Radio Utopistan

Kübra Gümüsay ist Autorin des Bestsellers „Sprache und Sein“ und aktuell Fellow am New Institut in Hamburg, wo sie zu realen Utopien, der Politik der Imagination und und zu gerechten Zukünften forscht. Sie ist außerdem Moderatorin der Gesprächsreihe „Utopia Talks“ am Thalia Theater. Also die perfekte Partnerin, um sich über die Kraft von Utopien und konstruktiven Geschichten auszutauschen. Wir sprechen über reale Utopien und was es für einen nachhaltigen Widerstand gegen die bestehenden Systeme sonst noch so braucht. Was die Palästina-Protestcamps damit zu tun haben und über die Frage, wessen Träume und Vorstellungen von einer gerechteren Zukunft denn überhaupt in die Wirklichkeit übertragen werden und warum. Es geht um Reichtum, um Wissen und um ein Geheimrezept von Kübras Großtante in der Türkei. Vor allem aber geht es um Macht und wie man sie aufbrechen kann. Viel Vergnügen. Das Gespräch war Teil unserer Veranstaltungsreihe zur Ausstellung „Akut – Should Trees have Standing?“ im Westwert und im Gängeviertel Hamburg. Kunst ist schließlich der Ort, an dem Imagination besonders gut wachsen sollte. Moderiert von Mariam Dabdoub INHALT 2:30 Was ist überhaupt eine Utopie? Was sind reale Utopien? 6:00 Medien erzählen uns meistens von Problemen und Disaster. Umso wichtiger ist es reale Utopien zu suchen und zu erzählen 8:00 Utopie des einen kann die Dystopie des anderen sein. ZB Neo-Liberal kapitalistische Versprechen gaukeln uns eine Utopie vor, die nicht real ist 10:00 Wer darf überhaupt über Utopien sprechen? Wer wird gehört? Elon Musk oder Gerechtigkeitsbewegungen 12:00 Über die Utopie von Reichtum 15:00 Achtung: Menschen machen Fehler und alles ist missbräuchlich, von Demokratie über Marktwirtschaft und Religion 17:00 Manchmal wird altes Wissen über gerechtere Möglichkeiten ausgelöscht oder geht verloren. Beispiel aus Hawai 20:00 Wie stärkt man Imaginationskraft? 22:00 Wenn man vor allem damit beschäftigt ist die Gegenwart zu dekonstruieren, fällt es besonders schwer eine Alternative zu konstruieren, zu imaginieren 23:00 Wir werden dazu gezwungen, ständig die Missstände zu beweisen und haben deshalb gar keine Zeit und Kraft übrig, um Alternativen zu schaffen. Beispiele. Umoso wichtiger ist es Ressourcen ins Imaginieren und in reale Utopien zu stecken 25:00 Dabei wichtig: Ressourcen in wessen Imaginationskraft? Elon Musk oder organical farming zB? 27:00 Bedeutung von Sicherheit und Ressourcen, um überhaupt imaginieren zu können 30:00 Geschichte über Musiker, der in den 70ern aus Frankreich nach Ecuador geflohen ist, um wieder atmen zu können. Da hat er verstanden, wie gefährlich und mächtig das Patriarchat ist und warum 34:00 Imagination und Polizeigewalt in USA 35:00 Lernen und Wissensproduktion: Was gilt überhaupt als Wissen und was nur als Erfahrung oder Spinnerei 40:00 Kübras Großtante in der Türkei: Zero Waste bevor es das Wort dafür überhaupt gab 41:00 Indigene Wissensverbreitung ohne Wissensverlust: Sarayaku im ecuadorianischen Amazonas 43:00 Wie können wir die aktuellen Denkschablonen durchbrechen, anderes Wissen in den Diskurs speisen und den Imaginationsmuskel trainieren? Beispiele 46:00 Trick: Sich mit Sehnsüchten beschäftigen 48:00 Imaginationskraft alleine ohne sie mit Handlungsmöglichkeiten und Handlungsfähigkeiten zu verknüpfen, führt dazu, dass es wirklich bei einer Träumerei bleibt und dann eigentlich nur Ohnmacht in Menschen sähen. Beispiele 50:00 Was haben die Palästina-Protestcamps damit zu tun? Zeigen und erleben, dass eine andere, solidarische Welt möglich ist. Außerdem wird Wissenslücke geschlossen 57:30 Robin Wall Kimmerer: How to become indigenious to a place. Was bedeutet es ein Verhältnis zu einem Ort zu entwickeln? 1:00: Was sind Kübra's und Elisabeth's Utopien? Kübra Gümüsay @kuebrag https://kubragumusay.com/ Radio Utopistan @radio_utopistan https://radioutopistan.de Paypal: @RadioUtopistan

Este episodio forma parte de nuestra exposición sobre naturaleza y justicia en Hamburgo y en Quito. En Ecuador la expo se llama “Natura al habla” y se exhibe en el Centro Cultural Metropolitano en Quito hasta el veintidos de septiembre. Se enfoca en el hecho de que la naturaleza también es un ser vivo y debe ser tratado con respeto. En este episodio puedes escuchar el audio de mi instalación sonora: "23 minutos, 15 segundos" Procede de un estudio. La Universidad de California llegó a la conclusión de que, por lo general, las personas necesitan 23 minutos y 15 segundos para volver a concentrarse plenamente en una tarea después de una interrupción. Entonces pensé: 

Asumimos que lo que dicen muchos pueblos indígenas es cierto, es decir, que la tarea de los humanos en este planeta es cuidar de una interacción equilibrada entre los diversos seres vivos. Entonces los siguientes 23 minutos y 15 segundos son un intento de devolvernos a esta tarea.


