Melissa Fleming is Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications at the United Nations. Leading a team of 700 people in 59 countries, she is responsible for galvanising global support to tackle issues around climate change, war and sustainable development goals – as well as drawing attention to the plight of the world’s 70 million refugees. Her TED talk describing one young woman’s harrowing escape from war-torn Syria has been viewed by millions, inspired her best-selling book and will soon be a Hollywood film. In this in-depth interview, Melissa discusses the challenge of mobilising global citizens into taking action, explains the power of storytelling in drowning out the “drumbeat of war”, and defends celebrity ambassadors such as Angelina Jolie against critics who accuse them of being “white saviours”.