Small Islands Big Picture

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have long been recognised by the United Nations as a “special case” for sustainable development. This reflects the fact that small islands across the Caribbean, the Pacific, and the Indian Ocean and Atlantic regions face unique and intensifying challenges, including climate change, debt pressures, geopolitical uncertainty, and limited fiscal space.

But in a rapidly shifting global system, that recognition is under increasing strain. How do small island states ensure their needs are still understood, prioritised and acted on?

In this episode, we explore the key questions at the heart of that debate, drawing on insights from the SIDS Future Forum 2026, a space which brought over 50 experts together - SIDS diplomats, officials from international organisations, representatives of donor governments and researchers - to reflect on the future of the global SIDS agenda and the implementation of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS), the UN’s ten-year programme of action.

In an extended version of our “Big Picture” segment, we hear reflections from senior SIDS representatives to the UN, including Tania Romualdo (Cabo Verde), Walton Webson (Antigua and Barbuda), Ali Naseer Mohamed (Maldives) and Nicholas Cox (Barbados), on what it will take to keep the “special case” relevant and credible in a world of sustained geopolitical upheaval.

In “No Stupid Questions”, Matt and Emily explore some of the new ideas that emerged from the Future Forum, including why fresh evidence, insights and arguments are needed to defend the UN-recognised “special case” for sustainable development that SIDS have held since the first UN programme of action in the 1990s.

LISTENER SURVEY: To help us make Small Islands, Big Picture even better, we’ve put together a short audience survey and would love your input. You can find the survey at this link and your feedback will help us shape future episodes, topics, and guests. If you have a moment, please fill it out: it only takes a couple of minutes would mean a lot to us. Thanks for listening and supporting the show!

Featuring:
Emily Wilkinson (host) | RESI Director and Principal Research Fellow at ODI Global
Matthew Bishop (host) | RESI Director and Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield
Tania Romualdo | Permanent Representative of Cabo Verde to the UN
Walton Webson | Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the UN
Ali Naseer Mohamed | Permanent Representative of Maldives to the UN
Nicholas Cox | Deputy Permanent Representative of Barbados to the UN

Resources:
Programme page | Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI)
RESI Book | Sustaining Development in Small Islands
RESI Report | How SIDS view their development partners
Trailer for new RESI film | Climate Blueprint: Barbados
SIDS Future Forum 2026 | Opening session recording: navigating the now
SIDS Future Forum 2026 | State of SIDS Report Chapters 1 and 2 recording
SIDS Future Forum 2026 | State of SIDS Report Chapters 2 and 3 recording
SIDS Future Forum 2026 | Event homepage and resources
SIDS Future Forum 2026 | Wilton Park Event Report
SIDS Future Forum 2024 | Shaping the Future of SIDS

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Small islands generally did far better during the pandemic than bigger (and often richer) countries with more complex health systems. In this episode, Emily and Matt ask: what have been the longer-term effects of Covid-19 more than five years on? Have lessons have been learned for the next shock? Where can we see both improvements and things to worry about in health provision and outcomes?

We welcome two global public health experts for our “Explainer”. Sophie Harman tells us why we should worry about not only the decline of multilateral health governance, but also what might be replacing it. Simon Rushton talks us through some of the longer-term effects of the pandemic on the Global South. Then, in the Big Picture, we are joined by Roannie Ng Shiu from Samoa and Aviane Auguste from St Lucia to learn why SIDS did relatively so well in the pandemic but why more prosaic health challenges – from measles to dengue and non-communicable diseases like diabetes – are of greater immediate concern. Finally, in no stupid questions, Matt and Emily ask whether small size and islandness are actually secret weapons in helping SIDS to achieve better health outcomes.

LISTENER SURVEY: To help us make Small Islands, Big Picture even better, we’ve put together a short audience survey and would love your input. You can find the survey at this link and your feedback will help us shape future episodes, topics, and guests. If you have a moment, please fill it out: it only takes a couple of minutes would mean a lot to us. Thanks for listening and supporting the show!