 Es una meditación con sonidos de diferentes ecosistemas y con distintas voces indígenas. Un viaje del Amazonas a la selva alemana pasando por Palestina. Disfrútalo.

Wir bringen Palästina und die Klimakrise zusammen, tauschen Geschichten und Erfahrungen aus, und stellen mal wieder fest: Alles ist mit allem verbunden und Community is everything. Diese Episode ist der gekürzte Mitschnitt des Gesprächs im Rahmen unserer Ausstellung „Akut – Should Trees have Standing?“ in Hamburg. Wir sprachen in kleiner, intimer Runde und konnten so dem sonst üblichen Mechanismus der deutschen Debatten entkommen. Wir sprachen als Menschen, nicht als Funktionen. Es ging nicht darum, irgendwie zu überleben und einen Punkt zu machen, sondern darum zuzuhören und etwas zu lernen. Alena Jabarine ist Journalistin und Deutsch-Palästinenserin. Von 2020 bis 2023 lebte sie im besetzten Westjordanland und war dort für die Konrad Adenauer Stiftung tätig. Mariam Dabdoub hat moderiert, Elisabeth Weydt hat Passagen aus ihrem Buch vorgelesen. 03:00 Gedanken zur Wassermelone an der Wand. Kunstwerk von Khaled Hourani 06:00 Wassermelone auf den ersten Demos in Hamburg 09:50 Die Natur hat Recht. Was heißt das eigentlich? 13:00 Was ist Gerechtigkeit? Was ist Recht? 20:00 Verknüpfung von Klimagerechtigkeit und Palästina 22:00 TEXTausschnitt zu Edward Said und Othering aus Elisabeths Buch „Die Natur hat Recht“ 29:30 Alena erzählt von deutschen Delegationen in Palästina + Entmenschlichung 32:00 Inwiefern ist der deutsche Diskurs ein Spiegel dieses Phänomens? 33:30 Wie kann man Empathie erzeugen? Wer kann das? Wer muss das? 35:00 Wie hat Elisabeth als deutsche Kartoffel den Weg nach Palästina gefunden? 38:10 Zone of Interest und das Phänomen Wirklichkeit auszublenden, die man nicht sehen will 40:00 Warum ist Solidarität so wichtig? 42:15 Warum wird Expertenwissen auch bei der Klimakrise immer wieder ignoriert? 46:40 Fridays for Future und Palästina 48:20 Müssen wir nicht einfach den Kapitalismus abschaffen und alles ist gut? 51:05 TEXTausschnitt zu Kupferminenkonflikt und Rechten der Natur in Intag/Ecuador 59:50 Sinn und Unsinn von Freiwilligendiensten 1:01:00 Indigene und ihr besonderer Bezug zum Land 1:04:00 Muss man selbst Schreckliches erleben, um Empathie mit anderen haben zu können und ins Handeln zu kommen? 1:05:00 Was heißt es, Privilegien aufzugeben? 1:06:00 Wünsche für die Zukunft: Banden bilden, mutig sein, Alternativen zu klassischen Institutionen, Verständnis für die Dringlichkeit, ins Handeln kommen 1:10:00 Abmoderation und Unterstützungsaufruf für Radio Utopistan 1:15:00 Song: Solo le pido a Dios, gesungen von Umweltaktivistin Cenaida Guachagmira aus dem Intag Wenn du unsere Arbeit gut findest und denkst, die Welt braucht mehr davon, dann unterstütz uns gerne. Finanziell und/oder indem du unsere Geschichten weiter verbreitest. Ihr wisst: Sharing is caring und alles Wechselwirkung Paypal: @RadioUtopistan Patreon: Radio Utopistan Alena Jabarine: @alenajabarine Mariam Dabdoub: @mariam_dbdb Sam Gora: @sam_gora Buch von Elisabeth: Die Natur hat Recht. Wenn Tiere, Wälder und Flüsse vor Gericht ziehen - für ein radikales Umdenken im Miteinander von Mensch und Natur. Erschienen im Knesebeck Verlag

Heute geht es um Kunst und Meditation. In Kollaboration mit verschiedenen Institutionen haben wir eine Ausstellung an drei Orten in Hamburg organisiert. Es geht um Natur und Gerechtigkeit: Akut - Should Trees have Standing? In dieser Episode könnt ihr das Audio zu meiner Soundinstallation hören: "23 Minuten, 15 Sekunden" Der Titel stammt aus einer Studie. Die Universität von Kalifornien kam nämlich zu dem Schluss, dass Menschen im Allgemeinen 23 Minuten und 15 Sekunden brauchen, um sich nach einer Unterbrechung wieder voll auf eine Aufgabe konzentrieren zu können. Wenn wir nun davon ausgehen, dass stimmt, was viele indigene Völker sagen, dass nämlich die Aufgabe des Menschen auf diesem Planeten darin besteht, sich um ein ausbalanciertes Zusammenspiel der verschiedenen Lebewesen zu kümmern, dann sind die folgenden 23 Minuten und 15 Sekunden ein Versuch, uns zurückzuführen zu dieser Aufgabe. Es ist eine Art Meditation mit Geräuschen aus verschiedenen Ökosystemen und mit Stimmen von Indigenen. Viel Vergnügen.

