Girl Swoon #11

I am very excited to be featuring one of my oldest friends as Girl Swoon #11. She is something of a multi-tasking demon, with an enviable job in publishing and always a million creative projects on the side. She also makes a mean bottle of sloe gin. Take it away Char…

Name: Charlotte Knight

Age: 26

Website: www.sweetview.co.uk and www.coiff-urgh.blogspot.com

1) What do you do and why?

I work for a literary agency, which I really enjoy. We have some great writers and it’s always exciting when one of the authors delivers a big manuscript, or if we discover someone new. I also run a little business called Sweet View which sells printed drawings of London by my dear boyfriend Jack Noel. There is going to be one for each of the 12 inner London boroughs and at the moment we have 6 on sale. We wanted to make something fun and affordable that people could decorate their homes with, and which tap into a love of one’s local area. In essence though, Jack is the creative genius and I’m the admin loser, although I like to call myself sales and marketing executive.

2) Does being a woman affect your work in any way?

Well like everybody I suppose I’m carrying the weight of a lifetime of social conditioning around with me. But other than THAT… no not really.

3) Are you a feminist?

Yes, I am a feminist. Social events where the boys go shooting and the girls meet them for lunch make me feel a bit ill. But I strongly feel that many girls are just as to blame as boys for the sexism that exists in our society. So many girls have the attitude that they can’t do certain things, and that drives me crazy. Then again I feel sorry for boys who are brought up not to express emotion or be creative and I think that can be just as life-ruining as the kind of sexism girls experience.

 

4) What are your future plans?

To build Sweet View and to keep progressing in the publishing industry. I have many second tier plans though: whittling an entire set of chess pieces for example.

5) Tell us one cool thing we don’t know already:

I’ve given up washing my hair and I’m writing a blog about it. It’s not cool, in fact it’s really disgusting but I just want to see if I can give up shampoo and still have nice hair. I’m three weeks in and the back of my head is a dripping mass of vile-ness. I’m getting anxious about resting my head against the sofa when I watch TV for fear of making a mark.

Girl Swoon #10

This is Sylvie, she is a top gal I met through Otesha who draws hiLARious cartoons and other awesome stuff which I will let her explain below. I have been nagging her to be a Girl Swoon for ages so I’m so glad she caved in! Definitely check out her website – I love her Big Society series of comics especially.

Name: Sylvie

Age: 24

Website: http://youtookthatwell.com/

1) What do you do and why?

I’m an Information Officer at the Centre for Alternative Technology, Europe’s leading eco-centre (A). I also draw comics (B). Other interests are:

…Graphs (C), Non-violent Direct Action (D), Cutting and Sticking (E), preserving (F), The Otesha Project (G), This Is Rubbish (H), proper organised dancing with moves you have to follow (I), Ultimate Frisbee (J), sewing (K) and Being cheeky to policemen (L). I’m basically a mash-up of 90% of past girl swoons. They do far greater stuff than I so I was very flattered to be asked. Ta.

2) Does being a woman affect your work in any way?

It probably helps somehow but we’re all the same at the end of the day aren’t we? Most people I meet at work are brilliant but occasionally a member of the public assumes I don’t know what I’m talking about because I’m a young woman. I’m ashamed to admit that when they subsequently enquire about my qualifications and I let slip my engineering background I get a little perverse kick out of their face because it does this.

Oh god that’s awful isn’t it?

3) Are you a feminist?

Yes.

4) What are your future plans?

More of the same. Comic songs, animations and linking preserves to political issues (M).

5) Tell us one cool thing we don’t know already:

The power you get from a wind turbine is linked to the cube of the wind speed – this means that if you have twice the wind speed you get a whopping eight times the energy. So bigger turbines aren’t just better, they’re loads better. Clever folk are even making them float. Magic.

Read with me

I had a couple of requests to list some books that I thought were useful, so I have made a new page (next to the About page) with a list of useful books! Ta da. It’s not exhaustive by any means, but they are what immediately sprang to mind. I will add more as time goes on, especially good things I read on my course this year and I would love to hear your recommendations too. Email me your suggestions at hannamade@gmail.com.

