Lisa discusses the significance of the "minority vote," swing states, and other topics that will impact the U.S. elections coming up in November. Dr. Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins, Retired Ambassador Dr. Carlo Krieger, and U.S. Diplomat Meghan Dean share their thoughts on this week's show. Dr. Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins observed the importance of having the right to vote in childhood, watching her Grandmother pick cotton in the morning and teach school in the afternoon so that people could learn how to write their names and therefore vote, once that law eventually came into place. Dr. Jefferson-Jenkins took up the baton to become a life-long advocate and activist for civil rights and social justice. She is a voice for under-represented populations and served two terms as the President of the League of Women Voters of the United States and Chair of the League of Women Voters Education Fund, the only woman of colour to have ever done so. Retired Ambassador Carlo Krieger served around the world: Brazil, China, Russia; and as Deputy in the Embassies of Washington D.C. and Vienna. His academic passion is social anthropology, and in this conversation we learn about Carlo’s knowledge of how Native Americans are discriminated against when it comes to their right to vote. Meghan Dean is the U.S Embassy Luxembourg’s spokesperson. She served as a Deputy Spokesperson for European Affairs and at the State Department Operations Center, the Secretary of State’s 24-hour crisis management and communications centre in Washington, D.C. Meghan served at the U.S. Embassy in Skopje, North Macedonia and on the State Department’s Ukraine Desk. Meghan is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer from Albania and Georgia. She talks about the Electoral College, the complexity of the American elections and that it’s not one Federal election but 50 state elections. On the evening of Tuesday 8 October 2024, Dr. Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins, was in Luxembourg at the behest of Miami University Luxembourg Foundation’s inaugural event, supported by the US Embassy in Luxembourg.

Joining Lisa and Sasha in the Today Radio studios are the planners of Differdange's Fashion Week Luxembourg, sneaker savvy Today Radio presenter Steven Miller, and Laura da Silva – a fashion-forward nurse, tattoo artist and advocate for breast cancer support and awareness. Starting with a review of the week’s global news with Sasha Kehoe, we discuss:  US Election Just one month away and Melania Trump has declared her support for a woman’s right to control her own body, including abortion. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/02/melania-trump-memoir-defends-abortion-rights JD Vance, Donald Trump’s pick for vice-president, has indicated he would support a national abortion ban https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/17/politics/kfile-jd-vance-abortion-comments/index.html Pelicot Trial Rape Case in France The horrific mass rape trial of 71 year old Gisèle Pelicot continues, creating debate about the culture of male domination in France and across borders https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240927-french-rape-trial-sparks-timid-debate-about-masculinity Teleworking no longer Amazon now requires all employees to return to the office, sparking debate amongst many companies to rethink their working from home / office balance for maximum productivity  / employee satisfaction, especially when long commutes are a feature of working in Luxembourg for many. Grand Duke Abdication Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume will officially assume the role of Lieutenant Representative on 8 October, as appointed by his father the Grand Duke.  In September Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa moved to their Fischbach residency allowing their son, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and his family to take over Berg Castle in Colmar-Berg. https://today.rtl.lu/news/luxembourg/a/2207770.html Real Art vs Posters Scientists in the Netherlands using eye-tracking and MRI scans found an enormous difference between genuine works and posters. A neurological study revealed that real works of art in a museum stimulate the brain in a way that is 10 times stronger than looking at a poster. Commissioned by the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague, home to Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, the independent study used eye-tracking technology and MRI scans to record the brain activity of volunteers looking at genuine artworks and reproductions. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/oct/03/real-art-in-museums-stimulates-brain-much-more-than-reprints-study-finds Fashion Week Luxembourg  Livia Smith, Communication Strategist for Luxembourg Fashion Week talks about its growth from the starting point six years ago,  with Fabiola Puga still at the helm. This year there will be twelve national and international designers. Luxembourg Fashion Week hopes to become part of the cultural fabric of the hospitality and economy of Luxembourg. Livia also talks about her own use of fashion to help create confidence for someone who is naturally shy. Max Felten,  Chief Economist and City Manager of Differdange returns to talks about why Differdange will, once again, host Luxembourg Fashion Week. Natalia Wrona, in charge of the promotion for Differdange City Management, explains the three different locations this year, including one at the International School in Differdange, celebrating all children, with two autistic children taking to the catwalk. AquaSud Differdange is another of the three locations for the Fashion Week, and Céline Moreira, their Communication Manager, explains the difficulty in using an aquatic setting for a fashion show! Céline also talks about the link to Pink October and how emphasising the beauty in diversity. A theme throughout today’s discussion is the power of self-acceptance,  and promotion of a positive body image regardless of challenges. Laura da Silva overcame breast cancer ten years ago. Now, she spends her time between nursing at CHL and running her own business as an image consultant and tattoo artist, helping other women who have gone through breast cancer. She travels around with a pink chair, which is a reminder to those who have dealt with cancer that there is a lot of waiting and sitting, for both the patient, but also for their friends and family. https://www.instagram.com/luxembourgfashionweek My colleague, Steven Miller, a presenter at Today Radio is renowned in the office for his sneaker collector. Steven started his collection at the age of 15, peaking at 550 in 2017. He talks about sneaker collecting as an alternative investment, where ‘sneakerheads’ of this world are happy to spend thousands on one pair. Steven also loves Japanese streetwear designers, specialising in  minimalist but thoughtful creations. Collector of sneakers since age 15 (peaking at 550 pairs in 2017) Completed a course in ‘Sneaker Essentials’ with the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York in 2020; covering everything from history and design to  manufacturing and retail Favoured fashion subject is Japanese designers and streetwear Advocate for pre-loved/owned clothing and the Japanese art of ‘Sa-shiko’ (mending/repair) Please do subscribe via Apple and / or Spotify. It would be great if you could rate and review too — as it helps others find the podcast. Tune in to The Lisa Burke Show on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon, and Tuesdays at 11am.

Thoughts of a massage with four hands (two people) and 8–9 litres of oil sounds like utter bliss to me. And more, from Ayurveda Parkschlösschen. Our roundup of the week’s news, with Sasha Kehoe, covers: - Pope Francis’s visit to Luxembourg on such a wet Thursday and the much-noted coffee-shop visit - Upcoming Austrian elections with a potential real far-right win - Former Prime Minister and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker addressing the ongoing rumours of his alleged alcoholism - Pirate Party Defections - Euthanasia in Switzerland - death in a Sarco capsule, which fills with nitrogen and causes death by hypoxia. - A bit of light relief with Pesto the Penguin at an Australian aquarium home Ayurveda Parkschlösschen and Nestwärme Ayurveda Parkschlösschen is not too far away at the Mosel river in Traben-Trarbach and is an oasis for the over-worked. Kathleen Landbeck is a naturopath and psychotherapist, who leads the Resilienz Retreat at Ayurveda Parkschlösschen. Maria Hebel is an Ayurvedic Practicioner at the centre. Dirk Hense represents Nestwärme - a family relief network across Germany, Luxembourg and Austria for families with physically or mentally handicapped children; families that need to become resilient to cope with the realities of their day-to-day existence. Ayurveda is an ancient holistic medical system which focusses on the human being as an individual, with individual problems and needs. Each person is viewed in terms of their ‘dosha’ (body and personality type) to help us understand our personality type and traps. Whatever one’s background or wealth, we face different challenges in life: burdens of work, relationships and health. We also face the burden of ourselves and the weight we put on ourselves through upbringing and culture around us. We’ve certainly come to realise that physical health impacts mental health and our microbiome. At Parkschlösschen they try to reset the digestive tract and calm the nervous system with a series of many of the things we know ourselves: good food habits, sleep, meditation, yoga, and a digital detox. We fall in to habits and traps, and in relationships: “Partners are our gurus, especially when it's difficult” Kathleen and Maria plus the team meet people as they arrive high on stress hormones. We are not always conscious of what’s hurting us, or our unrealistic expectations. Why is it that we are so driven? Or can’t meet the standards set by ourselves or others? Kathleen tries to develop the self love muscle. We learn about the Four Stages of Life: - Learning stage - when we are students or apprentices - Establishing stage through work and family; wealth creation - Doing to being - mentoring and giving back - Returning to our spiritual selves - retreating from the doing and rest in the being - We also learn about the importance of boundaries to maintain our emotional and physical health, and also learn about the five different levels of being: - Physical - Vital force - Mind - thoughts and emotions - Intellect - more subtle and stable than the mind - Bliss body - deep sleep, like in a meditation (or great sex!) Nestwärme Nestwärme helps families in a holistic way, fostering the feeling of community and diversity. It’s so easy to feel alone with not much ‘extra’ energy when faced with an on-going stressful family situation. And this is not an insignificant number - about 2-5% of families are touched by this in western European countries. The work is focused on health and wellbeing where the body follows the mind, plus the intrinsic need for belonging. The motto is ‘me, then you, then we’. We cannot sacrifice too much of ourselves or we burnout. Nestwärme have added 7 elements of building resilience: - Self awareness - Self regulation - realistic optimism - solution orientated - orientation to future - orientation to network - Ability of acceptance And they added the importance of humour Resilience is a muscle that must be trained. They have built and e-learning platform which is available in English, German and French. If you wish to contact any of these organisations you can fine Ayurveda Parkschloesschen here, https://www.ayurveda-parkschloesschen.de/en/homepage-english/ with a blog here https://gb.parkschloesschenblog.de/ They are also available on instagram. https://www.instagram.com/ayurvedaparkschloesschen/ Kathleen is about to become a digital nomad, travelling the world with her work and has a website here. https://www.kathleenlandbeck.de/de Nestwärme is available here https://www.nestwaerme.org/lu/ with their CareYoo programme here http://www.careyoo.org The news stories can be found here: https://today.rtl.lu/news/world/a/2234922.html https://apnews.com/article/austria-election-far-right-kickl-nehammer-9db1d6bebfd67d3225be787e34e0b13d https://today.rtl.lu/news/luxembourg/a/2233867.html https://today.rtl.lu/news/luxembourg/a/2232874.html https://today.rtl.lu/news/world/a/2234508.html https://today.rtl.lu/news/science-and-environment/a/2234566.html

Career planning, as a student or an adult; plus the upcoming Science Slam in Luxembourg. Arnit Dey has two more years of High School left before he and his cohort  of global students have to decide what to study, where to go and what to do with the first part of the rest of their adult lives. Arnit himself was born in the UAE to an Indian family and now lives in Luxembourg. He feels that the upcoming decisions need to be spoken about more at this important juncture in life, which conflates education, peer and parental pressure and the simple heaviness of figuring out what to do in the future. Anneke Hudson is the in-house careers advisor at St. George’s International School. Anneke is half-English, half-Dutch, born in Kenya, raised there, in Zambia, South Africa, Oman, North America and England and is raising her own family here in Luxembourg.  And so, she knows what it feels like to be a ‘3rd culture kid’, a married mother abroad and an expat parent. Anneke first studied law and became an in-house banking solicitor in a City of London international corporate law firm. Quite quickly she realised this was not a career she enjoyed. After a gap to raise her children, Anneke took a Masters degree in Career Development and Coaching from the University of Warwick in the UK and became a registered Career Development Professional with the Career Development Institute in the UK. At St. George’s International School she helps students think about the word ‘career’ to encompass the lifelong journey through life, learning and work. “Your 'career' is the paid and unpaid roles which you undertake throughout a lifetime, including life roles, leisure activities, learning and work.” There are six core career development skills, relevant for any age: - Trying new things - Understanding yourself - Being open - Reflecting - Learning how to research - Networking These complement the six learning areas from the Career Development Institute Framework: - Grow throughout life - Explore possibilities - Manage career - Create opportunities - Balance life and work - See the big picture Dr Ann Kiefer is a mathematician by training, working as a STEM Expert at the Luxembourg Centre for Educational Testing (LUCET) at the University of Luxembourg. She leads a project called PITT (Programme for innovative teaching and training), where she develops science and maths lessons for secondary schools tailored to Luxembourg. Ann is also highly involved with science communication, from designing a maths costume for the Manneken Pis in Brussels to winning a number of science slams herself in Germany and Luxembourg. She also participates in Science Stand-Up Comedy https ://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=HpcEsVI8ccc Juan Aguilar is a digital archaeologist doing his PhD on the virtual recovery of a destroyed millennia-old cultural heritage site in Mosul, Iraq. Juan also won the Science Slam here in Luxembourg by explaining how he 3D-scanned and 3D reconstructed the presumed tomb of the Prophet Jonah which, until 2014, sat on an Assyrian palace (IG: #nebiyunusdigitalarchaeologicalproject ). He communicates his archaeological project work with short films. https://vimeo.com/829695470?share=copy https://history.uni.lu/team-juan-aguilar/ Ann and Jan are part of the Luxembourg Science Slam organisation team which is open to all on Friday, 4th October at 7pm in Cercle Cité. You can find the tickets here and videos of previous science slams here.  https://scienceslam.uni.lu/ Tickets : https://www.echo.lu/en/experiences/luxembourg-s-science-slam-5fQsxu Videos of previous slams : https://www.youtube.com/@luxdoc472/videos">https://www.lalibre.be/dernieres-depeches/belga/2020/07/20/des-chercheurs-de-la-vub-concoivent-un-costume-pour-manneken-pis-HJCWWYVOUNHLBIPMU6A2XDVM7Q/ to winning a number of science slams herself in Germany and Luxembourg. She also participates in Science Stand-Up Comedy https ://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=HpcEsVI8ccc Juan Aguilar is a digital archaeologist doing his PhD on the virtual recovery of a destroyed millennia-old cultural heritage site in Mosul, Iraq. Juan also won the Science Slam here in Luxembourg by explaining how he 3D-scanned and 3D reconstructed the presumed tomb of the Prophet Jonah which, until 2014, sat on an Assyrian palace (IG: #nebiyunusdigitalarchaeologicalproject ). He communicates his archaeological project work with short films. https://vimeo.com/829695470?share=copy https://history.uni.lu/team-juan-aguilar/ Ann and Jan are part of the Luxembourg Science Slam organisation team which is open to all on Friday, 4th October at 7pm in Cercle Cité. You can find the tickets here and videos of previous science slams here.  https://scienceslam.uni.lu/ Tickets : https://www.echo.lu/en/experiences/luxembourg-s-science-slam-5fQsxu Videos of previous slams : https://www.youtube.com/@luxdoc472/videos

Lisa, Sarah, and Vanessa gather in the Today Radio studio for Book Club's third instalment, sharing their very favourite summer reads - and they'd love to know yours! This week's show is a deep chat on the books we've loved this summer. I'm joined by my colleagues Sarah Tapp and Vanessa Phelan.  Here are some of the books we talk about: When the Coffee gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi Ann Patchett - all of her books! It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover Do let us know what books you enjoy and if there are any in particular from this list that stand out to you.

British Ambassador Thomas opens up about her life - describing an unusual path towards a successful career in diplomacy, from early struggles with sexual harassment to her recent battle with thyroid cancer. Fleur Thomas was appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on 21 April 2021. Fleur Thomas's journey is a testament to resilience, determination, and the power of diversity. Starting her career as a chartered surveyor, she faced sexual harassment from senior colleagues, forcing her to leave that path. This early experience, though traumatic, shaped her character and fueled her resolve. Instead of being defeated, Ambassador Thomas redirected her energy into academia, earning two master’s degrees while working as British Airways cabin crew. The drive to succeed, rooted in a sense of not quite measuring up due to her less privileged background, propelled Fleur forward. This determination is a trait she shares with her grandmother, who, after being widowed with five children, fought for her family’s survival by securing a council house after she lost the family tied house upon her husband’s untimely death. “I think Diversity of thought is super important." Fleur's career in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) saw her rise to the role of Head of Exports, a position that underscored her ability to thrive in challenging, male-dominated environments. Her dedication to promoting gender balance and social mobility within the MoD, as well as her recognition of the importance of intersectional diversity, highlights her commitment to creating inclusive spaces. “The modern UK is very diverse and we represent the modern UK” Her role as Ambassador in Luxembourg brought unexpected challenges, including a cancer diagnosis. Ambassador Thomas experienced unusual fatigue for an extended period of time. After several rounds of tests, she was finally diagnosed with T2N0M0 papillary thyroid cancer. Despite the diagnosis, her diary was incredibly full in the weeks surrounding the biopsy, diagnosis and first surgery. Fleur organised and attended His Majesty the King’s Coronation Event and His Majesty The Kings’ official birthday party, hosted a ministerial visit from the UK and attended several receptions before her second surgery in mid-July and eventual return to work in August. Aside from such a heavy and constant workload, which Fleur seems to thrive on, she also finds time for many creative pursuits. Ambassador Thomas arrived in Luxembourg with about 200 cookbooks, enjoys foraging for recipes and also has needlepoint skills passed down by her mother. Alongside this, the residence contains models of fighter jets and a meteor air to air missile. Fleur Thomas’s life example shows how a diverse background, one of thought and experience, can help create new communities within a changing face of civil servants.

From one News Director to another – after 32 years of news journalism, Guy Weber hands over to Luc Marteling, the new News Director of RTL. Guy Weber started his career in radio. After a brief stint in PR for the steel works, he returned to RTL Television in June 1994 as a journalist. In 2017, he became Editor-In-Chief of the television division and then News Director. He retired in June of this year. Luc Marteling has returned to RTL where he worked from 2008 to 2019. He left to become Director of the Center for the Luxembourgish Language and has now returned to RTL as its News Director. Guy Weber talks about his many years as a ‘lone wolf’ and cautions the need to keep a distance from the deciders. He believes that journalists can have a positive impact on society. He has worked across 20 elections and notable interviews include those with Yasser Arafat, Václav Havel and Lech Wałęsa. Guy talks about the journalist as an observer who must check their facts and always be a trusted source. They both talk about the way in which RTL needs to use different languages to connect with the population of Luxembourg. Naturally, with the changing nature of how news media is consumed, we talk about the various platforms that need to be fed in an every quicker manner. Guy will continue his journalism privately with a passion for cold case crime. This plus cycling and his beloved Liverpool football team. Luc starts his role with a clear view to working on all that Guy has built and adapting to change in our media landscape using the variety of languages that Luxembourg lives and breathes.

The ‘Harmony Across Borders’ international choral competition is now open for entry, a tremendous opportunity for amateur choirs to perform female composers’ work in Cambridge and Ely in July 2026. Anyone who knows me knows that I love music, and that I’ve been singing in choirs most of my life. When I move country, one of the first things I research are choirs. They’re an instant ‘in’ to a community, who share a universal passion for music making and making of music as a shared experience beyond oneself. Music, singing, deep breathing and the social context of a choir makes choral music a great healer. Harmony Across Borders is an international choral competition and the first in the world to celebrate the works of female composers and arrangers. Its founder, Hilary Nicholls, is a life-long chorister, who has sung under the directorships of Sir David Willcocks, John Scott and Neil Ferris. In this conversation, I’m also joined by Joanna Gill, who is an award-winning composer of choral, film, and TV music. Her music has been performed by a variety of prestigious ensembles including the BBC Singers, the London Symphony Chorus and the London Symphony Orchestra. In 2018, Gill was awarded the Cappella Nova Award for her piece commemorating 100 years since women received the vote. Recently, Joanna was commissioned by His Royal Highness, King Charles III, to write a Scottish folksong for Queen Camilla which was sung at the Honours of Scotland Service in July 2023 following the King’s Coronation. Harmony Across Borders  This competition welcomes amateur choirs of all ages and nationalities. Choir size: 16 to 40 people. Age categories: Under 18; 18 - 25 years; 25 years plus.  The event will take place in Cambridge University with a variety of workshops, talks and concert performances over the first weekend in July 2026. The final gala concert taking place in Ely Cathedral on Sunday 5 July 2026. Celebrating the works of female composers Due to known historic social constraints, a dominantly male voice permeated the cultural sphere. Currently about 7% of repertoire selected is written by female composers and yet there's a wealth of music out there, both historic and contemporary, which is worthy of attention and revival. Cambridge and Ely - the location  Cambridge will provide both a prestigious location and one with a strong choral tradition, giving a lifetime’s experience to choirs who wouldn’t ordinarily have that opportunity. Fundraising If you would like to donate to this event please get in touch with Hilary. Instagram @harmony_across_borders FB @harmnyacrossborders X @hab2026">https://www.harmonyacrossborders.com/ Instagram @harmony_across_borders FB @harmnyacrossborders X @hab2026 https://www.joannagill.com/

Facing the end of life, often away from family if we are ex-pats, means we lean on others for support. Omega 90 is one such place, and through this conversation we discuss end of life preparation for ourselves and our loved ones. My guests this week are:  - Claire Jordan, who cared for a friend to the end, with the support of Omega house - Nancy Burg, a volunteer at Omega 90 - Maurizio Cortesi, psychologist and volunteer - Fabian Weiser, Finance and Administrative Director at Omega 90 Palliative care is often considered a taboo topic, typically only discussed when these life events hit us. Preparing for the end of life is not something we commonly talk about with family or friends, although the very need for preparation can, in fact, help hugely at a time when people are emotionally drained. This stigma can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness, whether due to a lack of awareness about options or an unwillingness of others to face death with us. Claire Jordan intimately shares her journey with Omega 90, recounting her friend Denise Clark’s battle with cancer. Through Denise's diagnosis and eventual transition, Omega 90 provided not just medical care but a sanctuary of peace and dignity. Claire reflects on the transformative experience of moving from the clinical setting of a hospital to the warm, supportive environment of Omega 90, likening it to “walking into a 5-star hotel”. Nancy Burg and Maurizio Cortesi speak about the importance of confronting mortality openly and early, both when working within palliative care and for one's own well-being. Maurizio, drawing from his experience in grief counselling, discusses the unpredictable nature of grief, emphasising the need for environments where individuals can mourn without judgement.   Fabian highlights the importance of a will, not simply about where one's possessions but also about how we would like to pass in case we are unable to consciously make and/or communicate decisions. Examples of this range from euthanasia to power of attorney.  Death inevitably affects everyone on this planet. The stigma surrounding this stage of life does not have to be so burdensome. By starting a larger conversation about it, the aim is to raise awareness of its importance and normalise the discussion.  Palliative care is a very important last step of life for many.  Find the link to the will from the omega website here and to donations and fundraising here. https://www.omega90.lu/db/2/1432585784850/1