Today we go into art and meditation. In collaboration with different institutions we set up a big exhibition about nature and justice in Hamburg. It is starting today and called “Akut – Should Trees have Standing?”. I curated and organized it together with my friend and artist Sam Gora. Within this exhibition I have the honor to present something myself. This episode will give you the audio of the sound installation "23 minutes, 15 Seconds". The title comes from a study. The University of California came to the conclusion that people generally need 23 minutes and 15 seconds to return to full concentration on a task after an interruption. Constant interruptions also lead to an increased level of stress and high blood pressure. And other studies show that attention spans have become shorter and shorter in recent decades. If we now assume that it is true what many indigenous peoples say, which is that the task of humans on this planet is to take care of a balanced interplay and interconnection between the different living beings, then "23 minutes, 15 seconds" is an attempt to bring us back to this task. It is some kind of a meditation with sounds from different ecosystems and the voices of indigenous people explaining their view of the world. Enjoy the journey

Ireland is the only place in Europe that was once a colony. Because of this experience the Irish people have a very special connection to their land and to decolonial struggles around the world, says Peter Doran. Peter is a senior lecturer at the school of law at Queens University in Belfast and has been involved in the struggle for justice on the island of Ireland since many years. Within the peace process after a long violent conflict and within the environmental movement. He is one of the authors and activists behind the proposal that wants Ireland to recognize Rights of Nature on a constitutional level. Ireland is very close to becoming the first country in Europe to implement this legal revolution on a constitutional level. The citizen assembly (a highly respected democratic instrument in Ireland) proposed to the government to make a constitutional referendum on RoN. A real breakthrough, says Peter. We talk about his background story growing up in Derry, a center of the “the troubles”, the violent conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted almost 30 years and killed 3.500 people. “I am a born radical. I inherited a radical perspective. I am being true and faithful to my heritage. As an Irish man who grew up on the streets of Derry where we have a long history of asking difficult questions of the status quo and confronting injustice on our doorstep and across the world.” He sees the local struggles, the local attempts to transform the world in front of your doorstep, connected to the struggles in the world. “We are always acting in solidarity with other peoples and with the earth as well.” “The Irish identify with Europe, they see EU as a peace process. But they are also a people who have been colonized. For hundreds of years the colonial process subjugated our land, our people and our language. There is an intuitive sense that in reaching for the Rights of Nature discourse and the underlying world views that we challenge this notion that the world is simply an object there for the taking.” “The RoN project is a process of recalling a deep memory, deep practices, recalling that there are others ways of being in the world, outside of the European modern experience.” About the Commons: “A notion that the real value that we generate today comes not from competition, not from private claims on things but from our ability to bring and support and cultivate the genius that arises from connection, from sharing, from caring. And from understanding that all that we value, that all things come from our relationships. That everything is preceded by relationship and the quality of our relationships.” About Palestine: “In the Gaza scenario, what we are seeing there is an acceleration of the deep settler colonial violence that has been part of our history as a Western privileged people. What we are seeing there is a microcosm, an acceleration of a feature of the world that has been experienced by many people through the times of empires and colonialism.”

The Los Cedros case is evidence that a more just future is possible. It is a constructive story in times when we almost only get dystopian news about the world we live in. It is a story humans need to not lose hope in democracy and civil engagement. It shows us how powerful and transforming civil society can be. How human rights and nature rights are interconnected and how justice can be implemented. The cloud forest of Los Cedros in Ecuador was the first case in which a court clearly and irretrievable recognized the Rights of Nature. It ruled in favor of the forest and against an open pit copper mine and against its own government. This was only possible because a strong social movement fought for it. The Rights of Nature movement and within it the Los Cedros case are the beginning of a revolution. They have the power to change everything. It means to respect nature as a subject, as a being, as a partner and not as an object, a commodity or a servant we can exploit and use as we like. It is a world view. If we live by it it would change how we organize our economy, our food supply, our transportation system, our housing, everything. In this episode we visit the cloud forest and talk to biologist Elisa Levy-Ortiz who is a research coordinator in the Los Cedros nature reserve and was part of the group that started the legal case and the social movement around Los Cedros. You'll learn: What is the magic behind the Rights of Nature concept, why is it relevant? How could Rights of Nature dissolve the systems colonialism and patriarchy brought us What made the social movement around the Los Cedros case so successful What does it need to implement justice and win a landmark court case What is the connection between Rights of Nature and Human Rights What is the connection between nature and justice More information and connection: Website of Los Cedros https://reservaloscedros.org/ OMASNE, Alianza de Organizaciones por los Derechos Humanos y de la Naturaleza del Ecuador https://www.instagram.com/omasne_ecuador/ CEDEMNA https://www.instagram.com/cedenma.ec/ GARN, Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature https://www.instagram.com/garnglobal/

