Podcasts about un university

Join us as we talk with Max Stauffer, Co-CEO of the Simon Institute (SI), about how international educators and schools can help students become future-ready and approach global challenges with a long-term view. SI's mission to strengthen global cooperation and reduce major risks aligns closely with the goals of many international schools. Max explains how SI works with partners worldwide to address complex issues and shares important trends affecting educators today. We'll explore practical strategies that educators and students can use to engage with themes like cooperation, responsible technology, and making a positive impact on society. About Max Stauffer Max Stauffer is the Co-CEO of SI. Together with Konrad, he develops our strategy, designs our programs, and leads our policy work. Previously, Max served as Senior Science-Policy Officer at the Geneva Science-Policy Interface, Senior Visiting Fellow at UN University, and co-President and head of policy research at Effective Altruism Switzerland. He's also a World Economic Forum Expert on Complex Risks and co-founder of the Geneva Social Complexity Lab. Max studied international relations at the University of Geneva and computational math at Johns Hopkins University, and holds a particular interest in evidence-informed policymaking, risk governance, and decision-making under uncertainty. About SI (Strategic Initiatives) SI (Strategic Initiatives) is a non-profit organization based in Switzerland that supports global cooperation to address large-scale challenges. It provides policy advice and facilitates decision-making on technology governance, global risks, and long-term planning. Since 2021, SI has contributed to international processes, organized workshops, and delivered a UN report on existential risks. Its work focuses on multilateral action, improving technology governance, and encouraging policies that consider future generations. Website: https://www.simoninstitute.ch/  John Mikton on Social Media LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmikton/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmikton Web: beyonddigital.org Dan Taylor on social media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/appsevents  Twitter: https://twitter.com/appdkt  Web: www.appsevents.com Listen on: iTunes / Podbean / Stitcher / Spotify / YouTube Would you like to have a free 1 month trial of the new Google Workspace Plus (formerly G Suite Enterprise for Education)? Just fill out this form and we'll get you set up bit.ly/GSEFE-Trial

Welcome to a compelling episode with Adam Day, Head of the UN University Centre for Policy Research in Geneva on his new book, "The Forever Crisis." In this engaging discussion, Adam introduces the concept of complex systems thinking, exploring its applicability to global governance and the pressing issues of our time. Adam shares his journey from his role as a senior political advisor in Congo to his current position at the UN University's Center for Policy Research. He explains how his experiences led him to delve into the intricacies of complex systems and their unpredictable, yet not entirely unpredictable, nature. The episode dives into key themes from Adam's book, including environmental governance, large-scale conflict resolution, cybersecurity, and the rise of artificial intelligence. He offers a critique of today's proposals for improving governance on global issues. Adam emphasizes the importance of moving away from linear thinking and top-down approaches, advocating instead for adaptive, networked solutions. In a thought-provoking conclusion, Adam introduces the idea of a planetary immune system—a visionary concept aimed at addressing global challenges holistically. This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in understanding and navigating the complexities of our world today. Resources Day, A. (2024). The Forever Crisis: Adaptive Global Governance for an Era of Accelerating Complexity (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003506386 Day, A. (2022). States of Disorder, Ecosystems of Governance: Complexity Theory Applied to UN Statebuilding in the DRC and South. 10.1093/oso/9780192863898.001.0001.   Keinfield, R. (2015) Improving Development Aid Design and Evaluation; Plan for Sailboats not Trains. https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2015/03/improving-development-aid-design-and-evaluation-plan-for-sailboats-not-trains?lang=en Gladwell, M. (2002). The tipping point. Back Bay Books.   Where to listen to this episode  Apple podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy YouTube: https://youtu.be/ Content    Guest: Adam Day, Head, UNU Centre for Policy Research, Geneva Host: Francesco Pisano, Director, UN Library & Archives Producer and editor: Amy Smith Recorded and produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva 

Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala, rector of the United Nations University and under-secretary-general of UN, speaks with Asia Society Policy Institute Managing Director Rorry Daniels about the importance of digital governance and the UN's new Global Digital Compact. The conversation covers how AI can be better understood, trusted, and used for the greater good. Asia Inside Out brings together our team and special guests to take you beyond the latest policy headlines and provide an insider's view on regional and global affairs. Each month we'll deliver an interview with informed experts, analysts, and decision-makers from across the Asia-Pacific region. If you want to dig into the details of how policy works, this is the podcast for you. This podcast is produced by the Asia Society Policy Institute, a “think-and-do tank” working on the cutting edge of current policy trends by incorporating the best ideas from our experts and contributors into recommendations for policy makers to put these plans into practice.

Dr. Eleonore Fournier-Tombs, head of Anticipatory Action and Innovation at the UNU-CPR, speaks with Asia Society Policy Institute Managing Director Rorry Daniels about the importance of digital governance and the UN's new Global Digital Compact. United Nations. The conversation covers how AI can accelerate economic development and climate action while managing the associated risks. Asia Inside Out brings together our team and special guests to take you beyond the latest policy headlines and provide an insider's view on regional and global affairs. Each month we'll deliver an interview with informed experts, analysts, and decision-makers from across the Asia-Pacific region. If you want to dig into the details of how policy works, this is the podcast for you. This podcast is produced by the Asia Society Policy Institute, a “think-and-do tank” working on the cutting edge of current policy trends by incorporating the best ideas from our experts and contributors into recommendations for policy makers to put these plans into practice.

Interview with Margot Paez (Bitcoin Policy Institute Fellow, Energy and Mining) to debunk the recent United Nations University report “The Hidden Environmental Cost of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin Mining Impacts Climate, Water and Land” and chat about her response in Bitcoin Magazine. This is the first report to counter Bitcoin FUD as part of the new FUD Fighters series sponsored by HIVE Digital Technologies. LINK to UN University Report: https://inweh.unu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Bitcoins-Environmental-Footprint-UNU-INWEH-2023.pdf LINK to Margot's response “Mining Misinformation: How The United Nations Misrepresents Bitcoin's Energy Use”: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/sponsored/mining-misinformation-how-the-united-nations-university-misrepresented-data-to-exaggerate-bitcoins-environmental-footprint Guest: Margot Paez (https://x.com/jyn_urso?s=20) Host: Spencer Nichols (https://x.com/DeSpencer_?s=20) Download a full PDF of the report: https://mailchi.mp/bitcoinmagazine.com/fud-fighters-mining-misinformation Learn more about the FUD Fighters series: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/press-releases/hive-digital-technologies-and-bitcoin-magazine-announce-fud-fighters-educational-initiative- __________________ Enter the Bitcoin Halving Challenge! Visit https://www.bitcoinhalving.com/#challenge to place your guess for the price of bitcoin at the halving for the chance to win 1 BTC in prizes! Powered by Nitrobetting (https://nitrobetting.eu/) hivedigitaltechnologies.com HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd AI Infrastructure for the Web3 Digital Transformation.