Rotary Hearts fundraise for childhood cancer and youth mental health issues.  Rotary Hearts fundraise for childhood cancer and youth mental health issues. My guests this week are: Anne Goeres, Director Luxembourg Foundation for Children with cancer, Fondatioun Kriibskrank Kanner Vinciane Grevesse – Governor-Elect of Rotary Club's District 2160 for 2024-2025 Anastasia Vanden Berghe - President of Rotary Club Luxembourg Hearts for 2024-2025 Pol Bertems - Project Manager at Arcus asbl. Rotary Club Ambitions The vision of the Rotary Club was born in 1905 with Paul Harris, an attorney in Chicago, to bring together professionals from diverse backgrounds in order to exchange ideas and form lifelong friendships. Over time, Rotary expanded its scope to engage in humanitarian service, locally and globally. Rotary members volunteer their time and skills across various focus areas, and with a global network of 1.4 million, the leverage potential to undertake impactful projects is substantial. For instance, Rotary is a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a public-private partnership led by national governments and consisting of six core partners: the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Rotary Clubs in Luxembourg Vinciane Grevesse has been a member of a Rotary Club since 2012 and is now Governor-Elect of Rotary Club's District 2160 for 2024-2025. Rotary District 2160, covers both Belgium and Luxembourg, comprising 68 Rotary Clubs and 5 Rotaract clubs (for young adults aged 18 to 30). Luxembourg has 14 Rotary Clubs and 1 Rotaract Club. Vinciane tells us about the Zesummen Ennerwee (travelling together) project which takes place on the last Sunday of September. The idea is to offer people with disabilities a day filled with joyful experiences of movement. From boat and horseback rides to journeys in vintage cars, tractors, and even airplanes, the day is dedicated to sharing moments across land, air and sea. English Speaking Rotary Hearts Club Anastasia Vanden Berghe is President of Rotary Club Luxembourg-Hearts 2024-2025. Luxembourg-Hearts is the only English-speaking club in Luxembourg. With the priority this year on children’s well-being and mental health related to children, Rotary Hearts are working with Fondatioun Kriibskrank Kanner for their Masquerade Charity Gala, on October 19th at Hotel Le Royale. Website: https://luxembourg-hearts.rotary2160.org/en/ Event Website : https://rotary-hearts-2160.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/98062402/admin/feed/posts/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rotaryhearts Anne GOERES, Managing Director at the Fondatioun Kriibskrank Kanner, talks about their three core missions: To help improve the physical and psychological condition of the child and their family Raise awareness of childhood cancer and defend the children’s rights Support actively onco-paediatric research by funding specific projects with one main goal: cure more children and cure them better. One of Anne’s significant achievements is developing FIGHT KIDS CANCER, an annual European call for projects dedicated to accelerating paediatric oncology research. In 4 years, Fight Kids Cancer funded 30 research projects for more than 18 million euros and in 11 different childhood cancer types. Childhood cancer is an umbrella term for more than 60 types of cancer that affect children and adolescents. Unlike adult cancers, which are often linked to lifestyle or environmental factors, the causes of childhood cancers are largely unknown. The most common types of childhood cancer include leukemia, brain tumours, and lymphomas. Children with cancer face unique challenges due to their developing bodies and minds. Treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery can significantly impact their growth and development. Additionally, the psychological and emotional toll on both the children and their families can be profound. The Foundation supports the daily life of families in need : every child with cancer living in Luxembourg or of which at least one parent works in Luxembourg can benefit from their services, from the very first day of diagnosis on. This includes information and help for financial and social matters, therapeutic support and also educational and recreational programmes. Fondatioun Kriibskrank Kanner is fully financed by donations. You can help by participating in the charity run Letz Go Gold at the end of September and / or join the Rotary Club Luxembourg Hearts 10th Anniversary Masquerade Gala This year, all funds raised from the gala will be dedicated to selected research programs on children's brain tumours. www.fondatioun.lu www.letzgogold.lu Rotary Hearts Club also works with Arcus, as one of their aims is to help children’s mental health. Pol Bertems, Arcus Project Manager, tells us more about the association. Arcus is a non-profit organisation in social, educational, and therapeutic work, primarily focusing on children, youth and their families. The "Kannerhaiser," operated by Arcus, are Children's Reception Centres that offer care and support to children and youth from challenging family backgrounds, often needing temporary separation from their parents. These centres create a safe, nurturing environment that focuses on health, academic growth, social and family bonds, autonomy, and structured daily routines. They also support children recovering from traumatic events and involve biological parents actively to strengthen family ties and provide educational guidance. Arcus also provides specialized accommodation for children and youth with psychological and physical issues stemming from abuse or neglect, collaborating with child psychiatry experts for personalised therapies. A primary objective is to foster independence, particularly for youth aged 12 and older. The centres, spread across 18 living groups with over 136 spots, are located in various areas like Grevenmacher, Olingen, and Echternach, catering to children and teenagers aged 3 to 20 years. The Animal Assisted Pedagogy and Therapy project at Kannerhaiser allows children to be surrounded by a range of animals, including horses, donkeys, sheep, alpacas, dogs, cats, chickens, and rabbits. These animals do not judge or hold prejudices, offering a unique, unbiased interaction for the youngsters, who often face judgment and bias in human interactions. Working with animals can significantly boost children's self-confidence and trust in themselves and others. It also aids in their integration into group settings. www.fondatioun.lu www.letzgogold.lu https://www.facebook.com/Arcus.asbl https://www.instagram.com/Arcus_asbl/ https://www.Arcus.lu/ Website: https://luxembourg-hearts.rotary2160.org/en/ Event Website : https://rotary-hearts-2160.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/98062402/admin/feed/posts/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rotaryhearts

Tom Weber was diagnosed as an adult with autism. We discuss his story, the resources available for people with autism in Luxembourg — along with information for the caregivers who support loved ones with autism. My guests this week are:  - Tom Weber, English - German translator, and published author - Sabine Angelsen, Director CTSA, Centre pour enfants et jeunes présentant un trouble du spectre de l’autisme - Anne Wagner, CTSA - psychologist - Nathalie Oberweis, Head of Learning & Development - Autism Luxembourg - Aleks Panzone, co-founder of T'ees Iced Tea Tom Weber, a colleague at RTL Today, catalysed the topic of autism for this show by writing about it himself when diagnosed as an adult aged 27. Through Tom’s awareness-raising of neurodiversity we explore what autism is, how it can present, and what help is available to caregivers and autistic people themselves in Luxembourg. Tom eloquently describes his own personal story, the constant effort of masking, the dark periods and the changes to one’s self-perception when diagnosed late. Tom Weber is an English-German translator and this lifestyle fits his requirements for a professional life very well, whilst also giving him time to pursue his own writing of prose and poetry. Tom is a published author and won first prize at the National Literary Competition in 2020. Autism is a very broad spectrum of neurodiverse traits and is more common than we may think, says Anne Wagner, CTSA - psychologist. And yet, over diagnosis can be an issue since there are frequent co-morbidities that accompany autistic people (aggression, ADHD, anxiety, depression, psychosis, for instance). There is a heightened rate of suicide amongst autistic people and a higher rate of divorce for the care-givers. Tom describes the pain of not being able to connect with people and how that can lead to deep depression, which could result in suicide if one doesn’t have a strong support network. Sabine Angelsen and Anne Wagner work with children and their families at the Centre pour enfants et jeunes présentant un trouble du spectre de l’autisme (CTSA).  They see children at the point at which some form of issue has presented, but many children find ways to mask their difficulties in social settings. Nathalie Oberweis, Head of Learning & Development at Autism Luxembourg, helps people to develop skills in a safe environment through their various workshops. They provide vocational training, education, and even a day-centre in Sandweiler. They also have some home-help services and a limited number of accommodation facilities. The workplace can be quite traumatic for an autistic person. We discuss what measures an employer could put in place to help this type of mind.  It is often hard to ‘see’ neurodiverse issues; they can be thought of as ‘invisible handicaps’. Aleks Panzone is just 23 years old and is the co-founder of T'ees Iced Tea. This (delicious) iced tea is produced by people with Autism in Luxembourg, aiming to raise awareness and supporting them by offering a safe working environment and decent wage. It is only made with local and natural ingredients; no added sugar and no artificial flavours. Aleks is helping people with autism live as fully integrated members of society. https://just-thoughts.net/about/#:~:text=Tom%20Weber%20was%20born%20in,publishes%20books%2C%20mostly%20poetry%20collections. www.autisme.lu https://cc-ctsa.lu/ https://plantatea.com/ https://just-thoughts.net/2023/12/07/the-stranger-behind-my-eyes-27-years-undiagnosed-autistic/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teesicetea/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/t-ees/?viewAsMember=true

In part II of our Olympics special, we meet more of the Olympic entourage supporting Luxembourg's athletes in Paris this summer, plus more sport experts. - Raymond Conzemius - Chef de mission of Team Lëtzebuerg for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, Technical Sports Director at COSL - Christophe Ley - Associate Professor of Applied Statistics at the University of Luxembourg - Aude Aguilaniu - Physiotherapist, ex elite athlete (Ski Cross) - Max Englaro - Strength & Conditioning, & Rehab Coach U23 FC Augsburg - Frank Muller - Sport Psychologist - Nina Goedert - Physiotherapist Raymond Conzemius, Chef de Mission of Team Lëtzebuerg for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 joins me with some of the Olympic Team’s entourage including sport psychologist Frank Müller and physiotherapist Nina Goedert. Christophe Ley discusses the increasing use of statistics in sport science and many accompanied sports ventures. Strength & Conditioning, & Rehab Coach for U23 FC Augsburg, Max Englaro, uses such metrics to work with his footballers. And Aude Aguilaniu, now a physiotherapist, previously an Olympic level athlete for Ski Cross talks about the absolute need to build resilience after career-shattering injuries. Raymond is a former international athlete in high jump, and still holds the national record with 2.22m. Unfortunately he didn’t have the chance to participate in the Olympic Games or World Championships but has happily found a career supporting others to attain that dream.   Conzemius is the Founder and Former director of Sportlycée, the sport secondary school in Luxembourg, and highlights the importance of an integrated approach to sports development in Luxembourg. Max Englaro is a Strength & Conditioning, and Rehab Coach for FC Augsburg U23. Prior to this, he was Head of Performance in the Vienna Football Academy. Max observes how young children or adolescents are talent spotted and then developed into sports stars with the help of targeted training, nutrition, medication and sleep, to name but a few of the metrics. With increasing emphasis on sport sciences the measurements and data around elite performance can enhance results. Christophe Ley, Associate Professor of Applied Statistics at the University of Luxembourg, President of the Luxembourg Statistical Society, President of ECAS (European Center for Advanced Statistics Courses) and leader of the international network S-TRAINING (bridging sports science and data science) is, in fact, the catalyst of these two week’s of Olympic conversations. Christophe and Yves Dominicy (from last week’s show) have written books on statistics in sport. Through chosen measurements it is possible to use maths to predict outcomes of matches. The accuracy of such predictions naturally depends on many factors. For instance, handball will give you about 81% accuracy compared to football where, apparently, more luck is involved in scoring and there are generally fewer scores. So with football the outcome of positive prediction stands at about 65%. Sport medicine and metrics is a fast growing industry, even for non-professional athletes, with the possibility of wearables and nutrition information available to us all. However, data science and AI is also vital to help prevent injury. Christophe will be organising the international MathSport Conference next year in Luxembourg, June 2025. https://math.uni.lu/midas/events/mathsports2025/ Aude Aguilaniu is now a physiotherapist and researcher, having previously been a world-class skier. Aude actually qualified for the Sotchi Winter Olympics in 2014 but was seriously injured just a few months before and so couldn’t participate. She talks about resilience building, injury prevention and her latest research project on injury prevention: Healthy Active. Frank Müller is a former competitive basketball player and now a sport psychologist at the Sportlycée in Luxembourg. He is also an external expert for the LIHPS (Luxembourg Institute for High Performance in Sports) and the COSL (National Olympic Committee), providing psychological support to elite athletes and coaches. Frank talks about his different responsibilities and how he coaches the minds of elite athletes for all possible eventualities. He also works with the group around that athlete which includes coaches, physios and parents. As with so many things, being an elite athlete means that you sit in the centre of a team of experts. Nina Goedert, a sports physiotherapist, reiterates the absolute importance of communication in a cross-disciplinary collaboration. Nina Goedert works with athletes of all ages and levels, those dealing with injury and those working on prevention strategies. She has participated in multiple national and international sports events in her role as a sports physio, including the Tokyo Olympic Games 2021, World Games 2022, European Games 2019 & 2023, Games of the Small States of Europe 2019 & 2023, and several European Championships in Karate, etc.). Nina will be part of the team supporting the athletes in Paris this summer. We wish all of the athletes the very best of luck this summer in the Olympic Games, and the supporting entourage too! https://teamletzebuerg.lu/ https://www.fcaugsburg.de/games/?team=u23 www.sportlycee.lu https://math.uni.lu/midas/events/mathsports2025/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/raymond-conzemius-328a9147/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophe-ley-b71607166/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/aude-aguilaniu-24a05343/

"Working Hard is a Talent in itself" says Laurent Carol, Deputy Technical Director of the Luxembourg Olympic and Sport Committee, and former Olympic swimmer. In the first of two shows on the Olympics, my guests this week are: - Laurent Carnol - Deputy Technical Director, Luxembourg Olympic and Sport Committee; Comité Olympique et Sportif Luxembourgeois (COSL), former Olympic swimmer - Dr Yves Dominicy - Sport Statistician - Loïc Hoscheit - ALAD Director - anti-doping agency Luxembour - Marie Muller - former Olympic athlete - Judo Laurent Carnol is the Deputy Technical Director of the Luxembourg Olympic and Sport Committee; Comité Olympique et Sportif Luxembourgeois (COSL), and a former Olympian swimmer himself. Laurent took part in Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016. In London, Laurent got to the semi finals in 200m breaststroke and was a finalist several times in the European Championships for the same event. Aside from his own successful career as an elite athlete, Laurent was a teacher at the Sport Lycée in Luxembourg, a lecturer at Lunex University and Dual Career Coordinator at the Luxembourg Institute for High Performance in Sport. Laurent talks to us about the selection process which decides what delegation will eventually be going to the Olympics in Paris this summer. The qualification pathways and athlete preparation requires enormous effort not just from the athlete themselves, but also from the team around that athlete.   Yves Dominicy is a sport statistician and has written two books with Christophe Ley:   Science meets Sports: when statistics are more than numbers Statistics Meets Sports: What We Can Learn from Sports Data Sport analytics collects data to try to understand patterns therein. For instance, it is used for ranking and prediction, talent identification, scheduling and injury prevention. Machine learning is now being used in tennis to profile the emotional expressions of tennis players and link that to performance. Yves also mentions that tennis rankings may become more accurate if based on serve / return etc. rather than points. During Covid-19 in 2020, the International Swimming League organised a whole month of races providing an intense, short period to analyse the effect of multiple races on the performance of different profiles. The use of data analytics is extremely valuable to prevent injury. It is now possible to run risk profiles to plan around potential injury points for a person. Loïc Hoscheit is the Director of ALAD, Agence Luxembourgeoise antidopage. Luxembourg's independent anti-doping agency tasked with supervising the country's most high-level athletes and competitions; they are tasked with ensuring Luxembourg sends out clean athletes. ALAD also offers guidance to all athletes with the potential to qualify for the Olympics and ensures a solid testing programme is carried out prior to the Games within this group. The rules are complex, and keep changing. Naturally there is often a cloud of uncertainty around medication, but also supplements. Marie Müller, a judoka (judo player), received a wild card from the IOC in 2008 where she finished 9th in the Beijing Games. Between 2009 and 2012, Marie entered the world top 16 for judo in her category and qualified for the London Games in 2012. There she lost in a dramatic fight for bronze and finished 5th.Marie’s entire career was overshadowed by injury, which ultimately made the decision to retire from judo for her in 2016. Marie and Laurent both talk about not being able to do their sport since they retired, but have turned to other sport.  Marie also talks about the pressure of weight in her sport. https://teamletzebuerg.lu/ https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-5856-4 https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-9273-5 https://www.alad.lu/

Steve Killelea, founder of the Institute of Economics and Peace, talks about this year's Global Peace Index. On this week’s episode is the Australian entrepreneur Steve Killelea, founder of the Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP), and the first recipient of Luxembourg’s Outstanding Technology for Peace award in 2016. Steve gave the keynote speech on this year's Global Peace Index at the Luxembourg Peace Prize in MUDAM in June. Steve created the software company IR in 1988 which went on to be listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2000. He also set up a Venture Capital fund. After making a substantial amount of money, his family moved into philanthropy, setting up The Charitable Foundation in 2000, the Global Peace Index in 2007, and the Institute for Economics and Peace in 2013. The Charitable Foundation helps vulnerable people with Developmental Aid, with over 280 successful projects directly benefiting 3.7m people. Steve’s wife, Deborah, runs this and has expanded the charity to focus on working with thousands of traumatised children through play therapy. The Institute for Economics and Peace came about through Steve’s observations of War related poverty, and a lack of research behind a ranking for the world’s most peaceful nations. “What I realised as a businessman, when I think ‘What are the most peaceful nations in the world?’ and it hasn’t been done, [was] then how much do we know about peace? If you can’t measure something, can you truly understand it? If you can’t measure it, how do you know if your actions are helping you, or hindering you?” Steve’s keynote at MUDAM presented the most recent Global Peace Index (GPI), which is the most comprehensive data analysis on peace, economic value, and trends. This work covers 99.7% of the world’s population and is supported by 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources. The most peaceful country in the world is currently Iceland, followed by Ireland, Austria, New Zealand and Singapore, with the bottom half composed of Israel, Mali, Syria, Russia, the Congo, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and South Sudan. When looking at the most and least peaceful nations, Steve mentions a widening gap known as ‘the global inequality of peace’, with the higher and lower ranking nations respectively continuing to improve or worsen. The most improved countries are El Salvador, the UAE, Greece, Myanmar, and Nicaragua, while the most deteriorated are Ukraine, Israel, and Palestine. How is peace itself measured? Through ‘the absence of violence’ or ‘fear of violence’. Steve explains how the three domains of internal safety and security, levels of ongoing conflict, and levels of militarisation, join together to create the GPI, itself holding 23 different measures of peace. Conflicts are also classified, with a conflict being a dispute involving more than 25 deaths but under 1000, as that then becomes a war. Terrorism occurs within conflicts, with 92% of terrorism based deaths occurring in that manner last year, but as an attack on civilians unengaged in the dispute and with the aim to send a greater message outside of those involved. Although the current European climate feels unsettled, it still sits on top as the most peaceful continent, although two-thirds of the countries have fallen in terms of their own sense of peace, partly due to the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war including neighbouring tensions and increased military expenditures. With a global economy, local conflicts can have ripple effects worldwide, with refugees, industry, shipping and travel delays as just some of the reasons. Moving to his entrepreneurial background, Steve advises companies to assess the risk factors for establishing expansions in foreign countries, such as GPI ranking or underlying peace factors to combat the instability of the global economy. This year’s report is described as “the most sobering report we’ve put out”, with a peak since WWII of 56 conflicts, 92 countries engaged in beyond-border conflicts and the most since the GPI’s inception, with the majority of these remaining unsolved. In the 1970s, 49% of all conflicts ended in a victory from either the Government or a rebel group, dropping to 9% in the 2010s. Peace agreements were a result of 23% of conflicts in the 1970s, dropping to 4% in the 2010s. The trends of ending conflicts are typically through the lack of resolution or becoming a ‘frozen conflict’, which accounts for 87% of modern conflicts. The most peaceful resolution may not always maintain the greatest longevity. Looking at the economic effects on counties with a lack of resolution or remaining in the frozen state, Steve recalls his own experience working in Laos, and the difficulty transporting goods or farmers being unsafe to plant crops due to militarisation. The manufacturing sector is placed on hold due to the transition to a war economy. “The defence industry is not in itself bad, because obviously we do not live in a peaceful world.” The defence industry creates peace in protecting from outside aggressors, as do alliances, but spending an extra $10bn in Steve’s example of a battleship, is useful if used, while remaining unused creates extra spending in labour and additional maintenance where the money could be diverted to business stimulus, education, and health, which would be more productive economic outcomes. The question is not in the necessary defence spending, but on the right balance with other sectors. The cost of violence for the global economy in 2023 was $19.1tn and the equivalent of 13.5% of global GDP, which when reduced by 10% equals $1.9tn or the same as adding 3 new economies into the world. Another way to look at that would be the 1% or $190bn is roughly the same cost as overseas developmental spending last year, yet the most striking statistic, 0.1% of that, is the peace keeping expenditure of 2023. “The message I have” says Steve, “is how can we put more money into preventative measures, particularly in the areas of conflicts which are easy to solve, or conflicts which haven’t erupted yet but where the conditions are fragile. If we could spend more money in those areas I think that would be excellent.” Countries at risk of conflict expansion including Egypt, Israel, Iran, Jordan, and Lebanon are likely to create ripple effects of recession, refugees, and terrorism, into local and global economies. Concerning refugees, the flow based on conflicts is increasing, from 75m at the start of GPI calculations to 120m currently. As conflicts develop over time and territories, refugees are unlikely to return soon after their departure, unlike natural disaster based immigration. When assessing common patterns of violence in different areas, Steve comments on the differences between the example of Middle Eastern countries locked into war based violence compared to Latin America under cartel or gang related violence. However, it is not all negative news. Homicide is improving yearly with 112 countries scoring significantly better than previous years. The civilian perception of crime is also improving, with 96 countries noticing a positive trend last year. Steve notes that “How you fight the war shapes how it goes after that.”What is the reconstruction program? When looking at Iraq or Afghanistan the large amount of money invested into reconstruction was not done correctly, and in a high tension environment this can lead to a rehashing of conflict. The ideal way of solving conflicts is not only through the military, but also a humanitarian approach. Assessing the grievances of the civilians and other involved groups; seeing how they can be satisfied is more likely to lead to sustained peace. Another talk point was in the nature of having allies, determining where your natural allies are, specifically looking at China. China, like every country has allies with which it works well with, but its natural allies lie more with advanced Western democracies due to their similarities in terms of philosophy and approaches, rather than Authoritarian regimes. Over a lifetime of philanthropic work, Steve credits watching the transformation of people’s lives behind his hope and drive to continue carrying out his missions. A small act such as increasing water supply can massively increase the wealth of an impoverished population in a remote area and make a huge difference into people’s lives. Other highlights for him include the rehabilitation of child soldiers in Uganda or water projects in Laos dropping death rate and disease levels. When living in the West, we see the images of these conflicts, but Steve says “we don’t really understand how horrific the impact actually is.” For an average of less than $20 a head, a life can be saved, making the results “staggering”. Despite language and culture barriers, Steve describes the logistics and ground work as “pretty simple”. His foundations will partner with other groups already working on the ground in the affected areas, as well as always having a trusted translator. Throughout all his travels, Uganda and Kenya are the countries he finds most fascinating, but still sees an issue in Africa’s governance, specifically corruption. Steve says that after a certain amount of money, there isn’t much more that one needs. As his legacy, Steve says his work is “not about me, it’s a ripple effect. We do things in our lives that have ripples that carry on. Your legacy is really the result of your actions. Thinking too much about your personal legacy isn’t even smart. https://www.economicsandpeace.org/about/ https://luxembourgpeaceprize.org/ https://thecharitablefoundation.org/ https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf

Three phenomenal women in space share their stories with us this weekend, in honour of Asteroid Day — a UN-recognised initiative raising awareness about the potential impacts, and opportunities, of these marvels of astronomy. Asteroid Day takes place on 30 June, the anniversary of the Tunguska event in 1908 where a meteor destroyed a landmass of about 2,150 km2 (a little smaller than the landmass of Luxembourg) of forest in Siberia, Russia. Asteroid Day was co-founded in 2014 by physicist Stephen Hawking, B612 Foundation president Danica Remy, astronaut Rusty Schweickart, film-maker Grigorij Richters and astrophysicist (and Queen guitarist) Brian May. Now recognised by the UN, Asteroid Day is celebrated globally to raise awareness about asteroids and their potential impact on Earth. It also raises awareness of the potential to mine asteroids as we move towards a space economy. My guests this week are: - Julie Payette - a Canadian engineer, scientist and astronaut who also served as Governor General of Canada from 2017 to 2021 - Wanda Díaz-Merced - astronomer using using sonification - Hoor Abdelraman Al Maazmi - space science researcher at the UAE Space Agency - Maher Kalaji - Board Director of the Asteroid Foundation and founder of the newly to be announced Luxembourg Rocket Society. Julie Payette joined the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) in 1992 as a member of the Canadian Astronaut Corps. She completed two spaceflights, logging more than 25 days in space. Dr. Payette also served as capsule communicator (CapCom) at NASA Mission Control Center in Houston and from 2000 to 2007 as CSA's chief astronaut. Julie was named COO for the Montreal Science Centre in July 2013. In 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Queen Elizabeth II had approved the appointment of Payette as the next governor general of Canada which she started that October until January 2021. Wanda Díaz-Merced was born in Puerto Rico and lost her eyesight gradually through her teenage years into early adulthood. She talks about this experience and her long journey to become an astronomer who uses sonification to turn large data sets into audible sound. Currently, Wanda works at the European Gravitational Observatory Cascina, Italy, where she is the Director of the Arecibo Observatory. Dr Díaz-Merced received an internship with Robert Candey, an incredible mentor to her, at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, USA, and went on to complete a Ph.D. in computer science at the University of Glasgow. Wanda was then accepted as a post-doctoral fellow at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and South African Astronomical Observatory in Cape Town. Wanda’s work has also included collaborations with the European Gravitational Observatory proposal REINFORCE and the National Astronomical Observatory Japan (NAOJ).  Dr Díaz-Merced creates sonification software to perceive space in a different sensory way. Hoor Abdelraman AlMaazmi is a space science researcher at the UAE Space Agency and a member of the Emirates Mars Mission science team since 2017. The Mars mission, named ‘Amal’ or ‘Hope,’ launched in 2020. The UAE is going to send a spaceship to explore the solar system’s main asteroid belt due to launch in 2028. For this mission, they will look at six asteroids with the target to land on the seventh- Justitia. This asteroid is thought to be one of only two known red asteroids and potentially laden with organic substances. The aim for this MBR Explorer is to deploy a landing craft to study the surface of Justitia fully developed by private UAE start-up companies. https://asteroidfoundation.org/ https://royalsociety.org/about-us/who-we-are/diversity-inclusion/case-studies/scientists-with-disabilities/wanda-diaz-merced/ https://space.gov.ae/en/initiatives-and-projects/uae-mission-to-asteroid-belt-ema https://www.instagram.com/uaespaceagency?igsh=ZXgwcnR3dTNqOHFs https://x.com/uaespaceagency?s=21

