Over the past two years we've seen a host of technological breakthroughs in the agriculture space. One of the most exciting companies is Red Sea Farms, which could transform how produce is grown in harsh desert climates such as the Gulf through the use of salt water-based cooling technologies. We spoke with co-founder and CSO Mark Tester about how technology underpins his work, his partnership with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, and how sustainable farming will take root in Saudi Arabia.

We're already in the second half of the year and this month is Plastics-Free July. To mark this occasion, we spoke to the founder of the leading environmental social enterprise Goumbook. We asked Tatiana Abella what is happening on the push to end single-use plastics and what we can all do to promote a circular economy. Listen to what she has to say and enjoy this week's episode.

UAE-based EVOTEQ is blazing a trial when it comes to the areas of digital transformation and sustainability. We spoke with EVOTEQ's CEO Jihad Tayara to talk about how smart living and working is transforming our lives, the role that public-private partnerships will have in shaping the places we live in, and how he sees our lives changing in the coming months and years. Have a listen in.

The past year and a half have transformed how we talk about mental health in the region. And no one knows this better than Dr. Saliha Afridi, clinical psychologist and the founder and managing director of The Lighthouse Arabia. We speak to Dr Saliha about the effects of the pandemic on our mental wellbeing, on how attitudes are changing to this issue, and what corporates can do to help.

Education is a topic that matters to everyone, especially Prejlin Naidoo. The South African native is the Co-MD of TRACE Academia, a free online vocational training platform built for young people looking to build their skills to find or create jobs. Given this week is host to South Africa's Youth Day and that we're working with Prejlin and his team on skilling up young people with electrical engineering skills, we spoke to Prejlin about the goal behind TRACE Academia and why we must all work to skill up youth through new concepts. Have a listen and we hope you enjoy this episode.

Much has happened over the past 18 months in the region's sustainability space. We spoke with Karim Elgendy, one of MENA's foremost smart city strategists, Associate at Dar and Chatham House Associate Fellow, about the big takeaways from the past 18 months and what's in store for sustainability for the Middle East. Listen in and enjoy this week's episode.

This Saturday is World Environment Day, and we're marking it by speaking with Tanzeed Alam. Tanzeed talks about the need for more sustainable financing, the importance of businesses factoring in environmental impact, and why governmental policy is key to protecting and restoring our habitat. Listen in as you mark World Environment Day.

The region has seen a major shift in energy transitions over the past 18 months. We spoke with Abhay Bhargava, Senior Director - Industrial Practice - Middle East and South Asia at Frost & Sullivan, to get a sense of what's happening in the regional energy generation and distribution space. Abhay shares his views on energy transition investments, as well as where the region's decision makers need to focus moving forward, on issues such as smart grids and renewable integration.

If there's one person who knows about the region's smart cities, it's Ghazi Atallah. The founder and CEO of NXN, Ghazi has worked for over two decades in the technology space. Following the announcement of a partnership between NXN and Schneider Electric, we spoke to Ghazi about smart cities and why the concept matters if we're going to live more sustainable lives across the region.

The winners of the MEA round of the GoGreen competition have been announced, with Morocco's Mayssae Chimi and Kaoutar El Ghaich coming out on top for their idea to cut down on food waste. We spoke to them about this idea, named NoFoasty, as well as their love for technology and why they believe that concepts such as Artificial Intelligence can help us live greener, more sustainable lives. We wish Mayssae and Kaoutar all the best for the global GoGreen finals.