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Author: Souwie Buis

Souwie Buis

LATEST ARTICLES

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Nicola Forster Thinks We Need a New Kind of Democracy

Nicola Forster Thinks We Need a New Kind of Democracy

“I really believe in experiments,” says Nicola Forster, a 37-year-old Swiss social entrepreneur. Society is changing so fast and there are no obvious solutions to many of the problems we face today. “The only way

Current
Marta Messa Votes with Her Fork

Marta Messa Votes with Her Fork

Food is fuel, they say. But it is also cultural, economic, and increasingly political. The Slow Food movement began more than 30 years ago in Rome with protests against the construction of a MacDonald’s near

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Building for the Future Without Waste

Building for the Future Without Waste

Imagine if buildings in the future could be constructed and dismantled like Lego houses. Using the same blocks for a variety of constructions that conform to individual needs and tastes. This is how Victor Moura

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Alba Barrio Martin is Mayor for a New Rural Generation

Alba Barrio Martin is Mayor for a New Rural Generation

Alba Barrio Martin grew up in a village of 90 inhabitants in the province of Segovia, Spain. Her father was mayor of the village of Grajera for many years before Barrio took his place at

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Enrique Martínez Pomar on Moving People to Rural Spain

Enrique Martínez Pomar on Moving People to Rural Spain

Visiting the abandoned stone villages of rural Spain during Christmas 2016 with his youngest son, Enrique Martínez Pomar, recalls his sense of loss and sadness at the emptiness he encountered. Less than 300 km from

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Are Smart Villages the Answer to Rejuvenating Rural Life in Europe?

Are Smart Villages the Answer to Rejuvenating Rural Life in Europe?

In a small village in Swedish Lapland, the snow still lies thick on the ground in late April and a nearby lake remains covered by a thin layer of ice. But two of Vuollerim’s residents

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Young, Green, and Female: Kim van Sparrentak Wants to Go Digital with Dignity

Young, Green, and Female: Kim van Sparrentak Wants to Go Digital with Dignity

When she was 17, Kim van Sparrentak became involved in nationwide student protests in her hometown of Middleburg, the Netherlands. The response from the police was unexpectedly harsh. The students, some as young as 12,

Governance
Michelle Maher Teaches Rural Irish Women How to Get Elected

Michelle Maher Teaches Rural Irish Women How to Get Elected

Women are underrepresented in European politics, with their numbers sitting at around 30%, according to a 2019 report from the European Institute for Gender Equality. In the last decade there has been slight improvement. The

Governance
Founding A Political Party and Driving Change in Europe

Founding A Political Party and Driving Change in Europe

“Politics is basically how we as a society decide to set the rules and solve our biggest issues,” says Damian Boeselager, a 33-year-old member of the European parliament (MEP) who has represented pan-European party Volt

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The People vs. Shell for Climate Change

The People vs. Shell for Climate Change

  [caption id="attachment_8794" align="alignleft" width="355"] Foto Bart Hoogveld[/caption] What does it take to tackle climate change – really? Make the biggest polluters, mainly multinationals such as Shell, accountable and get the full support of ordinary

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