As the UN turns 80 and the campaign for the next Secretary-General gets underway, the world faces protracted conflicts, widening inequalities, and breached planetary boundaries. Against this backdrop, the podcast asks a pressing question: How can the UN become a platform through which people, institutions, and the more-than-human world repair and transform broken systems, and create conditions where life can thrive? Each episode invites regenerative practitioners — policy shapers, Indigenous knowledge-holders, peacebuilders, culture-makers, and frontline humanitarians
As the UN turns 80 and the campaign for the next Secretary-General gets underway, the world faces protracted conflicts, widening inequalities, and breached planetary boundaries. Against this backdrop, the podcast asks a pressing question: How can the UN become a platform through which people, institutions, and the more-than-human world repair and transform broken systems, and create conditions where life can thrive? Each episode invites regenerative practitioners — policy shapers, Indigenous knowledge-holders, peacebuilders, culture-makers, and frontline humanitarians
How can the UN move from talking about transformation to living it? In this powerful episode, Silke von Brockhausen sits down with Laurel Patterson, Head of Strategic Partnerships & Communications at UNDP’s Crisis Bureau, to explore what regeneration really means inside one of the world’s most complex systems.
Together, they unpack why the UN often produces outcomes nobody truly wants—and how shifting our inner and relational lenses can change that. Laurel shares a refreshingly practical roadmap drawn from years of work with Theory U, Transformative Spaces, and SDG Leadership Labs—showing that change starts with how we show up together.
You’ll learn:
Big takeaway: Regeneration in the UN isn’t a project—it’s a daily practice of seeing clearly, acting with courage, and nurturing relationships as the core infrastructure of change.
Listen now to rediscover the art of deep listening, relational leadership, and small steps that can move big systems.
Chapters
00:00Introduction to Regenerative Leadership
02:20Understanding Regeneration in the UN Context
05:17Awareness-Based Collective Action in the UN
11:49Scaling Initiatives for Regenerative Leadership
18:43Advice for Future UN Leadership
29:45Empowering Young Leaders in the UN
34:33Daily Practices for Grounding and Connection