It is now almost six weeks since the horrors in Israel and Palestine started – again, but this time in an unprecedented manner. It has never been so cruel so far. So much has been said about all of it already and it is still happening anyway. People are still getting killed on a daily basis by a huge military apparatus that is supported by the big Western countries of this world. Words don`t seem relevant or powerful enough in the face of this. The increasingly loud and aggressive discussions about Israel and Palestine seem to create more and more division instead of an understanding and an end to the killing. We took some time to reflect how we could add something constructive to the horrors unfolding. Because especially in those dark and violent times Utopias are needed more than ever. So in this episode we don`t give you a lecture about “the conflict”. We`ll tell you how we tried to create an Utopian moment in the midst of all the darkness, violence and despair happening. A tiny moment of freedom and justice from Germany for Gaza and for people in Germany that do not feel heard in their pain and disagreement towards what is happening. We`ll talk about: How we organized a protest with watermelons and for freedom rights for all people The very special German relation to Israel and Palestine The difference between antisemitism and criticizing the government of Israel The importance of freedom rights, especially the right of free speech The relation between journalism and activism A Haward study on the success of non-violent protest A young man from Gaza who is sending messages of comfort to the protesters in Hamburg More information about context and history of Israel/Palestine: BOOKS: The blue between sky and water by Susan Abulhawa The Birth of Israel: Myths and Realities by Simha Flapan The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017 by Rashid Khalidi Gaza: An Inquest Into Its Martyrdom by Norman Finkelstein The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappé FILMS: The Promise Omar 5 Broken Cameras The heart of Jenin PODCASTS: in German: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjYxIkjGvQE in English: recommendations? PEOPLE/ORGANISATIONS TO FOLLOW Breaking the silence B'Tselem Motaz Azaiza Noura Erakat Issa Amro

We are back from a long brake - with even more passion and new tools to interconnect visionary people and bold ideas from around the world. Our mission still is to inspire a more just future through storytelling. Through constructive storytelling. And today Elisabeth will share some insights about the power of constructive storytelling. You will learn the very basics of: * what is constructive storytelling and solution journalism * why humans are always paying attention to the horror stories and how that is affecting our mental health * three principles + one tiny tool on how to brake the negativity cycle * the areas where constructive storytelling is working: in your head, your home, society and business * how constructive stories are used in media * how Elisabeth came to constructive storytelling and what is her Utopia You can dive deeper in all of this and more in our masterclasses. We work with you on the role you can play in all of this. How you can apply this power to your personal life, to your community, your movement or your social business. Online or in person. Information on our website: www.radioutopistan.de Links: Solution Journalism Network, USA: https://www.solutionsjournalism.org/ Constructive Institute, Denmark: https://constructiveinstitute.org/ Bonn Institute, Germany: https://www.bonn-institute.org/

When she had just become a journalist Ronja went to Afghanistan for almost two years. There she did reports about the war, about drug addiction, poverty and other really devastating things. Sometimes all the misery left her hopeless and without perspective. So she started to look for the constructive aspects within her stories: for people who are trying to find a way out, for projects that are offering solutions. This is called constructive journalism or solution journalism. She didn`t know it by then because it is a recent but very much needed version of journalism. It doesn`t mean to ignore the problems and crises but rather to focus on possible solutions. Now, ten years after her first journey to Afghanistan Ronja wrote a book about constructive storytelling. She finished it last summer while the Taliban were taking over Kabul. On the phone in Germany she helped people escape the deadly regime thousand miles away. So, around her the world was falling apart and inside her head she was thinking about good news. We talk about what stories and news can do to your mind and mood. How we all are storytellers in our everyday life and how we can turn the negative narratives into constructive ones without ignoring reality. She even has a formula for it. It goes like: Shit + X Her book is called “How we see the world” in German. It's still not available in English yet, but soon it will be published in Polish, Czech and Korean. Maybe in Arabic. You can find her here: https://www.vonwurmbseibel.com/ @ronjavws

Carolyn Ekyarisiima wanted to become a doctor to help people. Now she is an IT-Expert training thousands of girls in Tanzania how to use technology to create the world they want to live in. She founded the organization Apps and Girls. They are teaching girls how to code. And how to use IT and technology to get their voices heard and ideas out into the world. When she founded the NGO in 2014 she was pregnant, today she has four kids and 11 employees. In the last eight years more than 100.000 girls learned about the power of IT with Apps and Girls. Thez focus on girls and young women from underprivileged backgrounds to reduce the gender gap in IT and empower more change makers in Tanzania and across Africa. We talk about: * Her story on how she managed to build Apps and Girls, starting with voluntary teaching sessions in her living room up until now with 11 full time employees and some voluntaries in almost 200 schools in Tanzania and Uganda. * Best practice example of one of her students: coding against harassment * How it is still not easy to get funding, but how they do it anyway. * What Europe could learn from Africa Tecwise. * How coding is a super power. Carolyn`s Utopia: Apps and Girls becoming an Pan-African organization. Offering girls the technology to create different solutions and to have a positive impact on their communities. I see female developed big start-ups creating a better world everywhere because technology is an enabler. You need it in health, in economy in everything. LINKS Apps and Girls: https://www.appsandgirls.com/ @ecarolyne @appsandgirls https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/13/magazine/women-coding-computer-programming.html