In this climateGenn episode I am speaking with Dr Jack O'Connor, at the UN University's Institute for Environment and Human Security. Jack is the author of the Interconnected Disaster Risks Report that is looking at tipping points impacting human security and the Earth System. These so-called Risk Tipping Points are showing signs of tipping and in this interview we discuss how humanity can respond. Join ClimateGenn to get full episodes early either on Youtube or on Patreon: https://patreon.com/genncc The report is available for download below, as well as a link to the main website with detailed insights into a number of Risk Tipping Points. Interconnected Disaster Risks Report download: https://interconnectedrisks.org/download Main website URL: https://interconnectedrisks.org/ Find out more about ‘COPOUT - How governments have failed the people on climate' by Nick Breeze, an overview plus many of the voices who feature: https://copout.genn.cc

Loredana Sinardo, BBA student at University of St. Gallen interviews Mme Bineta Diop, Founder and President of Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), an international NGO that seeks to foster, strengthen and promote the leadership role of women in conflict prevention, management and resolution in Africa. This interview took place when ideaXme recently visited the St. Gallen Symposium. Biography of Mme Bineta Diop: Studied International Relations and Diplomacy. More than 35 years of experience in women human rights issues, led peace building initiatives, conducted teams to observe elections and facilitated women peace dialogue in Africa. Has played key role in the adoption of many instruments and programmes for women in Africa. Founder and Chair of the Board, Femmes Africa Solidarité, an NGO created in 1996. Currently, Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). Formerly: co-chaired the civil society advisory group to the UN on Security Council Resolution 1325 (WPS); Member, African Union Commission of Enquiry on South Sudan; served on many international executive and advisory boards, such as ICRC and Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue; co-chaired the 2014 World Economic Forum on Africa. Recipient of numerous awards, including: Knighted of the French Legion d'Honneur (2013); Jacques Chirac Foundation award (2013). Recognized as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, Time Magazine (2011). Doctor Honoris Causa, UN University for Peace, Costa Rica and Middlesex University in UK. Mme Bineta Diop also sits on the global board of The Hunger Project. Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS): FAS develop and implement programmes that fall in 4 main objectives: - Fostering, supporting and promoting women's initiatives in the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts in Africa, and for the respect of their rights; - Strengthening women's leadership capacity, including at the grassroots, to restore and maintain peace in their countries; - Engendering policies, structures, programmes and the peace process for the attainment of durable peace and human security in Africa; - Advocating at the national, regional and international levels for African women's rights and concerns, and their critical role on issues of peace and security.  The Hunger Project: The Hunger Project is a global, non-profit, strategic organization committed to the sustainable end of world hunger. Their mission is to end hunger and poverty by pioneering sustainable, grassroots, women-centered strategies and advocating for their widespread adoption in countries throughout the world. Interview credit: Loredana Sinardo. Mme Bineta Diop: https://lk.linkedin.com/posts/auwpsbi... https://thp.org/board/bineta-diop/ https://twitter.com/aubinetadiop?lang=en Loredana Sinardo: https://ch.linkedin.com/in/loredanasi... Credit: Introduction Neil Koenig: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilkoenig/ https://twitter.com/neilkoenig?lang=en ideaXme links: ideaXme's founder Andrea Macdonald: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/andrea-mac... ideaXme https://radioideaxme.com ideaXme is a global network - podcast on 12 platforms, 40 countries, mentor programme and creator series. Mission: To Move the human story forward™ by sharing knowledge of the future. Our passion: Rich Connectedness™!

In this episode, we speak to Kees van der Geest, academic officer and Head of Environment and Migration section at the UN University, and Linnéa Nordlander, Assistant Professor of human rights and sustainability at the University of Copenhagen. For more on their work check out these links respectively: https://ehs.unu.edu/experts/researchexperts/kees-van-der-geest.html#profile and https://jura.ku.dk/cilg/staff/?pure=en/persons/609440

Lecture summary: The talk will draw upon my recent report submitted to the UNHRC earlier this year. See: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Housing/Pages/CFI_20years_SR_adequate_housing.aspx Balakrishnan Rajagopal is currently a Professor of Law and Development at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). A lawyer by training, he is an expert on many areas of human rights including economic, social and cultural rights, the UN system, and the human rights challenges posed by development activities. He is the founder of the Displacement Research and Action Network at MIT which leads research and engagement with communities, NGOs, and local and national authorities. He has conducted over 20 years of research on social movements and human rights advocacy around the world focusing in particular, on land and property rights, evictions and displacement. He has a law degree from University of Madras, India, a Masters degree in law from the American University as well as an interdisciplinary doctorate in law from Harvard Law School. Prof Rajagopal served as a human rights advisor to the World Commission on Dams and has advised numerous governments and UN agencies on human rights issues. He served for many years with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia during the 1990s when he was responsible for human rights monitoring, investigation, education and advocacy, as well as law drafting in a variety of areas. He has held visiting professorships and fellowships at many prestigious institutions around the world. He has delivered many distinguished lectures on invitation such as the Lecture on “International Courts and Second and Third Generation Human Rights” at the Brandeis Institute for International Judges, Brandeis University, the Keynote on ‘Rethinking the Right to Development: Challenges and Opportunities’ at the 3nd Inter-American Conference on Human Rights, Bogota, Colombia, the Keynote on ‘Right to housing: Comparative perspectives’, Human Rights Law Resource Center, Melbourne, Australia, Special Lectures at the UN University for Peace, Costa Rica, the Rechtskulturen Lecture at the Institute for Advanced Study, Germany, the Valerie Gordon Human Rights Lecture, Northeastern University School of Law, the Annual Hansen/Hostler Distinguished Lecture on Global Justice, San Diego State University, the Annual New Frontiers Lecture at the Nigerian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies and Keynotes at various conferences including the joint annual conference of the Australian and New Zealand Societies of International Law. Prof Rajagopal has published numerous scholarly articles, and book chapters and is the author/editor of four books. He has also led or contributed to field and research reports on evictions, displacement and housing and related human rights and development policy issues. He has also published widely in the media on human rights and international law and issues concerning the South including in such publications as the Boston Globe, the Hindu, the Wire, Washington Post, the Indian Express, El Universal, and the Nation, and the huffingtonpost.com.

Lecture summary: The talk will draw upon my recent report submitted to the UNHRC earlier this year. See: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Housing/Pages/CFI_20years_SR_adequate_housing.aspx Balakrishnan Rajagopal is currently a Professor of Law and Development at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). A lawyer by training, he is an expert on many areas of human rights including economic, social and cultural rights, the UN system, and the human rights challenges posed by development activities. He is the founder of the Displacement Research and Action Network at MIT which leads research and engagement with communities, NGOs, and local and national authorities. He has conducted over 20 years of research on social movements and human rights advocacy around the world focusing in particular, on land and property rights, evictions and displacement. He has a law degree from University of Madras, India, a Masters degree in law from the American University as well as an interdisciplinary doctorate in law from Harvard Law School. Prof Rajagopal served as a human rights advisor to the World Commission on Dams and has advised numerous governments and UN agencies on human rights issues. He served for many years with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia during the 1990s when he was responsible for human rights monitoring, investigation, education and advocacy, as well as law drafting in a variety of areas. He has held visiting professorships and fellowships at many prestigious institutions around the world. He has delivered many distinguished lectures on invitation such as the Lecture on “International Courts and Second and Third Generation Human Rights” at the Brandeis Institute for International Judges, Brandeis University, the Keynote on ‘Rethinking the Right to Development: Challenges and Opportunities’ at the 3nd Inter-American Conference on Human Rights, Bogota, Colombia, the Keynote on ‘Right to housing: Comparative perspectives’, Human Rights Law Resource Center, Melbourne, Australia, Special Lectures at the UN University for Peace, Costa Rica, the Rechtskulturen Lecture at the Institute for Advanced Study, Germany, the Valerie Gordon Human Rights Lecture, Northeastern University School of Law, the Annual Hansen/Hostler Distinguished Lecture on Global Justice, San Diego State University, the Annual New Frontiers Lecture at the Nigerian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies and Keynotes at various conferences including the joint annual conference of the Australian and New Zealand Societies of International Law. Prof Rajagopal has published numerous scholarly articles, and book chapters and is the author/editor of four books. He has also led or contributed to field and research reports on evictions, displacement and housing and related human rights and development policy issues. He has also published widely in the media on human rights and international law and issues concerning the South including in such publications as the Boston Globe, the Hindu, the Wire, Washington Post, the Indian Express, El Universal, and the Nation, and the huffingtonpost.com.

