Nordic Talks

COVID-19 forced us to move our entire lives online almost overnight. Around the world it changed how students are educated, how we work and how we socialize. As adults, we've gotten used to remote working and online meetings. But what about our kids? Are they sinking or swimming faced with this extensive use of technology?

In this episode, we hear about the side effects of online learning and explore the broader consequences of digitalizing such large parts of our children's lives.

This episode is the result of a Nordic Talks online event arranged by Innovation Centre Denmark in Shanghai and Innovation Centre Denmark in Seoul, together with CopenX, and livestreamed from a virtual reality Nordic Talks conference room.

They may be too young to vote – but can the up-and-coming generation of climate activists, embodied by Sweden's Greta Thunberg, push governments to take real action? In 2018 a global movement hit the planet when young people worldwide began to speak up on a scale never seen before. Inspired by 15-year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden, they demanded climate action. 

Let’s face it – there’s an ugly side to the rapidly growing beauty industry. Take the excessive packaging of personal care products: 140 billion units a year that are rarely recycled – meaning a major problem for the environment. And this is before you add in the impact of polluting ingredients and waste created by the products themselves. With consumers worldwide clamoring for change, companies are now trying to clean up their acts. In this episode we look at these emerging trends and ask how we as consumers can help give the beauty industry a sustainable makeover.

Do tech giants like Google, Apple or Facebook have too much power? They gather enormous amounts of information about us, which is often sold and distributed for commercial purposes. And their platforms are used by hate campaigns and for sharing disinformation in a way that many people believe is putting severe pressure on democracy as we know it. In this episode we hear how the Nordic countries have become a high-profile battlefield in the defining power struggle of our digital age and ask what can be done to protect our rights as citizens.

You will meet the leading international tech-professor, Shoshana Zuboff, EU Commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, and president of the Union of Journalists in Finland, Hanne Aho.

What role can culture play in countering climate change? A growing number of artists are using their work to tackle this issue, challenging concert, theatre and museum goers to act. In this episode we take a closer look at how culture and the performing arts can inspire creative solutions and get audiences involved in climate action movements. And we ask why the arts sector – especially in the Nordic countries – sees itself playing a key part in the push for a more environmentally sustainable world.

This episode comes from the live Nordic Talk "Sustainability in the Arts", chaired by Cut the Cord theatre in London, United Kingdom, as part of International Leadership Week.

Can the UN Sustainable Development Goals drive businesses to help the planet? The key role companies can play in making the world a better place was highlighted at the launch of the goals five years ago. And there is also a financial incentive. Estimates indicate that achieving them could unlock business opportunities of 12 trillion US dollars for the private sector. In this episode we take a closer look at the potential of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to act as business drivers, strengthening the link between purpose and profit.

This episode is a product of a Nordic Talk held in Denmark during the Global Goals Week 2020. The event was arranged by the think tank Monday Morning.

How can we fix the food industry and get more sustainable food products into our shopping carts Food production accounts for over a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, so the food industry, in particular the meat and dairy sector, needs to change radically if we want to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. In this episode, we hear how food producers and retailers are working to change the system by promoting food choices that are kinder to our planet, and about the role you – the consumer – can play in this.

This episode is a product of a Nordic Talk held in Estonia during the Food Innovation Summit, arranged by Taimne Teisipäev – a public health campaign in Estonia.

Will it soon be cooler to rent, swap or buy secondhand clothes than to fanatically follow ever-changing fast fashion trends? More and more consumers are becoming aware of the fashion industry's substantial climate footprint. Some are trying to reduce their impact on the planet by buying clothes that last longer, while others are choosing to cut back on their fashion consumption. In this episode we examine new Nordic initiatives for responsible clothes production and get insider tips on how to create a more sustainable wardrobe.

This episode is a product of a Nordic Talk held in the Netherlands during Sustainable Fashion Days 2020. The event was arranged by the Nordic embassies in the Netherlands.