliated organization.

#20 - Building a Global Resilience Council: the Future of Global Governance | Georgios Kostakos

🌎 This episode of the Global Citizen podcast presents an in-depth conversation about the future of global governance and the need for stronger international resilience in the face of non-military threats. Dr. Georgios Kostakos, Executive Director of FOGGS, shares his insights into how the proposed Global Resilience Council could be a game changer in addressing global crises such as climate change, pandemics, and other multidimensional threats.
🗣️ Today's guest is Georgios Kostakos, an expert in global governance with extensive experience in the United Nations and international policy reform. He offers a unique perspective on the evolution of global governance, drawing comparisons between his firsthand experience during the 2005 World Summit and the upcoming Summit of the Future. In this episode, Georgios discusses how the proposed Global Resilience Council could transform the way we address global challenges and build a more secure and sustainable future.
☑️ Tune in as we explore the history of UN reforms, the role of major powers in shaping global governance, and how innovative new approaches like the Global Resilience Council could help tackle some of the most pressing issues facing humanity today.
Thanks once again for tuning in, and we hope you enjoy this episode!
Sponsored and published by:
📰 ⁠⁠⁠katoikos.world⁠⁠⁠ 📰
🏛️ ⁠⁠⁠FOGGS ⁠⁠⁠🏛️
The opinions expressed in this podcast by the host(s) and/or guest(s) do not in any way represent the official positions of FOGGS, katoikos.world, or any other affiliated organization.

#19 - From Nairobi to the Future: Civil Society’s Role in Global Governance | Nudhara Yusuf

🌎 This episode provides an in-depth conversation about the 2024 UN-Civil Society Conference in Nairobi and its impact on global governance. We are joined by Nudhara Yusuf who co-chaired the conference – one which played a pivotal role in shaping civil society's contributions to the upcoming Summit of the Future, particularly through the formation of the ImPact Coalitions, focusing on addressing global challenges like health, youth engagement, and sustainable development.
🗣️ Today's guest is Nudhara Yusuf, co-chair of the 2024 UN-Civil Society Conference and a key advocate for civil society’s engagement in global governance. Nudhara shares her personal experience co-chairing the conference, working closely with the UN Department of Global Communication, and navigating the challenges of bringing civil society voices to the forefront of global discussions. She also discusses the potential for the conference’s outcomes, including the ImPact Coalitions, to influence the ambitious agenda of the Summit of the Future.
☑️ Tune in to hear Nudhara’s insights on the power of civil society to drive change and her reflections on how the Nairobi conference can shape the future of global governance, ensuring that diverse voices are heard and acted upon.
Thanks once again for tuning in, and we hope you enjoy this episode!
Sponsored and published by: 📰 ⁠⁠⁠katoikos.world⁠⁠⁠ 📰
🏛️ ⁠⁠⁠FOGGS ⁠⁠⁠🏛️ 
The opinions expressed in this podcast by the host(s) and/or guest(s) do not in any way represent the official positions of FOGGS, katoikos.world, or any other affiliated organization.

#18 - Interfaith Dialogue: An Effective Peace Mechanism? | Mohammad Taher Gholi Tabar

🌎 This episode of the Global Citizen podcast presents a thought-provoking conversation on the significance of interfaith dialogue and religious coexistence. As global divisions rise based on religious and cultural differences, the importance of fostering understanding and cooperation across faiths cannot be overstated.
🗣️ Today's guest is Mohammad Taher Gholitabar, a distinguished academic and Director of the Office of European and American Affairs at the University of Religions and Denominations in Iran. Mohammad Taher is also an active member of FOGGS.
☑️ In this episode, Mohammad Taher shares his experiences and insights on the role of interfaith dialogue in bridging divides and fostering religious coexistence. Together, we discuss the challenges and opportunities in promoting inter-religious understanding in today’s world and explore how the United Nations and other global institutions can support these efforts. The conversation also delves into the expectations from the UN and the international community in addressing religious conflicts and promoting peace, with a special focus on the needs and perspectives of the Global South.
Thanks once again for tuning in, and we hope you enjoy this episode!
Sponsored and published by:
📰 ⁠⁠⁠katoikos.world⁠⁠⁠ 📰
🏛️ ⁠⁠⁠FOGGS ⁠⁠⁠🏛️ 
The opinions expressed in this podcast by the host(s) and/or guest(s) do not in any way represent the official positions of FOGGS, katoikos.world, or any other affiliated organization.

