Shows
VONA TalksArt of Hosting and harvesting conversations that matterIn this episode, Sofiia talks to Mansi Jasuja, a practitioner in the art of hosting, a speaker, a system change professional, and a warrior of the heart. Mansi has shared that she has been searching for a very long time why we have so many problems on planet Earth, particularly connected to climate change… and this search brought her to work on participatory leadership and systems change. With ancestors coming from Punjab, Pakistan, Mansi was already born in India, carrying the partition and losing the land trauma with her throughout her whole life… She grew up in N...2024-11-2148 min
Böll·EuropeBöll·Europe Podcast #16 | Climate justice and gender equalityBridging the global policy gap
This Böll·Europe Podcast episode explores the often overlooked link between international climate politics and gender perspectives. We discuss how climate change impacts women and marginalised communities, the inclusion of gender in global initiatives, and the crucial role of intersectional feminism in climate justice. We also examine the urgent measures governments should take in this super election year 2024.
Melanie Bernhofer talks with Sofiia Shevchuk, a Brussels-based expert on environment, gender, peace and security policy. She is the Co-founder of The Tide, an NGO that aims at building a community to find cr...2024-09-0237 minVONA TalksFashion Revolution through a feminist and environmental lensIn 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 Revolution Belgium, Belgian branch of the biggest global activism movement in fashion. Tena was born in a Bosnian household, in Croatia, in the middle of the war, and th...2024-08-2943 minVONA TalksFrom Burnout to Founding The Nine, Women's ClubIn 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 Brussels, that this city has not yet seen before. As Georgia describes The Nine activities and events herself: “from professional workshops, art exhibitions to drag queen shows - to have a little bit of fun becaus...2024-05-2740 minVONA TalksSocial, Economic and Climate JusticeIn 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 different, as oppose to her current expat life in Brussels, Belgium. Early on Christina became aware of the privileges, being discriminated herself on many occasions. Much later in her life, as...2024-04-1445 minVONA TalksClimate & Democracy in EU electionsIn 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 topics, as she reflects on some of her school years activist memories. Suzana travelled the world before landing in Brussels, but it was exactly her school years that affected her choice to work on climate...2024-03-1829 minVONA TalksSHE Changes ClimateIn 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 aware of the connection between climate change and poverty reduction. Then with COP11 Elise started working on climate change, as an advisor for members of the European Parliament. It is precisely then, when climate change has been a red thread...2024-02-2024 minVONA TalksGendering Water SecurityIn 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 presence of environmental and feminist studies throughout Maureen's life, they existed in parallel. It wasn't until her university studies and subsequent PhD journey that she started exploring the convergence of gender, environment — specifically transboundary water management — and security. Maureen shares her rich experience, recou...2024-01-2936 minVONA TalksGender and cultural identity dynamics within the climate and conflict nexusIn 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 and conflict impacts. Gabriel shares about his professional journey through peacebuilding so far, and how this led him to the recognition that it is critical to take a joined-up approach to the meta-challenges concerning gender equality, climate change and violent conflict....2023-12-2136 minVONA TalksNavigating Climate Gender Security NexusIn 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, Foreign & Security Policy and Mareike is Program Director, Energy & Environment. Mareike and Teresa share their personal stories and experiences being both Europeans, living and working in the US, navigating transatlantic relations and landing on their value-based job option. The conversation...2023-12-1241 minVONA TalksAn ecofeminist approach to the current EU policiesIn 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 Ethiopia, where she experienced climate injustice first hand. It was exactly this experience that made her work on intersection between climate, environment and gender as well as structural inequalities or rather “ecofeminist” policies within her current organisation - EE...2023-11-2333 minVONA TalksHow to be a (perfect) climate and gender activist todayIn 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...2023-11-0741 minVONA TalksWhy gender equality is key to climate actionIn 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. Fin...2023-10-1632 minVONA TalksFrom a Cut Tree to Becoming Engaged in Local, National & International PoliticsIn 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.Jo...2023-09-1937 minVONA TalksCollaborative and Optimistic Pathways toward Sustainable and Inclusive Feminist FutureIn 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...2023-09-0145 minVONA TalksFrom a Family of Powerful Women to Women Political LeadersIn 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 e...2023-07-2445 minVONA TalksIntroduction to VONA TalksA 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.internationalInstagram: @vona.internationalTwitter: @VONA_i...2023-07-0906 min
WIIS Brussels Voices#Bonus - Climate security reality checkIn this miniseries, WIIS Brussels invites women to share their experience and expertise on the multi-dimension of climate security.For this bonus episode, recorded a year after the miniseries publication, Sabrine Dao, Sofiia Shevchuk and Mona Koehler-Schindler look back at what we've learned through the miniseries and share their expertises.Mona and Sofiia with their diverse rich professional and personal experiences share their insights on the reality check of climate security situations across different geographical areas, such as Afghanistan, Ukraine and more.The episode is introduced by Laura Djuragic, Deputy...2023-07-0639 min
BRUBBLEFeminist Foreign Policy | BRUBBLE: Voices from the Brussels BubbleIn the past years, countries like Canada, Germany, and France have all adopted feminist elements into their foreign policy approaches. So, on International Women’s day, we’re gathering to discuss a bit about what a feminist foreign policy is: who’s doing it, who’s doing it well, and how it can be improved.
Joining Simon to shed some light on this approach is Sofiia.
Sofiia Shevchuk is an Independent Consultant, and also founder of VONA, an educational and consultancy platform focusing on climate, gender, and security.
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Learn more about Sofiia’s work and check out VONA at https://www.vona.i...2023-03-0834 min