The Common Ground Podcast

Welcome to the final episode of season 2, our special episode in celebration of Earth Day 2021!In this episode, we’re doing something slightly different - we’re pulling together the best bits, the lessons learnt, the key themes and the takeaways from across our previous 6 episodes.In this series we’ve heard from Arctic Angels Emma, Evelyn, Beth, Mitzi, Freia, and Divya from countries all across the world including The Philippines, Norway, India, Uganda and the United Kingdom to give you an insight into what it’s like to mobilise for climate justice across different parts of the world.There was so much knowledge and wisdom that flowed from each episode so we thought it would be a lovely celebration to hear the highlights all in one place.A huge thank you to all of the #ArcticAngels featured for sharing their stories with us. I hope that you’ll stand with them in their work and their actions as well as joining with #GlobalChoices in their fight for the protection of the Arctic and our Global Commons. Follow the Arctic Angels on Instagram @gcarcticangels and Twitter @gcarcticangels Find us on Instagram @commongroundco_If you've enjoyed the series and the episodes, then we have a small favour to ask. Please do share the episodes with a friend or a family member, or leave a review and rating on your platform of choice. A lot of work goes in to making the episodes and I'd love for more people to be able to hear what our guests have to say! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Divya Nawale, my guest on this week's Common Ground Podcast, was 22 when she was first chosen to become part of the expedition to Antarctica with the 2041 Foundation, led by Polar Explorer and record holder, Robert Swan.The expedition changed her life and set her on a course of environmental activism and advocacy. Divya has a Masters degree in Environmental Policy from the University of Pittsburgh and continues to pursue her research on climate related policy analysis in the Arctic and Antarctic.Please do follow Divya and the 2041 Foundation on Instagram to keep up with all of their incredible work.Follow the Arctic Angels on Instagram @gcarcticangels and Twitter @gcarcticangels Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Artic Angel joining me on this week's episode of the Common Ground Podcast is Freia Catana Aasdalen from Norway.Freia is a Human Geography student and also a member of the Central Board of Nature and Youth (Natur og Ungdom) a youth organisation of over 9000 members. The group is the biggest environmental organisation for youth in Norway.Most recently, Freia was involved in the People vs. Arctic Oil lawsuit, where they took the Norwegian government to court to protest their decision to open up new oil frontiers in a particularly sensitive area, the Barents Sea. Please do follow Freia and Nature for Youth on Instagram to keep up with all of their incredible work.Follow the Arctic Angels on Instagram @gcarcticangels and Twitter @gcarcticangels Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joining me on Episode 4 of our special collaborative season is Mitzi Jonelle Tan, a climate justice activist from Manila, the Philippines. Mitizi is the convenor of Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP) - a multi disciplinary team formed of activists, engineers, artists and many others. She's also a key organiser with Fridays For Future International. A core foundation of Mitzi's activism is her advocacy for the voices of those Most Affected Peoples and Areas (MAPA) ensuring they are heard, amplified and given space.To find out more about the campaign to Clean Up Standard Chartered Bank, take a look at the Fridays For Future website.Follow Mitzi, YACAP and Fridays for Future on Instagram.We can be found @commongroundco_ and the Arctic Angels network can be followed here - @gcarcticangelsAs ever, if you've enjoyed our conversation please do subscribe and leave a review - we'd love to hear what you think of the episodes so far! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Arctic Angel and climate activist joining me this week is the wonderful Beth Doherty from Dublin!Beth first got involved in the climate movement as an organiser for Fridays For Future, helping to organise the first major global strike on March 15th 2019. Since then, Beth's been a delegate to the RTE Youth Assembly on Climate in the Irish parliament, where she wrote one of the final 10 proposals which were presented to the Irish government and the President of the UN General Assembly and has been active in policy and education surrounding climate action, working on the Advisory Group for a Climate Action course in the Irish curriculum, and with various organisations such as the National Youth Council. In 2020, she was elected as the national sustainability representative for young people in Ireland, where she is working on furthering youth voice around all areas of sustainability, and engaging students with decision-makers and the issues that matter most to them.Follow Beth on Instagram here (@bethdohertyc). We can be found @commongroundco_ and the Arctic Angels network can be followed here - @gcarcticangelsAs ever, if you've enjoyed our conversation please do subscribe and leave a review - we'd love to hear what you think of the episodes so far! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joining me this week is Arctic Angel Evelyn Acham from Uganda!She's an incredible climate justice activist, Land Management graduate, the national coordinator for the Rise Up Movement and an active member of the Youth for Africa and Fridays for Future groups.Eve was recently arrested, along with two of her colleagues, for protesting outside the Parliament Building in Uganda. They were held and released with the caution that they could never again hold a strike in a public place. As many of you will be aware, a day after our episode is released on the 18th March 2021, Fridays for Future will be holding their global protest, demanding bolder action on the climate crisis. Sadly, Eve will be unable to join those strikes in public because of the risk to her safety and the potential for her future arrest. We know Eve and her colleagues had been working hard in preparation for the 19th and so we wanted to take this opportunity to let Eve tell you her story and to encourage you to stand with her in the actions she'll be taking.I really hope you enjoy our conversation as Eve so honestly and urgently lays down the realities of what it's like to be facing and fighting the climate crisis in Uganda.Follow her on Instagram @evechantelle and Twitter @eve_chantelFollow the Artic Angels on Instagram @gcarcticangels and Twitter @gcarcticangels Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm thrilled to be bringing you Season 2 of The Common Ground Podcast in collaboration with Arctic Angels, a global youth-led network fighting for the protection of the global commons and in particular, raising awareness of the polar ice crisis.In this series, "Activism Across the World" we'll be hearing from incredible female climate and climate justice activists from all over including Uganda, Norway, India, the UK, the Philippines and Costa Rica. In each episode, we'll hear from an Angel who'll be telling us all about their work, what it's like to be an activist in their country, how the climate crisis is affecting them and their thoughts on what we can be doing to fight for our planet and our global commons.We'll be dropping a new episode every Thursday in the run up to earth day 2021 which is on the 22nd April, starting with this episode with Emma Grace Wilkinson which we've launched in the week that also appropriately hosts International Women's Day. By the time of Earth Day, you'll be able to hear the full series.I really hope you enjoy the episodes and the season to come. It was a huge honour to be able to speak to these incredibly inspiring women, many of whom carried out their interviews in English, which is not their first language. I'm hugely grateful to them for sharing their stories with you. Please do support them by joining their campaigns and standing in solidarity with them. Find out more about the Arctic Angels at www.globalchoices.org or by following them on Instagram @gcarcticangelsTo follow Emma and her work, find her on Instagram @emmagracewilkinson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As many of you know, we are currently experiencing the 6th mass extinction - specialists estimate this could be at a loss of at 200 to 2000 extinctions per year, at conservative estimates. My guest this week, the wonderful Bella Lack knows this all too well. Bella is a renowned animal conservationist, writer, presenter of a very exciting new documentary "Animal", as well as Youth Ambassador for organisations such as the Born Free Foundation, The Jane Goodall Institute and the RSPCA to name a few. These are roles that have seen her cross the world and the TedX stage. What makes this even more impressive is that she’s only 17 years old.Join us as we discuss activism, starting your own environmental campaigns as well as what it’s like to present your very own documentaries.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As many of you know, we are currently experiencing the 6th mass extinction - specialists estimate this could be at a loss of at 200 to 2000 extinctions per year, at conservative estimates. My guest this week, the wonderful Bella Lack knows this all too well. Bella is a renowned animal conservationist, writer, presenter of a very exciting new documentary "Animal", as well as Youth Ambassador for organisations such as the Born Free Foundation, The Jane Goodall Institute and the RSPCA to name a few. These are roles that have seen her cross the world and the TedX stage. What makes this even more impressive is that she’s only 17 years old. Join us as we discuss activism, starting your own environmental campaigns as well as what it’s like to present your very own documentaries.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2016, it was estimated that 75% of people in the UK may not get the help that they need for mental health problems and that staggeringly, people who identified as Asian/Asian British were 14% less likely than average to be in contact with mental health services. My guest this week Shuranjeet Singh knows this all too well. As a result of his own experiences of mental ill-health during his University years, Shuranjeet was compelled to found the not-for-profit Taraki, a word meaning to progress to an improved or more developed state of being, in 2017, which specifically caters and advocates for culturally appropriate mental health support to those within the Punjabi community. Join us as we discuss everything from localised health solutions to the role of faith and faith institutions in breaking the taboo around mental wellbeing.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.