Since almost 30 years the people of Intag are successfully fighting a huge open pit copper mine in the tropical Andean mountains in northern Ecuador. It´s one of the most biodivers places left on earth, there live more species per hectare than in the Amazon. But underneath it lies copper and some gold, worth millions and billions of dollar. Different transnational mining companies and also the state of Ecuador are trying to get it out. Exploration phase is now almost completed. Next step would be a huge and toxic hole in the rainforest. Meanwhile the hunger for copper is growing with the global shift to renewable energy. Last hope now: Nature Rights. The people of Intag are suing their own government. Ecuador is the first and so far only country in the world where nature has rights as a legal subject on a constitutional level. That sounds a bit abstract, but is super fascinating. Some say it is as revolutionary as the end of slavery or women´s right to vote. Carlos Zorrilla has been a leader in the resistance of Intag since the 90. He tells us what methods have helped to drive out two transnational mining companies and put another one on hold. Where his energy and hope come from and what to do with politicians you don´t like. His Utopia: That people find another definition of wealth and a good life. For Carlos it´s not about money and cars but about harmony, with neighbors and with nature. What you can do to support his Utopia: Ask yourself what a good life means to you and how much things and money you need for it. GUEST @toisan06 ORGANISATIONS working on the case: www.decoin.org www.cedenma.org www.germanwatch.org CREDITS Host: @elisabeth_weydt Executive producers: @_charlotte.horn and @christinafeemoebus Music: Robert Pilgram http://robertpilgram.com/ Studio Sound: @seike_sound MORE INFORMATION recent articles in English: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/23/frog-back-from-the-dead-helps-fight-mine-plans-in-ecuadors-cloud-forest-aoe https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/02/plan-to-mine-in-ecuador-forest-violate-rights-of-nature-court-rules-aoe Documentaries: Under Rich Earth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRinnhejBIw Javier con I, Intag https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC2z5bnrR1Y Radio Feature German Public Radio https://www1.wdr.de/radio/wdr5/sendungen/dok5/ecuador-kupferminen-bergbaufirmen-100.html

The people of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon are protecting their territory in a very special way. They call it Kawsak Sacha, the living forest. It grows on land under which there is a lot of oil, like in many parts of The Amazon. Helena Gualinga is one of them. She is 20 years old and her way of fighting consists of photo shoots for lifestyle magazines, of traveling to international climate conferences and of dancing with her friends and family at traditional ceremonies. About 75.000 people watch her doing this on her Instagram channel. I had the honor of talking and dancing with her. Kawsak Sacha, the living forest, means the forest is considered a living being and humans are just a part of this living organism. But a crucial one. Animals, plants and even spirits live in community with each other. To protect and nourish this community the people of Sarayaku developed a sophisticated system of values, rituals and responsibilities. With medicinal plants, small scale farming, with drones, maps, excel sheets and with a frontier planted out of flower trees. Helena tells us what challenges she faces when trying to explain this concept to the outer world and what role the women played in a land mark court ruling against the state of Ecuador and an oil company. Her Utopia: That oil will not be exploited anymore anywhere What you can do to support it, she says: Tell their stories. We need more people watching. That‘s something that they are scared of: People watching what they are doing. GUEST @helenagualinga CREDITS Host: @elisabeth_weydt Executive producers: @_charlotte.horn and @christinafeemoebus Music: Robert Pilgram http://robertpilgram.com/ Studio Sound: @seike_sound MORE INFORMATION *On Sarayaku and Kawsak Sacha: Kawsak Sacha - Selva Viviente - Living Forest Back to nature: the story of one family's retreat into the Amazon forest to escape Covid | Environment | The Guardian *On Nature Rights + Indigenous People Ecuador Court Gives Indigenous Groups a Boost in Mining and Drilling Disputes - The New York Times (nytimes.com) Challenges and Opportunities for Indigenous Peoples' Sustainability | DISD *Climate and Biodiversity IPCC report: ‘now or never' if world is to stave off climate disaster | Climate crisis | The Guardian 2021: when the link between the climate and biodiversity crises became clear | Max Benato | The Guardian

The problem we tackle in the first episode of our second season is huge and it is everywhere: CONCRETE It is the most widely used substance on the planet after water! And it obviously works: The Pantheon in Italy was built out of Roman concrete almost 2000 years ago and still standing. But it's destroying nature big times: Eight percent of all carbon dioxide in the world comes from producing concrete. That's more than double than those from flying or shipping. To produce it you need a lot of energy and a lot of sand. So much that we are running out of sand on this planet. And the water! And the people driven away form their land to mine cement, and all the ugly buildings and deadly walls and boarders built out of it, and, and, and. BUT we focus on the solutions and Utopias here. And we have indeed found quite some: *alternative building materials like clay, wood, bamboo * reusing building materials * recycling concrete * producing concrete with a carbon capture and storage method * alternative housing concepts where people share space, tasks and ressources CREDITS Host: @elisabeth_weydt Executive producers: @_charlotte.horn and @christinafeemoebus Music: Robert Pilgram http://robertpilgram.com/ GUEST https://www.ahinterbrandner.com/ @ahinterbrandner PEOPLE + GROUPS WORKING ON SOLUTIONS Recycling Stones: https://www.stonecycling.com/wastebasedbricks Circular Construction Lab: http://ccl.aap.cornell.edu/ Architects for future https://www.architects4future.de/ Studio Almeria ETH Zürich https://youtu.be/rhRdVEEL1A4 Copenhagen wants to get climate neutral by 2025, also with alternative building https://urbandevelopmentcph.kk.dk/node/5 MORE INFORMATION On Clay: https://www.dw.com/en/could-clay-be-the-key-to-sustainable-architecture/a-58577273 On reusing building materials: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszv2n

