David Harland – an international diplomat who has devoted decades to finding ways to overcome armed conflict – is one of this year’s Victoria University of Wellington’s Distinguished Alumni. His childhood, surrounded by discussion on world politics and peace, laid the foundation for him to follow in the footsteps his father, Bryce, who was New Zealand’s first ambassador to China and North Vietnam. David Harland has worked for the UN in conflict zones around the world including Bosnia, Kosovo, Haiti and Timor Leste. He now serves on UN Secretary-General’s advisory board on mediation and for more than 20 years has been the Executive Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue based in Geneva, which in 2022 initiated the UN brokered deal to get grain out of Ukraine and through a Russian blockade to ease a growing food crisis in Africa. David Harland is in Wellington for a short time and joins Kathryn in the studio to talk about diplomacy, conflict and mediations.