By War Child, International Labour Organisation (ILO) This is a War Child Podcast developed with young people in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the International Labour Organisation, the Managing Exits from Armed Conflict project, and the US Department of Labours' International Labour Affairs Bureau.     In this programme “Help them forget this bad life in the bush”: how the participation of young people formerly associated with armed forces and armed groups is a cornerstone for long-lasting peace, we will discuss the participation of young people in peacebuilding, the state of reintegration programming and the lack of young people's participation within it.   We will hear from members of one of War Child's VoiceMore groups in Masisi, Eastern DRC. The young people are working on their own advocacy project into the ‘push and pull' factors into armed groups and will offer their thoughts on young people's participation in peacebuilding and reintegration.    Then the panel below will react to the points shared by the young people.   Siobhan O'Neil, Project Director, Managing Exits from Armed Conflict project, the Centre for Policy Research at UN University.    Simon Hills, Technical Specialist, the International Labour Organisation's Fundamental Branch    Jennifer Fendrick, Senior International Relations Officer, Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking, U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs    Sophie Bray Watkins, Youth Advocacy and Engagement Adviser, War Child UK   For more information about War Child's youth advocacy programme please see: What is VoiceMore?  To read more about the work of the International Labour Organisation, the Managing Exits from Armed Conflict project and the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking, please follow links below:   Child labour and armed conflict (IPEC) (ilo.org)  Managing Exits from Armed Conflict - United Nations University Centre for Policy Research (unu.edu)  International Child Labor & Forced Labor Reports | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov)  Contributions to the Geneva Peace Week 2021 Digital Series do not necessarily represent the views of the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, its partners, or the partners of Geneva Peace Week.

Dr. Jack O'Connor presents the new flagship report by the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security.

It's been 25 years since the declaration on the rights of women, was signed in Beijing - and in that time the landscape of health car inequity has changed. To celebrate we created 3 podcasts, in collaboration with The WHO and UN University, as part of the collection on Women's Health and Gender Inequalities www.bmj.com/gender In these podcasts we'll be hosting conversations between women early in, and some who are more advanced in, their careers - doctors, researchers, legislators and campaigners, all working towards building a future in which women can thrive. As well as these in depth discussions, you will hear some shorter interviews from experts who have written for the collection. These give you a flavour of the bigger discussions going on in global health when it comes to gender equity - so keep an ear out for those during the discussions. In this podcast, we're joined by lawyer and activist Hina Jilani, who has been campaigning for women's rights in her native Pakistan for her whole life. She and her sister set up the first female law firm in the country, she established a refuge for women who were fleeing violence and abuse, she was one of the founders of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, and is now an advocate on the country's Supreme Court. She is also one of The Elders. Hina talks about her career, how she has pulled the various levers of change - lobbying for legislation, legal challenge, and protest - to improve the lives of women in Pakistan. The additional interviews are from; Lia Quatrapella, Asha George, and Veloshnee Govender

It's been 25 years since the declaration on the rights of women, was signed in Beijing - and in that time the landscape of health car inequity has changed. To celebrate we created 3 podcasts, in collaboration with The WHO and UN University, as part of the collection on Women's Health and Gender Inequalities www.bmj.com/gender In these podcasts we'll be hosting conversations between women early in, and some who are more advanced in, their careers - doctors, researchers, legislators and campaigners, all working towards building a future in which women can thrive. As well as these in depth discussions, you will hear some shorter interviews from experts who have written for the collection. These give you a flavour of the bigger discussions going on in global health when it comes to gender equity - so keep an ear out for those during the discussions. In this first podcast, Lulit Yonas Mengesha talks to Cara Tannenbaum Lulit Yonas Mengesha is right at the beginning of her medical career, she's a medical student in Ethiopia, but has already become passionate about woman's health Cara Tannenbaum is is Scientific Director of the Institute of Gender and Health at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Lulit and Cara discuss how women have been excluded from healthcare research - and how that affects practice today, how there are gaps in our understanding of basic biology, as well as how different life experiences affect outcomes. The additional interviews are from; Lavanya Vijayasingham, Claudia Lopes, and Claire Wenham

It's been 25 years since the declaration on the rights of women, was signed in Beijing - and in that time the landscape of health car inequity has changed. To celebrate we created 3 podcasts, in collaboration with The WHO and UN University, as part of the collection on Women's Health and Gender Inequalities https://www.bmj.com/gender In these podcasts we'll be hosting conversations between women early in, and some who are more advanced in, their careers - doctors, researchers, legislators and campaigners, all working towards building a future in which women can thrive. As well as these in depth discussions, you will hear some shorter interviews from experts who have written for the collection. These give you a flavour of the bigger discussions going on in global health when it comes to gender equity - so keep an ear out for those during the discussions. In this first podcast, Adrienne Germaine talks to Fila Magnus. Adrienne starter her career as an activist for women's health in the 1970s, and went on to become president of the International Women's Health Coalition Fila Magnus is Director of Communications at the International Youth Alliance for Family Planning, and was born in the same year as the Declaration was signed. Fila and Adrienne discuss campaigning, now and then, and how the work that led to the declaration can be built on, but is never over... The additional interviews are from; Emma Fulu, Sheena Hadi, Oswaldo Montoya, and Claudia Garcia-Moreno.

A new report Developing Freedom from the UN University suggests a new way of understanding and addressing slavery may be helpful. If slavery is a systemic issue deeply embedded in economic models which deny people any agency, how could improved development outcomes and the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals be used to understand the drivers and leverage better responses to prevent exploitation?About James CockayneJames Cockayne is Professor of Global Politics and Anti-Slavery at the University of Nottingham in the UK, and a Senior Fellow at the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research. He currently chairs the US Council on Foreign Relations Study Group on Trafficking in Persons and is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Futures Council for the New Agenda on Equity and Social Justice. 