Anyone living in Luxembourg will have seen the Nation Branding ‘Letz Make it Happen’, but where did this come from, and what does it stand for? My guests this week are Béryl Koltz - Head of Luxembourg Image Brand Sarah Pitt - Luxembourg for Tourism Lena Mårtensson - Luxinnovation Hélène Jacuszin - Research Luxembourg Catherine Decker - Ministry of Culture, KulturLX & UNESCO Kamel Amroune - CEO of The Dots Cécilia Zunt Radot - Director of LËT'Z Arles - Luxembourg photography award   “LuXembourg - Let’s Make It Happen” came to life in 2013 as a cross-sectorial facilitator and to aid the global promotion of Luxembourg. The LMIH team work with many different stakeholders including LuxInnovation, Visit Luxembourg, Research Luxembourg and the Ministry of Culture / KulturLX to name but a few. Their role is to streamline the messaging of Luxembourg within the country, within industry, culture and abroad. After plenty of working groups and citizen participation, the values which they believe define Luxembourg are: dynamic, open and reliable. "Bound by Creativity Sustained by Diversity” This motto emphasises the priorities that Luxembourg has defined in a cross-sectorial manner to invest in: Creativity, Diversity and Sustainability. These 3 priorities guid all partnerships and projects for LMIH.lu If you want to see if your idea or company can be supported by the LMIH team, alongside their website you can find out more details on luxembourg.lu Sarah Pitt talks about the work of Luxembourg for Tourism. You can find out more on Visit Luxembourg and Luxembourg Travel   Visit Luxembourg produces a variety of maps, guides and magazines which can be ordered for free in 4 languages here: https://www.luxembourgtravel.lu/news-and-perspectives/visit-luxembourg-publications-2024   Cather Decker, from the Ministry of Culture of Luxembourg, has extensive international experience working with the UN and in Foreign Affairs also. As Secretary General of the Luxembourg Commission for UNESCO, she develops and promotes cultural and natural heritage beyond Luxembourg’s borders. She was the founding president of the Luxembourg Arts Council, Kultur lx. Lena Mårtensson’s talks about Luxinnovation’s role in promoting Luxembourg’s economy abroad as an attractive business destination for international companies. This is also linked with the positioning of the country within its national branding initiative. Naturally they also support companies within Luxembourg and helping them move abroad if that is their wish. Hélène Jacuszin tells us about the work of Research Luxembourg and how their remit handles all of the research institutes of Luxembourg. She explains the advantages of a small ecosystem and how that can help close collaboration. Kamel Amroune, CEO of The Dots, is organising Nexus 2050 which is about to start next week, with the aim of attracting people from the international tech field to Luxembourg. This event is being supported by LMIH. Cécilia Zunt Radot is the Director of LetzArles, the Luxembourg Photography Award. She talks about taking great photographers from Luxembourg to this global photography award in Arles and placing Luxembourg on the map there. https://lmih.lu/en/home/ https://www.visitluxembourg.com/letzebuerg-dat-ass-vakanz?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIm-ionOPuhgMVk6doCR2L7Q5LEAAYASAAEgLNCfD_BwE https://www.linkedin.com/in/beryl-koltz-7b40b3b5/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-pitt/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/lena-m%C3%A5rtensson-89200911/ https://luxinnovation.lu/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenejacuszin/ https://www.researchluxembourg.org/en/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-decker-58b89424/ https://www.unesco.org/en https://www.kulturlx.lu/en/ https://www.thedots.lu/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/kamelamroune/ https://www.nexus2050.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceciliaradot/ https://www.luxembourgtravel.lu/news-and-perspectives/visit-luxembourg-publications-2024

Proactive wellbeing from school to adulthood – you're at your best when you work with your character strengths. Frederika Roberts, known as "The Happiness Speaker", brings the science of wellbeing to life through applied positive psychology. Her background as a teacher served to launch her work into whole school wellbeing, for both students and teachers. The idea is to work with character strengths for wellbeing. Her method helps children (and adults) learn the vocabulary necessary to discover one’s own character strengths. Frederika Roberts ran an online challenge for International Day of Happiness in March, and Klárka Penzešová won the competition. Klárka Penzešová is a massage therapist based in Maison Paramédicale du Pafendall. Her studies include Ayurvedic massage, Breuss massage, the spine-focused Dorn method physiotherapy manipulation and Theta healing. Dana Moldoveanu Brandes is President of the Positive Psychology Association Luxembourg (PPL), a Psychologist and Coach who works as part of the European Commission's psycho-social team, and as an Occupational Clinician, Coaching Psychologist, EMDR Therapist and Trainer via her organisation, ProActive Mind.  In this conversation we talk about the increasing need to ensure our mental health is robust enough to buffer the challenges of an increasingly busy life, with little down-time. Further information on Frederika's work: BOOKS The Big Book of Whole School Wellbeing (2021), by Kimberley Evans, Thérèse Hoyle, Frederika Roberts & Bukky Yusuf (Editors) with Foreword by Andrew Cowley For Flourishing's Sake: Using Positive Education to Support Character Development and Well-being (2020), by Frederika Roberts with Foreword by Andrew Cowley Character Toolkit for Teachers: 100+ Classroom and Whole School Character Education Activities for 5-11 Year Olds (2018), by Frederika Roberts and Elizabeth Wright, with Foreword by Kristján Kristjánsson Recipe for Happiness: 9 Essential Ingredients for a Happy Life (2013) by Frederika Roberts STRENGTH CARDS Character Toolkit Strength Cards (2020) by Frederika Roberts and Elizabeth Wright. PODCAST Check out the For Flourishing's Sake podcast - a weekly Monday-morning wellbeing boost for teachers and school leaders, available on all the major podcasting platforms and from the podcast website www.forflourishingssake.com. https://www.linkedin.com/in/danamoldoveanu/ https://www.ppl.lu/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Whole-School-Wellbeing-Corwin/dp/1529764254 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flourishings-Sake-Education-Development-Well-being/dp/1787750248 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Character-Toolkit-Teachers-Activities-11-Year-Olds/dp/1785924907 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Recipe-Happiness-Essential-Ingredients-Happy/dp/0957438370 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Character-Toolkit-Strength-Elizabeth-Wright/dp/1787752739 https://forflourishingssake.com/ Subscribe to the Podcast and get in touch! Please do subscribe via Apple and / or Spotify. It would be great if you could rate and review too — as it helps others find the podcast. Tune in to The Lisa Burke Show on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

Still slightly taboo in the workplace, and still often unrecognised by medical professionals, perimenopause is a long and difficult stage of life for many women. Lisa and Sasha are joined in the Today Radio studio by a dream team of guests to discuss this long-overdue topic — including a menopause coach, a preventative health entrepreneur, a medical and health management specialist in menopause, as well as a sexologist and perimenopause specialist. Perimenopause and menopause are stages of a woman's life that are becoming more present in conversations socially and even in the workplace. But still, so many women go through perimenopause, suffering a multitude of symptoms, without realising it. It’s difficult to untangle symptoms from the heavy stressors of life sometimes, as perimenopause hits us during particularly intense periods of our lives, and continues for years. During this time, we many be raising children, managing a household with a career, caring for parents or other family members, living away from ‘home’,  and so there is very little time for ‘us’, to listen and feel what is going on inside our own bodies. The irony is that when life demands all of us, perimenopause can significantly diminish our natural capacity for work and resilience. After a weekly news round-up with Sasha, my guests this week are Guy Brandenbourger, Diane Elsen, Annabelle Parkhouse and Victoria Honey. Guy Brandenbourger was a Partner at PwC Luxembourg from 2011, led their healthcare sector including the government and public sector practice in Luxembourg.  Guy is now the founder and Partner of his own company called Health A Gesondheet, Luxembourg Blue Zone (HAG) dedicated to developing a preventative health care structure in Luxembourg, aiming to become the 6th blue zone in the world. Diane Elsen is a certified menopause coaching specialist. After 26 years working within a European institution, raising 2 children, helping her partner manage a successful restaurant she was hit by post traumatic depression at 48, at the peak of her career. With no answers from her GP, Diane threw herself into researching peri-menopause. Annabelle Parkhouse has just completed Medical School at Imperial College London. She also completed an MBBS diploma and an Intercalated bachelor’s in health management at Imperial Business School. Her thesis was on “Making Menopause Manageable, barriers regarding the safe discussions of menopausal symptom experience and management." Victoria Honey, a sexologist and perimenopause specialist, supports female executives, who want to manage the emotional changes that come with peri/menopause so that they can flourish in their careers and live unshakeable lives. Menopause is still rather a taboo topic in Luxembourg, and the symptoms of perimenopause are still catching women by surprise. It is frequently only after a woman hits menopause that they realise they have lived with many of the symptoms. 86% of women aged 50 to 65 experience at least one symptom (of a list of at least 34), and almost half have not discussed the subject with their doctor, 60% talk to their gynaecologist and only 39% talk to their partner. As Annabelle says, going through the period of perimenopause to post-menopause is actually a privilege, but it’s not always easy for women. Medication alters depending on where you live and who your doctors are. There is so much more to learn about the effects of menopause on the body and we are a long way from personalised hormonal treatment. Although, we have moved on from the WHI study to disband the link between HRT and breast cancer. Moreover, HRT used at the right time can reduce cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. Diane Elsen talks about her own very difficult experience of perimenopause, not knowing what she was going through at the time, and nor did any of her healthcare professionals spot it. During her many years of research, Diane has found number of sources she would recommend to others, including Dr Louise Newson, the Balance app or Balance-menopause.com with the list of symptoms, Dr Lisa Mosconi (The Menopause Brain),  Dr Avrum Bluming & Carol Tavris (Oestrogen Matters), Dr Mary Claire Haver (The New Menopause) and guideline sources from  EMAS (European Menopause and Andropause Society), the BMS (British Menopause Society) and the IMS (International Menopause society). You can follow Diane on instagram (Womanhood Luxembourg). Menopause can significantly affect women at work: those with symptoms have a 60% drop in productivity versus women without symptoms (FORBES 2019), 1 in 2 women say that menopause has negative effects on their work, and 21% have to stop working for several days It turns out there are many risks too that so many women don’t realise are associated with menopause such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and sleep disorders. Heat flashes, one of the more commonly known symptoms of menopause (70-80% of women), can lead to cardiovascular disease, night sweats may lead to silent nocturnal hypoglycaemia (type 2 diabetes), insomnia can lead to depression, muscular and joint pain to osteoporosis and fractures and brain fog can lead to dementia or Alzheimer's disease. In Luxembourg we only have one bone density scanner, with a waiting list of 1.5 years. We really need to have about 7 such devises for this population. Guy Brandenbourger is working hard to put forward a manifesto of very actionable steps in order to help everyone in society together. An easy one is for GPs to conduct annual medical menopause check-ups. Guy also suggests that from the age of 40 women should have a complete cardiac checkup. From 50 (I would personally say younger, being personally affected by this) he suggests having a mandatory bone mineral density scan. Of course, part of the issue is that medical practitioners are not very knowledgeable about menopause as the information and research unfolds.  There are personal issues we as women must take care of too: our own nutrition (with enough protein) to stave off sarcopenia, plus exercise for bone density and sarcopenia.    Victoria works with women in leadership roles and also highlights the need for diversity and equality in all its forms. When women are suffering from perimenopause symptoms and lower self-confidence, she encourages them to put their own needs first, and then other things can fall into places in a pyramid behind this.  Victoria explains that there are so many different factors which affect the way we experience menopause. These obviously include genetics, nutrition, race and ethnicity, but there are other factors such as our socio-economic situation and how we arrange our lifestyle (smoking, alcohol, sleep etc).  As part of her work with corporates, Victoria engages with the women and leaders to create menopause policies, workshops and to make small adjustments to the workplace to reduce a woman’s uncomfortableness. Do let us know about your own perimenopause journeys.

For next week's World Environment Day, Lisa's guests discuss the state of the climate today, myriad climate policy boards, and the inclusion of the youth voice. There is an incredible array of resources and opportunities for young people in Luxembourg on the subject and countless organisations working together on the issue — but is it enough? We have all noticed how wet this spring has been. Conversation in my circles have noted the long-term predictions of climate change on our weather patterns and seasons: more humidity, increased storms and rainfall in this geographical zone. The mention of climate change in the media is at risk of becoming jaded as it’s on-going, requiring swift action but that action is sloth-like due to the need for global buy-in. People tune out if they feel they cannot make a difference. Not everyone can be an activist. And so, we rely on the scientific research to influence policy makers from around the world to act. Even if they agree to act, that policy then needs to be implemented in each country. And so the ultimate trickle down is that we, as citizens, need to be nudged into behavioural change that is the decision without requiring thought. My guests this week range from those who have spent many years researching climate related topics and climate policy-making, to the youth voice who were given the opportunity to be present at a COP event. Dr Andrew Ferrone is a physical climatologist, Andrew works at the interface of climate science and policy. He is Head of the Meteorological Service of the Administration of Technical Agricultural Services (ASTA) in Luxembourg, President of Luxembourg's Climate Policy Observatory (OPC) and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of Spuerkeess. He is also the Permanent Representative to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the Head of the Luxembourg delegation to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and coordinates the European Union’s team of negotiators for scientific issues under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Andrew talks about his vast experience at these conferences and how to try to get consensus between countries with very different objectives, whether that be due to the stage of industrial development they are in, oil-rich countries or if they’re islands at risk of disappearing. Claudia Hitaj is an advisor on climate change and sustainable finance at the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Biodiversity. Her work straddles economics, environmental policy and making the youth voice heard. The Ministry’s Climate Youth Delegate Programme will bring two climate youth delegates, Frida Thorsteinsdottir and Natasha Lepage, to COP 29 to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan this November. They’ll both have a chance to participate in a training program at COP29 and the UNFCCC for youth delegates from countries all over the world. Bartłomiej Nowak, 18 years old, took part in the National Junk Fuerscher Contest in 2022 and 2023, Luxembourg Informatics Olympiad in 2023, was awarded participation in COP28 in Dubai, where he met the Luxembourgish delegation and presented his project in the BENELUX-EIB pavilion in the blue zone. Arnfridur (Frida) Thorsteinsdottir, 17 years old student at ISL, was a finalist in the Jonk Fuerscher Contest 2024 due to her project on fish migration in Iceland. She will be travelling to COP29 in Baku with Natasha. Federica Maestri work with the Fondation Jeunes Scientifiques Luxembourg and talks about their commitment to sending young scientists to incredible science fairs and science events all around the world. https://www.un.org/en/observances/environment-day https://www.jugendrot.lu/cyd-2/ https://fjsl.lu/ https://unfccc.int/cop29

Prof. Marginson from Oxford University visited Luxembourg this week and spoke with Lisa at length on a variety of topics around education and geopolitics. Sasha Kehoe kicks off the show with the weekly reflection of global news stories. Prof. Marginson joins us with his own perspectives having lived in the U.K. for the last decade, but also having visited New Caledonia, French territory, which is relatively close to his homeland of Australia (closer than France anyhow). Simon Marginson is Professor of Higher Education at the University of Oxford, Director of the ESRC/RE Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE), Joint Editor-in-Chief of Higher Education, and a Professorial Associate of the Melbourne Centre for Study of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne. Simon’s research is focused primarily on global and international higher education, higher education in East Asia, global science, and the contributions of higher education. In this conversation we start with his own personal experience of potentially being drafted into the Vietnam war as a student in Australia. Simon spent his first degree deeply embedded in student politics and journalism. His route to becoming a Professor at Oxford was nonsequitous. Prof. Marginson's academic career was sparked by a highly acclaimed Ph.D. which he completed, part-time, over 8 years. And nowadays, Prof. Marginson is as deeply motivated to connecting global dots to observe the changing face of higher education across the world as he ever was. On how one gets to Oxford, the answer is sheer hard work. There are no short-cuts to brilliance. The students he looks for will be self-driven, extremely well-read and come with their own ideas. We discuss a range of topics including the open-source intrinsic nature of science research, and how that has been reshaped and blocked by political decisions; the rise of south-east Asian universities in global rankings. Indeed what even are global university rankings and do they matter? Where does the superpower Russia sit in today's university picture? For those of us based in Luxembourg, what is his view on European universities who don't seem to sit that high up on the university league tables - why is this? How do universities serve the common good? Is the cost worth the effort? As always, I would love to have your feedback on the good and bad of your university experience. Please do subscribe to the podcast too, via Apple and / or Spotify. It would be great if you could rate and review too — as it helps others find the podcast. Tune in to The Lisa Burke Show on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

The Echternach Hopping Procession, on the UNESCO Intangible World Heritage list, celebrates the life of St. Willibrord. On today's show, Lisa is joined by guests from Ireland, the UK and Luxembourg — to discuss the life of St. Willibrord via his links with these three countries. The Echternach Hopping Procession, on the UNESCO Intangible World Heritage list, celebrates the life of St. Willibrord. On today's show, Lisa is joined by guests from Ireland, the UK and Luxembourg — to discuss the life of St. Willibrord via his links with these three countries. Despite the 'high humidity', as Raoul Scholtes put it, there was another exceptional turnout for this year's Sprangpressessioun (or 'Hopping Procession') in Echternach, which pays homage to Saint Willibrord. This Anglo-Saxon Benedictine monk is revered as the founder of Echternach Abbey and every year is honoured for his gift of curing illness. Ambassador Jean McDonald, Ambassador of Ireland to Luxembourg, hosted a delegation from County Carlow, celebrating the links between Saint Willibrord and Carlow. Councillor Andrea Dalton and Dermot Mulligan, Curator of the Carlow Museum, also joined in studio to discuss the deepening re-connections between Luxembourg and Carlow through their shared history with Saint Willibrord. HE Fleur Thomas, British Ambassador to Luxembourg, hosted HE Ambassador Christopher Trott, Britain's Ambassador to the Holy See, for their very first Sprangpressessioun experience. Providing a bit of background into St. Willibrord's ancestry — Ambassador Trott detailed the saint's Northumbrian origins, before his travels brought him to Ireland, the Netherlands and then Luxembourg. Ambassador Trott also talks about his work as a diplomat in the Vatican, and the immense 'intelligence network' the Vatican has globally through priests on the ground, often in places where diplomats cannot visit or live. Patrick Dondelinger, Head of Studies for Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Culture of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, talks about the importance of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage label for the Hopping Procession, and what this means for one who experiences the 'rite'. Raoul Scholtes — a member of the procession's organisational committee and Vice-president of the Willibrodusbauveräin (Willibrod building society) organisation responsible for the procession — ends with a call for more volunteers! Help is always welcome, and indeed it would also be valuable to make a couple of positions professional (i.e. paid). Read here for even more details on the history of Luxembourg's Echternach Hopping Procession.

Join us as we jump into another discussion about books and culture, with Vanessa Phelan, Sarah Tapp and Sasha Kehoe. Hello and welcome to book show #2 with Vanessa Phelan and Sarah Tapp. This week Sasha Kehoe also joins us and we begin with a reflection of some of the news stories of the week. As we move to books, I start with a little quiz of words relating to books and book lovers. Are you a ‘librocubicularist’ for instance? (Someone who loves to read in bed). Now onto books with my ‘book bosomed’ friends (carrying a book at all times) and, as with our first episode, we manage to talk about a lot of books, but we also move onto art in places, and podcast recommendations. Here are some of the books we talk about: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller On Earth we’re briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong The Wife’s Tale by Aida Edemariam This is what is Sounds Like - What the music you love says about you by Susan Rogers Yellowface by R. F. Kuang Oh my God what a complete Aisling by Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne The Women by Kristin Hannah You are Here by David Nicholls Funny Story by Emily Henry One Day by David Nicholls Book Lovers Emily Henry Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout Do let us know what books you enjoy and if there are any in particular from this list that stand out to you. Additionally, we will throw in some podcasts and other cultural references from time to time. [attachment id="99201934" __caption="The Lisa Burke Show"] Subscribe to the Podcast and get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast on Apple and / or Spotify. It would be great if you could rate and review too – helps others find us. Tune in on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

Europe is aging, sagging in its efficiency, falling behind. How can we fix this? Philippe-Emmanuel Partsch comes from a long line of Law Professors, who were forced to move country due to the changing political climate of Europe through the last century. He was raised knowing the fragility of Europe, alongside its potential. Philippe-Emmanuel is a lawyer who has served at the European Court of Justice, private practice now at Arendt, university teaching and research. With over thirty years of working knowledge, he is well placed to consider how the European Union is functioning right now and its place in the context of global competition. Brexit and increasing populism encouraged Philippe-Emmanuel to write a book due to his growing concern for the evolution of European society as it has steadily declined: ‘The Five Labours of Europe - a Europe that will make us Grow’. Anne Calteux, Head of the European Commission Representation in Luxembourg, talks through a sizeable piece of commissioned work culminating in the paper by Enrico Letta, 'Much more than a market, SPEED, SECURITY, SOLIDARITY Empowering the Single Market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU Citizens' There are large swathes of overlap in the conclusions reached by Philippe-Emmanuel and Enrico Letta. Notably, that the internal market is no longer fit for purpose and Europe is in danger of regression. Europe, if taken as a whole, has a population of about 450 million people, compared to 330 million in the USA. Our landmass is about half that of the USA. This could provide opportunity if handled more dynamically. In his book, Philippe-Emmanuel talks about Europe's sluggish productivity and wealth per hour creation compared to other parts of the world and how we can break down barriers to trade with member states more efficiently. He reminds us that 99.2% of businesses in Europe are SMEs with 5-6 people employed. Philippe-Emmanuel sets out clear potential and reachable goals to increase income and GDP, reduce unemployment and poverty in the coming years. Deficiencies in research and development and innovation (R&D&I) is another clear beacon in both the book and paper. Currently, not enough money is being put into R&D&I in Europe and this needs to change now if we are to hope to keep pace with other nations. The cost of patent registration is much greater in the EU compared to the US. Philippe-Emmanuel is a fan of the Nordic approach to have lower taxation on Intellectual Property income. We talk about the need to change financial structures to reinvigorate seed investment and private funding. Philippe-Emmanuel believes Euorpe does set the gold standard for some regulations. Energy and Defence are two major areas where Europe needs to become more self-sufficient - we all learned this is recent year. And we have needed stronger trans-European transport links for decades. Did you know that the train between Luxembourg and Brussels got slower over the last 30 years?! And all of this conversation is capped with a round-up of the week's global news with Sasha Kehoe.