#17 - Uniting for Change: is Multilateralism Still Alive? | Kerstin Leitner

🌎 This episode of The Global Citizen podcast presents an insightful discussion on the importance of multilateralism and institutional reforms in addressing global challenges.
🗣️ Today's guest is Kerstin Leitner, an experienced former UN official and senior advisor with extensive experience in global governance and sustainable development. Dr. Leitner shares her perspectives on whether multilateralism is still alive and strong.
☑️ Dr. Leitner provides a historical overview of multilateralism, reflecting on periods of strong global cooperation and identifying factors that have led to its current challenges. She discusses key institutional reforms necessary to enhance the effectiveness of multilateral organisations like the UN and explores the roles of major powers such as the US and China. The conversation also touches on the potential of the upcoming Summit of the Future to bring about meaningful changes in global governance and foster a more unified international community.
Thanks once again for tuning in, and we hope you enjoy this episode!
Sponsored and published by:
📰 ⁠⁠⁠katoikos.world⁠⁠⁠ 📰
🏛️ ⁠⁠⁠FOGGS ⁠⁠⁠🏛️ 
The opinions expressed in this podcast by the host(s) and/or guest(s) do not in any way represent the official positions of FOGGS, katoikos.world, or any other affiliated organization.

#16 - Activist v. France: a modern David and Goliath story | Loan Torondel

🌎 This episode of the Global Citizen podcast presents an intimate account of a years-long battle between a young French activist working working with refugees in Calais, and the French state, which pressed criminal defamation charges against him for the apparent crime of posting a picture of policemen with a funny caption.
🗣️ Today's guest is Loan Torondel, humanitarian and social worker from France, currently active in search and rescue missions in the mediterranean sea. Loan - who I had the pleasure of meeting and working with a few years ago - kindly agreed to come on the podcast to share his deeply moving story with me, and with you, the dear audience of the GCP.
☑️ In this super intimate and interesting conversation, Loan and I explored the personal dimensions of this ordeal, namely how it affects one's mental health and social life, as well as the political dimensions, like the motives behind the charges, the political climate at the time that led to lawsuits such as this one, and the impact that this ruling has had on future similar cases.
Thanks once again for tuning in, and we hope you enjoy this episode!
Sponsored and published by:
📰 ⁠katoikos.world⁠ 📰
🏛️ ⁠FOGGS ⁠🏛️ 
The opinions expressed in this podcast by the host(s) and/or guest(s) do not in any way represent the official positions of FOGGS, katoikos.world, or any other affiliated organization.

#15 - Multilateralism and the UN in a post-Westphalian world | Rebecca Shoot

🌎 Our modern multilateral system is based on a political concept that was born more than 300 years ago and underlies international relations to this day. During the negotiations of the peace of Westphalia, new rules defining the nature and rights of states, notably the principle of non-interference, were established in Europe. This came to be known as the Westphalian world order, an international system emphasizing the role of the sovereign state as the basic unit in the global political arena.
🗺️ Over the centuries, with humanity advancing into new paradigms of coexistence, the Westphalian world order seems to be transforming. Supranational power structures such as regional unions (EU, African Union) and the UN have embedded themselves into the international system, introducing new spaces for multilateral interaction.
🤝 With the need to cooperate more imperative than ever, and with multiple planetary crises brewing, we are at an injunction where in order to tackle the challenges ahead, we will have to change the way we relate to each other on all levels.
🗣️ Rebecca Shoot from the US-based world federalist organization Citizens for Global Solutions joined me on the show to shed some light into this subject. Citizens for global solutions is a US-based NGO advocating for a democratic world federation predicated upon peace, human rights, and the rule of law, active in coalition building and advocacy in order to promote its vision. We went over her organization's ideas for UN reform, how world federalism might inform the development of a post-Westphalian order, what being a world federalist is like in the US, and much more.
I hope you enjoy the full interview. Thanks so much for tuning in!
Sponsored and published by:
📰 katoikos.world 📰
🏛️ FOGGS 🏛️ 