We'll visit the forensic institute of Guerrero to look for a missing son, we see if Padre Fili can establish a side hustle with a Mezcal brewer for his human rights organization Centro Minerva Bello. We learn about the connection of the violence in Guerrero to drug trafficking in the US and about the connection of illegally exported weapons from Germany to the missing 43. And Padre Fili will reveal his secret: how to talk to Narcos. Along the way we will talk to Guadeloupe the psychologist and Hegel the human rights lawyer in Fili's team. Guadeloupe says: I love working with kids because kids are still shape-able, they are so innocent. All they give to you in their being is pure, no filter. Adults often have their way of living and their world view. They don't want to change much she says even though they are suffering. With kids it's easier to help them have a better live. Hegel says: Of course I cannot solve the problem of the violence here. It's way to huge. I don't have the power to do anything close to solving the problem. The only thing I can do is defending human rights for the people I work with. This is better than to stay silent and become complicit. And who knows one day I will become a victim of the violence here or somebody from my family and then I hope somebody is doing the same for me. And you? What do you say? Tell us! We are really curious: radio.utopistan@posteo.de or @radio_utopistan CREDITS Executive producers: @_charlotte.horn and @christinafeemoebus Host: @elisabeth_weydt Music: Robert Pilgram http://robertpilgram.com/ Illustration: Christine Anas https://cargocollective.com/christineanas SUPPORT FILI's ORGANISATION https://www.dhminervabello.org/ @cdhminervabello SUPPORT RADIO UTOPISTAN https://www.patreon.com/user?u=37500274 https://radioutopistan.de/ MORE INFORMATION https://mexicodailypost.com/2021/10/12/what-really-happened-to-the-43-missing-students-from-ayotzinapa/ https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/apr/20/mexico-violence-gangs-cartels-criminal-elections https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/02/jalisco-cartel-mexico-rise-guadalajara https://www.bpb.de/internationales/weltweit/innerstaatliche-konflikte/54652/mexiko https://www.npr.org/2021/06/07/1003872834/drug-traffickers-gangs-blamed-for-violence-prior-to-mexicos-elections https://open.spotify.com/episode/5fvNLTTXbXniQBNlAo6vjW?si=Ag2yd4p5Rh6OV1_r58j2Jg&utm_source=whatsapp&nd=1

We are in the field again for this episode: In the drug strongholds of Mexico, the violence is unimaginable and the justice system overwhelmed or even involved. Less than two percent of crimes are solved. Padre Fili disrupts the system. He spreads peace, joy and vanilla cream cake. In 2014 he set up camp in Ayotzinapa, where the 43 students disappeared. They were on their way to a demonstration, their buses were stopped and shot at by the police. Illegally supplied weapons from Germany were used. Fili's mission: to create dialogues between everybody involved: the Narcos, the police, politicians, students and victims. “To talk to the wolves, that's my job”, he says. He has seen the Netflix series about the Narcos and they made him laugh he says. Spending a week with him in Guerrero made me laugh many times even though all I felt like was crying and hating all humankind. So much cruelty. Fili's Utopia: a world without suffering. Especially for the most vulnerable: the children and the poor, the elderly, the sick. That they will always have someone who cares for them, for their lives. CREDITS Music: Robert Pilgram http://robertpilgram.com/ Illustration: Christine Anas https://cargocollective.com/christineanas Proofreading: Gavin Steingo @gstarrrrr Host: www.elisabethweydt.de SUPPORT FILI's ORGANISATION https://www.dhminervabello.org/ @cdhminervabello SUPPORT RADIO UTOPISTAN https://www.patreon.com/user?u=37500274 https://radioutopistan.de/ MORE INFORMATION https://www.thedailybeast.com/we-finally-know-how-43-ayotzinapa-students-on-a-bus-vanished-into-thin-air?ref=scroll https://mexicodailypost.com/2021/10/12/what-really-happened-to-the-43-missing-students-from-ayotzinapa/

We know there is way too much plastic in our world. And we produce and use more and more every day. It's destroying ecosystems in the ocean and on land, our basis for life. In the Mexican Caribbean Antonio and Alberto play Don Quichotte every Sunday morning at 7am to fight against the windmills of plastic on our planet. They pick up the trash that came with the ocean or with careless visitors. On different beaches along the Riviera Maya south of Cancun or in the waves off the coast. They are part of the initiative @snorkeling4trash. Their Utopia: To create a culture where more and more people use less and less plastic and take care of the rubbish they produce. In a German laboratory an on research vessels and boats around the world Mark Lenz from Geomar is doing research on plastic and ocean ecosystems. He says, beach cleanups are nice initiatives to make people aware of the problem. The solution he sees on a more structural level: better recycling systems, more taxes on plastic production. His Utopia: A world that is more balanced between the interests of humans and aspects of ocean conservation, sustainable use of resources and protecting the climate First half of this episode: Collecting plastic and talking to Antonio und Alberto in Playa del Carmen Second half (28:30min): Interview with Mark Lenz CONTACTS @snorkeling4trash https://www.geomar.de/mlenz www.radioutopistan.de SOURCES Research Programs Geomar: GAME: https://www.geomar.de/en/research/fb3/fb3-eoe-b/game/game-about-game HOTMIC: https://www.oceanblogs.org/hotmic/about/ On Coca Cola: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/resources/apply/global-commitment-progress-report https://www.coca-colacompany.com/sustainable-business/packaging-sustainability