Europe for Europe – a wonderful opportunity for 18–23-year-olds to discover the EU together. Ahead of Europe Day on 9 May, and the upcoming European elections, 6-9 June, my shows this week and next will have a distinctly European flavour. To start with, Sasha is back with a chat about recent world news. Anne Calteux, Representative of the EU Commission to Luxembourg, is entering a very busy period of work, sharing her passion and knowledge for the European Union. Anne is effectively the Commission’s voice in Luxembourg. There were many steps, and setbacks to the European Union becoming what it is today. Luxembourg was one of the founding countries of the EU, along with Belgium, West Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands. The creation of the ECSC (European Coal and Steel Community) was a pivotal step however. From 1952, Luxembourg, Brussels and Strasbourg became temporary meeting-places for the ECSC. Since 1992, these three cities have become the HQ for all our European institutions. And today, more than 14,000 European civil servants and agents work for the EU institutions in Luxembourg. Europe for Europe Europe for Europe (E4E) is a programme designed for 18 to 23 year olds to tour the founding six member states of the EU. There is only one participant from each of the 27 member states, plus the UK (despite Brexit), vetted by the Rotary Club who designed the programme. https://europe4europe.com This experience lasts for three intense weeks in July, allowing for 3 days in each country, and they all have their own themes: Italy - future industrial developments France - historical heritage Belgium - social responsibility Netherlands - inclusivity Germany - Ariane Space Project Luxembourg - EU institutions Roberto Mancina was a co-founder of Europe for Europe, having been involved with the Youth Exchange for many years. Whilst attending an EEMA congress in Istanbul, he had lunch with some French Rotarians from Thionville. They wanted to find a way to honour the memory of Robert Schumann, who was from Thionville and Founding Father of the EU. And so the idea of E4E was born. Roberto was particularly interested in developing this project as the Rotary Club is American in origin, and he felt it needed a greater European focus. Ellen Spencer is Coordinator of Europe for Europe (E4E) for the Rotary Clubs of Luxembourg. Ellen first became involved with the Rotary Clubs here when she moved to Luxembourg. Ellen has a son and has observed the benefits to him growing up as an EU citizen. She continues to work passionately to support young adult programmes that focus on engagement towards a common future for a better world. The EU Youth Strategy and Erasmus+ are other places to discover programmes for young people, to enhance European values, tolerance, enhance skills and employability. To find out more information just contact the Rotary Clubs of Luxembourg (or indeed other countries across Europe) and the European Youth Portal. https://youth.europa.eu/home_en Subscribe to the Podcast and get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast on Apple and / or Spotify. It would be great if you could rate and review too - helps others find us. Tune in on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

From her parents meeting in the Russian Gulag, to being a part of the re-establishment of Lithuania, to joining and working with he EU, Dr. Laima Andrikiené has helped to shape history for her country. 20 years ago, the European Union grew bigger as, on 1 May 2004, the citizens of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia became citizens of the EU. Laima Liucija Andrikiené is a life-long politician, now working at the European Court of Auditors. She was instrumental to the independence of Lithuania, as a signatory of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania. In this conversation, Dr Andrikiené talks about the Lithuania of her youth, of her parents youth and how the hope for independence never dimmed. Laima poignantly describes her parents meeting in Siberia, when they were both sent to the Gulag amongst many other family members. Her Grandmother always believed that her children and grandchildren would live to see a free Europe. They were right. Dr. Andrikiené remembers the day the last Soviet Troops pulled out of Lithuania and the work that had to be done then: starting an economy from scratch, giving people property back, opening up and processing tenders for foreign investment. Given the proximity to Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, we also talk in depth about what is happening in Russia / Ukraine right now. Laima has a strong message for Russian people - they also hold responsibility for what is happening and can act. For Lithuania, being a part of the European Union has meant 20 years of peace, security and financial aid- almost 30 billion euros of financial aid to build infrastructure, schools and hospitals. Life in Lithuania is now incomparable to the past under Soviet rule. Lithuanian youth recently ranked number one for happiness across the EU. It is a dynamic and competitive country . Vilnius Choir To mark 20 years of being part of the EU, a cultural delegation from Lithuania has come to Luxembourg, including Maestro Artūras Dambrauskas, the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Vilnius Choir, along with Gitana Krikščiūnaitė, Concert Activity Manager. Vilnius Choir was founded in 1970 and is recognised as a curator and ambassador of Lithuanian choral music. Professor Artūras Dambrauskas, Head of the Department of Music Theory and Pedagogy at the Kaunas Vytautas Magnum University, also conducts the Lithuanian Song Festivals, is a member of the Jury of the Lithuanian and International choral competitions, and is the Artistic Director of the International St James Festival. The Lithuanian Song Festival (also known as The Baltic Song and Dance Celebrations) celebrates 100-years this summer. The Baltic Song and Dance Celebrations is included in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2008. You can hear their music at the end of the show and find out more here. http://en.chorasvilnius.lt/  

From soft diplomacy to block voting, Luxembourg's last entrant in 1993 to Tali, this show is full of Eurovision fun & folklore before the big day in May! Eurovision! We’re almost there! Eurovision 2024 will take place in Malmö, Sweden, on 11 May with semi-finals on 7 and 9 May. It is the third time that Malmö has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest following 1992 and 2013 editions, and the seventh for Sweden. It’s happening in Sweden of course because of Loreen’s win in Liverpool in 2023. Tali Golergant, the artist representing Luxembourg, will be performing in the first of the two semi-finals. The ‘big five’ (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) are pre-qualified for the Grand Final. The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) is the single biggest event to bring Europeans (and a global audience) together. It was even sponsored by the European Commission for some time. More people vote in this competition than the European elections. It is a strong tool of cultural diplomacy. Dr. Dean Vuletic has given the Eurovision Song Contest deep academic analysis. He designed the world’s first university course on Eurovision, which he taught at New York University. Whilst a researcher at the University of Vienna, he researched and wrote the first-ever scholarly book on the history of Eurovision, Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest. He currently teaches at the University of Luxembourg, amongst other roles. You can find Dean’s commentaries, interviews and op-eds across global media. Dr. Vuletic can also be seen featured in films such as ‘When Franco Stole Eurovision’ and ‘Eurovision: Secrets and Scandals’, amongst others. The competition has been in existence since 1956, and Luxembourg will be taking part for the first time since 1993 when Jimmy Martin performed. Jimmy talks about performing in Millstreet, County Cork, and the changes to Eurovision since that time. Jimmy was already an established rock musician before Eurovision and has continued to make that his career. The BBC used the phrase ‘United by Music’ and that’s now been taken as an official slogan for the contest going forward. The Eurovision Lights serve as the theme art which is meant to conceptualise the northern lights and sound equalizers. And 37 public broadcasters will be present. Eric Lehmann is Head of the Luxembourgish Delegation and has attended the ESC since 1998. Eric talks about building the necessary team to support Luxembourg’s re-entry to the Eurovision Song Contest, and the pre-selection process through the Luxembourg Song Contest. Part of the team Eric had to build around Tali includes hair & make-up. And in that position is the very talented Luca de Michèle who has worked on many fashion shows around the world. Roger Saurfeld has attended Eurovision since 2000 and is one of the organisers for the Eurovision Previews such as that in Bissen on 19 April where all the Luxembourg Song Contest candidates will perform their entries with money donated to the LUkraine asbl. Rafaela Teixeira, or Rafa Ela, one of the eight finalists of the Luxembourg Song Contest, talks about the family built through the competition process and her own music writing as a form of connection with others and to her own life experiences. Let us know your thoughts on all things Eurovision! Will you be watching? Who’s your first choice? Do you believe Eurovision can be a cultural force for political good? Subscribe to the Podcast and get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast on Apple and / or Spotify. It would be great if you could rate and review too - helps others find us. Tune in on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am. https://www.instagram.com/taligolergant/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanvuletic/ https://www.instagram.com/deanvuletic/ https://www.instagram.com/iamluca94/ https://www.instagram.com/jimmymartinmusic/ https://www.instagram.com/roschilu/ https://www.instagram.com/rafa_ela_music/

Exciting launch! Our very first Book Club show with Today Radio's Vanessa Phelan and Sarah Tapp. Every month we'll share recommendations and take on a new book, as voted by our readers. It all started with Sarah chatting about the wonderful interview she did with Dr. Susan Rogers on her tome about music cognition and cyberaustics: "This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You" And then the conversation took a book curve into what we're reading, what we've enjoyed over the past few months, and we thought it would be great to build a community around our love of books and reading. So here we are! We would love you to help build this community with ideas and recommendations. Each month we will try to bring recommendations and also include YOUR recommendations. You will have no doubt heard both of my colleagues on Today Radio as Sarah Tapp hosts The Hangover and Vanessa Phelan is a newsreader and contributing journalist for RTL Today. Here's a bit more about us... Well me you know about I guess as you're listening to the show. What's relevant and something I don't normally talk about is that I write and consult on children's science books for DK in the UK. You can find my books here. I love giving back to the science I once studied and with books, this is one avenue. I wrote the Mini Scientist series when my girls were tiny as I realised experimenting is our first language. Before words. Vanessa grew up in the States and moved to Luxembourg in 2017 after 12 years in Dublin. Aside from her work at RTL, Vanessa also works for a publisher of Irish language children’s books. She is a lover of all kinds of fiction, whether mystery, romance, historical or just stories about people with messages and themes we can all relate to. She also loves to travel and so enjoys reading about far-flung and exotic places. Originally from Hawaii, Sarah studied Zen poetry in college and spent almost 15 years in Japan before relocating to Luxembourg in 2016. When she’s not hosting The Hangover on Today Radio, Sarah is an avid reader who loves literary fiction, poetry, classics and memoir. Her unchecked obsession with One Direction fanfiction and inability to pronounce words correctly when reading aloud keep her from being an insufferable snob. Subscribe to the Podcast and get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast on Apple and / or Spotify. It would be great if you could rate and review too - helps others find us. Tune in on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am. Vote on our next book We would really love you to vote on our next book! Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt Milkman by Anna Burns Books mentioned on today’s show We spoke about so many books on this show. Let us know what you think of them! This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You by Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry and other books by Fredrik Backman The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt Olive Kitteridge and other books by Elizabeth Strout A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason Fanfiction (we recommend Archive of Our Own (AO3)) Yellowface by R.F. Kuang The Wife's Tale: A Personal History by Aida Edemariam Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling by Emer McLysaght & Sarah Breen The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts No Friend but the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison by Behrouz Boochani Chocolat and Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris Beach Read by Emily Henry (Sarah said “Book Lovers” but this is the one she meant!) The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd Hamnet and other books by Maggie O’Farrell Prophet Song by Paul Lynch My Policeman by Bethan Roberts Windswept & Interesting by Billy Connolly Memoirs and biographies of Victoria Beckham, Britney Spears, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs and Diana, Princess of Wales Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner How to Be an Adult in Relationships: The Five Keys to Mindful Loving by David Richo Milkman by Anna Burns Books mentioned on today’s show We spoke about so many books on this show. Let us know what you think of them! This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You by Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry and other books by Fredrik Backman The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt Olive Kitteridge and other books by Elizabeth Strout A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason Fanfiction (we recommend Archive of Our Own (AO3)) Yellowface by R.F. Kuang The Wife's Tale: A Personal History by Aida Edemariam Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling by Emer McLysaght & Sarah Breen The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts No Friend but the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison by Behrouz Boochani Chocolat and Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris Beach Read by Emily Henry (Sarah said “Book Lovers” but this is the one she meant!) The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd Hamnet and other books by Maggie O’Farrell Prophet Song by Paul Lynch My Policeman by Bethan Roberts Windswept & Interesting by Billy Connolly Memoirs and biographies of Victoria Beckham, Britney Spears, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs and Diana, Princess of Wales Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner How to Be an Adult in Relationships: The Five Keys to Mindful Loving by David Richo Milkman by Anna Burns

Melody Funck, Zenia Dutta Roy and Elena Gromova brighten Lisa's studio with their artistic fashion stories. Melody Funck rose to fame in Luxembourg as 'la fille aux robes' with her social media sites, Instagram, TicTok and YouTube, during covid times. Since then, she has garnered more attention as one of the hosts of the Eurovision Luxembourg Final earlier this year. Melody's passion for stunning dresses is borne out each day as she frequently turns up to work in such attire. One might question how she can manage another job with the machine that is social media, and indeed Melody confesses it is hard. Social media requires hours of non-stop work daily. That has an effect on health and relationships, but Melody is blessed with continual support from family and friends. Zenia Dutta Roy clearly has an eye for an impressive lady as she worked with Melody 'before' her fame rose. Zenia is the founder of Les Sûtras, a brand which embodies art, home-made fabrics of India, textures and weaves in clothing and homeware. Zenia has talked openly about her own dark time in life, when trying to conceive a child, on this show, and she credits the work with the Indian artisans in helping her to refind herself. Les Sûtras is a place where models of all ages, sizes and ethnicities come together to let the fabrics shine. Zenia has created a community in Luxembourg with these beautiful garments, whilst always giving back to the Indian ladies who create them. Elena Gromova credits doing a stage of the Tour de France with her inspiration to know she could do hard things. Over the course of a couple of years, Elena gave up her finance work to create a couple of fashion brands, and Fashion Business Lab. Elena's work first came to my attention with No. Rainer during Luxembourg Fashion Week. These colourful patterns of rainwear with the double impact of having mini-matching versions of children made everyone smile as they sashayed down the runway. Through her work at Fashion Business Lab, Elena helps anyone achieve their fashion goals globally. Of all the days for there to be a studio malfunction this was the day and so there is no video this week - I'll just have to have them back!

Bias in LLMs, why the US is still great for start-ups, supercomputers, brain signals to combat cyber attacks, digital twins of ourselves, and the philosophy behind all of it. My guests this week range from a research institution, a super-computer provider, two start-ups and a philosopher. This lateral discussion echoes the need for interconnected conversation to develop AI and its end-use. Francesco Ferrero, Director of the IT for Innovative Services department at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), discusses the newly launched LIST AI Sandbox. This looks at 16 LLMs (large language models) and ranks them on their social or ethical biases including ageism, LGBTIQ+phobia, political bias, racism, religious bias, sexism and xenophobia. You can use this open source sandbox here: https://ai-sandbox.list.lu/ Arnaud Lambert is the CEO of LuxProvide which works on digital intelligence using Luxembourg’s supercomputer MeluXina. LuxProvide is part of a broader European Supercomputing initiative. LuxProvide, the University of Luxembourg and LuxInnovation jointly managing the Luxembourg National Competence Centre in High-Performance Computing (HPC). Their customer base is broad, as they encourage the use of HPC in data analytics and AI across industry, academia and public administrations. Emil Jimenez is Founder and CEO of MindBank AI. The idea was sparked by his daughter having a conversation with Siri. Emil decided to build a digital twin of himself so that he can live forever. Since then, it has grown to become a generative AI Personal Digital Twin, learning algorithms to duplicate your mind, optimise your mental health, personal development, and ultimately achieve immortality. Emil promotes the use of ‘Augmented’ rather than ‘Artificial’ Intelligence, to enhance our life from birth to death, and beyond. Nathaniel Rose is a neuro-technology researcher and the Co-Founder of Lymbic AI. This uses biometric brain signals to build authentication, to combat cyber attacks. We are likely to see more of these brain-computer interfaces as authentication exploits keep pace with technology. Nathaniel talks about the state of neurotech, and its potential in combating synthetic fraud and deep fakes. Both Emil and Nathaniel explain honestly why the US market is still great for start-ups. Rick Serrano is, amongst other things, a philosopher. He co-authored "Artificial Intelligence: the need for a human-centric approach". Rick talks about the framework we need to keep ethics at the centre of the AI momentum: consciousness, transparency, traceability, responsibility, training, IP and regulation. Subscribe to the Podcast and get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast on Apple and / or Spotify. It would be great if you could rate and review too - helps others find us. Tune in on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

Prof. Subi Rangan from INSEAD business school talks about the evolution of capitalism from an output to outcome economy. Prof Subi Rangan was invited to Luxembourg to make the keynote address to celebrate INSEAD Luxembourg Alumni’s 50th anniversary on Thursday 21 March, entitled “Expansion - Evolution - Engagement”. Philippe Osch, President of INSEAD Alumni Association in Luxembourg, hosted Subi ahead of their anniversary evening celebrations. Subi Rangan is Professor of Strategy and Management at INSEAD Business School in Fontainebleau Paris, and the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court Endowed Chair in Societal Progress. His educational background includes an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a PhD in political economy from Harvard. Subi’s research focusses on the evolution of capitalism; how all economic actors and enterprises can integrate for better performance and progress; and he is developing a curriculum to deepen competence and character of business students and executives. In 2013 Prof. Rangan initiated the Society for Progress, a fellowship of eminent philosophers, social scientists and business leaders ( www.societyforprogress.org) He also directs INSEAD’s top executive seminar AVIRA: Awareness, Vision, Imagination, Role and Action. In this conversation, we begin with a short history of capitalism. Below are some of the thoughts of Prof. Rangan discussed in this conversation. Subi speaks about the ‘iterations of capitalism’: to maximise wealth for oneself, for a company and for all. From subsistence economy to bartering; how the Protestant reformation allowed the pursuit of wealth; to the work of philosopher Adam Smith to enhance welfare for all, resulting in a better standard of living for all. This paradigm required a division of labour to increase productivity and drive specialisation. We were no longer self-sufficient. Institutional theory then grew with the notion of private property rights to incentivise people to create value and the patent industry. Communism did not have this incentive alignment - and therefore failed. This burgeoning innovation and the dedication of people meant that money was made through the sale of the surplus - profits. At the end of the 19th century we have, for the first time, formal economics with people like Pareto. Who should allocate resources? Then we move to Kenneth Arrow, the mind behind modern economics, on a spontaneous, decentralised system, which can work to produce more welfare more than command and control methods. This was so far an Anglo-Saxon idea. But in the 70s and 80s we had the Asian tigers - government having a less marked hand allowing the market to flourish. This gave rise, in the 1980s, to deregulation and liberalisation. The modern economy is self regulating, self-correcting and decentralised. If this doesn’t work by the invisible hand of markets, then the visible hard of regulation or government comes in. It has worked on a global scale, if the goal of the economy was to produce wealth. Absolute poverty has been reduced. However, what are the goals of the economy today? What is there beyond wealth? “More than income we are now looking at impact; more than performance we look for progress. There are new dreams for humanity. This is goal innovation.” Prof Rangan talks about the ‘Chronic dilemma of interdependence’ in our interconnected world. Jürgen Habermas, a 20th century German Philosopher talks about communicative rationality. In deciding what is good, we need to talk with one another. If we are born equal then we must practice communicative rationality. Subi calls it ‘consultative morality’. Language is the way in which we can regulate interdependence, and we certainly need it to be non-violent. Adam Smith had the same idea in the theory of moral dependence. Output to outcome economy We are moving from an output centred economy to an outcome centred economy. And here, who has the power? Prof. Rangan suggests the greater the power the greater you need to be engaged with your scope of expertise. We’ve had regulation of power now we need to educate power. Subi believes that education should be literacy, numeracy and decency; moral and social philosophy. Consumers, investors and employees now also assess companies. He believes we need a changing definition of success - to be rich and respected. Prof. Rangan also mentions a conversation he had with a Nigerian recently who spoke about redefining what a millionaire is - not someone who has a millionaire dollars but someone who has transformed the lives of a million people. MBA - Master of Better Alternatives Subi is wonderful at breaking down ideas into bullet points and alliterative headings in order to remember things. His talk for the INSEAD Alumni of Luxembourg Anniversary was entitled ‘Expansion - Evolution - Engagement - Education’. Through this, his main themes were: (1) Wealth and wellbeing (2) Evolution in the way we allocate resources and interact with one another (3) People and planet (4) we all need to Engage at the individual level in our choices based on information and our moral identity; interest beyond self-interest (5) Educate I hope you enjoy the wisdom of Subi and the mix of economics and social philosophy in this conversation. Please do get in touch with your own views and experiences.

President of CNAP, Alain Reuter, talks to us about how to obtain a pension in Luxembourg. Sasha discusses the week's news, and I wish you all a Happy St. Patrick's Day! Pensions are one of those parts of life-long planning which, due to the nature of our busy days, we don't always have time to think about or organise. Now if you happen to spend your entire working life in Luxembourg, and you're an employee (rather than an independent worker), again you have to think a little less about such issues. However, a lot of my audience is international with some time spent in Luxembourg, some coming, going and even returning. Again, a lot of these people will come with a partner who may not be working. And so the questions begin. What does one need to do to contribute to a 'pot' where, one day, they may be entitled to a Luxembourg pension? How do you add educational years (yes, that's a thing here)? How do you add child-rearing years? Alain Reuter and his team get such questions every day. Alain is President of the National Pension Insurance Office (Caisse nationale d'assurance pension - CNAP) and the Compensation Fund of the General Pension Scheme (Fonds de compensation commun au régime général de pension - FDC) since December 2020. At the moment, about 215,000 are retired (and receiving a pension) in Luxembourg, out of a population of about 650,000. This number has risen by 15% in the last five years. The total amount paid out is about 5.7 billion euros. Of this amount, about 4 billion euros is to people in Luxembourg and 1.7 billion to those now living abroad (in 111 different countries to be precise). The average age of retirement, currently, is 60.1. Pensions have been in the news for various reasons over the last few months. The most pertinent and, in my opinion, important reason is that there is not going to be enough money in the system to pay for future pensions. In fact, by 2042, the pension fund's reserves will be insufficient to cover expenditure. Ivaylo Markov, Managing Partner of Thales Capital puts it like this: "From 2027 we will be spending more than we earn, which will reduce the reserves, which will be depleted in barely 15 years... The current decade will see the number of beneficiaries grow by around 4% each year. This increase is explained by the IGSS as being due to a 'wave of new pensioners, mainly made up of immigrant and cross-border workers recruited from the 1990s onwards" This is a topic that needs further investigation and I will try to do a follow-up show with your questions. Please send any thoughts to [email protected] with the title 'Pensions - questions for Lisa Burke' Enjoy the show and have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day celebratory weekend!

Celebrating ladies of all ages, Lisa's guests explore experiences in their lives from the female perspective. Dear Ladies (and everyone else), Thank you so much for all of your emails when I made a call out for women of all generations to write in and share your stories with our audience at RTL Today. I am so grateful for your honesty and opening up of sensitive stories that touch a woman's life through the ages. In this show, my guests are: Ginevra Ortiz Laura Fagan Emily Amor Federica Maestri Shivani Sondhi Lilani Abeywickrama Elisabete (Lisy) Antunes Iryna Sagaidak Wei Hu Chai Bessie Fischer-Bohn Sasha Kehoe Viviane Harnois We cover so many topics from body image, and how very young girls are made to feel on this subject, to the tough transition through teenage years. Laura mentions the effects of an early abusive relationship and Emily talks about her experience with long covid. Shivani and Wei explain the importance of the work within a company to create space to develop company policy which ultimately helps everyone. Federica Maestri is a studying computer science at the University of Luxembourg and talks about the derth of females in this subject area. She is also the President of the Golden Z Club at the university which is part of Zonta Luxembourg - an organisation that advocates for women's rights. Lisy bravely opens up about the experience of abortion and the fight within us: the 'good-girl' versus the 'independent woman'. Iryna suffers from intense period pain to the point of hospitalisation in her earlier years. Through time, Iryna has now developed her own independent work and personal life to flow around the energy changes in her monthly hormonal cycle. Lilani has moved from the medical world into that of business and tells us some of the comments she received from potential male mentors. Bessie kindly joins us from Berlin once more and reflects on the conversations which have changed and those that need more work. She also echoes the worlds of Lilani. Sasha, as always helps to bring the thoughts of the guests together and also adds her own experiences as a young journalist. Viviane, now retired, reflects on a lifetime of working and living in different countries and how we also need to consider conversations with men, and points out that things will be sorted when we don't need an International Women's Day anymore. Subscribe to the Podcast and get in touch! You can subscribe to my podcast on Apple and Spotify. Please do rate and review too! Tune in on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

Cesar Gonzalez Fernandez tells us all about his mission to 'Clean Something for Nothing'. Bella DePaulo talks about the growing voice for those who choose to live a life on their own and flourish doing so. Social scientist Dr. Bella DePaulo is a leading expert on the Single Life, perhaps the leading expert. Her latest book, Single at Heart, has drawn attention from all corners of the world as people feel more able to talk about living a single life, by choice, and feeling utterly fulfilled. Currently an academic affiliate in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of California Santa Barbara, Bella’s work on the Single Life gained traction from her TEDx Talk which has now been viewed more than 1.7 million times. Dr. DePaulo’s written work includes the books ‘Singled Out’ and ‘How we live now’. ‘One is a whole number’ was the trigger which started this cascade of research. This line was written by an agony aunt to a letter from a lady who had lost her partner. The idea of course is that you are whole alone. Since then, Bella has also written about the discrimination that can be a part of a single person’s experience such as tax laws, but much more besides. When it comes to social events, it is now more acceptable to eat alone at restaurants but still, being single, can attach a negative stereotype. Bella is an advocate of building a great solo life, deep with fulfilling friendships, work and activities of one’s own choice without compromise. Dr. DePaulo is a clear example of how to flourish psychologically, career-wise and, most importantly, by being single as a choice, not in spite of being single. Clean Something for Nothing Cesar Gonzalez Fernandez and his partner Lester founded Clean Something For Nothing (CSFN) - a mobile app that connects people to clean the world, one bag of trash at a time. Since their launch in February 2022 their users have completed over 3700 cleanups in 64 countries resulting in over 750 tons of trash picked up to date. Cesar is also an EU Climate Pact ambassador and the Country leader in Luxembourg for the World Cleanup Day organization (WCD) The WCD is the biggest environmental mobilization worldwide and has officially received a recognition by the UN to include the date (20/09) in their official calendar from 2024 onwards. However, before WCD we can work closer to home. Cesar encourages us all to be part of the "lëtz clean your commune" campaign. Luxembourg Spring Cleanup, also known as the Grouss Botz, Naturbotz or Grouss Beschbotz will take place on 23 March and will be the perfect occassion to join a local cleanup and take action. Subscribe to the Podcast and get in touch! You can subscribe to my podcast on Apple and Spotify. Please do rate and review too! Tune in on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am. https://belladepaulo.com/ https://apollopublishers.com/index.php/single-at-heart/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyZysfafOAs https://cleansomethingfornothing.com/

Roland, Bessie and Urve have travelled from Berlin and Estonia to talk about their passion to develop the perfect working environments to allow people to thrive. Berlin Adlershof is Germany’s leading science & technology park. How do you plan such a layout, from historic buildings to new developments, and design their interior, to maximise personal happiness when working and high impact results? This is one of the questions at the heart of Roland Sillmann’s management. As CEO of WISTA Management, which looks after Berlin Adlershof, his quest is to attract and retain the best talent to tackle the great challenges of today. In this endeavour he is aided by Dr. Bessie Fischer-Bohn, Head of Human Resources. Bessie’s own career path is rather unusual. Having started with medical studies in her hometown of Berlin, she developed a deep interest in the psychological background to symptoms and illnesses, and then trained as a psychotherapist. Bessie went on to build a company, and was also a management consultant for a decade. Urve Liivak, from Tallinn, Estonia, is a former world-ranking gymnast (winning two silver medals in World Championships in Aesthetic Group Gymnastics). After suffering with her own depression and burn-out, Urve now designs interiors to maximise personal and team success. Roland believes that to ‘solve big challenges’ the working environment is key. At Adlershof they want to attract impact driven people and the best talent. Bessie, Roland and Urve have worked together to design an ambience where employees succeed: perform, cooperate and stay healthy. All of this work is also part of a research project with Humboldt University’s psychology department to see how working environments can continuously be improved. The designs include different zones such to inspire: concentrated work (calm offices for desk work) Discussions, meeting new people (the lounges) XR studio, 3D-Printer areas like a maker-space Relaxing ‘mind spa’ Movement with swings “In an anxiety-free organisation, interpersonal anxiety is minimised so that team performance is maximised.” Bessie talks about the need for psychological safety to allow for the best ideas to flourish, and the constant health of a team. This is a mix of great leadership plus the physical environment to fit the demand of talent. Bessie is also passionate about being a role model in all domains of her life. She does so as a female scientist and as a bisexual. Bessie instigated WISTA’s academy and also their diversity day. Please let us know about your own work environments - what’s done well and what could be improved. It’s always great to hear from you!