#14 - The age of democratic decline | Stefanos Loukopoulos

🪙 The end of the second world war ushered in a new era of change for humanity. Having tested out all of their new, shiny weapons on each other, the nation states of Europe decided to tone things down for a while, and to focus on rebuilding their war-ravaged continent. A key factor for the success of this was, of course, the US. American financial aid was a major helping hand for Europe, especially in the years right after the end of the hostilities of WW2. Along with the US' money, however, came also their influence. Europe, holding the United States' hand, entered into an period of liberalism, urbanization, opening up of markets, systemic integration (🇪🇺), and increased laissez-faire in its economies and industries - a period often called by 20th century historians "the Golden Age".
🏙️ This changed Europe's demographic, sociopolitical and cultural characteristics to an incredible degree, and with great speed. A mostly agrarian and industrial collage of societies, Europe was being transformed - to its core - into a land of opportunity, bustling market economies and capitalist models of economic planning. Today, the situation remains the same, but even more intensified. This is the case not only in Europe anymore, but, especially after the fall of the Soviet Union, in the majority of the world's economies. Fukuyama said this was the end of history - however, the corrosive elements of our system are starting to bear their teeth. Scholars believe that late capitalism does not actually require democracy to function. Systems with healthy democratic elements hinder private enterprises' ability to make more profit by keeping them on an "institutional leash", regulating their activities in the name of public interest. Therefore, one could say that giving people power to decide for themselves isn't the greatest business decision. And this has started to become obvious.
🗣️ Today I was joined by Stefanos Loukopoulos, co-founder and director of Vouliwatch, a parliamentary watchdog NGO based in Athens. Greece is a prime example of the process I explained above, and Stefanos was kind enough to come on the show to help explain the situation better. We discussed a lot about Greece, the decline of its democratic institutions, and the disillusionment and apathy of people towards their political system. We also talked about his organization, Vouliwatch, and what kind of action it takes to tackle this phenomenon. Finally, we tied the local to the global aspect, touching on the phenomenon of democratic decline on a worldwide scale. I am so grateful to Stefanos for sharing his amazing insights on these topics, and I'm happy we got to dive deeper into the goings-on of my home country, Greece. I'm excited to share this episode so that all of you can also get a bit of a clearer picture about what's going on in my little sun-washed corner of the globe :)
Thanks for tuning in!
Supported and published by:
📰 katoikos.world 📰
🏛️ FOGGS 🏛️ 

#13 - Is climate change really a crisis of values? | Finnur Ricart

🌍 The planet is metaphorically (and unfortunately, quite often literally) on fire. Being a young human in their mid 20s, I've slowly and painfully learnt, as I'm transitioning into adulthood, that the world on which I'm living, and one day maybe my children, is on a downhill spiral of environmental degradation, and that increasingly tougher times are ahead.
🏭 The causes of this might be simple to point our fingers to - namely, destruction of the environment, exploitation of natural resources past their breaking point, and radical disruption of very fragile planetary and biological systems. However, if we want to get out of this mess and stay out of it, it is important that we understand exactly why we have brought ourselves to this point of environmental breakdown in the first place.
🏛️ My guest, Finnur, thinks - and in my opinion, very rightly so - that the core of the climate crisis is related to our values as a society. It might be the case that the pillars upon which we base our human existence on this planet in this point in time, which are predominantly values like growth, expansion, individualism and consumption, are fundamentally incompatible with a planet that has finite resources and extremely delicate ecosystems. Maybe the solution for climate change doesn’t only lie in our technological capacities, but might also require that we rethink our relationship with life and nature in general.
🗣️ Finnur Ricart is Chairperson of the Icelandic Young Environmentalist Association, and Icelandic UN Youth Delegate on Climate Change. He’s in his early twenties but he’s already achieved so much, and from what I can tell he’s just getting started. Our conversation covered a range of topics, like the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, which he attended as youth delegate for Iceland, as well as in the role of representative of his organization, the Icelandic Young Environmentalist Association. Finnur gave me a comprehensive, first hand account of what it’s really like to attend the conference of the parties, that absolutely massive political forum, and especially what it’s like to be there as a youth delegate, so we talked a lot about what kind of impact the youth has on the diplomatic procedures of the conference. Of course, as I mentioned above, we also talked a lot about climate change being, at its core, a crisis of values. I'm very grateful that I got to hear his perspective on all of these things, and even more grateful that I get to share them on the podcast.
Thanks so much for tuning in!
Supported and published by:
📰 katoikos.world 📰
🏛️ FOGGS 🏛️