THE BRIEF by Maya Plentz
Maya Plentz is the founder and chief editor of THE BRIEF, a weekly newsletter with exclusive interviews and analysis focusing on tech policy, and the global digital economy. She has over two decades of experience in the news media sector. Her work has aired at UN Radio, BBC World, RFI and Bloomberg TV.
During her tenure as a producer and presenter at Bloomberg TV in New York, she covered Google, Microsoft, and the 2000 dot-com boom. She also produced a daily segment on science, medicine, and technology.
At the UN News and Media Division in New York, she served as a broadcast producer and website news editor, conducting interviews with UN officials, government representatives, and diplomats. Her programs reached millions of viewers weekly across the globe, airing on UN national broadcast partners in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
As a member of the European Commission High-Level Group of Experts, under the leadership of Pascal Lamy, former WTO Director General and Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research and Innovation, she was tasked with reviewing the EU's research and innovation funding framework, Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe. She provided advisory on communication strategies to promote innovation funding at the EU.
Episodes
73 episodes
Gary Marcus on AI - Twitter Spaces with Luis Lamb, MIT.
Discussion on AI and the Google developer who believed AI was "sentient". We were joined by Dr. Luis Lamb, Gary Marcus, and special guests to clarify the state of AI, the hype around it and who it serves, and how far we still are from AGI. This...
Carla Canales: Women in Diplomacy and International Relations
We interviewed Carla Canales, who was just appointed Professor of Practice in Cultural Diplomacy and Senior Fellow at The Edward R. Murrow Center for a Digital World, based at the Fletcher Graduate School of Global Affairs, at Tufts University....
Interview with UNHCR Head of Innovation Hovig Etyemezian
What does it take to become a UN humanitarian work? We interviewed Hovig Etyemezian, Head of Innovation at UNHCR, the UN Agency for Refugees to find out about his journey and how working in the field, in the frontlines, manag...
UN Refugee Agency Fundraising Strategy
Interview with Mark Manly, head of donor relations and resource mobilisation at the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).The UNHCR focuses on providing international protection and solutions for refugees, internally displaced people, an...
Paris Peace Forum, Interview with Justin Vaisse, Founder and Executive Director
Seeking Common Ground in a World of RivalryThe organization led by Justin Vaisse, historian and diplomat, is supported by the French government and private sector sponsors, including Microsoft. There will be panels wit...
Rainforest Connection Uses AI to Protect the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest Biodiversity and Halt Illegal Logging
I interviewed Bourhan Yassin, CEO of Rainforest Connection, a company that applies AI to acoustics for data insights to better inform conservation, preserve biodiversity, and protect the rainforests from illegal logging. They are currently work...
Brazil: Interview with Brazilian Diplomat Camila Olsen
Interview with Brazilian Diplomat Camila Olsen on Promoting Brazil Abroad and Attracting FDI Interview with Camila Olsen, Head of Trade, Investment, Agriculture and Energy Section at the Brazilian Embassy in CopenhagenToda...
Vint Cerf and Maria Ressa on the Internet Governance Forum
UN Secretary General Calls for a Global AI Regulatory Agency These last couple of days have been quite busy on issues of AI and emerging tech governance at the UN and its agencies. We had the IGF meeting in Geneva with Maria Ressa ...
Housing as a Human Right
The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and many other international human rights treaties state that the right to housing under international human rights law is the right to live in peace, security and dignity. ...
European Space Agency Director-General Josef Aschbacher
Josef Aschbacher, European Space Agency Director-General, on COP28 and the Agreement With UNEP to Monitor Climate ChangeGetting things done at COP28: Watch my interview with the European Space Agency Director-General Josef A...
Steve MacFeely on Data Governance
World Health Organisation in Davos 2024Interview with Steve MacFeely, Director of Data and AnalyticsWe spoke about the upcoming UN Statistics Commission meeting that begins on the 23rd of February, in New York. T...
Interview with Francesca Perucci, Assistant Director, UN Statistics Division
I interviewed Francesca Perucci, Assistant Director, Statistics Division at the UN in New York, to speak about the UN World Data Forum. The 2023 Forum will take place in China, from 24 to 27 April, at the Hangzhou International Expo Center.&nbs...
Climate Change and the Loss and Damage Fund
Interview with Bogolo J. Kenewendo, former Trade Minister of Botswana. She is a global economist with deep expertise in international trade and development with a particular focus on Pan-African development and a passion for...
ASG Christian Saunders, UN
We interviewed Christian Saunders, Assistant Secretary General for the Office of the Special Coordinator for Improving the UN Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. Mr. Saunders just came back from a visit to Colombia wh...
Asha Allen: Women in International Affairs and Diplomacy
Asha Allen serves as Advocacy Director for Europe, Online Expression & Civic Space at CDT Europe Office in Brussels. Asha’s work focuses on advocating for the preservation of fundamental rights in European Union/Regional legislation, and de...
Veronica Merlo, Mercosur
Women in Diplomacy and International AffairsArgentina We interviewed Veronica Merlo, Senior Trade Policy Consultant for MERCOSUR, at the Ministry of Economy of Argentina. She has a Master's Degree in Interna...
Interview Ambassador Federico Villegas, President Human Rights Council
The UN Brief spoke with Argentine’s Ambassador to the UN Office in Geneva and International Organisation, Federico Villegas, who was appointed as president of the UN Human Rights Council for 2022, to discuss how the international community is o...
Interview with Marc Finaud, Head of Arms Proliferation, Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Interview with Steve MacFeely, WHO
WHO Report on Universal Health Care and the SDGs
Interview with Dr. Vania de la Fuente Nunez, WHO
WHO Ai and Ageism Policy Brief
Interview with Asad Naqvi, Head of Secretariat, The Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE)
The Partnership for Action on the Green Economy is a partnership between 5 UN agencies, UNDP, UNEP, UNIDO, ILO, and UNITAR. We interviewed Asad Naqvi, Head of Secretariat for the Partnership for Action on the Green Economy, to speak about...