Bassam Aramin and Rami Elhanan became ‘brothers’ due to the most painful loss of their daughters at different times due to the intractable Israel and Palestine conflict. Bassam Aramin, Palestinian, and Rami Elhanan, Israeli, are members of The Parents Circle – Families Forum (PCFF), families whose lives have been upended due to tragedy. However, instead of giving into hate, each member has worked to understand and listen to the other side. They have become friends and advocate constantly for solidarity and peace in their land. Luxembourg hosts the Festival des Migrations this weekend, and will showcase the documentary film, ‘The Narrow Bridge’, written, directed and produced by Esther Takac in 2022. This film features the stories of Rami and Bassam, Meytal and Bushra who have all lost loved ones. Their hope, as a group of bereaved families, is to catalyse communities to stop the senseless killing on both sides. Bassam and Rami have been invited to Luxembourg once more by Martine Kleinberg, the President of Jewish Call for Peace. They were here previously in 2018. JCP a small association founded in 2021, to give Luxembourg a different Jewish voice on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to fight against anti-Semitic stereotypes and prejudices, especially when linked to the conflict in Israel-Palestine. The Parents Circle – Families Forum PCFF aims to lay a path towards a reconciliation process on how to live together in peace with equal respect for one another. My guests: Bassam Aramin lost his 10 years old daughter Abir on the 16th January 2007. She was killed by an Israeli border policemen in front of her school in Anata, East Jerusalem. Rami Elhanan is a 7th generation Jerusalemite. He lost his daughter Smadar on her first day of the school year in September 1997, aged just 14. Two Palestinian suicide bombers murdered 5 people that day, of which three were girls aged 14. Previous interviews You can listen to my poignant interivew with Dr. Izzeldine Abuelaish here from November 2020. Links event of 24th of February 2024 https://facebook.com/events/s/film-rencontre-the-narrow-brid/1396329117982253/? https://x.com/jewishcall/status/1747921713105436880?s=61&t=H8yz9ukJPnMhxa4qqo4_xQ https://www.instagram.com/p/C2PTuc9t78u/?igsh=MW9jenp6MHlnaG51MA== https://www.theparentscircle.org/en/pcff-home-page-en/ https://festivaldesmigrations.lu/ https://www.thenarrowbridge.com www.jcp.lu https://www.tiktok.com/@jewishcallforpeace">https://play.rtl.lu/shows/en/in-conversation-with-lisa-burke/episodes/n/1612726 Links event of 24th of February 2024 https://facebook.com/events/s/film-rencontre-the-narrow-brid/1396329117982253/? https://x.com/jewishcall/status/1747921713105436880?s=61&t=H8yz9ukJPnMhxa4qqo4_xQ https://www.instagram.com/p/C2PTuc9t78u/?igsh=MW9jenp6MHlnaG51MA== https://www.theparentscircle.org/en/pcff-home-page-en/ https://festivaldesmigrations.lu/ https://www.thenarrowbridge.com www.jcp.lu https://www.tiktok.com/@jewishcallforpeace

In the lead up to Rare Disease Day on 29th February, we talk about the mental health impact on the whole family and care-giving unit. Rare disease affects 350 million people worldwide, which is about 1 in 12 families. There are about 10,000 named rare diseases, but together they affect more people than cancer and AIDS combined. Diagnosis varies hugely but on average takes 5-7 years, during which time families live with chronic uncertainty. Children are disproportionately affected accounting for 75% of cases. Many of these won't live past their fifth birthday. And so, the load on a family with such a diagnosis, plus the long period of uncertainty waiting for a diagnosis, causes tremendous strain psychologically and financially too as often one parent has to become a full-time carer. This strain circles out from the patient to the caregiver to the medical professionals, and so there is a systemic ecosystem to address. On top of this, as many living in Luxembourg will already know, such care will require cross-border help, and with this the necessary connectedness of care can easily extinguish. Cristol Barrett O'Loughlin, given her own family's experience of rare disease, went on to found RareGivers, providing relief to the caregivers. Paige Rivard is now Co-CEO of RareGivers and is former CEO of Prader-Willi Syndrome Association USA. Paige's son Jake is living with two rare genetic disorders plus autism. Together, Cristol and Paige are working to develop the conversation around the chronic stress (CTSD, not PTSD) that caregivers face and offer them a community of relief. Simply being heard and understanding that this is really hard can help; knowing that there is a community who understands what you are going through and support you. https://www.raregivers.global/ Lara Bloom is President and CEO of The Ehlers-Danlos Society. She is also an Academic Affiliate Professor of Practice in Patient Engagement and Global Collaboration at Penn State College of Medicine, USA. Lara explains the mental shift necessary in life expectations with the news of a diagnosis. And still there is great hope in the community of rare disease. Even if the cures don't come as fast as families want, trying to find the greatest quality of life for the whole family is the most important. https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/ Matt Bolz-Johnson is the Mental Health Lead and Healthcare Advisor at Eurodis, Rare Disease Europe based in Cologne, Germany. This group is helping to try to cross boundaries in every way. Matt advocates for enhancing medical services to be more psychologically informed, to look at treatment from a person-centered way. You can listen to my interview with the Kavli Centre for Ethics, Science, and the Public at the University of Cambridge on gene editing here. https://today.rtl.lu/media/podcasts/a/2026490.html

Ambassador Bärtl talks about the upcoming visit of his President. Plus actor Catherine Elsen & director Sandy Artuso tell us about the power of Sarah Kane's work. Vladimír Bärtl, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, has lived in Luxembourg for four years. He and his family arrived at the start of Covid, but rather than allow this to hinder developing diplomatic relationships, Ambassador Bärtl linked the song nano-textile production industry of his homeland with LuxInnovation. As a pilot, Ambassador Bärtl and AMCHAM co-organised and flew a group of NATO Ambassadors to Spangdahlem, a nearby American airbase in Germany. It’s been a busy four years for Ambassador Bärtl. 2022 was the centenary of diplomatic relations with Luxembourg and the second half of the year saw the Czech Presidency of the EU. To celebrate these parallel programmes, Luxembourg inaugurated Václav Havel Street with both Prime Ministers present. At the end of February the President of the Czech Republic, Mr Petr Pavel, and his wife will visit Luxembourg, marking the first state visit with the new Luxembourg government. This visit will be accompanied by a business delegation with a focus on ICT, cybersecurity, space and defence, reflecting the geopolitical atmosphere in Europe right now. '4.48 Psychosis' by Sarah Kane “Remember the light and believe the light” 4.48 Psychosis is a one-woman play written by Sarah Kane (1971 - 1999). Despite her short life, ending in suicide, she is remembered as a powerful voice in contemporary British drama. Sarah suffered from severe depression and this work depicts some of her mental state in ‘virtuosic and precise use of language’. Some say that this piece was in effect her final goodbye. Sandy Artuso is the director and Catherine Elsen the actress in this show which you can see the show in Op Der Schmelz in Dudelange on 21 February. Subscribe to the Podcast and get in touch! You can subscribe to my podcast on Apple and Spotify. Please do rate and review too! Tune in on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

Ambassador Lambert & Anne Calteux explain some complexities of the European Commission / EU, and Artnit Day, Pedro Castilho & Tiara Ernzen represent the upcoming TEDx Youth event. From the start of this year, it is Belgium’s turn to hold the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the 13th time. Ambassador Thomas Lambert, Belgian Ambassador to Luxembourg, tells us more about this role, which switches between the 27 member states of the EU every six months. They work in a group of three, and this trio, working across an 18 month period includes Spain and Hungary. So it ran from Spain, now the baton has passed to Belgium, and it will end with Hungary before the next trio is formed. It’s not so easy to understand the complex machine that comprises the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council, not even for those who are part of the system. Anne Calteux, Head of the European Commission Representation in Luxembourg, gives us a brief explainer and emphasises why it’s so important to use our democratic right to vote in this year’s European Elections. Protect, Strengthen, Prepare The aims of Belgium’s common programme with Spain and Hungary are trifold: Protect, Strengthen, Prepare. Ambassador Lambert elaborates on the timely nature of each. We’ve just had the Val Duchesse Social Partners summit and he also explains the historic importance of this dialogue. Each Presidency is an opportunity for the spotlight to dance around the 27 member states. Consequently, there are more cultural events available to those in or visiting Belgium at the moment - a good place to travel for Carnival or Easter for instance. Anne Calteux’s work helps give a local Luxembourg link to the voice of the Europe. She helps amplify the messages of President Ursula von der Leyen, to develop a green, digital and geopolitical union. https://belgian-presidency.consilium.europa.eu/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-lambert-334b474/ https://lu.linkedin.com/in/anne-calteux-714525b TEDx Kolléisch Youth Arnit Dey is the co-organiser of TEDx Kolléisch Youth. With him as guests are Pedro Castilho from Verbalius, a coaching expert on public speaking, and student speaker Tiara Ernzen. Tiara poignantly describes the way in which she uses slam poetry to develop the idea of ‘The Power Within’ - the theme of the event. Pedro explains that a resonant message is found when it is authentic to that person. You can book your tickets on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tedx-kolleisch-school-youth-tickets-778685357867?aff=ebdssbdestsearch https://www.tedxluxembourgcity.org/ https://lu.linkedin.com/in/arnit-dey-3b345226a

Education in an age of AI with the Director of ISL, Dr. D.J. Condon and Head of Technology Sherriden Masters Sasha Kehoe gives us a round-up of the week’s news, and we start close to home with this weekend’s Luxembourg Song Contest for Eurovision. Who will represent Luxembourg in Malmö in May? The eight finalists  will go head-to-head at Rockhal this Saturday. You can watch the live-stream here on RTL Today with English commentary and live ticker.  https://today.rtl.lu/culture/music/a/2161266.html Melissa Dalton and Sarah Tapp will be commenting on the English live-stream and this is how you can vote on the night. https://today.rtl.lu/culture/music/a/2161387.html So make sure to tune in, watch, listen and text in! https://today.rtl.lu/culture/music/a/2156921.html More entertainment news with the Oscar nominations, as Barbie is ‘snubbed’; it surprised many that neither Margot Robbie nor director Greta Gerwig were nominated.   In Luxembourg news we talk about the enormous difficulties faced by the construction industry here, plus the Begging Ban. Internationally, we continue to follow the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza with increasing levels of hunger leading to famine. Immigration bills are making headlines in the UK, France and Italy. And finally, Former President Donald Trump will has won the New Hampshire Republican primary. Education in the age of AI Dr. D.J. Condon joined the International School of Luxembourg as Director in August 2021. From graduating high school early in order to travel to Alaska where he lived in the bush homesteading, D.J. has taught right across the world. Deeply experienced as an English teacher, he started in Florida, then began his international teaching in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, then went east - Taipei, Taiwan; Yangon, Myanmar; Hong Kong; Kobe, Japan and Hawaii. Sherriden Masters is the Head of Technology at ISL and a biology teacher at heart. He is passionate about the capacity of technology to facilitate learner agency and impact, with a consistent focus on outcomes for students. He and his family have lived in Brunei, India, Germany and the UK. We discuss what progressive education means and the need to educate the whole child. Both D.J. and Sherriden talk about the benefits of experiences and how this develops the mind beyond ‘standard’ classroom education. All emphasis is placed on promoting student agency - allowing the student to think about new subjects or activities that would benefit the school or indeed the world more generally. As Sherriden puts it, he believes teachers are the ‘pit crew’ to develop the best students for life. www.islux.lu

With testimonies from MSF in Gaza, this show is dedicated to those who put humanity at the centre. Over 24,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of this war, catalysed by Hamas, between Israel and Palestine. 70% of these are women and children. Over 7,000 people are under rubble. About 2 million people, about 85% of the population, are forcibly displaced. And the atrocious statistics keep on building. In this conversation I talk to the Luxembourg Director of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors without Borders), Thomas Kauffmann. We also have testimony from MSF workers on the ground in Gaza. Naturally in a situation of this magnitude there are losses of the MSF workforce too, alongside other humanitarian workers. "Where is the international community?" Sari Sisalem, a Palestinian resident in Luxembourg, is an International Development Specialist who worked on peace building projects between Palestinians and Israelis with a focus on water, energy, food security and climate change. He talks deeply about what it is like for his family and friends who are living through this in Gaza, and how they feel ignored by the international community as this is allowed to continue. Nathalie Oberweis is a member of the board of Comité pour une Paix Juste au Proche-Orient for the last 14 years and talks about her constant commitment to working for peace in that region. They organise peaceful marches every Saturday in Luxembourg. Joining these guests is Emanuele Santi, co-founder and President of Afrilanthropy, a Luxembourg based charity incubating social innovations in Africa. Emanuele and his wife lived in Tunisia during the onset of the Arab Spring, and turned this first hand witness, undercover blog, into a book recounting the many heroes whose collective effort led to the Revolution. They saw, through this time, the power of the people when they rise together. The voices of the 'voiceless', so often assumed, can have impact. "Nearly a decade ago during these very days, Tunisia experienced one of the most exciting moments of the world’s recent history. A popular revolt uniting all members of the Tunisian society toppled a longstanding dictator and triggered a wave of restlessness across North Africa and the Middle East, starting a common quest for freedom and dignity that was later labeled the Arab Spring." You can buy the book, Fear No More: Voices of the Tunisian Revolution at a large online bookstore, or at Ernster in Luxembourg, to support local bookshops. Revenues from the book sale will be devoted entirely social projects the authors are supporting. Subscribe to the Podcast and get in touch! You can subscribe to my podcast on Apple and Spotify. Please do rate and review too! Tune in on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

Sasha, Steve and Lisa delve into a positive look towards 2024. Plus Catherine Wurth tells us about a competition for Social Entrepreneurs. And Patrizia Luchetta talks about an upcoming Art Endeavour. And Patrizia Luchetta talks about an upcoming Art Endeavour. As we step into the new year, Sasha Kehoe and Steve Miller chat about some positive news ahead for Luxembourg and more globally. As we step into the new year, Sasha Kehoe and Steve Miller chat about some positive news ahead for Luxembourg and more globally. 1. New Government and Promised Tax Cuts Luxembourg welcomes a new government bringing with it promises of major tax cuts. The economy is also set to recover somewhat in 2024. 2. Salary and Pension Increases The latest predictions indicate that salaries and pensions are set to increase by 2.5%, providing a boost to the standard of living for many residents. 3. Cross-Border Work Agreements with Germany Recent agreements between Germany and Luxembourg extend the flexibility for German workers. From January 1st, German workers can now work from home for 34 days a year, compared to the previous allowance of 19 days. 4. Tram Expansion to National Stadium Luxembourg's tram network is set to expand, reaching the National Stadium. Luxtram expects the completion of the southern section in 2024, with the final five stops along the Bonnevoie-Cloche d'Or stretch becoming operational throughout the year. 5. Sporting and Cultural Highlights Luxembourgers have a lot to look forward to in 2024, with potential participation in the final round of the European Football Championship in Germany and representation at the Olympic Games in Paris. And, after a 30-year hiatus, Luxembourg proudly makes its comeback to the Eurovision Song Contest, with the representative to be revealed on January 27. 6. Super Election Year 2024 will be a super election year: almost half of the world's population live in countries where elections will be held. A new president will be elected in around 30 countries and the composition of parliament in around 20 others. Luxembourg is braced for a super election year with social elections in May and a new European Parliament election in June. In the USA - will Trump be back? Russia - the opposition seems eliminated. India: Prime Minister Modi is the favourite European elections: a test for the right-wing populists Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg: AfD are currently ahead in the polls Will Mexico have its first female president? Iran will host its first election after mass protests, although many believe it won’t be democratic. A UK election is also set for October it seems. Will Labour win? To continue the positive theme, there are more women in national parliaments. Women occupy 27% of seats, double the number of 1990. 7. EU expansion? EU membership talks are set for Ukraine and Moldova. And the EU will be more accessible as better train links are opened up across the continent. 8. Positive Global Trends There are some uplifting global trends including: Lives are getting longer again (after a pandemic hiatus) with 73 the mean age now. World GDP per capita continues to rise: it’s now $17,500 (2022) compared to $10,000 in 1997. World inequality, although still acute, has lessened. 10% of people with the highest income have 55% of the total wealth. This is less than in 2000. 9. Medical Successes Malaria vaccines have arrived and already impacted positively infant mortality. Dementia cases have decreased by 30% in 15 years. New brain implants gave a voice to people who cannot speak through measuring the brain’s electrical signals and use AI to distinguish the patterns associated with each phoneme. Anti-obesity drugs made headlines with Ozempic and Wegovy which regulate satiety and achieve dramatic weight loss. They have also been shown to reduce the risk of heart failure and stroke. HIV drugs have prevented 21 million deaths since 1996. There are fewer suicides in the world. The suicide rate per 100,000 people has dropped 35% in 25 years. 10. A few final positives University students have doubled in 20 years. Some 39% of boys and 45% of girls of study age are enrolled in tertiary education. New emojis were released, including Sasha’s favourite - the jellyfish, and the shaking head. Generative artificial intelligence continues its amazing advances and will continue to be a story throughout 2024. Solar energy is growing exponentially. The world has doubled installed capacity in four years. We discovered that chatting makes us happy. If we rate our happiness as a 6 out of 10, after chatting with a friendly stranger, that number rises to 7. And the ozone layer will completely recover. Thirty-five years ago, the Montreal Protocol decreed the elimination of 96 chemical substances (aerosols and refrigerants) that were opening a hole in the barrier that protects us from ultraviolet radiation. It was a brilliant success. ESG in Action Catherine Wurth, the Head of Sustainability at BGL BNP Paribas since 2021, shares her insights into the significance of social entrepreneurship for banks and introduces the Act for Impact initiative. Catherine Wurth brings a wealth of experience in sustainable finance, microfinance, and social entrepreneurship. Having lived and worked in Paris, London, and Berlin, her global perspective informs her commitment to driving positive change. As a board member of Microlux, a Luxembourg microfinance institution, Catherine actively contributes to the sector's growth and impact. Act for Impact: A Holistic Approach to Social Entrepreneurship Launched in 2019, Act For Impact is a pioneering initiative that goes beyond traditional banking services. Social enterprises receive specialized support from advisors with relevant training and expertise from the BNP Paribas Group in Luxembourg. Moreover, Act For Impact provides free access to facilities in Kirchberg for events, meetings, and workshops, fostering a collaborative environment for social entrepreneurs to thrive. MyComForImpact: Amplifying Social Impact through Communication My Com For Impact is a competition in partnership with the communication agency Mikado. Open to all Luxembourgish social enterprises, this competition offers a unique opportunity for the winner to design a tailored communication/marketing campaign, accelerating their positive impact by gaining visibility. Catherine explains: "Social enterprises offer innovative solutions to solve social and environmental problems. In Luxembourg and beyond, the will to change consumption is present, but often these solutions are not well known. That's why we thought, here we can have an impact as a bank, offer our expertise together with Mikado, share the winners with our communities, employees, clients, etc” To be eligible to apply you need to be in existence for at least one year, have a strong social and environmental impact, and a steady growth in budget / turnover. The competition deadline is January 21st, with the award event scheduled for March 19th. The winner will receive substantial support, including a marketing and communication campaign, personalised coaching, and support from both BGL BNP Paribas and Mikado. Art Meets Activism: The ART of CHANGE Project Patrizia Luchetta, working with a range of artists is about to embark on an art-meets-ESG project, "The ART of CHANGE – creatives (on the) move.” She is joined in the studio by videographer Sobhan Naderi, founder of Naderi Production, and visual artist Mia Kinsch. The idea is to develop five documentaries in five different cities, showcasing women artists using their craft to raise awareness of the United Nations' sustainable development goals. Patrizia Luchetta, co-founded Charlotte in Red, a platform which amplifies the voices of female artists who use their creative work to support and raise awareness about the UN’s Agenda 2030. Initiating Dialogue through Art and Corporate Collaboration The heart of the project lies in initiating a dialogue between artists and the corporate world. Each city will host a round-table discussion between artists and business. Mia Kinsch talks about how she uses art to elaborate on her experience of being a woman, trying to use art to bring that understanding to the world at large. The documentary production will be handled by Naderi Production, and is a non-profit initiative, with fundraising efforts underway for the first Luxembourg-based documentary, serving as a pilot for the series. Connect with the Guests: Catherine Wurth: LinkedIn My Com For Impact | BGL BNP Paribas Mia Kinsch: Website Patrizia Luchetta: LinkedIn, Charlotte in Red Sobhan Naderi: As we step into the new year, Sasha Kehoe and Steve Miller chat about some positive news ahead for Luxembourg and more globally. 1. New Government and Promised Tax Cuts Luxembourg welcomes a new government bringing with it promises of major tax cuts. The economy is also set to recover somewhat in 2024. 2. Salary and Pension Increases The latest predictions indicate that salaries and pensions are set to increase by 2.5%, providing a boost to the standard of living for many residents. 3. Cross-Border Work Agreements with Germany Recent agreements between Germany and Luxembourg extend the flexibility for German workers. From January 1st, German workers can now work from home for 34 days a year, compared to the previous allowance of 19 days. 4. Tram Expansion to National Stadium Luxembourg's tram network is set to expand, reaching the National Stadium. Luxtram expects the completion of the southern section in 2024, with the final five stops along the Bonnevoie-Cloche d'Or stretch becoming operational throughout the year. 5. Super Election Year Luxembourg is braced for a super election year with social elections in May and a new European Parliament election in June. 6. Sporting and Cultural Highlights Luxembourgers have a lot to look forward to in 2024, with potential participation in the final round of the European Football Championship in Germany and representation at the Olympic Games in Paris. And, after a 30-year hiatus, Luxembourg proudly makes its comeback to the Eurovision Song Contest, with the representative to be revealed on January 27. 7. Super Election Year 2024 will be a super election year: almost half of the world's population live in countries where elections will be held. A new president will be elected in around 30 countries and the composition of parliament in around 20 others. In the USA - will Trump be back? Russia - the opposition seems eliminated. India: Prime Minister Modi is the favourite European elections: a test for the right-wing populists Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg: AfD are currently ahead in the polls Will Mexico have its first female president? Iran will host its first election after mass protests, although many believe it won’t be democratic. A UK election is also set for October it seems. Will Labour win? To continue the positive theme, there are more women in national parliaments. Women occupy 27% of seats, double the number of 1990. 8. EU expansion? EU membership talks are set for Ukraine and Moldova. And the EU will be more accessible as better train links are opened up across the continent. 9. Positive Global Trends There are some uplifting global trends including: Lives are getting longer again (after a pandemic hiatus) with 73 the mean age now. World GDP per capita continues to rise: it’s now $17,500 (2022) compared to $10,000 in 1997. World inequality, although still acute, has lessened. 10% of people with the highest income have 55% of the total wealth. This is less than in 2000. 10. Medical Successes Malaria vaccines have arrived and already impacted positively infant mortality. Dementia cases have decreased by 30% in 15 years. New brain implants gave a voice to people who cannot speak through measuring the brain’s electrical signals and use AI to distinguish the patterns associated with each phoneme. Anti-obesity drugs made headlines with Ozempic and Wegovy which regulate satiety and achieve dramatic weight loss. They have also been shown to reduce the risk of heart failure and stroke. HIV drugs have prevented 21 million deaths since 1996. There are fewer suicides in the world. The suicide rate per 100,000 people has dropped 35% in 25 years. 10. A few final positives University students have doubled in 20 years. Some 39% of boys and 45% of girls of study age are enrolled in tertiary education. New emojis were released, including Sasha’s favourite - the jellyfish, and the shaking head. Generative artificial intelligence continues its amazing advances and will continue to be a story throughout 2024. Solar energy is growing exponentially. The world has doubled installed capacity in four years. We discovered that chatting makes us happy. If we rate our happiness as a 6 out of 10, after chatting with a friendly stranger, that number rises to 7. And the ozone layer will completely recover. Thirty-five years ago, the Montreal Protocol decreed the elimination of 96 chemical substances (aerosols and refrigerants) that were opening a hole in the barrier that protects us from ultraviolet radiation. It was a brilliant success. ESG in Action Catherine Wurth, the Head of Sustainability at BGL BNP Paribas since 2021, shares her insights into the significance of social entrepreneurship for banks and introduces the Act for Impact initiative. Catherine Wurth brings a wealth of experience in sustainable finance, microfinance, and social entrepreneurship. Having lived and worked in Paris, London, and Berlin, her global perspective informs her commitment to driving positive change. As a board member of Microlux, a Luxembourg microfinance institution, Catherine actively contributes to the sector's growth and impact. Act for Impact: A Holistic Approach to Social Entrepreneurship Launched in 2019, Act For Impact is a pioneering initiative that goes beyond traditional banking services. Social enterprises receive specialized support from advisors with relevant training and expertise from the BNP Paribas Group in Luxembourg. Moreover, Act For Impact provides free access to facilities in Kirchberg for events, meetings, and workshops, fostering a collaborative environment for social entrepreneurs to thrive. MyComForImpact: Amplifying Social Impact through Communication My Com For Impact is a competition in partnership with the communication agency Mikado. Open to all Luxembourgish social enterprises, this competition offers a unique opportunity for the winner to design a tailored communication/marketing campaign, accelerating their positive impact by gaining visibility. Catherine explains: "Social enterprises offer innovative solutions to solve social and environmental problems. In Luxembourg and beyond, the will to change consumption is present, but often these solutions are not well known. That's why we thought, here we can have an impact as a bank, offer our expertise together with Mikado, share the winners with our communities, employees, clients, etc” To be eligible to apply you need to be in existence for at least one year, have a strong social and environmental impact, and a steady growth in budget / turnover. The competition deadline is January 21st, with the award event scheduled for March 19th. The winner will receive substantial support, including a marketing and communication campaign, personalised coaching, and support from both BGL BNP Paribas and Mikado. Art Meets Activism: The ART of CHANGE Project Patrizia Luchetta, working with a range of artists is about to embark on an art-meets-ESG project, "The ART of CHANGE – creatives (on the) move.” She is joined in the studio by videographer Sobhan Naderi, founder of Naderi Production, and visual artist Mia Kinsch. The idea is to develop five documentaries in five different cities, showcasing women artists using their craft to raise awareness of the United Nations' sustainable development goals. Patrizia Luchetta, co-founded Charlotte in Red, a platform which amplifies the voices of female artists who use their creative work to support and raise awareness about the UN’s Agenda 2030. Initiating Dialogue through Art and Corporate Collaboration The heart of the project lies in initiating a dialogue between artists and the corporate world. Each city will host a round-table discussion between artists and business. Mia Kinsch talks about how she uses art to elaborate on her experience of being a woman, trying to use art to bring that understanding to the world at large. The documentary production will be handled by Naderi Production, and is a non-profit initiative, with fundraising efforts underway for the first Luxembourg-based documentary, serving as a pilot for the series. Connect with the Guests: Catherine Wurth: LinkedIn My Com For Impact | BGL BNP Paribas Mia Kinsch: Website Patrizia Luchetta: LinkedIn, Charlotte in Red Sobhan Naderi: As we step into the new year, Sasha Kehoe and Steve Miller chat about some positive news ahead for Luxembourg and more globally. 1. New Government and Promised Tax Cuts Luxembourg welcomes a new government bringing with it promises of major tax cuts. The economy is also set to recover somewhat in 2024. 2. Salary and Pension Increases The latest predictions indicate that salaries and pensions are set to increase by 2.5%, providing a boost to the standard of living for many residents. 3. Cross-Border Work Agreements with Germany Recent agreements between Germany and Luxembourg extend the flexibility for German workers. From January 1st, German workers can now work from home for 34 days a year, compared to the previous allowance of 19 days. 4. Tram Expansion to National Stadium Luxembourg's tram network is set to expand, reaching the National Stadium. Luxtram expects the completion of the southern section in 2024, with the final five stops along the Bonnevoie-Cloche d'Or stretch becoming operational throughout the year. 5. Super Election Year Luxembourg is braced for a super election year with social elections in May and a new European Parliament election in June. 6. Sporting and Cultural Highlights Luxembourgers have a lot to look forward to in 2024, with potential participation in the final round of the European Football Championship in Germany and representation at the Olympic Games in Paris. And, after a 30-year hiatus, Luxembourg proudly makes its comeback to the Eurovision Song Contest, with the representative to be revealed on January 27. 7. Super Election Year 2024 will be a super election year: almost half of the world's population live in countries where elections will be held. A new president will be elected in around 30 countries and the composition of parliament in around 20 others. In the USA - will Trump be back? Russia - the opposition seems eliminated. India: Prime Minister Modi is the favourite European elections: a test for the right-wing populists Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg: AfD are currently ahead in the polls Will Mexico have its first female president? Iran will host its first election after mass protests, although many believe it won’t be democratic. A UK election is also set for October it seems. Will Labour win? To continue the positive theme, there are more women in national parliaments. Women occupy 27% of seats, double the number of 1990. 8. EU expansion? EU membership talks are set for Ukraine and Moldova. And the EU will be more accessible as better train links are opened up across the continent. 9. Positive Global Trends There are some uplifting global trends including: Lives are getting longer again (after a pandemic hiatus) with 73 the mean age now. World GDP per capita continues to rise: it’s now $17,500 (2022) compared to $10,000 in 1997. World inequality, although still acute, has lessened. 10% of people with the highest income have 55% of the total wealth. This is less than in 2000. 10. Medical Successes Malaria vaccines have arrived and already impacted positively infant mortality. Dementia cases have decreased by 30% in 15 years. New brain implants gave a voice to people who cannot speak through measuring the brain’s electrical signals and use AI to distinguish the patterns associated with each phoneme. Anti-obesity drugs made headlines with Ozempic and Wegovy which regulate satiety and achieve dramatic weight loss. They have also been shown to reduce the risk of heart failure and stroke. HIV drugs have prevented 21 million deaths since 1996. There are fewer suicides in the world. The suicide rate per 100,000 people has dropped 35% in 25 years. 10. A few final positives University students have doubled in 20 years. Some 39% of boys and 45% of girls of study age are enrolled in tertiary education. New emojis were released, including Sasha’s favourite - the jellyfish, and the shaking head. Generative artificial intelligence continues its amazing advances and will continue to be a story throughout 2024. Solar energy is growing exponentially. The world has doubled installed capacity in four years. We discovered that chatting makes us happy. If we rate our happiness as a 6 out of 10, after chatting with a friendly stranger, that number rises to 7. And the ozone layer will completely recover. Thirty-five years ago, the Montreal Protocol decreed the elimination of 96 chemical substances (aerosols and refrigerants) that were opening a hole in the barrier that protects us from ultraviolet radiation. It was a brilliant success. ESG in Action Catherine Wurth, the Head of Sustainability at BGL BNP Paribas since 2021, shares her insights into the significance of social entrepreneurship for banks and introduces the Act for Impact initiative. Catherine Wurth brings a wealth of experience in sustainable finance, microfinance, and social entrepreneurship. Having lived and worked in Paris, London, and Berlin, her global perspective informs her commitment to driving positive change. As a board member of Microlux, a Luxembourg microfinance institution, Catherine actively contributes to the sector's growth and impact. Act for Impact: A Holistic Approach to Social Entrepreneurship Launched in 2019, Act For Impact is a pioneering initiative that goes beyond traditional banking services. Social enterprises receive specialized support from advisors with relevant training and expertise from the BNP Paribas Group in Luxembourg. Moreover, Act For Impact provides free access to facilities in Kirchberg for events, meetings, and workshops, fostering a collaborative environment for social entrepreneurs to thrive. MyComForImpact: Amplifying Social Impact through Communication https://www.bgl.lu/en/csr/civic-responsibility/my-com-for-impact.html My Com For Impact is a competition in partnership with the communication agency Mikado. Open to all Luxembourgish social enterprises, this competition offers a unique opportunity for the winner to design a tailored communication/marketing campaign, accelerating their positive impact by gaining visibility. Catherine explains: "Social enterprises offer innovative solutions to solve social and environmental problems. In Luxembourg and beyond, the will to change consumption is present, but often these solutions are not well known. That's why we thought, here we can have an impact as a bank, offer our expertise together with Mikado, share the winners with our communities, employees, clients, etc” To be eligible to apply you need to be in existence for at least one year, have a strong social and environmental impact, and a steady growth in budget / turnover. The competition deadline is January 21st, with the award event scheduled for March 19th. The winner will receive substantial support, including a marketing and communication campaign, personalised coaching, and support from both BGL BNP Paribas and Mikado. Art Meets Activism: The ART of CHANGE Project Patrizia Luchetta, working with a range of artists is about to embark on an art-meets-ESG project, "The ART of CHANGE – creatives (on the) move.” She is joined in the studio by videographer Sobhan Naderi, founder of Naderi Production, and visual artist Mia Kinsch. The idea is to develop five documentaries in five different cities, showcasing women artists using their craft to raise awareness of the United Nations' sustainable development goals. Patrizia Luchetta, co-founded Charlotte in Red, a platform which amplifies the voices of female artists who use their creative work to support and raise awareness about the UN’s Agenda 2030. Initiating Dialogue through Art and Corporate Collaboration The heart of the project lies in initiating a dialogue between artists and the corporate world. Each city will host a round-table discussion between artists and business. Mia Kinsch talks about how she uses art to elaborate on her experience of being a woman, trying to use art to bring that understanding to the world at large. The documentary production will be handled by Naderi Production, and is a non-profit initiative, with fundraising efforts underway for the first Luxembourg-based documentary, serving as a pilot for the series. Connect with the Guests: Catherine Wurth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-wurth-91a84049/ My Com For Impact | BGL BNP Paribas https://www.bgl.lu/en/csr/civic-responsibility/my-com-for-impact.html Patrizia Luchetta: https://www.charlotteinred.com/ Mia Kinsch: https://www.miakinsch.com/ Sobhan Naderi: https://naderiproduction.com/about-naderi-productions/

