Moments that Matter

After years working across some of the world’s most fragile humanitarian contexts, including Myanmar during the military coup, Afghanistan during the regime change, Yemen during active conflict, and now South Sudan as Country Director for Plan International, Reshma had become deeply accustomed to the logic of emergency response. Move fast. Deliver. Save lives. Food distributions. Water trucking. E...

Peter Batchelor’s moment takes place in Iraq in 2013, during one of the most volatile periods in the country’s recent history. Peter is a South African development practitioner with more than 30 years of experience working with the United Nations, governments, NGOs, and academia. He has led UN teams at headquarters level in Geneva and New York and in field settings across the Middle East, Africa,...

Marina Navarro’s moment does not centre on a single event, but on a pattern that repeated itself across her career. With over two decades of experience in development and human rights, Marina Navarro has held leadership roles across the United Nations and civil society, including leading Amnesty International Perú, coordinating the UN Millennium Campaign in Spain and working with organisations suc...

This episode marks the close of the first season of Moments that Matter . What began as a simple idea—to capture the key moments that shaped experienced practitioners—gradually revealed something deeper. Across ten interviews, a pattern started to emerge. Each story pointed to a moment when something long relied upon no longer fully held. An assumption broke down. A way of seeing no longer made se...

Marie-Odile Zanders: When neutrality and distance stop holding Marie-Odile’s moment did not come from a programme decision or a leadership role, but from living through violence as a minority in a place she had come to see as home. While working in Gujarat, India, she experienced the inter-communal violence of 2002 at close range. What changed her perspective was not only the scale of the violence...

Besim Nebiu – When a Solution Does Not Yet Exist Besim Nebiu had been working on housing renovation projects for years. Like many in the sector, he was used to operating through proposals, technical standards, and policy language. When considering the renovation of ageing apartment blocks in Skopje, the logic was clear: improve insulation, increase energy efficiency, reduce consumption and costs o...

Enock’s moment does not arrive as a single dramatic event, but as a growing unease with something he initially took for granted. Enock Nsubuga is Partnerships Coordinator at MasterPeace Uganda and Co-founder of Job Launchpad Uganda . He supports unemployed and underemployed youth with practical skills, mentorship, and career pathways. His work focuses on bridging the gap between learning and earni...

Philippe’s moment begins with a sense of possibility. Philippe Stoll is an independent expert working at the intersection of technology and war, focusing on harmful information. Until January 2026, he served as Techplomacy and Conflict expert at the International Committee of the Red Cross , engaging with governments, academia, humanitarian organisations and the tech sector to better protect confl...

Arvind Kumar – When communication becomes responsibility Early in his career, Arvind Kumar struggled with language. Moving from a small town to a larger professional setting, he realised how much influence communication carries — not only as a technical skill, but as access to opportunity and confidence. An army officer once told him: fear remains until you face it. For Arvind, that meant learning...

Lucija Popovska – When what seemed unthinkable becomes real Lucija Popovska works at the intersection of international development and technology, focusing on financial inclusion and housing solutions for underserved communities. Growing up in Yugoslavia, Lucija Popovska did not believe the country could fall apart in the way it eventually did. Political tensions were visible, but they felt distan...

Luis Francisco Thais – When creating space becomes the responsible act Over the course of his career, Luis Francisco Thais noticed a recurring pattern. Capable and motivated people often had ideas, energy, and solutions of their own. Yet institutional processes, even when well-intentioned, sometimes left little room for those voices to shape outcomes. What shifted for him was not his commitment to...

Devanand Ramiah – When institutional promises meet their limits As a young UN volunteer in Timor-Leste, Devanand Ramiah stood before communities preparing for a referendum and reassured them that the United Nations would remain present to protect them. When violence erupted, international staff were evacuated. The promise, though institutionally made and sincerely conveyed, could not be kept. That...

Armen Grigoryan – When preparedness becomes a responsibility, not an afterthought Armen Grigoryan, currently UNDP Resident Representative in North Macedonia, traces his commitment to disaster preparedness back to a defining moment. As a young volunteer during the 1988 earthquake in Armenia, he witnessed something that stayed with him. International assistance arrived, but it was uneven and poorly...

Jan Thomas Hiemstra – When “how” becomes as important as “what”. Early in his career at UNDP, Jan Thomas Hiemstra noticed something uncomfortable. In crisis settings, the organisation was strong on designing programmes. The “what” was clear. Employment schemes, reconstruction plans, recovery frameworks. But when it came to implementation, the “how” often fell short. Country offices were expected t...