Happy New Year! What is your Utopia? For the very first episode of the new year we asked musicians from around the world to answer us this very question not with words but with music. Because music sometimes is the only language left. It can articulate feelings, complexity and even politics in a way language will never be able to do. We got some musical answers from the Altai mountains, from the capital of DR Congo, from Spanish Berlin and Arabic Berlin. From the green hills of England, the streets of Moscow and the Caribbean. Check them out and tell us which ones resonate mostly with you? And why? Those are the musicians and their songs. We'll have more about them within the next days. The order was picked by the wisdom fairy: 1. Alisa Ten: Pudelko // @alisa_ten_singer 2. Jenni Grossmann: Hindsight // 3. Jamila and the other Heros: Farashat // @jamilaandtheotherheros 4. Doug Morris: Smile // 5. Evgeniy Shteinmiller: Nochenka - The night // 6. Mergen Teldenov: Maktap Ayttan Törölim Bar // @mergenteldenov 7. Viktor Garagulya: First Picture of African Dancers // @garagulyamusic 8. Mauretta Heinzelmann & friends: Utopia Sound // fb: Mauretta Heinzelmann 9. Kollektiv Elongo: Afrika // @kollektivelongo 10. Aáron Castrillo // @aacastrillo 11. Volki & Wilfried: Reggae for Utopistan // CREDITS Radio Utopistan Music: Robert Pilgram http://robertpilgram.com/ Radio Utopistan: https://radioutopistan.de/ Host: www.elisabethweydt.de

Exit Part I is about stories, Exit Part II about facts and strategies. Fabian Wichmann grew up with Nazis in his schoolyard. Today he is working for Exit, an organization that helps people get out of extremist circles. His Utopia: To see that people can change. That is the biggest narrative in a democracy, he says. People can come back into society. Fabian gives some hands on strategies of what to do about extremism and racism within your neighborhood or family. He is telling the story of the first involuntary charity march where Nazis marched against Nazis. It went viral and was copied in Sweden and the US for example. We talk about what media could do and why there are so many stories about the perpetrators and just really few stories about the victims of terror attacks.

Part one is about stories, part two about facts and strategies. We'll meet a Nazi-whisperer, an ex-Nazi, and a Nazi-target. Tülüfülükülümülü is a writer and actor, son of a guest working cleaning lady and a guest working taxi driver. He grew up in Bavaria and learned the hard way. His Utopia is that people don't try the easy way in life. You can't find easy answers to really difficult questions, he says. Who are you in a room for 24 hours without internet?, for example. Fabian grew up with Nazis in his schoolyard. Today he is working for Exit, an organization that helps people get out of extremist circles. His Utopia: To see that people can change. That is the biggest narrative in a democracy. People can come back to society. The Ex-Nazi didn't give his name, but you can hear his words of how he got into this and why he left extremism. Curious what you think of them.

Kübra (32) is an author and activist in Hamburg, Germany. She just published her first book, “Language and Being”. On the interdependence of language, perception and the way we treat each other. A broad and ancient topic, but Kübra found a way to talk about it that resonates with many. It's a bestseller allready, maybe because she speaks and lives in three languages: German, Turkish and English. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Kübra's Utopia: It's still under construction, for her next book. We get a sneak peek. It's about political discourse. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We talk about conflicting truths, about stones with souls, mushrooms and Muslim women. And about public attention and relevance. CREDITS Music: Robert Pilgram http://robertpilgram.com/ Illustration: Christine Anas https://cargocollective.com/christineanas Proofreading: Cecilia Marshall @cece0126 Host: www.elisabethweydt.de KÜBRA GÜMÜSAY @kuebra https://kubragumusay.com/ @eedenhamburg SUPPORT RADIO UTOPISTAN https://www.patreon.com/user?u=37500274 MORE INFORMATION Kübra's TED Talk about the intellectual cleaning lady: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXgp6E53TIE Story on Quecha fighting patriarchy and climate crisis in the Peruvian Andes: http://english.ackerbunt.de/

Melinda (58) is a lawyer and environmental activist in Guyana, South America. The poor country wants to get very very rich – with oil. One of the largest oil discoveries in recent years was made off the coast of Guyana. Melinda says, we are rich already. We are a carbon sink, look at all the nature. So she is fighting with her government, with the World Bank and with one of the biggest oil companies in the world. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Melinda's Utopia: the oil shall not be taken out. She sued her government. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We talk about money, frogs and what to do when everything seems to be going to the gutter. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ SUPPORT RADIO UTOPISTAN https://www.patreon.com/user?u=37500274 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ CREDITS Music: Robert Pilgram http://robertpilgram.com/ Illustration: Christine Anas https://cargocollective.com/christineanas Proofreading: Fanny Facsar @fanny.facsar Voice: Julian Greis https://www.thalia-theater.de/ueber-uns/ensemble/darsteller/julian-greis Host: www.elisabethweydt.de

Udo (30) is a social worker in the streets of Berlin, the capital of one of the richest countries in the world. Nevertheless there are about 10.000 homeless people living on card boards or abandoned mattresses. To reduce poverty the city of Berlin invented a solidarity basic income and Udo's organization Karuna a give-away of about 1500 Euros in cash a day. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We talk about money, solidarity, pain and paperwork. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Udo's Utopia: Unconditional basic income for everyone and a society where people take care of each other. Where everybody can feel safe and home. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ SUPPORT RADIO UTOPISTAN https://www.patreon.com/user?u=37500274 and share with friends and family ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ CREDITS Music: Robert Pilgram http://robertpilgram.com/ Illustration: Christine Anas https://cargocollective.com/christineanas Proofreading: Fiona Weber-Steinhaus https://www.fionaws.com/ Host: Elisabeth Weydt www.elisabethweydt.de