And, wait, don’t go, because I am also looking for cool girls (well, women actually) doing cool things, to interview for my Girl Swoon feature. If you are one, please get in touch, don’t be shy! It’s a perfect way to showcase your work. And if you know one, give them a hefty push in my direction. Thank you!

hanna ♥

picture from tumblr

Girl Swoon #9 – Guest Post

Well this is exciting! Girl Swoonery is spreading worldwide! My good friend Anna Collins (herself a featured Girl Swoon) has been at the UN climate talks this week in Tianjin, China. She met the new executive secretary of the UNFCCC, Christiana Figueres today and immediately christened her Girl Swoon #9. This post is cross-posted from Anna’s blog over on Adopt a Negotiator, a fantastic resource for anyone wanting an easy and understandable way of following the climate negotiations. Take it away Anna…

My friend Hanna has a great blog where she talks about all things climaty, crafty and feminist. As a regular feature she interviews girls who are doing amazing things and calls it girl swoon. This post goes out to her, with credit and thanks!

On the last day of UN climate negotiations it is rare to see the team grinning, laughing and optimistic. These talks have a way of beating that out of us over the course of a week, and this week definitely hasn’t provided us with much to smile about. We have seen stalling tactics being employed by many of the big players along with  a vicious circle of blame for lack of progress. We have seen constant bickering and boring sessions, negotiations consumed by process, never getting to the substance.

However this morning anyone passing the tracker booth would have seen the team in high spirits, smiling and laughing (which to be fair even in the hardest times we normally manage to keep up). But also optimistic, optimistic that the unfccc can and will achieve something.

The reason for this optimism? My new girl swoon, Christiana Figueres, new executive secretary of the unfccc.

This morning the team had a meeting with Christiana. We went it to it with the usual set of questions: How’s it going? What can we expect? What can we do to push the process forward? And we were expecting the usual answers: Progress is slow, we can expect a balanced package, you guys need to go home and push your governments.

Instead what we were treated to was half an hour with one of the friendliest and most inspirational people I have met in this unfccc world. Christiana was frank and honest with us about the negotiations and where we are, however she was also optimistic and passionate. Most of all she spoke with feeling and emotion, something so often lacking from this process and yet something so desperately needed.

Girl Swoon #8

Dawn is my first blog friend! We haven’t met yet, but we have a mutual appreciation of each other’s blogs. Please go and check out her blog, 101 wankers, which catalogues all the wankers she encounters when riding her bike (and believe me, there are many). It will have you in stitches.

Name: Dawn Foster

Age: 24

Website: I blog about idiot anti-cyclists at http://101wankers.com but I also write political things at http://fforphistine.wordpress.com, collaborate on http://waronthemotorist.wordpress.com and tweet (and swear) a LOT at http://twitter.com/dawnhfoster

1) What do you do and why?

I get revenge on people and motorists who think they’ve got a right to shout or abuse me when I cycle, by documenting and making fun of them on my blog. When I first started cycling I used to get furious whenever it happened, and my philosophy in life is, if something makes you angry, make a cup of tea and turn it into something positive, whether it’s a campaign, a comic strip or a blog post. I’m interested in how we relate to our environments too, so using maps appealed to me, and appeared to capture a lot of people’s imaginations. It’s become hugely popular, I think in part because a lot of cyclists (especially women) can relate to it, and there’s a certain localism to it. Part of the “why” is also because I am bolshy, and if I ever think people have slighted me in part because I am a woman I won’t let it drop until they are either embarrassed or angry at me for exposing them. I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, and if a few people might think twice before being uneccessarily rude to women in future.

2) Does being a woman affect your work in any way?

Definitely. My politics are based on a belief that equality and ecology are two of the most important things to be protected and as a woman, this is particularly true. And being a woman is the core of why I started 101 Wankers, to basically say that I wouldn’t just accept the abuse that people shouted at me because I dared to be a woman on the road on a bike. The sense of camaraderie I’ve had from the women who’ve contacted me has been fantastic as well, though I feel terrible that I haven’t physically had time to respond to the hundreds of emails I’ve received since starting the project.