The past year has brought us an ongoing global pandemic, tremendous social unrest, political polarization, the near complete erosion of truth in politics, the rise of authoritarianism and white nationalism culminating in the insurrection at the US Capitol.  Amid all of this chaos and destruction, where do we find hope? And not just hope based in shallow wish fulfillment, but hope grounded in deep perennial wisdom traditions?  Jurgen Kremer and Karen Jaenke, editors of ReVision Journal, decided to do something to dispel the dismal atmosphere of the past year. They put together an issue of ReVision Journal that confronts the shadow side of human history, exploring different stories and worldviews that are expansive, complex, and flexible enough to uplift the spirit needed most. Join us as we explore Places of Hope in today's edition of “Circle for Original Thinking.” Guest Bios Jürgen W. Kremer received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the Universität (Uni-versi-tat) Hamburg, Germany. In 1982 Jurgen settled in the San Francisco Bay Area to teach full time and serve as dean at Saybrook University and [later][ at the California Institute of Integral Studies. His teaching and research interests range from general psychology, clinical psychology and research methods to the relevance of indigenous knowledge for today as well as ethno-autobiography. For four years he co-directed, with Dr. Apela Colorado, a program for Native American students and others concerned with indigenous roots and origins. Jürgen is widely published, has served on several editorial boards and has been an executive editor for ReVision (a journal of consciousness and transformation) since 1994. Today Jürgen is a tenured faculty member at the Santa Rosa Junior College. He is also a consultant to the UN University for Peace and its Indigenous Science and Peace Studies program. Jürgen has published regularly since 1976, with 150 plus publications to his credit (journal articles, book chapters, books). Most recently he co-edited three volumes on culture, consciousness, and therapy. He published the textbook Psychology in Diversity, Diversity in Psychology – An Integrative Psychology for the 21st Century with Kendall-Hunt. His Ethnoautobiography (with R. Jackson-Paton) is scheduled to be re-issued in its third edition with the same publisher. His multicultural textbook Abnormal Psychology has been issued in January of 2020 by Kendall-Hunt.  Karen Jaenke, Ph.D. is Chair of the Consciousness & Transformative Studies MA program at National University. In 2016, she placed the Consciousness Studies program online., giving it global reach.   Formerly, she served as Director of the Ecotherapy Certificate at JFKU (2011-14) and Dissertation Director at the Institute of Imaginal Studies in Petaluma, CA from 2001-2008. She is also an Executive Editor of ReVision:  Journal of Consciousness and Transformation, she has edited journals and published articles on: Imaginal Psychology, Shamanism and the Wounded West, and Earth Dreaming, as well as numerous articles on dreams. She is the founder of Dreamhut Consulting (www.dreamhut.org)  and her creative vision synthesizes dreamwork, indigenous ways of knowing, the subtle body, with (Gaian) or living planetary awareness…  The post Places of Hope With Jurgen Kremer and Karen Jaenke appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

When Susan Collin Marks was growing up in South Africa in the apartheid era, her mother took a stand against the regime. Susan’s mother also took her, starting when she only 5 years old, into Black townships to show apartheid in action. “It is hard to imagine what it takes to be a dissident in a police state,” Susan now says. “Yet she did it because she couldn’t have lived with herself if she hadn’t. It was also hard to see how apartheid would end, and then it did, spectacularly, with the election of Nelson Mandela as the first democratic president of South Africa.” As the old system of apartheid broke down as Susan came of age, a new system had not yet been born, and the country was trying to navigate the vacuum in between. Susan stepped into the vacuum, carrying forward her mother's courageous stand, working as a peacebuilder during her country's transition from apartheid to democracy. In 1990, she was the sole woman on the executive committee of Cape Town’s Regional Peace Committee, one of the 11 regional peace committees that kept the country together when everything seemed to be falling apart. She worked to bridge the divide between black communities and government officials as South Africa moved from apartheid to democracy.  She was literally on the front lines of the transition, placing herself between armed police and angry protestors, once shot in the leg by a rubber bullet. Drawing on a vision of shared humanity and interconnectedness, Susan and her colleagues pushed South Africa to shift from a military-style police force—based on control and aggression—to a community-based police service based on connection and cooperation, a model that in a recent Daily Beast opinion piece she writes can inform America's recent discussions around police reform. In 1993, Susan was introduced by a mutual friend to a man who would change her fate: John Marks, a fellow peace ambassador and founder of Search for Common Ground (Search), was visiting South Africa to make a television documentary series on building common ground. Within 30 hours of meeting, they knew their lives would be forever intertwined by a "shared vision and shared love.” They became life partners, as well as partners in their lives’ work. Search, a Washington, DC-based organization that works on all sides of conflict to find solutions and end violence, offers innovative and effective ways to bring about deeper change, like retraining police and soldiers, and amplifying messages by working with the media. Moving to Washington, DC, Susan wrote and published a book about the South African transitional process, Watching the Wind: Conflict Resolution during South Africa's Transition to Democracy (2000). The book captures the story of how an intransigent conflict was transformed by conflict resolution and peace-building that, for the first time ever, was implemented across a whole country through a National Peace Accord. She also became vice president for Search. Today, Susan Collin Marks is an internationally renowned peacemaker and peacebuilder. For the past thirty years, she has worked in some of the most conflict-ridden places on the planet, mediating in the heart of her native South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy; facilitating ongoing dialogue in the Middle East between Palestinians and Israelis, Iranians and Americans, Syrians and Americans, within Libya, and multilaterally throughout the region; supporting peace initiatives in the former Soviet Union and Asia; and establishing peacebuilding programs throughout Africa. Her book was published in Arabic in 2004. In September 2014, Susan stepped aside after 20 years as vice president of Search for Common Ground, which she and John had grown into the largest peacemaking and peacebuilding organization in the world, with 55 offices in 34 countries and over 600 staff from 50 different nationalities. Search innovated peacebuilding tools, including by using pop culture for social change, such as creating soap operas in more than 20 countries that demonstrated peaceful ways of bridging ethnic and religious conflict. She moved from Washington DC to Amsterdam, where she still serves as Search’s Peace Ambassador. Search for Common Ground was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018. In recent years, Susan has focused on mentoring and counseling high-level political, institutional and civil society leaders worldwide, including cabinet ministers, military generals, and members of the US Congress. She helps leaders reflect on their experiences and how their inner world shapes the outer world, to help them make conscious choices to ensure that their leadership is for the common good of the whole. She writes, speaks, counsels, teaches, and supports peace initiatives internationally. Susan holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Kent at Canterbury. Honors include an Honorary Doctorate from the UN University for Peace; Jennings Randolph Peace Fellowship at the United States Institute for Peace; Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship; President Jimmy Carter’s Waging Peace Award; Marvin Johnson Diversity Award from the Association for Conflict Resolution; Exemplary Leadership Award from the University of Pittsburgh; and the Institute for Noetic Science’s Creative Altruism Award. What would it mean to have a world of peace and dignity for all? For Susan Collin Marks, it begins with “living that peace every day, in whatever our circle is.”  Please join Janessa Wilder and David Bonbright in conversation with this visionary peace builder.

