VONA Talks

In this episode, Sofiia speaks with Mansi Jasuja, a practitioner of the Art of Hosting, international speaker, systems change professional, and warrior of the heart. Mansi shares her long-standing quest to understand why we face so many challenges, particularly those linked to climate change, a journey that led her to participatory leadership and systems change. Born in India to a Sikh family, Man...

In this episode, Sofiia talks to Tena Lavrenčić , an Ethical Fashion Advocate and a senior Social Media Expert with the European Commission. Some people might know her by Thinking Threads, as that is the name she uses online. Tena spends most of her time thinking about sustainable as well as ethical fashion and that is what this episode is about. Tena is also one of the Directors with the Fashion...

In this episode, Sofiia talks to Georgia Brooks, a passionate advocate for women’s rights working for greater gender equality and inclusion. Georgia currently is based in Brussels, with professional experience throughout Europe and the Middle East. Most people know Georgia as a founder of The Nine , Belgium’s first female membership club. Fairly so, as The Nine brought a space for women in Brussel...

In this episode, Sofiia talks to Christina Wunder , who works at the intersection of tech, policy and sustainability. In Brussels, Christina is also known as a founder and a community organiser at Idealist Quarterly , quarterly events for people who are pushing for social, economic and climate justice. Christina grew up as an immigrant child in a small town in Germany, where her childhood was very...

In this episode, Sofiia talks to Suzana Carp independent EU climate and energy specialist, working currently on supporting Cleantech for Europe as its deputy Executive Director but also is a Head of list (FR) of Volt Belgium for the 2024 European elections. Suzana grew up in the Black Sea region country, Romania, and since her school years in 1990s became passionate about environment and climate t...

In this episode, Sofiia talks to Elise Buckle , Co-Founder and Co-Director of SHE Changes Climate , CEO of Climate & Sustainability ; Leadership Mentor and a Co-Chair of the Climate Impact Group. Growing up in a French countryside, in nature, Elise started her career in the humanitarian sector in Tajikistan, Chile, and several other organisations active in disaster reduction, where she became...

In this episode, Sofiia talks to Maureen Walschot, a climate security expert and consultant. Through her dedicated work, Maureen delves into unravelling the intricate connections between climate change, peace, and security. Her focus spans across various domains such as water diplomacy and cooperation, as well as the intersection of gender, climate, and security. Despite the persistent presen...

In this episode, Sofiia talks to Gabriel Nuckhir, a Gender and Peacebuilding Adviser at Conciliation Resources. In 2023, Gabriel, as part of the Conciliation Resources project, collaborated with partners from Pakistan, Uganda and the Philippines to unearth much needed insights into how gender dynamics, climate change and conflict are interacting in contexts experiencing worsening climate change an...

In this special episode, Sofiia talks to Teresa Eder & Mareike Moraal, who both work at the Heinrich Boell Stiftung, Washington DC office. This episode features two women working for the same organisation to show complexities of navigating intersections between climate, gender and security as well as foreign policy at the organisational level. Following this, Teresa is a Program Director, Fore...

In this episode, Sofiia talks to Katy Wiese, who is a Policy Manager for Economic Transition and Gender Equality at the European Environmental Bureau (EEB). Katy started her professional path at the advertisement agency where the leadership applied gender lens to the workplace which politicised her in this matter. Later she went to work on renewable and sustainability projects in Ghana and Ethiopi...

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...

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 le...

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 R...

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 fe...

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 h...

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 p...