3) Are you a feminist?

Most definitely. I first came across the concept when I went to university, and it was a real “Eureka!” moment for me. I felt a lot less alienated, and it really gave me a lot of confidence, to be able to challenge a lot of the behaviour that was directed at me, and the inequality and unfairness I saw day to day.

4) What are your future plans?

I really want to expand the website to include articles on cycling for women of all abilities, as well as interviews with women cyclists on why they cycle. I worry that the site might put some newbies off, when I want everyone to love being on two wheels as much as I do! I also want to work more on writing more on local and environmental issues: I think community’s hugely important and I’m nostalgic for the days of housing cooperatives and genuine neighbourliness. I’ve been reading recently about the eviction of the residents of the Clays Lane Estate Cooperative to make way for the London Olympics, and it made me furious. As someone who’s recently moved to London, I’d like to start getting involved in my local community, through campaigning and writing.

5) Tell us one cool thing we don’t know already:

I tend to think of myself as a misanthropist but can’t help but lapse into grand philosophical moments of loving the world, my friends, fellow campaigners, this city and thinking that sometimes everything can get a little bit better.

Girl Swoon #7

I first met Cordelia a couple of months ago, after I saw her work featured in an Amelia’s Magazine article and actually screamed because I had done my undergrad dissertation on this very statue of Boadicea, and lo and behold someone was actually using it for a climate action message! It was like all my dreams had come true (I have strange dreams). I then interviewed Cordelia for my own article (to be published soon!) and discovered she was super cool and definitely swoon-worthy.

Name: Cordelia Cembrowicz

Age: 27

Website: www.cembrowicz.co.uk

1) What do you do and why?

I am an artist, activist and now the Vice President of the Royal College of Art Students Union.

I make art because I love creative freedom. I find modern living fascinating, art gives me the chance to explore and interpret ways of thinking and being. This interest in the long term led me to become increasingly curious about climate change, the effects of our bizarre modern living on the climate and likewise the effects of the changing climate on civilisation.  My response is to look at possible solutions to the possible long-term catastrophe we are facing, and to protest against it happening.

I built up my artistic practice making miniature fairies out of human teeth, and drawings and etchings of social and hormonal structures. The recent work I made on my MA is a result of investigating environmental activism, and in particular the group Climate Rush. It’s a kind of celebration of defiance through combining images of the female environmentalist protestors I met protesting, with depictions of environmental threats and places already affected by climate change. And also a print made from a portrait of me protesting on Boadicea’s horse.

Climate Rush is a really interesting direct action group. They take inspiration from the Suffragettes, and the movement one hundred years ago which successfully led to the right to vote being given to women. I’ve been making costumes, banners, stickers and postcards as propaganda for the group, and am speaking about this at the Climate Rendezvous on 13th October at Toynbee Hall.

Working for the RCA Students Union is exciting, as an opportunity to work with all these amazing creative people in so many different ways. I was drawn to the job by the opportunity to feed sustainability into the framework of the college (I really noticed the lack of environmental provision both academically and structurally throughout my time as a student, so formed the student Green RCA group, went and complained at meetings, make stickers for the recycling bins, screened The Age of Stupid etc). I’m organising events, discussions, parties, campaigns, choosing wallpaper for the bar and importantly vocally opposing increases in fees and the like at managerial meetings. Everyone is feeling the financial pinch at the RCA, fees are going up, studio spaces are shrinking so it is really important to provide light relief from all of that in the Student Union.

2) Does being a woman affect your work in any way?

I’d say so, you can never really act outside yourself, your experiences and relationships with the world inform your position in it.

3) Are you a feminist?

Yes, for me it is about equal rights for men and women.

4) What are your future plans?

