VONA Talks

In this episode, Sofiia talks to Cass Hebron, who is an editor of The Green Fix and a climate communications consultant with diverse environmental advocacy NGOs mainly based in Brussels or those campaigning at the EU level. Cass shares her fascinating and very real story of becoming a climate activist as a student and continuing it today in her professional life. One of the lockdown projects Cass has been working on with a team for the past three years is The Green Fix, a newsletter that is aimed to bridge the gap between individual and systemic change. Cass shares her vision and tips on how one can contribute to climate action. Is it even possible to be a perfect climate activist and what you can really do to be part of changes not only through recycling or eating less meat but actually acting at a political level - listen to more in this episode. 

If you want to connect to Cass, check out her LinkedIn and Twitter accounts, as well as the accounts of The Green Fix - LinkedIn, Twitter. 

Relevant links: 

Subscribe to The Green Fix

For more on VONA:

Sign up for our monthly Newsletter at www.VONA.international  

Instagram @vona.international

Twitter @VONA_int

LinkedIn VONA International

Podcast hosted by Sofiia Shevchuk

Visuals and podcast production by Tamas Viski

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Sofiia talks to Lara Scarpitta, OSCE Senior Adviser on Gender Issues in the Office of the Secretary General. She is an expert on peace mediation and Women, Peace and Security with over a decade of experience in promoting the role of women in conflict and post-conflict countries in South East Europe and in the Middle East and North Africa region. 

Tune in to this episode to learn more about the impact of climate change on women as well as the links between women’s empowerment and effective climate action from the OSCE perspective. Find out what can be done in Lara Scarpitta’s expert opinion, in order to address one of the greatest challenges we face. 

If you want to connect to Lara, check out her LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. 

Relevant links: 

Lara Scarpitta Profile 

OSCE High-Level Conference on Climate Change

2022 Annual Progress Report: On the implementation of the OSCE 2004 Action Plan on the Promotion of Gender Equality

OSCE Paper on Gender and Corruption

For more on VONA:

Sign up for our monthly Newsletter at www.VONA.international  

Instagram @vona.international

Twitter @VONA_int

LinkedIn VONA International

Podcast hosted by Sofiia Shevchuk

Visuals and podcast production by Tamas Viski

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Sofiia talks to Joanna Kaminska, a foreign policy and security expert at the European Parliament, who also serves as a Brussels local politician and an advisor to Zieloni (The Greens), a political party in her native country - Poland. As her daily job, Joanna is involved in a European Parliament’s democracy support and mediation programme with the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), but during her weekends and evenings she is also working as a Council Member at the Municipal level in Brussels’ commune - Etterbeek, where she is elected as a local Council Member.

Joanna is among a few non-Belgians involved in Brussels politics. In fact it was not Joanna’s dream or goal to join the local politics initially, but one unfortunately cut tree led her to get curious and take actions in her own hands to be part of the changes in the Brussels community. Lastly, Joanna is also a great and inspiring painter, and shares how important it is to balance one’s mind, body and soul. Tune in to this episode to learn more about Joanna’s journey and to dive into the insights of a political life from both international, national and local levels. 

If you want to connect to Joanna, check out her LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. 

Relevant links: 

Joanna’s creative account 

Partia Zieloni (The Greens in Poland)

Ecolo (Belgian francophone green party) 

For more on VONA:

Sign up for our monthly Newsletter at www.VONA.international  

Instagram @vona.international

Twitter @VONA_int

LinkedIn VONA International

Podcast hosted by Sofiia Shevchuk

Visuals and podcast production by Tamas Viski

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Sofiia talks to Joanna Maycock, a seasoned professional with over three decades of experience in leadership roles. Joanna's journey has been marked by her tireless efforts to foster feminist leadership, combat various forms of injustice, alleviate poverty, and champion women's rights. Growing up during the 1970s, a period marked by heightened awareness of women's rights and the feminist movement, Joanna actively deconstructed children's literature with her mother to challenge gender stereotypes deeply ingrained within them. Despite the progress made since then, Joanna remains both astonished and indignant at the persistence of injustice and inequality in today’s world. Throughout her distinguished career, Joanna has channelled her passion into effecting positive change. She is deeply committed to constructing collaborative and optimistic pathways toward sustainable, all-encompassing feminist futures. Tune in to this episode to gain insights into Joanna's remarkable approach and methods for driving this transformation.

If you want to connect to Joanna, check out her LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. 

Relevant links: 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joanna_Maycock  

https://www.politico.eu/list/the-women-who-shape-brussels/joanna-maycock/ 

https://apolitical.co/list/en/gender-equality-100-2019 

https://www.womenlobby.org/Celebrating-Joanna-Maycock-7-years-as-EWL-Secretary-General 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/w100bxl/

For more on VONA:

Sign up for our monthly Newsletter at www.VONA.international  

Instagram @vona.international

Twitter @VONA_int

LinkedIn VONA International

Podcast hosted by Sofiia Shevchuk

Visuals and podcast production by Tamas Viski

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Sofiia talks to Angela Lowe, a social impact enthusiast from Seychelles, living in Belgium. They talk about Angela’s childhood, growing up in a family of three amazing women, how she made it to Brussels (which “spoiler alert” wasn’t her dream), and how she currently works with most high level women on this planet. Angela also hints about her professional aspirations and dream of helping her fellow women back in Seychelles. She actually already has a concrete project idea on how she wants to assist women who suffered from sexual and gender based violence. Listen to the episode to learn more. 

If you want to connect with Angela, check out her LinkedIn and Twitter accounts.

Relevant links: 

https://www.womenpoliticalleaders.org/ 

Women's Political Careers 2022

Women in politics 2023 Map

For more on VONA:

Sign up for our monthly Newsletter at www.VONA.international  

Instagram @vona.international

Twitter @VONA_int

LinkedIn VONA International

Podcast hosted by Sofiia Shevchuk

Visuals and podcast production by Tamas Viski

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A podcast on climate, gender, security and intersection between them.

In this episode, Sofiia Shevchuk, a founder of VONA and a host of VONA Talks introduces you to VONA, talks about where the idea came from and what the organisation stands for, as well as why and how you can get engaged. 

We talk about co-creation of of a more equal, climate-just and secure world for all and how you can be part of it.

VONA website: https://www.vona.international

Instagram: @vona.international

Twitter: @VONA_int

LinkedIn: @VONA

Podcast hosted by Sofiia Shevchuk

Visuals and podcast production by Tamas Viski

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.