Projects
INNOVEIT 2024: Pioneering Women in Helsinki
I was proud to wrap up an eventful 2024 in beautiful Helsinki, for the third leg of the successful #INNOVEIT Conference Series, a flagship event of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). As a prequel to #Slush, the city’s annual startup extravaganza, it was doubly exciting because it was all about empowering women, who are clearly underrepresented in the start-up and VC space. Always a thrill to meet cool women who have braved the choppy waters of entrepreneurship, often learning by doing, accomplished women who have moved into investing to [...]
Discover Genealogy: Witch Hunts and the Little Ice Age
In honour of the witching hour, and this one is timely in so many ways: I was delighted to team up with Wayne Shepheard on an article on how the chilling climate of the Little Ice Age fuelled a frenzy of witch hunts across Europe. In our latest piece for Family Tree (UK) magazine, Wayne and I dive into the historical link between a cooling world and rising accusations of witchcraft, unraveling how desperate communities sought scapegoats to explain failed crops, harsh winters, and inexplicable hardships. We discuss the work of the original proponents of this theory and have [...]
Manufacturing buckles down on securing Europe’s industrial future
In September I was delighted to expand my years-long collaboration with EIT Manufacturing to include EFFRA and the European technology platform ManuFuture – three bodies in the manufacturing sector that some time ago decided to pool their expertise to advance European industry. The second edition of the European Manufacturing Conference took place at a tricky, transitional time for Europe, as volatile political and economic realities continue to have a tangible effect on the ground. With over 400 participants there was much to talk about, starting with the impact of AI and XR [...]
A brief history of diamond desirability
Damien Hirst's 'For the Love of God' is a cast of an 18th-century human skull encrusted with 8,601 diamonds When the Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corp announced its find of an epic 2,492-carat stone in Botswana in late August, many geologists around the world rubbed their eyes in disbelief. Were she around today, Oscar-winning actress Elizabeth Taylor would presumably have had a quotable reaction to that stone. Renowned for her adage of "big girls need big diamonds," her love of jewelry was legendary – and her private collection was one of the most expensive [...]
DW Arts Unveiled: Why diamonds are such objects of desire
Thrilled to announce my latest documentary for DW History and Culture, a literal deep dive into the history and cultural impact of diamonds. The project took me to three iconic locations: Antwerp, Amsterdam, and South Africa, each with its own glittering chapter in diamond lore. Together with my intrepid colleague Willie Schumann (camera & editing), I traced the historic trade routes that first brought diamonds to Europe, and travelled hundreds of metres below the earth’s surface to experience the raw reality of diamond mining. Along the way, we met some of the [...]
Civil Protection Forum 2024: Shaping a disaster-resilient Europe
In early June I had the privilege of returning to the civil protection beat, as co-moderator of the 8th Civil Protection Forum in Brussels, where the attendance alone underscored the growing importance of this dedicated community: some 1500 delegates from 70 countries packed the house over two days, making it the largest event of its kind to date. The forum was a chance for policy-makers, operational experts and researchers to reflect on the past five years of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), and to celebrate its achievements while frankly discussing ways to further improve Europe’s disaster-resilience. [...]
DW Arts Unveiled: Vindicating the Witch
Just in time for Walpurgisnacht, or Germany’s mythical “night of the witches” I was proud to bring this project to fruition – a labour of love that has been on my mind for decades. As the descendent of a family that lost several members to witch hunts, I went after the story of my ancestors, speaking to historians and digging through archives in southwestern Germany. From the beginning of the Great European Witch Hunts in the 15th century to witch hunts in present-day Africa and Asia, the resulting film elucidates why they really happened, and why being singled out [...]
Northland Power at the Canadian Embassy
In the context of the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogues, I was delighted to moderate a frank and fascinating discussion for Northland Power, a Canadian operator of clean energy infrastructure and global leader in offshore wind. “From the Idea to Implementation of the Canada-Germany Energy Partnership” packed the house at the Canadian Embassy in Berlin, with the Honorable Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, opening the proceedings. Against the backdrop of the climate crisis and Russia’s war in Ukraine, Germany has had to move quickly to diversify its energy supply. It has [...]
Empowering Women’s Voices through Film
In February I had the pleasure of moderating the inaugural Global Forum for Women Film Organizations, as a side event to Berlin’s International Film Festival, the Berlinale 2023. Hosted by the Canadian Embassy, I teamed up with local NGO Power to Transform to welcome women filmmakers from Iran, Afghanistan and Ukraine. During our panel discussion, Christina Tynkevich, Maryna Er Gorbach, Pune Parsafar, Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami and Shahrbanoo Sadat shared their experiences and described the challenges they face as women working in the film industry, particularly in areas of conflict and authoritarian regimes. We [...]
Rare Earths and the Materials for the Twin Transition: Challenges for European Strategic Autonomy
Nickel, palladium, indium, and germanium, not to mention lithium, and the coveted rare earths. They’re just a few on a long list of critical raw materials that are not only key for Europe’s green and digital transitions, but increasingly centre stage in policy discussions as consumption grows dramatically and threats to supply chains persist. I had the pleasure of hosting one such discussion at the Italian Embassy in Berlin. As Europe’s two strongest countries in terms of industrial production – Germany and Italy share an interest in ensuring any European resilience strategy ticks all the necessary boxes – our [...]
Rail Leaders’ Summit “Pioneering transport – railways for a sustainable future”
After a four-year hiatus the train could finally leave the station, and it was time to reconvene in person for the world's largest trade fair for the rail transport industry, the InnoTrans 2022. And after not one but two pandemic-induced delays, the whole world of transport technology & mobility descended on Berlin to make the most of it. That meant a LOT of reunions, and a busy week for me with the Rail Leaders’ Summit (my 5th!!) for Deutsche Bahn and the German Ministry of Transport, and a Speaker’s Corner event for a new kid on the InnoTrans block: [...]
Global Media Forum 2022: African creatives fight for change
On June 21st I was back in Bonn for Deutsche Welle’s annual Global Media Forum and proud to host yet another exciting panel for DW Culture. This year we invited artists from Africa and the African diaspora to talk about the power of culture and the arts to transform societies. I was joined by the intrepid Nigerian director Ike Nnaebue, South Sudanese writer and activist Stella Gaitano, Cameroonian-born photo artist Angèle Etoundi Essamba and the wonderful Akinbode Akinbiyi, a British-Nigerian photographer and self-proclaimed wanderer of the world. Ugandan singer and politician Bobi Wine [...]