To structure my life so I can continue making art as independently as possible. Walking on fire for the Nepali Children’s Trust, dance classes and a possible cycle ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

5) Tell us one cool thing we don’t know already:

David Shrigley, Jeremy Deller and Mark Wallinger have set up a campaign to stop the 25% cuts to the arts, and David Shrigley‘s animation is great:

Girl Swoon #6

Nadia is one ridiculously talented lady. I knew her back at uni on the student theatre scene (dahling) and now she’s representing in the world of stand-up comedy! *cheers* *applauds* *whoops*…

Name: Nadia Kamil

Age: 26

Website: I talk a lot on Twitter – I do jokes sometimes but mostly post photos of meals or outfits. I also have a YouTube channel where I post videos of me titting about with instruments or basic animation.

1) What do you do and why?

I am a comedy writer and performer. I am also an actor and a writer of non-joke based things (like poems, plays, the occasional blog and about 25 novels I have started and subsequently forgotten about) and I am also anything that will pay me money to do a job*.

The question of “why?” is tricky. I have always loved theatre and literature. I made my stage debut at the age of 3, playing Toto the dog in Hafod Primary School’s production of The Wizard of Oz. I recall the direction I received well, “follow Dorothy around and bark when she taps you”. Needless to say, I stole the show and my sordid affair with the stage began. Woof.

I am socially quite an awkward and shy person (no way?! yes way!) so acting is a release for me in which I can be excellent and confident. However, I struggled with the lack of decent parts and writing available to me so began writing my own. My social awkwardness exposes itself in the way that I use humour in nearly all situations (including my grandfather’s funeral, where it was heavily frowned upon) so it was quite natural to me to start writing comedy. I then became a big fan of it- watching lots of stand up, sitcoms, sketch shows and am now quite passionate about it as an art form. I love doing live shows, but am also getting to really enjoy writing for other people. There’s something deeply satisfying about hearing your joke go down well, even when you didn’t say it.

I’m also passionate about women in comedy. I feel they don’t have enough of a voice or a platform and I am actively trying to combat that in my own tiny way.

*within reason.

2) Does being a woman affect your work in any way?

Enormously. The comedy industry is still massively lopsided on the gender equality front. It makes it significantly more difficult in almost every aspect for women. Initially there is the problem that comedy is perceived as such an aggressive, masculine industry (much like politics) that it would appear to not appeal to women. Then once you’ve decided that you do want to give it a try you’ll find that there is a staggering amount of prejudice in the way. From the fact that many main-stream clubs will not book more than one female act per night to the endless stream of nonsensical journalistic non-articles about whether women are funny or not.  If we were asking “are white people funnier than black people?” the prejudice becomes so stark as to give a decent idea as to how retarded the comedy industry is in its relationship to women.

The difficulty of being the sole woman on a comedy bill is that then, that woman becomes representative of all female comics, and is judged as a woman and not as a comic. Whereas you have 4,5 or 6 men on the bill who are judged in their own rights on the individual acts they perform. This sort of thing extends to television as we rarely see even one, and almost never, more than one woman on comedy panel shows. Not until shows like QI, Have I Got News For You and Mock the Week are equally populated with men & women can we begin to believe in achieving gender equality in comedy.

3) Are you a feminist?

A massive yes.  My mother died when I was 6 so I grew up in a super macho environment – me, my dad and my three brothers. This made me hyper aware of being female. I see so much gender inequality still (in 2010!), that it angers me when people dismiss feminism as old and irrelevant. Feminism is about equality and that has still not been achieved. Feminism is even more important in a world that sleazes by with an oleaginous facade of equality. The gender pay gap is around 22%. That stat by itself makes me sick with rage.

I have been reported in the Daily Mail (with a tone of disgust) as a feminist activist for defacing body-confidence-eroding ads on the tube. The portrayal of women in the media (what I consider my area of work) is insane. Body image is an important issue for me, and one that affects women enormously. I believe it’s a massive contemporary feminist issue that underpins women in nearly all aspects of their lives, consciously or otherwise.

4) What are your future plans?

To write more, to perform more. I’m working on a play that has a strong female agenda but I’m concerned that will put people off (which in itself is terrible).