Brave New Women hosted by Cecilia PoullainMaria Cristina is currently working as a climate scientist at Winrock in Washington D.C.  She shares her journey in becoming a climate scientist later in life.As a tiny child, Maria Cristina lived with her grandparents on their farm in Ecuador.  This had a big impact on her life:  they taught her to love nature and to take care of it.  When she left school, she studied social development in Quito then did a whole series of jobs, including working with the children of prostitutes in the middle of Quito and teaching English to professionals.She left Ecuador soon after she graduated in order to avoid the social pressure of getting married and because she wanted to see the world.Her first job following graduation was with the children of Central American immigrants in San Francisco.  This opened her eyes to the harsh reality of their lives and set her on a search to discover why the world was so unfair.  She then did a Masters degree on Sustainable Development in Peace and Conflict Studies at the UN University for Peace in Costa Rica.  The contact with people from all over the world expanded her mind even further.  She also started comparing Costa Rica, where people and the environment were a priority, and Ecuador, where oil money had led to corruption and the concentration of wealth in a few hands.  She talks about her time in working with the US Peace Corps and Global Citizen Year, setting up volunteer programs for young US citizens to work with the indigenous people of Ecuador.  All these experiences convinced her to become a climate scientist. You will love listening to Maria-Cristina.  Her enthusiasm, curiosity, humour and overwhelming desire to serve are infectious. I am running a free webinar - "Women Empower Women" - on Tuesday 27 April.  Check it out here:  https://mailchi.mp/ac893611d578/gu7xgku6p7You can find me on my website, on Linkedin and on the Brave New Women Facebook page.Cecilia PoullainFounder of Brave New WomenCoach - Empowering Women to Find their VoiceMusic:  Stephen Marquis www.songsta.com.au Editing: Talal BourokiCecilia PoullainFounder of Brave New WomenCoach - Empowering Women to Find their Voice

What happens to your sensitive mental health data when using a telehealth platform? Is it secure? What if the company is sold? Does anyone really read the terms of service? David & Joe chat with Dr. Lauri Goldkind about data protection, the quality of care provided by telehealth platforms, privacy, and responsibility. Fun! Get in touch with Funny as Tech! Our relationship with tech is messy...let's discuss. On Funny as Tech, a comedian (Joe Leonardo) teams up with a tech ethicist (David Ryan Polgar) to tackle how emerging tech is upending the human experience. UPCOMING LIVE SHOW in NYC on March 10, 2020: https://thepit-nyc.com/events/funny-as-tech-with-david-ryan-polgar-and-joe-leonardo/ FunnyAsTech.com DavidRyanPolgar.com JoeLeonardo.com Info@FunnyAsTech.com Dr. Goldkind is an associate professor at Fordham’s Graduate School of Social Service. She is also the editor of the Journal of Technology in Human Services. Dr. Goldkind’s current research has two strands: technology implementation in the human services and nonprofits and the social justice and ethics implications of data collection, use and dissemination in community based organizations. Wherever possible she combines both ICT and social justice for a blend of tech enhanced civic engagement and improved organizational functioning. She holds an M.S.W. from SUNY Stony Brook with a concentration in planning, administration, and research and a PhD from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University. Dr. Goldkind is also a past visiting research fellow at the UN University on Computing in Society, Macau, SAR, China.