Bringing the magic of Skerries to Luxembourg! Jean McDonald, Ambassador of Ireland to Luxembourg, arrived here at the end of August along with her husband Greg. The two met in Paris and have lived in Dublin and Geneva where Ambassador McDonald was Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN for Ireland. Since arriving in Luxembourg, Ambassador McDonald has been carried on a wave of Irish Community events, plus integrating into Luxembourg more generally. The vibrant Irish community here reminds her of her hometown of Skerries. This town, north of County Dublin, recently made headlines due to English anthropologist Daniel Miller, who spent almost a year and a half living there concluding “It is hard to find another currently existing society that is demonstrably better.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/02/has-irish-town-found-secret-the-good-life-skerries Ambassador McDonald sees the similarities with Luxembourg: “A sense of people proud of where they are from and giving back”. Indeed, we go on to talk about the Irish spirit of volunteering. Coincidentally, Ambassador McDonald was studying at Trinity College Dublin when Ambassador Ensch was also there, and she is now the Ambassador for Luxembourg in Ireland! Ambassador McDonald’s life as a diplomat is thanks to her father (RIP) who cut out an article in the Irish Times for recruitment to the department of Foreign Affairs. We talk about what advice she has for those who may want to follow this path in life. Ambassador Jean suggests you find people you'd like to emulate. “Those who seems the most effortless - they’ve done the most homework” If you want to discover more links between Ireland and Luxembourg, you can read about St. Willibrord. https://carlowcathedral.ie/our-parish/st-willibrord/ Ambassador McDonald also visited the University of Luxembourg which now has a Vacataire Lecturer in Irish Literature, Dr James Gallacher, which he developed No doubt in her tenure as Ambassador to Luxembourg, she will spread some Skerries magic amongst us. This interview was recorded at the start of December. Unfortunately due to a technical glitch the video format (on RTL Play) cuts off at 25 mins. You can listen to the full interview on Today Radio Saturday at 11am, Sunday at noon and Tuesday at 10am; or on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Subscribe to the Podcast and get in touch! Subscribe to the podcast on Apple and Spotify. Tune in on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

Patrick Peters, Conny Reichling, Serge Haan and Andy Genen are my guests for this Christmas weekend. Patrick Peters is an orthopaedic surgeon and also an explorer. As a natural progression from ice-climbing he finds polar exploration the perfect mental and physical reset, and carries out science experiments simultaneously. Dr. Peters was the first Luxembourger to the North Pole and the first to complete a full classic polar crossing. He set a record breaking expedition in 2008 coast to coast Greenland East to West; a full South North Greenland kite expedition in 2019, and had two scientific firsts during the The Explorers Club Flag expedition 2023. These expeditions, apart from being a physical test of resilience, it’s also an opportunity to develop a mental state of flow for Patrick. We go on to talk about the competitive environment that some workplaces can engender, and how damaging to one’s mental health this can be. Indeed Dr. Peters gave a TEDx talk in Luxembourg on this matter. If you have had any experience of mobbing in the workplace please get in touch and feel free to share your story anonymously. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-peters-md-phd-a4216663/ www.drpatrickpeters.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr Conny Reichling is the Director of the Fondation Follereau Luxembourg who support more than twenty different projects (health, education, protection and emergency) in eight African countries. Her latest mission took her to Benin in November to see the on-going projects development with the teams in situ. We discuss the movement of charity to cooperation and how the world is one living entity which requires us to live in solidarity. To find out more about the wonderful work carried out by FFL and donate to their projects, check out: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/fondationfollereau/ Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/ffl.lu LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/2769370/ Website : https://ffl.lu/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prof. Dr. Serge Haan is a professor of biological chemistry in the Department of Life Sciences and Medicine at the University of Luxembourg with a deep interest in communicating science to the public which led to his founding the DESCOM project. Andy Genen is an illustrator and comic book artist. Together they have developed “LUX:plorations – A Universe of Research” - a series of science comics published by the University of Luxembourg. These short stories are produced by doctoral candidates in collaboration with comic artists from Luxembourg. In this conversation we talk about the learning acquired by reading and developing a comic strip. Andy explains how a comic illustration forces us to think in the gaps between the pictures. You can find all the publications in five languages (English, French, Luxembourgish, German and Portuguese), in print as well as online. And they're looking for feedback! There are prizes to win if you answer the survey before 15th January 2024. You can win an individual comic portrait by Andy Genen, a comic book and free entrance tickets to the Luxembourg Science Centre. https://sciencecomics.uni.lu/ Feedback survey and lottery: https://sciencecomics.uni.lu/feedback/ https://descom.uni.lu Tune in on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

Do people want to live & work in Luxembourg? How do you stand out on LinkedIn? Just some of the questions we ask in this week's show. My guests this week cover a range of outlooks on the talent market in and needed in Luxembourg. Roger Krämer is Head of Innovation & Project Management at Spuerkess, where he has worked for 35 years. Christophe Regnault is Head of Marketing at the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology, the LHoFT, which cares passionately about connecting talent to industry, whether than be start-up or large-scale. Dr. James Mulli is the Academic Dean and Founder at the European Business Institute of Luxembourg. He has lived and worked all over the world, and is an expert in Blockchain and AI. James gives us some pertinent examples of how to educate competent employees of the future. Fanni Koncz is Head of Operations at Next Gate Tech. With a specialism in management and leadership, plus organisational development, Fanni has many years experience in different settings of how to build teams that work. Manuel De Vits is co-founder of Digital Pipl and, alongside telling us about how he approaches a talent search, he also gives us great insights into how we should set out our LinkedIn page; it seems to be an extremely important part of a talent search. Luxembourg is not necessarily an attractive place to live and work for certain professions. It turns out that some tech specialists can earn more in Poland or Ukraine (before the war), for example, than in Luxembourg. There are other comments: "The technology is too old", "The management style is antiquated". And so it goes on. Why should people move to Luxembourg? The talent hunters are selling Luxembourg as a good place for families. Would this be your experience? We'd love to hear from you. Roger Krämer from BCEE tells us that they have to work hard to find the right talent. A lot comes from internships. BCEE have to work hard to become more attractive to new talent. They also have to focus on upskilling current staff to develop the necessary profiles the bank requires to function. Retaining talent is another, new, issue this bank has not faced before. Fanni Koncz and Manuel De Vits are more used to seeing new talent and the requirements of a young work force. People want flexibility in their working environment. Younger people choose the company as much as the company chooses them. James Mulli discusses the way in which remote working is a clear possibility for the future. And so the circular issue for Luxembourg rears its head once more... how to attract talent to this country. In this discussion we have a focus on the financial sector, since that is the one which pays the most into the tax system of Luxembourg, but we would love to hear your experience. Do you think Luxembourg is worth moving to? What are the pros and cons? Get in touch via social media or directly with Lisa. Subscribe to the Podcast and get in touch! Subscribe to the podcast on Apple and Spotify. Tune in on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

Linking Luxembourg and Brazil through ARBED, and Riding the Rainbow. Connections build communities, trust and friendship. This week, both sets of guests show that links are global and humanity prevails. A Luxembourg Community in Brazil through ARBED Dr. Dominique Satana is a Luxembourg-Brazilian historian, screenwriter, director and trans-media storyteller. By chance, on a visit to Brazil, she came across the historical link between the city of João Monlevade, a city in Minas Gerais, and Luxembourg, due to its 'red earth'. As part of her Ph.D. research, Dominique dug into the personal histories of many families based both in João Monlevade and Esch-sur-Alzette, the steel-mining region of Luxembourg. You can watch her findings on her documentary project “A Colônia Luxemburguesa”. Through this work Dominique met many João Monlevade residents, including Nadja Lírio, a musician, producer and President-director of the Casa de Cultura Foundation. Nadja was part of a João Monlevade delegation visiting Luxembourg last week, one of a number of visits since the two towns have been twinned. Dominique's work has empowered local communities to revisit and reframe the importance of their own history and to help heritage education work. Dominique has also been made an honorary citizen of João Monlevade. Riding the Rainbow Emanuele Santi launched Riding the Rainbow, in Luxembourg, from his Covid sickbed. Since then the idea, which started as a bike-swap with refugees from his garage, has become a free app over dozens of countries. The idea is for everyone to be able to help refugees globally. The original idea was created to help distribute sport items for Ukrainian war refugees in Luxembourg. From this Emanuele met Alena Antyouk. She has a background in child development and was overjoyed to see her own childrens' reactions on receiving the bikes. It was a note of freedom after so much fear plus losing all ties to everything they owned. Riding the Rainbow promotes the circular economy and solidarity, connecting refugees and locals by redistributing pre-loved items. Make sure to download and use the app! Subscribe to the Podcast and get in touch! Subscribe to my podcast on Apple and Spotify. Tune in on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

Baroness Hale of Richmond is a pioneering female legal mind who became President of the Supreme Court in the U.K. Baroness Hale of Richmond was invited to give the Sir Winston Churchill Memorial Lecture by the British Luxembourg Society this week; only the second woman in its history to have done so, the first being Margaret Thatcher. Her talk was entitled “The Independence of the Judiciary and some of its Enemies”. Baroness Hale is, in the words of criminal barrister Gareth Weetman, ‘legal royalty’. Her fame grew beyond the world of legal minds when, as President of the Supreme Court, she had to deliver the verdict that Boris Johnson’s prorogation of parliament was “void and of no effect”. She did so whilst wearing a demure black dress adorned with a striking spider brooch. In this interview at RTL she wore her favourite brooch - two mating dragonflies. Lady Hale’s life story is now available in her book, Spider Woman. I highly suggest you listen to it in audible format, with Lady Hale herself as narrator. This highlights the sparkle and keen sense of intelligence in her voice. During this interview, we start with the ‘Spider’ story and move onto whether Lady Hale believes British Parliament is in favour of an independent judiciary, or whether she feels the Supreme Court justices are influenced by Government. We also mention Suella Braverman, as the Supreme Court very recently ruled her idea of sending refugees coming to the UK to Rwanda as unlawful. In Lady Hale's lifetime as an academic, Law Commissioner, High Court Judge, Lord Justice of Appeal, Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, and finally President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Lady Hale has effected great change in the legal rights of women, children and those with mental health issues, amongst much else. In this long discussion we have a glimpse into the life of an extremely agile mind that has developed British law for the benefit of a greater proportion of society. Lady Hale believes we need more basic education of the judiciary processes in school in order to understand how law is there for the benefit of society; how things link together. Her only daughter, Julia Hoggett, is CEO at the London Stock Exchange, and is another trailblazer in her own right. Lady Hale's late second-husband, Julian Farrand, had the wonderful piece of advice: "All I want is more than enough". Lady Hale is the middle of three daughters who all became Head Girl of their school in Yorkshire and the only ladies to marry 30 miles beyond their home village. Her parents were accomplished teachers and her father's sudden death aged just 49, when she was 13, developed a core of resilience and non-dependence on a man for income. Baroness Hale was accompanied by Sir Nicholas Forwood KC.

Culture this week with the biggest book fair in Luxembourg, plus we talk theatre with cast members. Walfer Bicherdeeg The Walferdange Book Fair has grown year on year, with an increasing English section. This year Black Fountain Press will be present with book launches, book signings, readings and general book-loving appreciation. Life - A Series of (Un)Eventful Events by Young Voices from Luxembourg is one such book, comprised of written works by winners and shortlisted authors of the Young Voices Writing Contest. Anne-Marie Reuter who runs Black Fountain Press tells us more. J.P. Gomez, winner of the 2022 National Literary Competition, will also showcase his book, The Idiot of St. Benedict and Other Stories; his first short story collection. Perhaps more famous for the satirical blog the Luxembourg Wurst, J.P. talks about his background, writing satire as a 'free and mostly harmless therapy'! He also describes writing as 'pure muscle memory'. Jessica Lentz Winner of the Young Voices Writing Contest 2023, Poetry Category, talks about her work through the female gaze. She uses women as a centre-point in her work to express both the existentialist and mundane aspects of our human experience. Jessica feels that creative expression, in all its forms, helps to glue people together in an ever-alienating, capitalistic society. Theatre Show - Mumm Séis In the week running up to Christmas, the Grand Théâtre will mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of Luxembourg’s most popular authors, Edmond de la Fontaine, commonly known as Dicks. His operetta work, Mumm Séis, is being reworked by Samuel Hamen and Jacques Schiltz. Samuel Hamen has written a modern story, it is being directed by Jacques Schiltz, with music by Ivan Boumans. Buy tickets here. Marie-Christiane Nishimwe, born in Rwanda and raised in Luxembourg, is a classically trained soprano tells us how it feels to return to the Luxembourg stage having performed all over Europe. Jules Werner, famous for so many other screen parts, will take on the form of the ghost! I particularly love the fact that he described himself as a 'Westend Wendy' in terms of his love of musical theatre! Subscribe to the Podcast and get in touch! Please subscribe to my podcast on Apple and Spotify. Tune in on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

'Breaking Barriers' was the theme. Listen to behind-the-scenes interviews with Lisa. Sagacious and sated. That's how we felt after an afternoon of TEDx talks at the Philharmonie last Saturday. Emile Studham spoke about getting the best out of your team, to "Catch the Good" in order to build trusting relationships. Effectively we need to balance six positives to one negative comment for this trust bank. Özgü Gümüstekin, at just 23 years old, explained how we can biologically increase our luck by noticing opportunities, using our intuition, leveraging epigenetics and building resilience. Martina Menichetti, who actually works at the Philharmonie, demonstrated how a song can be layered, like a cake, with her band Authentica. They played folk, salsa and ended with their latest release, 'Call of the Night'. Koen Maris explained, with amazing humour, the risks we face with increasing cyber security issues. We will get hacked at some point in our lives so "DO NOT open emails from people you don't know!" Marisha Naz showed us a devastatingly steep drop we need to attain in order to have some hope of abiding by climate change needs to keep the rising temperature down. It seems impossible. But then, she told us that it's the top 100 companies who can truly make a difference here. So, when we are asked within our organisations or at interview what we might like to ask them, she suggests "What are your emission goals?" Did you know that breakdancing is now an Olympic Sport? Diogo and the K+A Collective demonstrated their passion for dance as a career choice. Matthieu Bracchetti, an expert in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality told us about his fears as we move towards a world where our 'reality' will become more fused, more mixed in the coming years. Jonathan Prince told us about his career sidestep from aerospace in Toulouse to digital finance directly after 9/11. What's the future of money? It seems likely to be cashless. And the final talk of the day was Léa Linster, who's clear passion for food has always lived inside her. Fourth generation of a restaurant family, brought up in Frissange, she learned early on how to deal with clients and run a business. Léa even managed to feed us all (over 300) with her delicious madeleines! Dirk Daenen, the organiser, had the final word on why he believes public speaking is such an important skill to nurture in our education system.