5) Tell us one cool thing we don’t know already:

I’m half Welsh and half Iraqi. My mother was from Swansea and my father from Baghdad. I lived in the Middle East just after the Gulf War but mostly grew up in Wales. I am so ashamed of Britain’s actions against Iraq that I can barely think about it, but I want to tackle it and will work up the courage to do so sometime in the future. Hopefully the Royal Court will pay me to do so (unlikely).

Girl Swoon #5

This is Guppi. She is fabulous. I met her when we went to the UNFCCC in Poznan together in 2008, as part of the UK Youth Delegation, and now I’m pleased to say we are v. good friends! She is a bit of a force of nature in the whole climate change/health thing and in life in general, actually.

Name: Guppi Bola

Age: 25

Website: You can probably get to know me online in three different ways:

a) What I listen to

b) How I see the world

c) My spontaneous thought

1) What do you do and why?

I am a Coordinator for The Campaign for Greener Healthcare. More broadly, if you’re willing to indulge me in a massive cringe moment; I love learning about ways in which things can be better, then I try and do something about it. I guess that’s the long and short of it. To be a bit more specific, I got profiled by the Lancet Student last year which kind of explains quite well how I go about doing this.

So for starters I’m a scientist. I devour information, geek up on policy, comment, criticise and consume journals. But then I’m also a bit arty farty. I like indulging in sounds, images, words, and conversation – I love creating art, and watching others create it. I can’t think of any better way to share our experience and understanding of the world around us. I’ve just recently found a love for graphic novels.They are to die for. I’m probably a bit of a hippy -  but I rarely admit that to anyone. I have this eastern ethnic background which means I can abuse the “mother India” look quite a bit and pretend I’m doing it genuinely. I’m probably not though – so I should stop wandering around barefooted and with too many bracelets on. I should also probably stem my desire to have a tattoo soon, before I succumb to it.

More seriously –  I’m currently starting up my next adventure because I just came out of a Masters in Global Health. I spend most my time working on sustainability issues, and looking at ways in which we can enable individuals to live fulfilling, healthy and creative lives. That’s why I come at campaigning from a health angle. I hung out at the UN Climate talks over the past year, I’ve marched across London, I’ve written letters to MPs, I’ve been to Parliamentary debates –  I guess I’ve tried to encourage others to also. I work with health professionals and academics on climate change because I believe the links between the two are inextricable - there are many man-made environmental problems that impact our health, but there are also an infinite number of solutions to both if we just flip the issue around. I’m starting a really exciting project on food systems that sort of encompasses everything from economic structures, personal behaviour and political decision making. I’m a connector - one of the best things about what I do is seeing amazing people meet other amazing people and watching magic happen. So if you’ve ever got a question about health care, sustainability, climate change and economics – I’d love to chat with you!

2) Does being a woman affect your work in any way?

If it does I don’t think I’ve noticed it. When I look back on some of the things I have got involved in I can recount times when I’ve thought – wow – where are all the ladies!? The UN is one of them. There are hardly any women in UNFCCC meetings. The UK Parliament is another. such observations don’t worry me so much because I’d much rather be where I am than where they are – I think there are spaces where women can feel outnumbered and uncomfortable, and it is important to make sure both sexes have as much opportunity to participate as the other, if that is where they want to be.

I am what I am. I love/criticise/encourage a person regardless of their sex and I hope that people do the same with me. There are times though, especially when I’ve been travelling, where being a woman has gotten me into some situations that I think I could have avoided if I was a guy – and I must say that really sucks.

3) Are you a feminist?

I’ve never identified myself as one, and actually in the past I think I’ve actively rejected the notion! I put this partly down to my own naivety of the issue, but also because I recognised a while ago that feminism done wrong can often weaken the cause more than it can strengthen it. At uni we had a women’s officer, and I was up there campaigning to remove the post and change it to Equal Opportunities officer because I felt there were smaller groups of individuals who needed support and attention more than just “women”. I feel more passionate about equal opportunities, I would hate to be on the  opposite side of the gender scale and feel like I wasn’t supported, so why should that be the case still for so many males/transgenders?

