Search
AI-powered search, human-powered content.
scroll to top arrow or icon

Preventing conflicts before they start, with María Fernanda Espinosa

As calls for UN reform grow louder, Executive Director of GWL Voices and former General Assembly President María Fernanda Espinosa warns that global peace efforts remain too reactive and that true reform begins with prevention.

“It means building peace, having a very strong and well-equipped intellectually oversight machinery, to have a scenario-building machinery, to have early warning systems in place,” she tells GZERO Media’s Tony Maciulis on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum. Espinosa calls for a “refocus, not austerity,” to strengthen the UN’s early warning systems and invest in prevention. “One dollar in prevention saves a thousand in response,” she notes.

Turning to climate, she urges faster action ahead of COP30 in Brazil, warning that progress “is not matching the science.” Latin America, she says, must lead with resilience and unity despite political divides.

This conversation is part of GZERO Media’s Global Stage series, presented in partnership with Microsoft.

More from Global Stage

Can we use AI to secure the world's digital future?

How do we ensure AI is safe, available to everyone, and enhancing productivity? It’s a big topic at this year’s UN General Assembly. That’s why GZERO’s Global Stage livestream brought together leading experts at the heart of the action for “Live from the United Nations: Securing our Digital Future,” an event produced in partnership between the Complex Risk Analytics Fund, or CRAF’d, and GZERO Media’s Global Stage series, sponsored by Microsoft.

Is the Europe-US rift leaving us all vulnerable?

As the tense and politically charged 2025 Munich Security Conference draws to a close, GZERO’s Global Stage series presents a conversation about strained relationships between the US and Europe, Ukraine's path ahead, and rising threats in cyberspace.

Why space tech investment matters

At the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, GZERO’s Tony Maciulis spoke with Ariel Ekblaw, Founder of the Aurelia Institute, about how scaling up infrastructure in space could unlock transformative breakthroughs on Earth.

Why trust is essential for AI adoption

Who decides the boundaries for artificial intelligence, and how do governments ensure public trust? Speaking at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, Arancha González Laya, Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs and former Foreign Minister of Spain, emphasized the importance of clear regulations to maintain trust in technology.

AI in shaping power, politics, and people

Will AI change the balance of power in the world? At the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, Ian Bremmer addresses how artificial intelligence could redefine global politics, human behavior, and societal stability.

The leadership challenge of governing AI

At the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, entrepreneur Strive Masiyiwa warned that artificial intelligence is advancing faster than the global leadership needed to manage it.