Spark - Stories from Advocates for Global Change

Around 20% of society has some form of disability and this has wide impacts on the way a person leads their life, often in ways that are not commonly thought of. In this episode, Markus Schefer , Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law at the University of Basel and a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities , talks about how legal frameworks, advocacy, and...

In this episode, Erika Schläppi, a Swiss lawyer and expert consultant on human and women’s rights, shares insights from her work in international cooperation, peace-building, and governance, focusing on how justice systems can become more accessible to women and marginalized groups. Erika Schläppi talks about the work she does with her consultancy firm ( ximpulse ) in international projects advisi...

Stefan Schlegel shares how human rights are not a given but a fragile achievement that must be defended anew by each generation. With a deep passion for migration law and a drive to challenge conventional thinking, he explains why Switzerland’s delayed creation of a national human rights body matters now more than ever. From his reflections on bias and resilience to his vision for a more open soci...

Innovative methods for studying digitalization and its social impacts In this episode, we sit down with Prof. Tommaso Venturini , a social scientist from the Media Lab at the University of Geneva, to explore how social media is transforming our information landscape. He discusses his interdisciplinary approach to studying digital technologies, combining quantitative analysis of large datasets with...

Have you ever wondered how false information spread online can influence democracy and the public’s trust in it? Or would you like to know what the work of a fact-checker looks like? In this episode, we hear from Sophie Timmermann, head of the fact-checking unit at CORRECTIV , a non-profit investigative media outlet in Germany. She shares what it’s like to do fact-checking professionally, discusse...

The impact of social media in different aspects of life In this episode we hear from a member of the Swiss Young Academy : Anna Jobin , a senior researcher and lecturer at the Interdisciplinary Human-IST Institute at University of Fribourg , the president of the Swiss Federal Media Commission . She talks about how social media impacts all aspects of life, even to people that are not necessarily ac...

The advent of AI in robotics, and systems research, and teaching In this episode we hear from two members of the Swiss Young Academy : Pamela Delgado , Assistant Professor at the HES-SO and lecturer at EPFL , and Emmanuel Senft, research scientist and group leader at the Idiap Research Institute . They talk to us about important challenges and benefits of using AI in their research. From improving...

Exploring the evolution, impact and future use of AI In this episode,  Andrea Emilio Rizzoli , director of the Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence (IDSIA) and professor at the University of Applied Sciences of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), addresses the dual nature of AI in helping to solve global challenges, such as climate change, while also acknowledging the environmental imp...

 How important was/is the human intervention for its adoption and future In this episode, Silvia Quarteroni , Current Chief Transformation Officer & Head of Innovation at the Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC), talks about the origins and evolution of AI as well as the active part we all have in shaping its future. She also discusses past, current and future possible applications of AI, with an...

How collaboration across disciplines and outside academia is needed to address climate change. In this episode, Janet Hering , former Director of the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology (Eawag) and Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETHZ) and Lausanne (EPFL), shares her experience in leading one of the world’s leading water research institute...

In this episode, Arnaud Nussbaumer-Laghzaoui, president of Avocat.e.s pour le climat and partner at Jacquemoud Stanislas , shares his experience in defending cases related to the climate crisis in Switzerland. Dive into his work including defending the protesters who staged tennis matches in Credit Suisse branches, holding FIFA accountable for greenwashing practices during the 2022 world cup in Qa...

Mirko Winkel, an artist from the Institute of Geography of the University of Bern, talks to our hosts Julia and Tanish about his work at the mLAB . It is a unique space that explores novel roles of art in geography research and community outreach. From using cartographic methods, to applying artistic mapping techniques in scientific studies, the mLAB fosters transdisciplinary collaboration and hel...