Circu Li-ion return to talk about their growing success, plus Videobot co-founder Matias Mäenpää. After a review of the week's news with my colleague Sasha Kehoe, this week's show features two young companies: Circu Li-ion and Videobot. Circu Li-ion I first met Circu Li-ion co-founders in September 2022. In just over one year they have grown their team, secured seed funding of 8.5 million euros and deepened their business acumen through various prestigious acceleration programmes. Circu Li-ion's tagline is to maximise the value of each battery, securing the greatest potential from all the intrinsic components, which is good for the environment and also economical. Co-founders Antoine Welter and Dr. Xavier Kohll still have the same drive and ambition to do work that has purpose for the world we live in today. Their company aims to recycle, as successfully as possible, batteries and their components which, up until recently, were shredded after their initial life cycle. They have participated in acceleration programmes such as the Shell Startup Engine, NVIDIA, Intel Liftoff and NYU Frontier Labs. Recognition for their new technology has come in the form of accolades including the Startup World Cup Regionals, Top 10 Company Battery Value Chain at Energy Tech Challengers and Top Pitching Company at Raw Material Venture Forum. They also received a prestigious EIC grant. Circu Li-ion's goal is to recycle three billion batteries by 2035. They aim to develop the world's largest battery recycling database amongst other practices. The team is growing in Luxembourg, Berlin and Karlsruhe. Circu Li-ion are a terrific example of bringing deep tech from academia to commercialisation. Videobot Serial entrepreneur Matias Mäenpää is now working on his latest project: Videobot. A Luxembourg-Finnish SaaS start-up, Videobot aims to reshape the internet via video rather than text; to merge short videos and chatbots to deepen customer engagement. Founded in 2022 by Anssi Kiviranta and Matias Mäenpää, both with extensive digital growth and SaaS company experience, Videobot already has 200 customers in 15 countries. Videobot’s mission is to transform the way companies interact with their audiences, driving the evolution of online engagement via immersion where fully video-based websites are the norm. Listen on Today Radio or Podcast Listen on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am. Please subscribe to the podcast on Apple and Spotify. Listen on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

This week, Kristina Mikulova talks about Lebanon's current situation as it waits to see what Hezbollah will do next; André & Jjay talk about the creative process of Music Making; & Monique Kirsch tells us about the upcoming Science Festival. Lebanon's looking on Dr Kristina Mikulova is the Representative of the European Investment Bank to Lebanon, and has been recently forced to leave Lebanon due to its proximity to the Israel-Hamas war. During her time in Lebanon, Kristina could see the effects of a country battered by economic and social stressors, where the currency has lost over 90% of its value in the past few years. Currently, Lebanon has a three-month stock of supermarket supplies of water, food and basic necessities. Fuel reserves would only last twelve days at current levels, even if they continued to be delivered by sea. Lebanon has one accessible airport, both airports in neighbouring Syria have been bombed. Lebanon also shelters 2 million refugees from Syria. Lebanon has not had a President since 2019. It’s running on a care-taker government who don’t want to get dragged into this war and still, as Prime Minister Najib Makati said, they may have no choice. We talk about Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s chief, who issued his first statement on Friday since Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on 7 October. This statement came after we recorded this interview. In this, Nasrallah said that Hezbollah is prepared for all options and can resort to them at any time. He said that they are tying up Israeli forces along the Lebanese border to ease the burden on Hamas. Hezbollah has fired rockets across the border daily, mainly hitting military targets in northern Israel, but it has a substantial arsenal capable of hitting anywhere in Israel, over Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’. It seems that, for the time being, neither Hezbollah nor Israel want to increase the geography of this war. Dr Mikulova also spoke about the influence of Iran and how Nasrallah is one of a number of leading figures in the ‘axis of resistance’: a network of Iranian backed militia in several Arab countries. Producing Beats André Sevn is a music producer, co-founder and owner of Magestick, signed to Sony Music Publishing Group. He specialises in producing and selling beats online. Collaborators include artists such as Lil Durk, NLE Choppa, Apache, Sido, and Samra. He’s had particular success in Germany and the United States. Magestick specialises in hip hop, RnB and pop beats. André now focusses on building up up-coming artists and providing knowledge to songwriters, producers and the industry. Magestick has the biggest YouTube following in Luxembourg. https://magestickrecords.com https://instagram.com/andresevn https://instagram.com/magestickofficial https://youtube.com/magestickrecords Jjay is a new, up-coming artist in R&B music from Ettelbruck. Due to his Brazilian roots, he mixes afro and latino vibes to his R&B songs Jjay is preparing his first album with André Sevn, due to be launched next year. You can find his music here. https://open.spotify.com/intl-fr/artist/3xbt2MUk8ynDWw2pTGwf2R?si=63103882e8cb47fa https://www.instagram.com/iamjjayofficial Science Festival Monique Kirsch is Chargée d’étude dirigeante at the Natur Musée and has organised the Science Festival for 20 years. You can find out more about the Festival Programme here. And some of the events require (free) reservation here. https://live.eventtia.com/fr/sciencefestival23/Programm-2023 https://www.neimenster.lu/evenements/science-festival-2023/ Listen on Today Radio or Podcast Listen on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am. Please subscribe to the podcast on Apple and Spotify. Listen on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

Reverend David Usher shares his wisdom on how to become more spiritual, and Carlotta Minderhout tells us about the opening of Uniqlo in Luxembourg. Reverend David Usher has had an unusual path in life, which makes him all the more interesting. Born in Adelaide, Australia, he grew up as a Unitarian. Dropping out of his first stint at university to study architecture, he spent four years in the outback as a 'jackaroo', working on remote sheep and cattle stations. This was followed by 18 months travelling solo through New Zealand, the Pacific islands, Mexico, USA, Canada and the UK. And through these years the calling to become a minister kept returning. Perhaps having moved from trying architecture of buildings he became an architect of lives, gently scaffolding those who came into his circle of wisdom. By some fortuitous swerve of life, he ended up studying Philosophy & Theology at the University of Oxford, and then became a Doctor of Ministry from Andover Newton Theological Seminary, Boston, USA. Through his years of thought and lived experience he has written two books: 12 Steps to Spiritual Health https://www.amazon.com/Twelve-Steps-Spiritual-Health-David/dp/0853190836 Life Spirit https://www.amazon.com/Life-Spirit-Individuals-Exploring-Questions/dp/0853190852 Reverend Usher served as a minister in England and New Hampshire. He is now 'retired' living in California but actively involved in many organisations such as SURJ, Showing Up for Racial Justice. UNIQLO in Luxembourg There's been much excitement in Luxembourg this past week for those who like fashion. UNIQLO opened in Luxembourg, and its opening was marked with a fun party with Luxembourg influencers, including our own Emma. UNIQLO worked with local artists to create unique products for the Luxembourg market, such as Lynn Cosyn. Carlotta Minderhout, Head of Brand for UNIQLO Benelux came to the studio to tell us more about the concepts that Uniqlo abide by. They have a LifeWear Philosophy, and have built a RE.UNIQLO studio where people can bring their older clothes from the store to get repaired or revamped into something more modern. Listen on Today Radio or Podcast Listen on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am. Please subscribe to the podcast on Apple and Spotify. Listen on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am. Get in touch with Lisa here.

NASA invites us to look at the moon tonight as a global initiative. MyConnectivity Luxembourg helps us better connect. And Sasha Kehoe goes over the week's news. Observe the Moon Night - 21 October Julie Anne Fooshee joins me online from blustery Scotland to talk about International Observe the Moon Night with NASA. Now a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh in Science Communication and Public Engagement, Julie Anne has already spent over a decade working in the field, and was on the organising committee to celebrate the first ever International Observe the Moon Night back in 2009. From standing outside, taking a look towards the sky and noticing the moon, to attending or hosting an event, and joining a global livestream, the point is to come together with other lunar enthusiasts and gaze upon our near-Earth neighbour. The moon has spurred lunar science and exploration; some intensely challenging undertakings. But the moon is also celebrated in arts and culture. And NASA wants everyone to get involved at every level. The first step is simply to register with NASA, even as an individual observer. NASA will be collecting photos on Flickr; there’s a Facebook page and LiveStreams. Tonight happens to also be the peak visibility for the Orionid meteor shower from Halley's comet so it's a win-win, to be able to observe fragments left from this famous comet. moon.nasa.gov/observe https://www.flickr.com/groups/observethemoon2023 https://www.facebook.com/observethemoon/ https://moon.nasa.gov/observe-the-moon-night/participate/live-streams/ #ObserveTheMoon @NASAMoon">https://moon.nasa.gov/observe-the-moon-night/participate/connect/ moon.nasa.gov/observe https://www.flickr.com/groups/observethemoon2023 https://www.facebook.com/observethemoon/ https://moon.nasa.gov/observe-the-moon-night/participate/live-streams/ #ObserveTheMoon @NASAMoon MyConnectivity MyConnectivity is an initiative between the Ministry of Media, Connectivity and Digital Policy and LU-CIX (the Luxembourg Internet Exchange) and has been in existence since December 2021. Julien Larios is the Technical Director of MyConnectivity and Marc Lis is the Head of Marketing and Communication. There is also an Advisory Community It matters because connectivity is a key enabler for our increasingly digital society. Homes and businesses need to upgrade in order to be future-proof: limitless bandwidth, the switch from copper etc. We are moving into a world of AI and Smart Buildings. https://www.instagram.com/myconnectivity https://www.facebook.com/myconnectivity.gie https://www.linkedin.com/company/myconnectivity www.myconnectivity.lu Listen on Today Radio or Podcast Listen on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am. Please subscribe to the podcast on Apple and Spotify. Get in touch with Lisa here.

A busy show this week with six guests covering LUNEX University, LMDDC's creative educational work and Hanna from SciLux. LUNEX University Prof Marcus Müller and Valeria Maglia are two members of staff who bring unique experiences to their teaching at LUNEX, a university for sport, health and management. Marcus spent 20 years in the corporate world before moving into academia. His experience in business has shaped his research into leadership, and how one needs to blend our 'private' life with 'work' life. Marcus believes in the ABC for employees: Autonomy, Belonging and Competency. With these three targets met, one can develop a work-force with resilient well-being. Naturally, there is a clear link between feeling good and productivity. Valeria (Vivi) Maglia is the Placement Coordinator and Clinical educator at Lunex University. Her background includes 14 years as a physiotherapist manager on Humanitarian Missions in war-torn and developing countries. Vivi speaks of the experiences gained during this humanitarian work and the difficulties of working on intense medical needs whilst living in confinement with other expats you don't know so well; all living and working in close proximity with no freedom of movement. The stress of the working conditions, compounded by weather and cultural shock, make for an almost unimaginable working environment, one that few of us gain access to as students. For this reason Valeria is working to give her students the opportunity to work in countries such as Somalia, Afghanistan and Rwanda, so that they can learn skills a teacher can never create for them in Luxembourg. Luxembourg Media and Digital Design Centre Thibaud Latour, CEO of LMDDC, alongside his colleagues Györgyi (Gira) Szakmar (Multimedia Design Manager) and Michalis Spyropoulos (Project and Partnership Manager) talk about the Luxembourg Media and Digital Design Centre. The team have ample skills to create effective B2B relationships where companies need help to create educational tools digitally. The way in which we learn and continue to learn in life is changing faster than our textbooks can keep pace with. And so LMDDC is there to help companies realise these projects. SciLux Hanna Siemaszko, SciLux Podcast Host and Science Communicator has a deep fascination with science and wants to share that via her podcast and other forms of interaction with the public. On Museum Night, 14 October, Hanna will be talking to visitors about the Moon at the Museum of Natural History at 6pm and 10pm. SciLux Podcast starts season 4 on 17th October with a special episode about mentorship in academia. https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannasiemaszko/ https://scilux.buzzsprout.com/ Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/scilux/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sciluxpodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sci_lux https://www.aup.nl/en/book/9789048559053/the-abc-of-life https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-b-muller-phd-mba-72920b91/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/valeria-maglia-b8638842/ https://www.lmddc.lu/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/michalis-f-s-88b1884/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/thibaud-latour-b4163a4/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/gira/

It's election weekend: Guy Weber, News Director RTL, & Sasha Kehoe tell us more. Plus Elizabeth John reflects on founding the Scienteens Lab, now ten years old. Guy Weber has worked on so many elections in his time as a journalist and yet his energy is palpable, the excitement doesn't wane. Elections have that. A potential turning point for a country. Granted, even if things were to change politically for Luxembourg I'm not sure how much change one would actually feel as many of the parties have a center-ist feel. But this will be a close election for sure. Now as News Director at RTL, Guy will be in charge of all the coverage for the Luxembourg news. As we recorded this interview (Friday morning), construction work was underway in the RTL building to set things up for election night this Sunday, when all the politicians will arrive at some point late in the evening when the results are in. Myself and Sasha Kehoe will be bringing you the results as we hear them on Today Radio (also live-streamed), and as many guests as we can find for interviews in the studio during the course of the evening. Join us and text in with your ideas and comments as the night progresses on 621 52 5000. Scienteens Lab celebrates a decade Dr Elizabeth John, Team Leader and founder of the Scienteens Lab, managed to combine her love of research with education outreach by developing the Scienteens Lab, which is now celebrating ten years. In this time it has shown over 14,000 pupils what research means, with about 1000 workshops and 1500 teachers. Elizabeth is dedicated to giving young adults the opportunity to really feel what research means, in a proper lab environment. She is also deeply dedicated to promoting women and girls in science. Alongside many Scienteens academies and workshops, Elizabeth and her team now also give sustainability workshops to adults who, she finds, know so little about this topic and we live in a world where we really do need to have a working base knowledge of what sustainability means in our world today. You can find out much more about the Scienteens Lab on their website, facebook page and they have a YouTube playlist too. https://www.uni.lu/life-en/scienteens-lab/ https://www.facebook.com/ScienteensLab/

The lead candidate for CSV is the reason this election will be a very tight race. When I last interviewed Luc Frieden in September 2022, and actually titled the piece, 'The Leader that never was', I never thought I'd be interviewing him one year on for that precise role. Although it doesn't surprise me at all. Luc Frieden, for anyone who grew up in Luxembourg or has kept a keen on on politics here, has a deeply political background, having been the youngest member of the house when he was elected to the Chambre des Deputées in 1994. At just 34 years old he became Minister of Justice under Jean-Claude Juncker's government (also CSV). This points to his immaculate education in law at the Sorbonne, Cambridge and Harvard. Frieden served as Minister for the Treasury and Budget from 1998 to 2009, Minister of Defence 2004 - 2006 and Minister of Finance 2009 - 2013. And then he left politics in 2013 as the 'Gambia' coalition of DP, LSAP and Dei Gréng came to power (so-called Gambia due to the colour of the flag). In my last interview with Mr. Frieden there was no hint then that he wanted to return. It felt as though 2013 was his big chance and it ended so disappointingly for him that he needed a clean break from politics and even went to live and work in London for a while. So why the change of mind and heart? Well, apparently his party, CSV, went to him and asked him to return. They needed someone with his political brain and history with CSV to try again, to break the current coalition run. We'll see what happens in a week's time. Meanwhile, enjoy this interview, where we also have a look back at a few news stories with my colleague Steve Miller. Election Night I'll be hosting a live show on Today Radio from 8pm to midnight. You can watch the livestream from the studio too. Please do send in your questions on the night and keep us company as the results role in!

The Minister of Finance for the Luxembourg Government talks to Lisa Burke ahead of the upcoming elections on 8 October. Yuriko Backes grew up in Japan and spent her life before government as a career diplomat, before joining the coalition on 5 January 2022, following the resignation of Pierre Gramegna. In this conversation, we talk about Minister Backes' top priorities if elected. Naturally, they cover the usual spectrum of housing, taxes and climate change, to name but a few. However, given her time in office, Yuriko Backes can add weight to the conversation of a true long-term vision for what's needed for Luxembourg to remain a competitive economy and continue to attract talent. Minister Backes speaks of precise ideas she / the DP party have in order to help young people with housing, to work with the university here to hone the skills needed for 'talent made in Luxembourg'. A couple of passion points for Yuriko Backes are women in positions of leadership (especially within finance and politics) and the sustainability sector. She speaks of the need for diverse leadership, the tax incentives they have in mind for solar panels and move towards impact investment. Finally, Minister Backes tells us that there are many ways to get involved with political action in Luxembourg, even if we can't vote in the national elections.

Today's political interviewees come from the Pirate Party and The Greens, and join me with Sasha Kehoe from Today Radio. Sven Clement and Djuna Bernard were both the youngest people elected to parliament at different times. Sven possibly has the best website domain name in Luxembourg: sven.lu, and is highly active across all social media, including Tictok. In 2009, Sven co-founded the Pirate Party in Luxembourg and became its first President. Amongst other things he is a successful entrepreneur with the launch of taxx.lu with Jerry Weyer. Elected to the Chamber in 2018, Sven is highly committed to citizen participation, transparency in the Chamber and digitization. Djuna Bernard is co-president of the Green Party and has been a member of the Chamber of Deputies since December 2018. Djuna replaced Sam Tanson, when she became Housing and Culture Minister, making her the youngest deputy in the Chamber at 26 years old. As we talk through the way in which the election takes place, plus some news of the week with Sasha Kehoe, both Djuna and Sven give us their opinion with conviction, pointing to the 'disagreeing agreeably' method of discussion.

Minister of the Economy and Minister for Development Cooperation & Humanitarian Affairs for Luxembourg. Franz Fayot joined LSAP in 1994 and became its chairman in 2019. Before being elected, Minister Fayot was a barrister, appointed to Parliament in 2013 and 2018. In Parliament, Franz Fayot assumed the role of rapporteur for the draft budget for 2015 and focused on public finances, cultural policy, as well as on social justice and poverty issues. Following the cabinet reshuffle on 4 February 2020, Franz Fayot joined the coalition government and was appointed Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs and Minister of the Economy. Franz Fayot came from a very political family where his father was instrumental in his young thought processes on politics and how to fairly run a country. In this interview, we start by talking taxes. Franz Fayot sets out his own views, and that of LSAP, on the need for change to the tax bands, to make it more fair between single, married and widowed people, with or without children. He believes the very wealthiest should be taxed more on income but also on actual asset wealth. LSAP believes inheritance tax should remain as it is. Luxembourg's economy will be the focus of the ECO2050 conference next week: The ECO2050 strategic vision: a foresight tool in support of economic diversification There's an open invitation to all who are interested to attend on 26 September. Just register here: https://luxstrategie.gouvernement.lu/fr/evenements/3e-conference.html or here: https://my.weezevent.com/conference-luxembourg-strategie-2023 Naturally we talk about the housing issues in Luxembourg and LSAP's ideas around how to potentially help this. We also talk about who can vote and whether more residents might be able to vote in the future. Alongside the Ministry of the Economy, Franz Fayot is Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs. It is perhaps the work here which has had the deepest impact on him personally. Indeed, Minister Fayot is just back from the UN General Assembly where the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set out in 2015, and adopted by all member states, are far from being reached. Do let us know if you have any questions you would like to put to politicians As ever, you can find all the shows on Apple and Spotify! You can tune into Lisa's shows on RTL Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

Four Iranian emigrants talk about their homeland one year after the death of Masha Amini, and Laurent Uhres tells us about the inspiration behind his book. Iran - the situation one year on Masha Amini died on 16 September 2022, aged just 22 years, in the hands of the morality police in Tehran, Iran. Since then, there's been international coverage of the bravery of other women, and men, in the face of the morality police. Mass protests, crackdowns, women defying the defined dress code... things seem to have taken an immovable turn towards personal choice for women. My guests include Vahid Beheshti, an Iranian-born British independent journalist Human Rights Activist, and Director of DorrTV. He went on a 72 day hunger strike camping outside the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) to ask the UK government to proscribe the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) an international terrorist organization, now backed by 125 MPs. Shabnam Sabzehi is an Iranian-American activist living in Luxembourg since 2014. Shabnam left Iran aged just 17 and has not been able to return since. After Mahsa Amini’s death, Shabnam has been busy amplifying the voices of #WomanLifeFreedom movement. Shabnam is the co-founder of Iranian Diaspora Luxembourg. Nahid Mohammadi worked in the banking sector in Iran for 14 years and talks to us about that experience. She moved to Luxembourg in 2017 to pursue an MSc at the university here. Hooman Eslami brings us the Bahai perspective. His family faced discrimination due to their faith. Bahais are not allowed to study in official universities and so have founded their own, unofficial institution, BIHE University, despite government pressure to shut it down. In 2017, Hooman relocated to Luxembourg to pursue a master's degree, and now PhD at the University of Luxembourg. All of these guests are putting their own life and their families lives at risk in Iran by speaking out. "Creative Convergence" Laurent Uhres is a Luxembourger living in Poland. Throughout his life, Laurent has combined tech knowledge, innovation, education and music in a whole range of careers. This has culminated in his book, Creative Convergence, which delves into the connections between disciplines, demonstrating their interdependence and collective potential for innovation. By examining the fusion of art, science, engineering, and design, the book reveals how interdisciplinary collaboration can lead to remarkable breakthroughs and shape our world. The book presents a rich tapestry of inspiring examples and compelling stories of individuals and teams who have pushed the limits of human knowledge and creativity. The book was inspired by the "Abstract: The Art of Design" episode on Netflix about and with Neri Oxman. Neri introduces "The Krebs Cycle of Creativity," a concept based on the Krebs cycle in biochemistry. Her cycle provides insights into the interplay of science, engineering, design, and art. You can find his music here: https://www.instagram.com/laurentcomposer/

Matteo Ressa, CEO of ChefPassport, Monica Serban, economist turned screenwriter and Adelene Lai from Science Slam talk with Lisa Burke ChefPassport - Matteo Ressa From tech maven to culinary visionary, Matteo Ressa talks about his global cook-meets-tech start-up ChefPassport. Italian by origin, Matteo Ressa is CEO and co-founder of ChefPassport, which combines his cultural love of food with a background career working in digital innovation for companies such as Amazon, Vodafone and BMW. Matteo's vision is to create a global network of chefs who, virtually or in-real-life, create cooking experiences for individuals or teams of people. Matteo aims to develop a digital storytelling behind cooking, so that people can learn about other cultures and foods directly from the kitchens of those chefs. Covid helped to strengthen the idea that teams can bond, even virtually, with platforms such as ChefPassport. Currently there are about 10 million global users of virtual team-building platforms and this is set to grow 15% over the next 5 years. Given his own family’s dietary requirements, ranging from diabetic to coeliac disease, to a baby, Matteo is also developing AI to help families develop recipes to fit all a family’s needs. Environmental Comedy - Monica Serban Monica Serban, Romanian by origin, is an environmental economist turned screenwriter. After working with EU funded environmental projects for many years, such as biodiversity for the Natura 2000 network of protected areas, she pivoted to comedy screenwriting! In her homeland of Romania, Monica was instrumental in building the environmental portfolio for her country from scratch. She didn’t even have a desk to start with. Through this work, her passion for the environment has not wavered, but she feels that a new lens through comedy could help increase awareness in a novel way. Monica has always had a deep passion for writing. Aged 9 she won a competition with a poem entitled ‘The Glory of Communism’ (noting that this was her first foray into satire). During covid, Monica decided to move towards what she has always loved - the art of writing. After a few intense courses, she wrote the environmental sitcom ‘Ten to Midnight’. Monica’s pilot script won 6 international accolades, including Best TV series project in English language and is currently seeking a brave, forward-thinking producer to take it on. Science Slam - Adelene Lai Adelene Lai enjoyed her own participation in last year’s Science Slam (where she came second) that she has now joined the organisational team for this year’s event. This year marks the 8th edition of Science Slam and you can book tickets (just €5) to come, watch and support at Neimenster Abbey on Friday 15th September at 7pm. The event is an opportunity for the public to hear researchers talk about their work in a fun way and then vote for your favourite. SuperJhemp will be the star guest showing some cool experiments on stage and the main goal is for everyone to have fun and learn a little bit about a very diverse range of subjects. Tickets: https://www.neimenster.lu/en/events/science-slam/

Michelle Florendo, a decision engineer, talks about her craft. Plus, Today Radio's Sarah Tapp tells us about the ongoing situation in her homeland of Hawaii. The Craft of Decision-Making I've wanted to talk to Michelle Florendo ever since I read about her work as a decision engineer. There are many times in our lives, personal and professional, when we are faced with very difficult decisions. Most of us are not 'taught' at school how to make a good decision, and there there is a whole science behind how to best make decisions with the information you have available to you at the time, and the time in which that decision has to be made. Michelle Florendo is a Stanford-trained decision engineer and executive coach for Type-A professionals. She helps professionals make decisions with intention, from the big strategic macrodecisions about what direction to take an organization, to the small consistent microdecisions made over time that govern the day to day. Aside from talks and consultancy, Michelle also teaches a course on business decision making for Stanford Continuing Studies, helped redesign the decision making curriculum in Stanford's famous Designing Your Life courses, is a faculty coach for Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute, and hosts the podcast, Ask A Decision Engineer. For some of us, decision making can be hugely anxiety-inducing. Michelle explains that decision making is potentially harder than ever before as we are faced with so many decisions to make every day, and so many choices too. Coupled with that, depending on our personality type, decision making might literally make us feel paralysed. Perfectionists like to control outcomes, and naturally many choices in our lives have no known outcomes. We don’t know what lies the other side of certain choices. And so, what do we have to deal with? We have our objectives, some information, some ‘attractive’ options, and some ‘concerning’ ones. Michelle talks through some of the tools she uses to guide her clients. We grow up thinking we should just know how to decide but there’s a huge amount that can be learned from the field of decision analysis. Michelle advices to use the combination of head, heart and body - multiple sources of innate data available to us to make the best decision at that time, for us. We need to be careful of those who might want to influence our decisions, we need to feel empowered and understand the choice we have in all decisions for our lives. Once we accept that we will never have perfect information we can focus on building the necessary skills of deciding in the face of imperfect information. She is on a mission to teach people how to make decisions with less stress and more clarity. Podcast: https://askadecisionengineer.com LinkedIn: https://linekdin.com/in/michelleflorendo Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedecisiongeek X (Twitter): https://x.com/thedecisiongeek Hawaii - an on-going natural disaster My colleague Sarah Tapp is the host of The Hangover on Today Radio, every Sunday from 10 am to noon. Originally from Kona on the island of Hawaii, she went to high school in Lahaina, on the island of Maui, and she has close family and friends who were affected by the forest fires there. Sarah talks about why this is such an unprecedented disaster and how the community is coping with the aftermath. You can listen to Sarah's special edition of The Hangover with Hawaiian music here. https://play.rtl.lu/shows/en/the-hangover/episodes/r/2094133 The region still needs help and if you feel moved to do so, you can donate to these nonprofit organisations: Maui Strong Fund, https://www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/strengthening/maui-strong-fund Maui Food Bank, https://mauifoodbank.org/ Red Cross- Hawaii Wildfires Fund https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation.html/ Fundraiser for the Jerome family, owners of Lahaina Music and huge supporters of the Hawaiian music community is here. https://www.gofundme.com/f/jerome-ohana-rebuild-after-lahaina-wildfires As ever, you can find all the shows on Apple and Spotify! You can tune into Lisa's shows on RTL Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