We’re equally as vulnerable or as powerful as the other, its more important to recognise where and when, rather than just who.

4) What are your future plans?

More of all the things I love, especially now I’m out of my studies; More exploration, more campaigning, more connections, more reading, more drawing/photography/crafting, more friends, more problems and more problem solving! I’m about to start a real-life adult job with a group called the Campaign for Greener Healthcare, which I’m pretty excited about. On top of that I want to start writing articles on health and climate change, I want to challenge myself with this new adventure in food systems, and I want to continue working with amazing groups like UKYCC, Medsin and Otesha!

5) Tell us one cool thing we don’t know already:

I read an awesome book called The Spirit Level recently, where the authors spoke about how humans are evolutionarily conditioned to tackle conflict through love and co-operation. They showed how there is a branch of the evolutionary tree where apes split into two species: The Chimp and The Bonobo, and human social behaviour can be explained through the ways in which each species interacts within its communities.

Chimps have shown to resolve sexual issues (disputes) with power, exerting their dominance over one another. Conversely, bonobos resolve power issues with sex, as their dominance hierarchy is less pronounced. The good news is, humans have the same DNA pattern for regulation of social, sexual and behavioural regulation as Bonobos rather than Chimps.

Simply speaking, we should all be more evolutionarily accustomed to tackling conflict through love, not war!

Girl Swoon #4

This week’s swoon is the inimitable Lucy Baker. Just like TLC’s 1994 album, she is crazy sexy cool. Take it away Lucy.

Name: Lucy ‘Loose’ Baker

Age: 26

Website: My work one is http://www.thefunfed.com. I have a personal one, but the content is mildly pornographic so will keep that one to myself

1) What do you do and why?

I play games, compere stuff, dress up as a lobster and fool about. I like to perform and sing. I’m a really good cook. I don’t like writing, which has been a problem when asked to do this

I have spent the last 4 years researching play and games with a company called The Fun Fed who aim to give ‘joy, upliftment and laughter’ for adults by running play workshops.

I know about 500 games – the sort of games where you don’t need any props, just some up for it people and where you might run about, shout things, get caught out and occasionally crawl about on the floor and bark like a dog.

What I love about this job is seeing people arrive at the workshops, a little apprehensive about what is about to happen and then leaving with a huge smile and feeling proper chuffed that they’ve made a sock puppet and laughed about some really simple things.

Play allows people to learn about who they are and the world around them. This can be a nice thing to do.

2) Does being a woman affect your work in any way?

Absolutely. I think that whatever you are affects whatever you do.

3) Are you a feminist?

When I want to be. I trained as a fool for a year with Jonathan Kay. This year taught me I can be anything I want to be including a feminist.

I believe in choice and empowerment for all, regardless of anything we were born as.

4) What are your future plans?

I have held several events called The Little Show Off. The aim of this event, in short, is to encourage community through performance. In essence The Little Show Off is a cabaret night run and performed by unprofessional performers, which raises money for a chosen charity. Any group of people/community could hold a Little Show Off and the idea is that the whole event is run by the people – from the lights, the bar to the performers – everyone comes together to create something. My role is to facilitate this happening and to give support to performers who are a little bit nervous.

I love to give people who wouldn’t usually get the chance to perform, the chance to show off their talents in front of an audience. Being in front of an audience can be a real hurdle for people but once scaled the buzz is huge.

Another motivation is that I find a lot of charity gigs put raising money first and the quality of the event second and in my experience this produces events that can be a bit pants and don’t make that much money as a consequence. Reverse this and the outcome is better for all concerned.

I hope to hold more Little Show Off’s for anyone who’ll have me and who wants to create a little bit of magic in their community.

Further to this I’d like to sing more, make more music myself and perform wherever I can.

5) Tell us one cool thing we don’t know already:

A Japanese proverb I like “We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well just dance”.

I like Cheryl Cole.