The poor today are always working long hours in menial jobs to pay off something that is continuously breaking down. In many ways they are being punished for being poor.   If you have a hot jug, fan heater, hairdryer, juicer, toaster, vacuum cleaner and other consumer white ware - with a bit of luck you may get two to three year’s life out of them - and then they are off to the landfill.    This interview of Rex Weyler, is one of the original Greenpeace activists - when it was more a volunteer organisation - and they were true Rainbow Warriors - tells of the continuous battle on bringing humankind to become accountable and responsible for the wanton abuse and use of the earth’s critical resources.    This below is Rex’s most recent article ‘Its a waste world’ that was printed in Greenpeace Magazine https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/23747/its-a-waste-world/ A popular bumper sticker in the United States – typically seen on large vehicles, with giant wheels and vibrating chrome muffler pipes – reads: “My carbon footprint is bigger than yours.” This appears as a banner for the culture of extravagant indulgence. And wherever consumption is encouraged and admired, waste follows. The world’s rich cultures are all wasteful, and not just because of excessive fossil fuel use. Even our modern electronic devices represent a massive waste stream. Last year, electronic waste reached an all-time record of 65 million tonnes. Planned Obsolescence   Used bulb lamps collected by Greenpeace volunteers during the clean up at Bokor Island conservation area on Thousand Islands. © Dhemas Reviyanto / Greenpeace Even modern LED light bulbs, for example, do not last as long as incandescent bulbs made a century ago. One carbon filament light bulb, at a fire station in Livermore, California, is still burning continuously after 120 years. Building things that last, and consuming modestly, used to be common human values. But that all changed with the advent of contemporary business models and modern marketing. In 1924, three companies – Dutch Philips, German Osram, and US General Electric – formed a cartel, Phoebus, to shorten the life of light bulbs. Making light bulbs that could last 100 years limited their sales growth. They agreed on a thousand-hour standard, about three or four months of normal use, the historic beginning of planned obsolescence. During World War I, the U.S. Treasury Department launched a frugality campaign to save resources for the war effort. Merchants, however, opposed the initiative. According to Giles Slade in Made to Break, US stores displayed signs such as, “Beware of Thrift,” and “Business as Usual.” New York retailers formed the “National Prosperity Committee,” with slogans like, “Full Speed Ahead!” and “Clear the Track for Prosperity!” During the global economic depression in 1932, New York manufacturers circulated a pamphlet: “Ending the Depression through Planned Obsolescence,” the first known printed use of this phrase. An article in Printer’s Ink journal warned that the idea of durability was “outmoded,” claiming that, “If merchandise does not wear out faster, factories will be idle, people unemployed.” Paul Mazur, a partner at Lehman Brothers, declared that obsolescence, designing products to fail or wear out, was the “new god” of business philosophy. In 1950s America, advertising firms learned that they could sell products not based on function, quality, or durability, but on novelty. Products were sold as “new,” “modern,” and “innovative,” whether or not the “innovations” offered any genuine value. The throwaway fashion industry was born on the notion that clothing “styles” allegedly changed every year, and that to appear “modern,” one must repeatedly buy new clothing. Ad agencies convinced popular journals to publish fashion sections to inform, or manipulate, the public regarding the latest styles. Thus, the idea of well-made, durable products died away in rich nations, replaced by products that break, wear out, become obsolete, or go out of fashion. This trend has now seized the modern electronics industry. E-waste and the cost of high tech   A small child sitting among cables and e-waste in Guiyu, China © Greenpeace / Natalie Behring Since the 1980s, computers and electronic devices have made lives in rich countries more convenient and entertaining. Some observers expected that modern electronics would also make society more “efficient,” that computers would save paper and other resources. Those hopes, however, encountered what is known in economics as the “rebound effect“: Efficiency often leads to more resource use, not less. Human enterprise now uses six times more paper than we used at the dawn of the computer age, six times more lithium, five times more cobalt, more iron, copper, and more rare earth metals. Mining for these minerals tends to be ecologically destructive and exploitive of human labourers. Due to increasing demand and low rates of electronics recycling, mining companies are now proposing strip mines on the ocean floor, a practice that ocean biologists say would permanently damage unique and biodiverse ocean ecosystems. As computer chips got smaller, more powerful, and more energy efficient, the material and energy intensity of those chips increased exponentially. Since our computers require so little energy to operate, we may believe they are “efficient,” but we are measuring the wrong metric. To understand the high cost of high tech, we must consider the embodied energy built into our devices, our telecom infrastructure, server networks, and data centres. We also have to consider the sheer growth of consumption and the acceleration of waste. According to Statisa, about 4 million cell phones are sold every day, over 1.5 billion per year. About 250 million computers are sold each year. The average lifetime of these devices is now about two and a half years. Manufacturers design in obsolescence, changing critical parts and marketing more fashionable, “improved” devices. We may marvel at social media and connectivity, but this level of consumption leaves behind a massive, toxic, and destructive waste stream.   Discarded computer monitor casings in a lagoon in Ghana. © Greenpeace / Kate Davison Apple Corporation has become notorious for designing smartphones, tablets, and laptops that are difficult to repair or upgrade. These policies are not an accident or a necessity of technological advance. They are marketing decisions, designed specifically, like the three-month light bulb, to sell more products. Between June 29, 2007 and November 3, 2017, Apple introduced 14 new iPhone models, one every 37 weeks. The company stopped supporting the first generation phones within three years, and continues to make previous phones obsolete and unsupported. According to Jason Koebler at Motherboard, “Apple is trying to kill legislation that would make it easier for normal people to fix iPhones.” Apple designs products with proprietary parts that cannot be easily repaired and the company has actively lobbied against right-to-repair legislation in the US. According to a Repair.org study, both Apple and Sony have blocked environmental electronics standards that would support repair, upgrade, and recycling. However, Apple Corporation is not alone. According to a 2017 Greenpeace report, other consumer electronics companies are lagging far behind. Although Apple has made progress in the use of renewable energy they are “moving in the wrong direction,” along with Microsoft and Samsung, by shortening the useful life of devices. Samsung, Amazon, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi receive failing grades in every category, using toxic chemicals and dirty energy, making short-lived products that are difficult to recycle, and hiding the data about their practices. On the other hand, HP, Dell, and Fairphone are leaders in producing products that are repairable and upgradable. Electronic waste has now reached over 65 million tonnes per year. Computers, screens, and small hand devices comprise about 22% of that waste, 14 million tonnes annually. According to a 2014 UN Report, Europe produced the highest per-capita electronic waste, over 15 kilograms per person every year. Asia generated the most e-waste, 16 million metric tonnes, followed by the Americas, 11.7 million tonnes per year. Since 2014 those volumes have increase by about 50%. System Change As with most of our ecological challenges, there are solutions, but the response requires more than marginal change. According to Deishin Lee, at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, “most waste is generated on purpose,” built into modern business models. Lee criticizes “output-oriented,” production systems that only consider the product. “Every output-oriented process,” she writes, “is designed to produce waste.” We can overcome this by shifting to input-oriented production, considering the value of all resources, how to conserve, and how to use resources effectively, with a minimum of waste.   Smartphone repair © RIcardo Padilla Roman / Greenpeace Economist Tim Cooper, at Nottingham Trent University believes that a transformation away from planned obsolescence will require a “radical, systemic change.” In his book, “Longer Lasting Products,” Cooper suggests the change could be accomplish with economic policies to encourage minimum standards of durability, repairability, and upgradeability. Quality goods, robust repair-and-servicing, and secondhand markets would result in more jobs and more economic activity for a given amount of resources. Cooper calculates that when consumers spend less on throwaway products, they will spend more for other services and investments. In “Culture of Waste,” Julian Cribb, a fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, describes how we could reverse the trends toward food waste with government regulation to limit wasteful practices, full-cost pricing and taxing, subsidies for good stewardship production, and with education. The 2017, Greenpeace Report, advocates similar actions to create closed loop, circular production, beginning at the design stage, with all companies required to design recyclable parts, easy repair, and a take-back program for all products. Growth swamps efficiency Everything we build requires energy. Wasteful practices waste energy. Although we are witnessing an unprecedented effort to develop renewable energy, we are failing to keep pace with growth in demand. Unless we address the growth of human numbers and human enterprise, we are destined for the natural results of ecological overshoot. We also need to phase out fossil fuels and redouble efforts to build renewable energy infrastructure. The following chart – prepared by Canadian energy engineer David Hughes, using data from the 2019 BP Energy Review – shows the annual growth in renewable energy compared to the annual growth in electricity demand. A great deal of this demand is due to wasteful manufacturing and sales practices. Two-thirds of the growth is met with fossil fuels. Furthermore, this only accounts for electricity. 83% of the world’s energy consumption is non-electric.   The only year that renewable energy growth exceeded demand growth occurred in 2009 during an economic recession. This chart reveals two critical pieces of our waste and energy challenge: (1) Renewable energy growth is not keeping pace with total energy demand, and (2) The way to turn this around is to end the expectation of endless economic growth. Some companies, such as Fairphone and Patagonia, have business models that account for slowing growth. The idea that we should keep businesses growing by creating waste is no longer valid – and never was. We can employ more people by building quality products and repairing them. To reverse the trend of wasteful production, biodiversity collapse, carbon emissions that cause global heating, and general ecological overshoot, humanity has to embrace modest consumption and put an end to the era of extravagant indulgence.   