IYNF Podcast

Let's hear the insights from the "Mangrove Regeneration: Natural heroes to combat climate change” publication, a captivating exploration into sustainable youth-work, created in collaboration with IYNF.🚀🎧

In our podcast episodes, coordinators from the associations who participated firsthand in the project will talk to us about the youth exchange in Senegal, and how they have implemented Mangrove modelling as a method for greening international youth work.

Join our conversation as we go deeper into the world of Mangrove Modelling, discovering innovative solutions for a sustainable future 🙌

On our recent training course, “Re-think. Travel! Leaving positive traces for a just and sustainable future,” our participants Kruti, Anna, Maja, and Juul created this podcast episode.

We hope you hear them out. They will be covering what travel is for them, talk about how to travel sustainibly. They will reflect on their own travel experiences and how they were influenced by it. They will ask and answer the question if traveling has to be consumerist, and talk about what priviliges we have as permanent or temporary residents of the European Union. 

Check out this podcast episode to join us in this conversation 🙌

Join in and listen to get an insight into our newest event, where you’ll experience an international environment dedicated to learning about living a sustainable life! You will hear about different NGOs, workshops, music and much more!

The Festival Terra Lenta was held in Cecina (LI) from September 22nd to 24th, which was a joint effort between International Young Naturefriends, the municipality of Cecina, and Italian Naturefriends with the Naturefriends section of Gran Pino, who successfully connected the local and international spheres, fostering new partnerships and meaningful connections.

This podcast was produced by IYNF with the support of the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe.

and 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the EUROPEAN EDUCATION AND CULTURE EXECUTIVE AGENCY (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

During our activity "Let's Fight for a Socio-Ecological Diversity" we discussed how right-wing parties in Europe use environmental causes to push their non-sustainable policies.

From the voices of our participants get to know what we learned during the week in Bielefeld hosted by our friends from FARN (Center for Right-Wing Radicalisation Prevention in Nature Conservation).

This podcast was produced by IYNF with the support of the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe.

and 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the EUROPEAN EDUCATION AND CULTURE EXECUTIVE AGENCY (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

This episode contains a trip to one of Italy's largest chemical plants, owned by Belgian company Solvay, located in the Italian tourist hotspot Tuscany. These plants mainly produce so-called ‘soda ash’ (sodium carbonate) by using a process known as the Solvay process, invented by Ernest Solvay himself, which is the leading industrial method used to produce sodium ash worldwide. Global sales of soda ash and derivatives brought the Solvay company €1.5 billion in 2021, or 15% of its total revenue (Martinuzzi & Silver, 2022)

However, this process leaves behind a vast range of poisonous chemicals which the company has been dumping into the Mediterranean Sea and surrounding atmosphere for more than 100 years. The most visible consequences of the factory’s action are the beautiful white, tropical paradise beaches in front of the industrial complex. The white beaches stem from the milky white discharge that, according to Solvay, is non-toxic, stabilizes the coastline, and cannot accumulate thanks to the underwater currents (Martinuzzi & Silver, 2022; Patowary, 2022). Yet, researchers were able to show excess in mortality from chronic diseases in the region, hinting at a possible causal link between the pollution and frequent deathly incidents of these diseases (Carter, 2022; Silver, 2022)

This episode is the outcome of the "From local action to digital activism" international youth exchange of the Italian Young Naturefriends (Gian-Gio) (May 2023).

The following sources were consulted for this episode:

Angler, M. (2022, May 15). Chemiewerk: Bleicht Strand in der Toscana. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/wissenschaft/strand-in-der-toskana-sorgt-fuer-diskussionen-wegen-der-umwelt-ld.1682662

Bluebell Capital Partners – Antwort auf den Offenen Brief des Solvay-Vorstands in Bezug auf Natriumkarbonat-Herstellung in Rosignano. (2022, February 18). GlobeNewswire News Room. https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/02/18/2388135/0/de/Bluebell-Capital-Partners-Antwort-auf-den-Offenen-Brief-des-Solvay-Vorstands-in-Bezug-auf-Natriumkarbonat-Herstellung-in-Rosignano.html

Bonsignore, M. R., Manta, D. S., Barsanti, M., Conte, F., Delbono, I., Horvat, M., Quinci, E. M., Schirone, A., Shlyapnikov, Y., & Sprovieri, M. (2020). Mercury isotope signatures in sediments and marine organisms as tracers of historical industrial pollution. Chemosphere, 258, 127435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127435

Borrelli, S. S., & Mooney, A. (2020, December 22). The factory by a Tuscan beach and the future of ESG investing. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/fb129666-dc85-48ff-a9c8-3bfa87a715ca

Carter, D. (2022). Belgian corporation Solvay accused of polluting idyllic Italian beach. The Brussels Times. https://www.brusselstimes.com/266322/belgian-corporation-solvay-accused-of-polluting-italian-idyllic-beach

Guerreschi, A. (2021). Rosignano Solvay: White Beaches, Chemistry, Politics And Pollution. Italics Magazine. https://italicsmag.com/2021/01/22/rosignano-solvay-white-beaches-chemistry-politics-and-pollution/

Marabotti, C., Piaggi, P., Scarsi, P., Venturini, E., Cecchi, R., & Pingitore, A. (2017). Mortality for chronic-degenerative diseases in Tuscany: Ecological study comparing neighboring areas with substantial differences in environmental pollution. International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health. https://doi.org/10.13075/ijomeh.1896.00972

Patowary, K. (2022, June 13). The Toxic White Beaches of Rosignano Solvay. Amusing Planet. https://www.amusingplanet.com/2016/12/the-toxic-white-beaches-of-rosignano.

This podcast was produced by IYNF with the support of the Auswärtiges Amt

and 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the EUROPEAN EDUCATION AND CULTURE EXECUTIVE AGENCY (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

In the activity "Keeping Sane within Climate Activism" our trainer Tadzio Müller interviewed our intern Sebastian about his country Mexico and their project building the Maya train through the Mexican rain forest. Our listeners also had the chance to call in and ask them questions about the topic.

This podcast was produced by IYNF with the support of the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe.

and 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the EUROPEAN EDUCATION AND CULTURE EXECUTIVE AGENCY (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

In this weeks episode you will learn more about Maja and Amalie`s experiences as European Solidarity Corps Volunteers at the iynf office. The girls discusses their day to day life, struggles and appreciation for the program. Maja shares what skills she has adopted and her tips for future volunteers.

This podcast was produced by IYNF with the support of the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe.

and 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the EUROPEAN EDUCATION AND CULTURE EXECUTIVE AGENCY (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Meet the participants from our first activity in the Netherlands. In this episode you will get to know more about what we did during our one week long event. 

This podcast was produced by IYNF with the support of the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe.

and 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the EUROPEAN EDUCATION AND CULTURE EXECUTIVE AGENCY (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.”

In this episode we find out more about the activity in Lahti, Finland which took place in August 2021, where our participants created three card games about climate justice.