Majd Mashharawi (26) is an engineer and founder of two companies in Gaza. A place that is often referred to as the biggest open air prison in the world. But instead of surrendering to her fate, Majd decided to create something under occupation, siege and patriarchy. In headscarf and high heels. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Her company Greencake is turning rubble and ashes into bricks and houses. Her company Sunbox is turning sunlight into electricity, and salt water into drinking water. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We talk about weddings, being betrayed, the sound of a rocket and social entrepreneurship. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Majd's Utopia is flying over Gaza and seeing solar panels all over the roof tops.

Grace Kabera (27) is a member of the LUCHA movement in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She is fighting for change. With change she means the end of corruption and violence. And instead creating a real democracy with social justice, clean water, paved roads and free education. With fighting she means non violent fighting: demonstrations, leaflets, social media campaigns. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ For their work LUCHA (Lutte pour le Changement) was honored with different international peace and human rights awards. Nevertheless some members of LUCHA had to spend months in prison, some are even dead. Also Grace spent some time in prison. She has a baby girl now. “But the hope is bigger than the fear”, she says. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Just a few days after our first conversation on democracy, useless NGOs and trauma LUCHA member Freddy Kambale was shot at a demonstration. Two police men were arrested. “We are trying our best to honor his memory and to call for justice for him”, Grace says. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Grace's Utopia is a Congo nouveau. A Congo with real democracy and psychotherapy. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ @gracekaberagk @LuchaRDC ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ CREDITS Music: Robert Pilgram http://robertpilgram.com/ Illustration/Proofreading: Christine Anas https://cargocollective.com/christineanas Host: www.elisabethweydt.de

Maria grew up in Taliban headquarter. That's how she calls the tribal area of Waziristan where she was raised. Today she is a squash player in the international arena and has a foundation to encourage Pakistani girls to also be brave. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The Taliban threatened to kill her and her family. So she put herself under a voluntary quarantine for three years. She just hardly ever left the house. The first time she sensed that something was wrong with the way girls were treated in Waziristan was when she was four years old. That's why she burned all her dresses and cut off her hair. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We talk about freedom, extremism and education. About Islam and Islamism. Maria is telling the story of her childhood and what made her burn her dresses as a kid. Also how she made it through such a long time in quarantine and what she thinks about the majority of schools today: nothing. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Maria's Utopia is a world where everybody is free. Also from the inside. No prejudices, no extremism. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Maria Toorpakai's Foundation: https://www.mariatoorpakai.org/ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Music: Robert Pilgram http://robertpilgram.com/ Illustration: Christine Anas Textedit: Fiona Weber-Steinhaus https://www.fionaws.com/

Radio Utopistan is a podcast and community. We believe in constructive storytelling and a more just future. Therefore we are interconnecting bold ideas and visionary people from around the world. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Radio Utopistan is a think-and-do-tank. A toolbox for political hope and civic engagement. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We are still in the beginning. Our aim is to establish a digital media brand and a social enterprise that will solely focus on catalyzing Utopias. Small ones within families or neighborhoods and big ones within our global society. Via our podcast, via dinner tables, workshops and conferences. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We believe political hope and bold ideas are needed more than ever; in face of climate crisis and social disruptions after the pandemic. Nevertheless, of course, we will be critical with all utopias we promote. Because the utopia of one person can be somebody else's dystopia. That is why we commit ourselves to the Global Charter of Ethics for Journalists. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Radio Utopistan is about people who fight for their Utopias. For progressive spaces within the system or outside the system. For electricity in war torn neighborhoods for example. Or for trees. Or for good food. For solidarity where there seems only oppression. It's not about blueprints of how to organize societies, but about guide posts, roadmaps and inspirational people along the journey. Utopian ideas drive us as humans, they drive humankind and humanity. And Radio Utopistan wants to find out what drives those visionary people. It was the belief that we could fly, conquer disease or live in permanent peace that gave women and men the courage to take risks, to step out, to try things and also to fail. Many things that we take for granted today, were mere utopias in their day - and the people who fought for them were ridiculed, shamed, harassed and also killed. 200 years ago the end of slavery was still utopia. The fall of the Berlin Wall just 50 years ago. And then the end of Apartheid 30 years ago. Where does that leave us today? What are the utopias of our time? What about gender equality? Basic income? Nature rights? Peace in the Middle East? Elisabeth Weydt meets people who are striving towards and fighting for their Utopias, people who want to change the system or build some space outside the system. She is an award-winning multimedia journalist based somewhere between Hamburg and Haifa. She mostly covers topics which revolve around radicalism and natural resources. Elisabeth loves cooking and will meet her guests preferably at home, in bars or in the jungle. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Annuschka Eckhardt is the supervising producer of Radio Utopistan. She studied international emergency aid and worked among others in Mexico, Colombia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. She is part of a collective that organizes cultural events to support refugees at EU boarders. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The rest of the team you will get to know while listening and engaging along the way. Let's go treasure hunting together. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ You can support Radio Utopistan *by spreading the episodes *by becoming a regular contributor: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=37500274 *by becoming a member of and/or giving a donation to our association (soon to come)