Featuring:
Emily Wilkinson (host) | RESI Director and Principal Research Fellow at ODI Global
Matthew Bishop (host) | RESI Director and Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield
Sophie Harman | Professor of International Politics, Queen Mary, University of London
Simon Rushton | Professor of International Politics, University of Sheffield
Roannie Ng Shiu | Director, Institute for Pacific and Global Health, University of Auckland
Avianne Auguste | Assistant Professor, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational health, McGill University

Resources:
Programme page | Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI)
Sophie’s profile | Professor Sophie Harman
Sophie’s film | Pili
Sophie’s book | Sick of it: the global fight for women’s health
Simon’s profile | Professor Simon Rushton
Simon’s award | ESRC Impact Prize: Improbable Dialogues
Simon & Sophie’s recent Lancet article | Global health partnerships for a post-2030 agenda
Roannie’s profile | Dr Roannie Ng Shiu
Roannie’s Lancet article | The 2024 small island developing states report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change
Aviane’s profile | Dr Aviane Auguste
A public lecture by Aviane | Improving health outcomes in small islands
An important Lancet piece | SIDS standing together on NCDs and mental health
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In this episode, Emily, Matt and the other RESI Directors look back on everything that happened in the world of small islands during 2025, discussing hot topics, highlights and lowlights while looking forward to 2026 will bring. The team also discusses how their own policy and research has shaped conversations around different SIDS agendas - from debt and oceans to geopolitics and climate justice.

NB: Hurricane Melissa cast a very long shadow over the final months of 2025 and will continue to do so for Jamaicans as they rebuild their country. If you would like to support those efforts, you can make a donation to the government’s relief fund here.

Featuring:
o Emily Wilkinson (host) | RESI Director and Principal Research Fellow at ODI Global
o Matthew Bishop (host) | RESI Director and Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield
o Courtney Lindsay | RESI Director and Senior Research Officer at ODI Global
o Gail Hurley | RESI Director and Development Finance Expert
o George Carter | RESI Director and Deputy Head of Department of Pacific Affairs/Director of Pacific Institute, Australian National University
o Jack Corbett | RESI Director and Head of School of Social Sciences, Monash University
o Rachid Bouiha | RESI Director and Economic Affairs Officer, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

Resources:
o Programme page | Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI)
o Our RESI book | Sustaining Development in Small Islands
o Courtney’s AI report | Engines of Growth: Building Knowledge Economies in SIDS
o Another AI blog | Why SIDS need to act quickly on AI
o The documentary mentioned by Courtney | Life and Debt
o Hurricane Melissa op-ed | Climate disasters will send many countries into a debt spiral – but there’s a way out
o Matt and Courtney’s Jamica debt report | Breaking the Cycle of Debt in Jamaica
o The full RESI Debt Project (multiple papers) | Breaking the Cycle of Debt in SIDS
o Our Global Voices piece from last year | Why small islands need their own Marshall Plan
o Gail and Emily’s work on debt service costs | Tackling the cost of capital in small vulnerable nations
o Gail and Emily’s work on oceans | Turning the tide: enhancing ocean equity for SIDS
o Emily’s op-ed on UN climate negotiations | Why small climate-vulnerable island states punch well above their weight in UN climate talks
o Emily’s piece on climate justice | Tides of justice: how SIDS are redefining the fight against climate change
o Our work on capacity building | Fit for size: rethinking capacity strengthening in SIDS
o Our work on the FfD4 process | Leveraging the Sevilla Commitment in favour of SIDS
o Emily’s work on anticipatory action finance | Bracing for Impact: a Caribbean blueprint
o Our work on geopolitical competition | Geopolitical competition, bilateral aid, and the collective interests of SIDS
o Short trailer for Emily’s new documentary | Climate Blueprint: Barbados
o George’s work on oceanic diplomacy | Reasserting indigenous pathways
o Rachid’s work on productive capacities | Stronger and greener productive capacities for just transitions in Caribbean SIDS
o SIDS Future Forum 2026 | Wilton Park Website
o UN SIDS Partnership Awards 2025 | Partnership Brief
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From momentum against fossil fuels to fires breaking out on site, COP30 was anything but routine. Held just outside Brazil’s Amazon rainforest and framed as the ‘COP of implementation’, the talks delivered a mix of drama, hard-won progress, and unfinished business. But where did small islands feature in the final decisions, and will those outcomes lead to real change?