Girl Swoon #3

This week I am proud to present my good friend and present flatmate (although, not for much longer… sob) Anna Collins as Girl Swoon #3! I’ve known Anna for a couple of years now through youth climatey stuff, but it’s been so great to get to know her better over the past 8 months and create our very own Flat Irresistible (that’s our house)! This year has been a pretty crazy, transitional time for both of us, and I am just so grateful to have had her in my life these past few months. So thank you Anna! Apart from all that smushy stuff, she also has the time and energy to be a complete badass in the UN. Read on.

Name: Anna Collins

Age: 25

Website: I blog about the UN climate talks here but apart from that I’m homeless on the great old world wide web. This is an example of something I’m working with a couple of people on though.

1) What do you do and why?

I dedicate my life to the climate movement. Because I like to climb mountains, when you get to the top the view is worth it. I follow the UN climate talks around. Because I don’t want to leave my future in others hands. I listen to music. Because without music life is meaningless. I make music. To let my soul out. I paint. To express what I can’t say with words. I write. To express what I can say. I go dancing. To feel free. I cycle. To escape. I work for the Green Belt Movement (for 2 more weeks). Because I like trees and this book changed my life. I live with Hanna. Cause she has stuff and I don’t…

I roam. Because I can’t seem not to.

I guess the most interesting of these to elaborate on is following the UN climate talks around. I am the UK tracker for the Adopt a Negotiator project. I just kind of fell into this last year through stuff I was doing with the UK Youth Climate Coalition and international youth climate movement. The Adopt a Negotiator project consists of young people from all over the world. We follow the UN climate talks around, following the policy and meeting with our delegations. We blog and use social media to try and make the talks understandable to the outside world. In the process we hope to open them up, make them more transparent and ultimately a two way process.

Each of the team take a very different approach to how we do this and what we write about. For me the UN is a soul destroying grey place and it is this that I try to first explain to people, and then change. I think these negotiations are really important,  if we want to solve climate change they are a vital piece of the jigsaw puzzle. But when they happen in grey places and are conducted by men in grey suits is it any wonder we are not making progress. The UN is an emotional place but no one is willing to accept that or let it influence the talks. I don’t understand that. Policy is important, but when the policy people forget why they are doing it then the policy they create serves no purpose. One of the things I like to dwell on a lot is the role of art, music, dancing – the things that make life worth living – and how they can help to make the negotiations a more constructive place where we can move towards a more constructive outcome. I hope through this we can start creating the amazing and beautiful future I know is possible.

2) Does being a woman affect your work in any way?

Each day I wake up and  interpret the world through female eyes.

The UN is a very male dominated world, everyone whether male of female is also working in a very white male way. Seeing it through female eyes I think gives me the opportunity to reassess this way of working and be more creative within it.

On the downside in life I often have to think about whether a situation I get into is safe because of the fact I’m a female. This pisses me off.

3) Are you a feminist?

No (insert late night flatmate debates with Hanna here!)

As women we get a shit deal in many situations, and we need to expose and end discrimination and violence against women but I don’t identify with the label and would never call myself a feminist.

For example when I read feminist books (I live with Hanna so there’s a fair few lying around) I keep getting told I should be pissed off that I don’t earn the same as men. But I question why should I value earning the same as a man? Shouldn’t we all be fighting to not be defined by what we earn, to be allowed not to care how much we earn once we have enough to keep mind body and soul together? To me forced equality is no better than inequality when it doesn’t respect what the individual soul values and desires

I’m a personist.

Every person regardless of gender has the right to value and be valued for what they want. Treated respectfully and equal to all others and not feel threatened for being that person.

4) What are your future plans?

Freedom.Music.Art.Hiking.Camping.Dancing.

Helping create a better, more beautiful world.

Doing it in time to get some sleep eventually

In the short term that means hitting the roaming life again,  first stop UN climate talks in China then on to Mexico, hopefully incorporating some overland travel…

5) Tell us one cool thing we don’t know already:

A movement is built on people and we need them all, from those willing to lobby their MP to those willing to go to jail. But it also most importantly needs people who can help us see the new world we’re trying to build.

The role of the revolutionary artist is to make the revolution irresistible!

(With thanks to Bill McKibben and Toni Cade Bambara!)