References and Links “E-waste World Map Reveals National Volumes, International Flows,” StEP Initiative, 2013, Quoted in Greenpeace E-Waste report, 2016.E-waste: The Escalation of a Global Crisis, TCO certified“Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America,” Giles Slade, Harvard University Press, 2007; and excerpts at Google Books.“A Culture of Waste,” Julian Cribb, Ecology Today, 2012.Guide to Greener Electronics 2017, Greenpeace Reports, October 17, 2017“Overcoming the culture of waste” Deishin Lee, MIT, Sloan School of Management, 2017.Power-hungry gadgets endanger energy efficiency gains, review of The International Energy Association analysis, John Timmer, 2009, ARS Technica.The Global E-waste Monitor, 2014: UN University, 2014.“Electronic Waste (E-Waste): How Big of a Problem is it?” Rubicon, 2018Facts and Figures on E-Waste and Recycling, Electronics Takeback Coalition, 2014“The monster footprint of digital technology,” Kris de Decker, Low-Tech Magazine,“Electronics Standards Are In Need of Repair,” Mark Schaffer, Repair.org, August 2017.“Apple is against your-right to repair i-Phones New York state records confirm,” Jason Koebler, Motherboard, 2017.“Longer Lasting Products: Alternatives to the Throwaway Society,” Tim Cooper, Gower Books, 2010.Culture and Waste: The Creation and Destruction of Value, Edited by Gay Hawkins and Stephen Muecke, Rowman & Littlefield, 2002.“The L.E.D. Quandary: Why There’s No Such Thing as ‘Built to Last’,” J. B. MacKinnon, New Yorker, 2016.“Patagonia’s Anti-growth Strategy,” J.B. MacKinnon, New Yorker, 2015.What is happening here in NZ?Here in NZ we continue with this ‘business as usual’ attitude, superimposed over the whole country. It is ‘taken for granted’ and the NZ Government is basically none the wiser. They just continue to carry on as if everything is normal. The NZ struggle to get recycling more efficientNZ has not been able to get a deposit on soft drink or beer bottles, where once we had them. As a kid I used to be continuously walking up and down the main road collecting beer bottles as they were in those days just thrown out the window of cars. At the big rugby games at towns, dur9ng the curtain raiser prior to the main game, I was always able to collect enough coke and lemonade bottles to be able to buy a drink and a hot pie and have some change left over.  Why has NZ not been able to follow the legislation as in the State of South Australia and in the State of Oregon in the USA.  Because, like all the other states in Australia and the USA - business interests in both these countries have overridden prudent ecological policies.  Time and time again the breweries and Coke cola with huge financial resources and well paid lawyers - have been able to stop a deposit with regard to recycling - in its tracks. Hence, the throw away mentality is still prevalent in NZ especially with the unconscious male macho way of life.  Yet, it could be said that as an extension of the top of this article that stoves, fridges etc don’t last long too too, when compared to how they were built 50 years ago.A person working at a local transfer station north of Auckland said - If it was not for the Warehouse - he would not have a job! (The Bargain was not necessarily a bargain)Some of the other issues talked about in this interview was that big business is still calling the shots.One of the issues is that businesses do not look at our planet as a complex living super system. They fail to see the biosphere as a homeostatic, self regulating system of trillions of living creatures that are all delicately balanced and embedded in the web of life.Their (very limited) perspective is that they are on ‘a platform’ - that has raw products coming in (they are not interested in where these products come from or how they are extracted or gained) -  all they want to do is then push (highly packaged) product out onto the market. It also does not really matter how much pollution they produce in the process - hence various governments world wide - have had to enforce clean air and clean water standards on businesses to force them to comply. This has been an ongoing ‘battle’ for over 100 years.There is no thought of ‘nature’ in any business model.  Where as in America there is a remarkable treatise on this thought to come from a First Nations ‘Indian’ called Chief Seattle.     Privatise the Profits and Socialise the Costs - This means putting products or services on the market and if they do not measure up, then society picks up the costs.  - Cigarette companies did this with cigarettes. They made money out of selling them but when smokers ended up in hospital beds - especially in countries with ‘free’ hospital care - it was those countries (the taxpayers) that paid to take care and treat those dying patients. It  was the same when the Wall Street bankers in New York took insane monetary risks back in 2008 whilst still collecting ‘extremely inflated commissions and salaries’ - that they threatened to collapse the whole US and world banking system. That the US Government was then ‘forced’ to bail them out - with the US taxpayer taking the hit. This same mentality is pervasive within the current business world. Privatise the profit and socialise the losses. That there is now such a devastating effect by having to clean up the global environment as a result of business practices that did not factor in a healthy future of the world’s children. Cradle to Cradle  - and the Circular EconomyCradle to Cradle was mentioned. http://www.cradletocradle.com Cradle to Cradle is a design framework for going beyond sustainability and designing for abundance in a Circular Economy. The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability—Designing for Abundance is the eagerly awaited follow-up to Cradle to Cradle. Drawing on a decade of lessons, William McDonough & Michael Braungart put Cradle to Cradle®concepts into practice with businesses, governments, and people around the world.Prof Dr Michael Braungart gave an interview on the subject of microplastics on 23-10-2018 in the ZDF news programme heute+. Car tyres are the main cause of the microplasty discovered in the human intestine, says environmental expert Michael Braungart. The main problem is the harmful pollution.In the 1980s, Braungart dedicated his work to the environmental organization Greenpeace and beginning in 1982 helped to establish the chemistry section of Greenpeace International, which he took over in 1985. In the same year he received his Ph.D. from the University of Hannover's chemistry department. In order to develop solutions for complex environmental problems, EPEA was established by Greenpeace in 1987. Ever since, Braungart has been involved with research and consultancy for eco-effective products i.e. products and production processes in a loop, not only harmless to man or nature, but beneficial.Time magazine recognized William McDonough in 1999 as a “Hero for the Planet.” In 1996, Mr. McDonough received the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development, and in 2003 he earned the first U.S. EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award. In 2004, he received the National Design Award for achievement in the field of environmental design. In July 2014, Mr. McDonough was appointed as Chair of the World Economic Forum Meta-Council on Circular Economy. Also mentioned was that we are reaching limits to growth and Rex and I touched on some of the major environmental challenges now affecting the biosphere. Japanase built cars superior to American carsIt was quickly noted that when the Japanese car companies came to North America that it only took a few years or so for the American people to realise that Japanes cars were not only more reliable but they lasted longer. The planned obsolescent cars from Ford, General Motors and now defunct Chrysler were far inferior to the Japanese brands - hence their continued success in the US car market today.  Apple in the US comes in for some well earned criticism in the interview.That between June 29, 2007 and November 3, 2017, Apple introduced 14 new iPhone models, one every 37 weeks. The company stopped supporting the first generation phones within three years, and continues to make previous phones obsolete and unsupported. Listen - Apple are not your kind and caring corporation. They are a hard nosed business wanting to continually corner the market for their own ends. Listen to how they and Sony stopped legislation to not allow their products to be repaired.   “Apple is trying to kill legislation that would make it easier for normal people to fix iPhones.” A Global commitment to CHANGE … Transformation away from planned obsolescence will require a “radical, systemic change.”  to encourage minimum standards of durability, repairability, and upgradeability. What's wrong with 10 years for everything over $4,000?Having quality goods, robust repair-and-servicing, and secondhand markets would result in more jobs and more economic activity for a given amount of resources. We could also reverse the trends toward food waste with government regulation to limit wasteful practices, full-cost pricing and taxing, subsidies for good stewardship production, and with education.  2017, Greenpeace Report, advocates similar actions to create closed loop, circular production, beginning at the design stage, with all companies required to design recyclable parts, easy repair, and a take-back program for all products.There is a limit to growth on a finite planetThere is a limit to growth - that if one becomes an astronaut or a cosmonaut - they see clearly from space - that life within the biosphere can only take so much.  That the increase in human numbers and their extracting and polluting practices is overwhelming the natural worlds ability to rebalance these intrusions because of the short time span. Rex mentioned, that unless we address the growth of human numbers and human enterprise, we are destined for the natural results of ecological overshoot. We also need to phase out fossil fuels and redouble efforts to build renewable energy infrastructure. France Under French law it is a crime to intentionally shorten lifespan of a product with the aim of making customers replace it. ... The French investigation is being led by the economy ministry's consumer protection agency. It follows a legal complaint filed in December by pro-consumer group Stop Planned Obsolescence (Hop).Jan 8, 2018 End of the line for stuff that's built to die? A new French law demands that manufacturers display how long their appliances will last. Could this stop planned obsolescence – products designed with restricted lifetimes?  https://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2015/mar/03/has-planned-obsolesence-had-its-day-design Apple investigated by France for 'planned obsolescence' - BBC News   https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42615378 https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/09/apple-investigated-by-france-for-planned-obsolescence-of-older-iphones/  - This is a Silicon Valley newspaper.Also covered was Regenerative Farming and Biological Farming as a way to make soils more healthy and keep the soil from being blown and washed off the land. This farming method is most definitely the most important way to regenerate our land without using fertilisers.https://www.ourplanet.org/Default.aspx?CCID=34961&FID=629092&ExcludeBoolFalse=True&ID=/greenplanetfm/search-results So there we have it However, it goes far deeper than this.  ListenThis is a very important interview - on an imperilled planet that is awash with rubbish, toxins and the throw away society. That we have to ask the question - are we throwing away our future and our children and grandchildren with it? Time for decisive action, from the Grass Roots up. Not top down from the summit of the Pyramid of Businessmen and Bankers. This has to be where all ‘grassroots’ groups as in localised communities across every nation need to be brought into the conversation and also the planning and action.