In this episode, Matt and Emily are joined by COP30 attendees—including AOSIS’ Climate Change Advisor and Fiji’s Chief Negotiator—to take listeners inside the negotiating rooms. They unpack the pressures of COP’s relentless schedule, reflect on small island wins and sticking points, and explore why keeping COP climate negotiations on the global agenda is key for small islands’ survival. As attention turns to COP31, the conversation looks ahead to how small islands can build alliances and sharpen their strategy in the race to keep global temperatures under 1.5 degrees.

Episode features:

Emily Wilkinson (host) | RESI Director and Principal Research Fellow at ODI Global
Matthew Bishop (host) | RESI Director and Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield
Simon Stiell | Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC
Soleil Parkinson | Conservationist and COP30 Youth Ambassador, Cayman Islands
Tiffany Van Ravenswaay | Climate Change Advisor for AOSIS
Sivendra Michael | Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Fiji
Carola Klöck | Associate Professor at Sciences-Po, Paris
George Carter | Senior Fellow and Deputy Head of the Department of Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University, and RESI Co-Director

Resources:

Programme page | Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI)
RESI at COP30 | https://odi.org/en/events/watch-live-from-cop30-the-world-film-premiere-of-climate-blueprint-barbados
RESI briefing paper: Keeping the International Court of Justice advisory opinion alive at COP30 and beyond.
UN Climate Change | Simon Steill's closing speech at COP30
The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Letter to the COP30 Presidency | https://www.aosis.org/aosis-letter-to-cop30-presidency/
AOSIS NDC Report | Ahead of COP30, New NDC Synthesis Report Reveals Dangerous Delay on Global Climate Action
SDG News | Live at COP30: Fiji’s Chief Negotiator Sivendra Michael Warns Fossil Fuel Language Has Fallen Out of the MutiRão Text
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The seemingly unstoppable rise of “big data” and Artificial Intelligence is reshaping and destabilising the global economy. But where do small islands fit into this? Could digital technologies like AI level the playing field, or do they represent a new form of technocolonialism? Can Small Island Developing States (SIDS) embed them quickly enough to benefit from new economic opportunities, or are they likely to be left further behind?

In this episode, Emily and Matt speak to a number of experts grappling with these kinds of questions. In our "Island Voices" segment Kunal Singh from Fiji talks about the impact of AI on climate finance. We then break down the issue with Preeya Mohan from Trinidad and Courtney Lindsay from Jamaica in our “Explainer”. Next, in the “Big Picture” we speak to Külli Sarapuu, from Estonia, and Donald Baldeosingh from Trinidad, two people who are grappling with the public policy implications of digitalisation. Finally, in “No Stupid Questions”, Emily and Matt ask whether the risks of AI are overstated by critics.

Featuring:
Emily Wilkinson (host) | RESI Director and Principal Research Fellow at ODI Global
Matthew Bishop (host) | RESI Director and Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield
Kunal Singh | Climate Finance Access Network (CFAN) Advisor, Pacific Community (SPC)
Preeya Mohan | Senior Fellow, Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, University of the West Indies
Courtney Lindsay | RESI Director and Senior Research Officer, ODI Global
Külli Sarapuu | Associate Professor, Tallinn University of Technology
Donald Baldeosingh | Founder, Carbon Zero Institute of Trinidad and Tobago

Resources:
Programme page | Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI)
Kunal’s LinkedIn page| Kunal Singh
Preeya and Courtney’s report | Engines of Growth: Building Knowledge Economies in SIDS
Another blog they wrote with Emily | Why SIDS need to act quickly on AI
Preeya’s university webpage | Dr Preeya Mohan
Donald’s CZITT webpage | Carbon Zero Institute of T&T
Külli’s university webpage | Dr Külli Sarapuu
An important UN report | Small Island Digital States
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