We sat down with Ambassador Fatima Kyari Mohammed for an interview during her visit for the Africa Development Conference. Ambassador Mohammed is the Permanent Observer of the African Union to the United Nations. Before her appointment, she was Senior Special Advisor to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission and worked with the organization for over a decade. Prior to joining ECOWAS, she was the Executive Director at West Africa Conflict and Security Consulting. She has also previously worked as a Programme Manager for regional cooperation in West Africa at the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS and as Regional Project Manager for security policy projects in West Africa with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. Fatima holds a Master of Arts in Peace, Security, Development and Conflict Transformation from the University of Innsbruck, Austria and a Master of Arts in Sustainable Economic Development from the UN University of Peace in Costa Rica. She also holds an MBA in Business Communication from the European University in Switzerland and a BA in Environmental Design from the Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria.

The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) recently co-sponsored the Code 8.7: Using Computational Science and AI to End Modern Slavery conference. Code 8.7 brought together computer science researchers and technologists with policy researchers, law enforcement officials, and activists involved in the fight against human trafficking. In this episode Khari Douglas interviews CCC Council Members Dan Lopresti (Lehigh University), Nadya Bliss (Arizona State), and James Cockayne (Centre for Policy Research at UN University) on the discussions, outcomes, and next steps of Code 8.7.

How does a child end up working for a terrorist organization that's responsible for killing his own father? That's one of the questions addressed by a new report from the UN University (UNU) that's drawn on two years of fieldwork. For out latest Lid Is On podcast, Matt Wells has been talking to Siobhan O'Neil, leader of the Children and Extreme Violence Project for UNU.

Event recording from 28/06/2017 THE POLITICS OF FORCE IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: A CLOSER LOOK AT THE UN'S STRATEGIES FOR NEUTRALIZING ARMED GROUPS Speaker: Adam Day, Senior Researcher at the UN University and formerly Senior Political Advisor with MONUSCO in the Democratic Republic of Congo This talk examined the current security dynamics in eastern DRC, looking in particular at the armed groups which are the priority targets for MONUSCO’s neutralization mandate. Based on his recent experience as the Senior Political Adviser to MONUSCO, Adam Day described the strategies MONUSCO is implementing to address the threats posed by these armed groups, some of the unintended consequences of the use of force, and implications for the UN’s broader mandates to protect civilians and stabilize conflict-affected areas. Biography: Adam Day joined as Senior Policy Adviser in the UNU Centre for Policy Research in January 2017. Prior to UNU, he served for a decade in the UN, focused on peace operations, political engagement in conflict settings, mediation and protection of civilians. He served as Senior Political Adviser to MONUSCO (DRC), in the UN Special Coordinator’s Office for Lebanon, in the front offices of both UNMIS (Khartoum) and UNAMID (Darfur), and was a political officer in both the Department of Political Affairs and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in New York. Prior to the UN, Mr Day worked in Human Rights Watch’s Justice Program, for the Open Society Justice Initiative in Cambodia, and supported the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. An attorney and former member of the New York Bar Association, Mr Day was an international litigator in New York, where he also worked pro bono for the Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of Guantanamo detainees in their suits against former US officials for torture.

In this week’s episode, we explore how the public and governments respond to extreme events. We’re bringing you two exclusive interviews with two of our own experts from the Department of War Studies. Dr Julia Pearce is a social psychologist in the Department of War Studies and an expert on risk communication. Her research interests include risk perception, risk and crisis communication, public health behaviour, social identity, social representations and moral panic. Dr David Parker is a postdoctoral research associate in the department and he works also in the delivery of the Prevent strategy in a few London boroughs. His research, as part of the EU funded PRIME project, is focused on communication measures to prevent, interdict and mitigate lone actor extremist events in Europe. Upcoming events: THE POLITICS OF FORCE IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: A CLOSER LOOK AT THE UN'S STRATEGIES FOR NEUTRALIZING ARMED GROUPS Adam Day, Senior Researcher at the UN University, will examine the current security dynamics in eastern DRC, looking in particular at the armed groups which are the priority targets for MONUSCO’s neutralisation mandate. Location: War Studies Meeting Room (K6.07) When: 28/06/2017 (17:00-18:30) Contact: Mats Berdal mats.berdal@kcl.ac.uk Registration URL: bit.ly/2srsSHZ JAPAN'S SECURITY POLICY IN AFRICA: THE DAWN OF A STRATEGIC APPROACH? What kind of role is Japan playing in security in Africa? How is this role in Japan strategic core interests? Celine Pajon seeks to explain Japan's involvement. Location: SW1.13 Somerset House East Wing Category: Conference/Seminar When: 30/06/2017 (16:00-17:00) RSVP to: eline.storeide@kcl.ac.uk Registration URL: bit.ly/2tajTbA For more information, visit kcl.ac.uk/warstudies. This podcast was produced by Ivan Seifert.

Susan Collin Marks is an internationally renowned peacemaker and peacekeeper. She's worked for nearly three decades forging peace, including in her native South Africa, where she worked intimately with the nation's transition from apartheid after the release of Nelson Mandela from prison. Additionally, she has helped facilitate ongoing dialogue in the Middle East and established peacebuilding programs in Africa. Honors include a Peace Fellowship at the United States Institute for Peace, the Institute for Noetic Science’s Creative Altruism award, a Skoll Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurship, President Jimmy Carter’s Waging Peace Award, and an Honorary Doctorate from the UN University of Peace. She is also an outstandingly warm and generous person. Our conversation was far-ranging, and included her insights into how peace functions on a personal level, as well as her history with the Esalen Institute. Our music is Siesta by Jahzzar, licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License.

Development writer and international negotiations watcher Biraj Swain discusses with Prof Sanjay Reddy of New School of Social Research, New York, Prof John Clammer of UN University, Tokyo, Dipa Sinha of Right to Food Campaign, Nilachala Acharya of Centre of Budget and Governance Accountability and Prof Praveen Jha of Jawaharlal Nehru University, the definition, reasons and nature of renewed energy around universal social protection globally. They take stock of social protection programmes in India, budgetary allocations and weigh in if it is a political or financial question. They also discuss the moral and economic arguments for social protection, and India's track record. And they wrap up with the question if universal social protection will ever be a reality for all the 7 billion of the world and how.They also listen in to the 80s hit reggae band UB40 which has a social protection connection!Please visit Newslaundry website for reference links.Produced by Kartik Nijhawan. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.