Jean Cao, oenologist, is the special guest on today's show after a global news review with Sasha Kehoe. News Review After a few weeks away it's great to be back in the studio with a long-overdue look-back at the week's / the summer's news with Sasha Kehoe. And it's been a busy summer! Once more, the blond-one, whose name I won't mention here, has his mug-shot across most news feeds, and many more besides too. Our news review covers everything from the Prigozhin plane crash in Russia to the baby serial killer Lucy Letby in the UK. Wildfires seem to be another consistent summer story in recent years: Hawaii, of course, plus much of southern Europe. Did you watch the cable car rescue in Pakistan? Or the Spain - England World Cup Final? Back home to Luxembourg, the Schueberfouer begins again, and election season starts with some very young candidates indeed. Oenology with Jean Cao I had never heard of oenology until I met Jean Cao. Originally from Mexico, Jean trained as a chemical engineer focussing on organic and food chemistry at UDLA, and then specialising in fermentation and distillation processes. After some internships in the wine regions of Mexico, Jean moved to France to complete a Masters degree in viticulture-agronomy in Montpellier, followed by another Masters in oenology in Bordeaux. He is currently specialising in pedology and soil analysis. Jean has worked all over the world - Mexico, South Africa, US, and in the famous French wine-making regions of Saint-Emilion, Medoc-Pauillac, Châteauneuf du Pape and the Languedoc. Here in Luxembourg, Jean Cao is a consultant oenologist for the Independent winemakers professional organisation OPVI, Organisation Professionnelle des Vigerons Indépendants, since 2018. From optimal plant cultivation, all the way through to bottling, there are many moments where precision and expertise can help define the outcome for the best potential wines. Jean's role requires the discernment of latent potential inherent within specific vineyard plots, when precisely to harvest, ensuring the fermentation process goes smoothly, which wines to blend in which way, and finally the bottling process. These steps require the rigour of complex science and nature, plus the uncontrollable factors such as climate and weather. Perhaps the best word to sum up the art of his work is 'terroir'. As ever, you can find all the shows on Apple and Spotify! You can tune into Lisa's shows on RTL Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

Summer is a time when many of us take a holiday, change the scene, pause, breathe and reflect on the direction life is carrying us. Many people find themselves on a treadmill of life, having to provide for family or themselves, hand-cuffed to jobs that pay the bills but don’t fulfil them inwardly. And so, the role of a career or life coach is more sought after than ever before, as more of us seek to find contentment with our work. My guests are three such coaches. Dr Keith Amoss specialises in working with expats looking for a career change. Françoise Falisse is a life coach specialising in interculturality and the AEC Disc Colour Method. She launched her podcast, Women Abroad, in 2020. Lyndsay Whitby was born and raised in Zimbabwe, but immigrated to the UK when he was 22. After the same number of years working in the aircraft maintenance industry, he pivoted to becoming a life coach. Lyndsay works on more awareness and support for boys, fathers and men.We discuss what career or life coaching is and why it’s important to give time to thinking about our life’s direction and purpose. Keith Amoss explains why he doesn’t believe in a work / life ‘balance’ and provides tips to change if you feel unhappy at work. Keith believes that it’s never too late to change career. Françoise Falisse supports primarily women abroad, who face different challenges when thinking about identity, cultures and careers whilst moving around the world. Lyndsay Whitby believes he has grown naturally into his role as a mentor and coach for boys, teens and men. He feels that spirituality and our core values play a core role in how we develop as people, plus we need to be aligned with those values to prosper in ourselves and with others.

This week on the Lisa Burke Show, Lisa catches up with Alain Massen, Ulrik Møller and Nathalie Neiers. Parents groups in Education Alain Massen, President of the National Parents’ Representation in Luxembourg since 2020, and Ulrik Møller, President of the Parents Association International School Michel Lucius Primary School, join me to talk about the importance of the parents’ voice in the Luxembourg school system. Alain speaks of the need for a partnership between parents and teachers, how this dialogue can only improve the educational situation for all children living in and coming to Luxembourg. As a father of four, plus a practising psychotherapist, he knows the great benefits of communication to get the best results. Alain is also father to a child who attends a specialised school for children with hearing impairment. Mr. Massen talks about the requirement of parents to get involved in order to make the system better for the variety of children who live in Luxembourg. Ulrik Møller attended the European School in Luxembourg and, as a parent of three, is actively involved in the educational landscape of Luxembourg. Ulrik wants to increase the competitiveness of Luxembourg by fostering the best education for the next generation of our citizens of the world. Wine Culture Enjoy Nathalie Neiers from Visit Moselle talks to us about the upcoming Wine Culture Enjoy event. Nathalie describes the Moselle region and the on-going events to be enjoyed in that region throughout the year. The Moselle region of Luxembourg is highly valuable as a tourist attraction for Luxembourg, where the variety of cycling, hiking, camping, and enjoying the wine region can be enjoyed.

This week on the Lisa Burke Show, experts on AI and ChatGPT foresee a world where critical thinking will be king. AI, Chat GPT… the world of automation and replication of ‘easy’ tasks will continue to rise around us. This week my guests talk about the power of AI but also the continued and changing importance of our role as humans to negotiate with these tools. Martin Jonsson, editorial lead for RTL Today and deputy head of digital products, has been tasked with leading RTL Luxembourg's AI workgroup. Martin believes that AI will certainly take care of some current roles, and possibly even do them more efficiently (AI doesn’t sleep), but doesn’t believe we should worry about job losses. “My basic stance is that if generative AI (in particular) is properly implemented, it will free up time for more investigative and qualitative journalism - but it's nowhere near a place where it can fully or, in many cases, even partially replace humans.  It's a fantastic tool when placed in the right hands and given the right instruction, though.” AI will continue to saturate the market with content, and so human reporting could become even more valuable. We like a human connection with our information and we need to feel we can trust the source. Although, it is also possible to replicate the human face and voice even! Christoph Schommer has worked as Associate Professor of Artificial Intelligence in the Department of Computer Science at the Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine at the University of Luxembourg for over 20 years. He tells us how we think Chat GPT works, although no one (outside of the working team) really knows. These models are trained from pre-data sets and the internal processes follow some form of deep learning technique. They rely on prediction.Chat GPT doesn’t necessarily give the best answer, but the most probable, statistically. Bob Reuter is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Luxembourg in the field of learning and teaching sciences. He studied cognitive science and used machine learning as a research tool to better understand how the human mind works. Bob’s research focusses on the strategic integration of ICT in education alongside the socio-cultural changes in learning caused by the digital revolution. Bob talks about our current education system, which still requires the reproduction of knowledge. ‘Memorising has been futile for about 10 years’. Dr Reuter thinks that AI and Chat GPT are just another tool, like Wikipedia, which can be used to aid research and education. And indeed all the guests talk about it being a great aid and equaliser for students all over the world. Bob believes we should be like children and play with the tool. Frédéric Clavert, Assistant Professor in European contemporary history at the Centre for Contemporary and Digital History, University of Luxembourg, oriented his research towards the use of digital tools and technology by historians, how these technologies are changing the way historians are working. He is currently studying how generative AIs such as ChatGPT or Stable Diffusion deal with collective memory and the past. Frédéric reminds us that Chat GPT is generating primary sources which will is of interest to historians. We can analyse the negotiation a human enters into with the machine - there’s an art to formulating good prompts. And everyone agrees the role of the human will be more important in becoming a life-long learner, who knows how to think critically and analyse what information or sources can be trusted.

It takes courage to speak about racism in Luxembourg, but it exists, even in this multi-lingual, multi-national country. Damien Garot talks about his experience. Sportunity is actively working to integrate refugees and local people, founded by Eryn Zander. And Arca Properties is the latest entrepreneurial offering by Giacomo Trenz. In this week’s show I’m back with Sasha Kehoe to chat about the week’s news, from protests in France to Luxembourg Pride Week. My other guests are Damien Garot, Eryn Zander and Giacomo Trenz. Damien talks about his experiences of racism in Luxembourg. Eryn is the founder of Sportunity which fosters integration of refugees in Luxembourg through sport. Giacomo is an entrepreneur to tells us about his latest venture: Arca Properties. Racism in Luxembourg Damien Garot was born on an island in between Busan and Japan. Because of war, it was under American mandate and finally given to South Korea. All of this unrest meant that Damien was adopted in Belgium. He came to Luxembourg in 2000 and became a Luxembourg citizen in 2008. Despite this personal development and integration into his chosen homeland, Damien has faced racism through the years, some of which has deeply affected his life, and even his health. It takes courage to talk openly about these incidents and Damien is doing this so that others can come forward and tell their stories. So often they are internalised by the victim and never reported. Of the abusive attacks that are reported, very few are prosecuted. Damien gives us two examples. One was a drink-driver who chased Damien to a car park and damaged his car (€7000 worth of damage). Damien couldn’t get out of the car for fear of physical aggression. This was reported in early April but the police have not been able to follow up yet it seems. They didn’t treat it as a high priority as it was ‘just’ material damage, even though the aggressor threatened to find out where Damien lived with his number plate. The other example was when Damien became very ill in 2020. He was not admitted to hospital and through a series of medical errors he now has to take oxygen every day and his lungs are damaged. When finally in hospital one medical practitioner whispered to him that covid was due to ‘his country’ and that he shouldn’t be there. Damien is clear to highlight the good in Luxembourg and that these are a small minority of people, but even so, it’s not a decent way to live in a country such as Luxembourg. This country is so international that we need to integrate and enjoy one another’s company plus the range of knowledge we bring from other countries and cultures. Sportunity Eryn Zander is Founder and President, Sportunity, a not-for-profit organisation she founded in Luxembourg about 10 years ago. This independent charity organisation focusses on fostering integration of refugees with locals in Luxembourg’s society through sport. Sportunity provides refugees and migrants with free access to regular sports practice, as well as opportunities to build new lives in Luxembourg by creating strong bonds with the local community. Eryn is committed to bringing people together - crucial for integration and social cohesion. She emphasises the slight change of phrasing: replace ‘doing something for refugees’ with ‘doing something with refugees’. Collaboration is key to providing the impact Eryn envisages. She talks about the upcoming Talent Trek Camp this summer for refugee children aged 8-14: a 4-week entertainment programme built around intensive sports practice, cultural and artistic discoveries - and you can help and get involved! There is still an opportunity to suggest some new activities and get involved. You can get involved by emailing [email protected] Arca Properties Giacomo Trenz is Co-Founder & General Manager at Arca Properties. He comes from an entrepreneurial family, who own Bosso, a restaurant located in the old town of Luxembourg Grund. Giacomo’s latest venture is Arca Properties which he co-founded in 2019 with €200. In 2022 the revenue was €2.37 million. Giacomo and his business partner understood the difficult housing market of Luxembourg where businesses are constantly trying to attract international talent, but one of the stumbling blocks are places to live. Arca offer short-term serviced rentals, and currently manage a portfolio of over 80 serviced apartments. Corporate clients include Amazon and ArcelorMittal. They aim to make the transition to living and working in Luxembourg as convenient and homely as possible. We also talk about Giacomo’s interest in bio-hacking!

Job seeking? What ADEM can offer, plus MBA at Liège Luxembourg & IDCN for a new network. Plans for the weekend? Try Luxembourg Polo Club 10th Anniversary. This week I have a packed show! Ever walked past an 'ADEM' building and wondered what it is? Well, director Isabelle Schlesser, its director tells us all about this organisation which helps job seekers and also employers. Isabelle explains that unemployment is not as low as one might suspect in a country such as Luxembourg. About one third of job seekers are Luxembourgish, one third are Portuguese and one third are 'all the rest'. ADEM is open for registration to anyone with Luxembourg residency and they have great links to training resources such as languages and IT skills. Mario Della Schiava tells us about the seven agencies around the country and the advantages of being registered with ADEM. Inès Baer, Head of ADEM's Data Department, talks through the situation of the labour market, which jobs are most common and those that have the greatest shortages. ADEM have worked directly with the Digital Learning Hub to create precise training courses to fill the needs of Luxembourg's job market. Ageism in the job market does exists People aged 45+ find it harder to get jobs and language skills are also an issue, with French and English being the most asked for requirements on the Luxembourg market. Isabelle advises that the hopeful new legislation to come should help open up working opportunities to 'third-country' spouses. She also reminds employers that it's a legal obligation to register their job openings, which will produce a more transparent database from which Luxembourg can also learn where the gaps in the market are, and therefore address them. HEC Liège Luxembourg Pratiksha Misra is the Recruiting Manager at HEC Liège Luxembourg and talks about the course opportunities plus links with internships. Pascal Wiscour-Conter, a Luxembourger who spent the bulk of his career in the USA, returned just before COVID to get his Visa. However, lock-down meant he and his wife ended up 'stuck' here by chance. With this experience, Pascal felt what it is like to be an 'ex-pat' in Luxembourg. Pascal has brought his vast experience of working with start-ups, being an entrepreneur and writer himself, to teach the Strategic Communications course at HEC Liège Luxembourg, himself being an alumni of the business school in Liège. International Dual Career Network International Dual Career Network, or IDCN, is a global non-profit association of companies, NGOs and academic institutions, which works closely with the corporate members to make sure the dual career partners have a successful transition to provide them with networking and development opportunities in Luxembourg. Zehra Gozukara - the Partner President for IDCN Luxembourg talks about their links with companies such as Amazon, ArcelorMittal, British Chamber of Commerce, European Investment Bank, European Stability Mechanism, Ferrero, PwC,Vodafone, University of Luxembourg and HEC Liège Luxembourg. Zehra herself benefitted from linking with IDCN when she moved to Luxembourg as a trailing spouse. Polo Club Luxembourg Erick Lauro and Pablo Casero come to the studio laden with polo shirts and paraphernalia. Erick started polo aged 60 at his daughter's insistence. She is now herself one of the best polo players in the country aged just 16, competing all over Europe. Pablo Casero started polo aged 11 in his homeland Argentina and has travelled the world playing and teaching polo since the age of 18. Now with his own two children, aged 5 and 1, they are already on horses! Join Erick and Pablo at the 10 year anniversary of Polo Club Luxembourg's annual Summer Polo Rendez-Vous on 7, 8 and 9 July. It will be a weekend of polo, food, sublime entertainment and great company. You can tune into Lisa's shows on Today Radio Saturdays at 11am, Sundays at noon and Tuesdays at 10am.

Emilie Boland speaks openly about her period of depression as a model. Markus Payer and Anna Bordus from the Asteroid Foundation tell us about upcoming Asteroid Day. The pressures of Modelling Emilie Boland, of Dutch and Belgian roots raised in Luxembourg, started modelling aged 16. On entering Top Model Belgium in 2016 she reached the finals. And in 2020 she won Miss Luxembourg for the first time. Following this, Emilie focussed on actively engaging with charities including Kriibskrank Kanner, Stemm vun der Strooss and Cent Buttek. Emilie, unusually, won the title of Miss Luxembourg for a second time in 2021 and went on to represent Luxembourg in the Miss World competition in Puerto Rico for one month. After a short gap, she has gone on to found her own fashion label, Bogère: fashionable clothes at affordable prices. Looking in from the outside, as so many of us do with social media displaying the ‘perfect’ image of models, one might assume that Emilie’s life is marvellous - there could be nothing to feel sad about. But the pressures of needing to feel ‘perfect’ at all times, always on display, having one’s social media feed monitored by a team, travelling, negative feedback through tough castings… has an impact on the maturing mind. And so it was for Emilie. In this conversation, Emilie opens up about her path through depression, overdosing and how she overcame self-doubt with the support of a loving family and a purpose in her own fashion label. Through the openness that Emilie shares with the world, she hopes to help others who feel depressed and are finding it hard to get through that dark and lonely time. Asteroid Day Markus Payer, Chairman of the Board, and Anna Bordus, Programme Director for the Asteroid Foundation talk about everything that's lined up for Asteroid Day on 30 June, plus 1 July. Asteroid Day, 30 June, is a UN-recognised day when the world celebrates research done around Asteroids and why they are important. Markus is a passionate advocate for the importance of space and the importance of space for Luxembourg. Most of us know that an asteroid is the most likely cause for the extinction of dinosaurs, and therefore appreciate the science and engineering that is going into trying to deflect asteroids from near-Earth orbit. What is a little trickier to comprehend however is that asteroids can be mined for their precious resources. This is a minefield Luxembourg is particularly interested in, from both a space resource but also the legal aspects of this new frontier for mankind and our want to reach further than an atmosphere with oxygen allows. Anna Bordus has put together a strong set of two days of fun events for all the family in Luxembourg around Space and education in the space sector. You can find out about all the events here, held at Tramsschapp in Limpertsberg.

Ambassador of Belgium to Luxembourg, Thomas Lambert, talks about Luxembourg in 2050 - housing, transport, cross-border workers - all to be discussed in a seminar this week. Also, Belgium and Luxembourg sign a bi-national battalion. And do you know what lies under the North Sea? And the Luxembourg Tech School is open for registration! Look-back at the week’s news with Sasha Kehoe My show starts, as usual, with a look-back at the week’s news with Luxembourg’s Local Election results. We move onto a populist triumvirate of Trump, Boris and Berlusconi who all made headlines this week. Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to mishandling sensitive documents found at his home. Trump claimed “I have a busy life” as to why he had such documents in his home (some found in a shower). Boris Johnson resigned as an MP ahead of the findings of a parliamentary committee which concluded that he deliberately misled MPs about lockdown-breaking parties during the Covid pandemic. Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s former Prime Minister, died on 12 June and thousands attended his state funeral at Milan’s Duomo cathedral on Wednesday. Berlusconi was a controversial figure, making headlines in Trump-like fashion frequently unrelated to politics. He is survived by his 33-year-old girlfriend, Marta Fascina, two ex-wives and five children, some of whom help run his empire, recently estimated to be worth around $7 billion. The survival of four children in the Colombian jungle was a story of hope and courage, despite the loss of their mother after a plane crash. This week saw yet another tragic story of Libyan migrants crossing the Mediterranean in a boat that capsized off southern Greece. Many died, many are missing and the figures are still mounting. And finally, the legalisation of cannabis is due to be voted on this week in Luxembourg. We might be allowed to legally have four plants in our homes. Ambassador of Belgium to Luxembourg, Thomas Lambert Ambassador of Belgium to Luxembourg, Thomas Lambert, talks to us about his time working as Deputy Ambassador to the US in Washington DC, shaking hands with Obama whilst the latter was campaigning, and meeting Joe Biden. Ambassador Lambert has had many varied international diplomatic postings but this is his first time as an Ambassador. The Belgian community is integral to the functioning of the Luxembourg economy. Belgian nationals represent the fourth largest foreign community after Portuguese, French and Italians living in Luxembourg. And, of course, there are thousands who commute from Belgium daily to work in Luxembourg. The future of the Grand Duchy as we move towards 2050 may mean doubling its population and more than doubling the number of cross-border workers. This will increase the impact on neighbouring Belgium. And so how does one cope with this? The Belgian Embassy is organising a seminar on the issue at the Spuerkeess on Wednesday, bringing together experts and leaders to discuss common solutions. Naturally, housing and transport and two fundamental issues. There is a long standing relationship between Belgium and Luxembourg. And this week saw the signing of a bi-national Belgian-Luxembourg reconnaissance battalion. The core of the future battalion will be located in Arlon, Belgium, by 2030, with a branch in Diekirch and a second branch in Marche-en-Famenne. The battalion, with more than 700 personnel, will be equipped with various specialised reconnaissance vehicles capable of interoperating with the equipment of the CaMo (motorised capability) programme currently being acquired by the Belgian Defence. Belgium already has a decade-long, successful integration between the Belgian and Dutch navies. And so this is a continuation of Benelux countries combining to become stronger. Belgium recently organized a North Sea Summit and included Luxembourg in the discussions. Ambassador Lambert talks knowledgeably about the critical infrastructure we have lying on the seabed, along with the seabed itself. Disrupted data cables could cause a stock market to crash and inflict unimaginable damage to a financial centre such as Luxembourg. Luxembourg Tech School - registrations are open! Dr Anush Manukyan, a Team Leader at the Luxembourg Tech School tells us about the wonderful work done by her colleagues and the students. Registration is now open to join next academic year if you’re aged 12 and upwards. This is a free club run by experts in their field, aiming to develop Digital Future Leaders. Students get to work on projects, improve their English presentation skills, whilst learning valuable tech skills in a variety of settings, including many links to space.

The Diplomacy Lab at the University of Luxembourg has launched with terrific teachers. And the Cancer Foundation of Luxembourg wants a 'Generation Sans Tabac' by 2040. The Diplomacy Lab Diego Brasioli, Ambassador of Italy to Luxembourg, Professor Anna-Lena Högenauer and Masters student Bram Koers join me to chat about the newly launched Diplomacy Lab at the University of Luxembourg. The idea for a student forum on diplomacy came about and was modelled on the previous Forum on European Neighbourhood Policy. The Diplomacy Lab is run by students and taught by a variety of people including Ambassador Brasioli. As a career diplomat he has over forty years of global experience to relate to students. Ambassador Brasioli teaches 'contemporary diplomacy' and makes the joke that previously, a diplomat would mostly have to watch out for 'alcohol, protocol, cholesterol'. The activities include wide-ranging debate, conferences, lectures and publications, to deepen knowledge and propose solutions to the challenges of European and international politics. Future events will include Feminist Foreign Policy, Indigenous Diplomacy as a Critical Asset for the Achievement of an Effective Sustainable Development, The Impact of AI and New Technologies on Geopolitics and Space Diplomacy. Professor Högenauer is the Director of the Master in European Governance, and Professor in Political Science at the University of Luxembourg. She sees the Diplomacy Lab as the perfect adjunct to hone the skills of students alongside the masters' course. Bram Koers talks eloquently about the pertinence such a course can have in bringing about novel ideas and conversations which resonate with each student. A Tobacco Free Generation This is the aim of the Cancer Foundation of Luxembourg, as Public Health Professional Lex Schaul explains. Could there be a better cancer prevention than tobacco control. Lex says that perhaps the greatest strategy would be to increase the cost of cigarettes so much that the economics hurt more than the slow and painful decline smokers don't register day by day. Tobacco use in Luxembourg in 2022 is sobering, the country does not fair well compared to other European countries. And on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, 31 May, the Cancer Foundation announced the Commune Sans Tabac strategy. Let's hope it works and a new generation of children can grow up without the fog of smoke around them, affecting health in so many ways.

Yoga, Cider Day and Youth Camps in today's show with Lisa Burke, plus a look back at the week's news. My guests this week are Isabelle Thill, owner and teacher at Exhale Yoga; Carlo Hein, founder and president of the board at Ramborn Cider Company; Vicky Koster and Louisa Guarda who are National Junior Representatives of CISV. And, of course, Sasha Kehoe who gives us a reflection of the week's news. First Yoga Conference in Luxembourg I first met Isabelle Thill a few years ago when I was encouraged to try her yoga classes. Isabelle is someone you don't forget. She exudes zen, great beauty, poise and flexibility one could only hope to achieve in their lifetime. Since then, Isabelle has lived in South Africa, Paris during covid times, and has now returned to Luxembourg. Covid altered teaching conditions (and income) for many yoga teachers as people frequently take classes online now. As someone who has always travelled the world to discover new yoga styles and teachers, Isabelle is now bringing that expertise to Luxembourg. The first Yoga Conference in Luxembourg will be held on 15, 16 and 17 of September with much more besides yoga: music, meditation, lectures, massage, healthy lifestyle seminars and vegan cuisine. Ramborn celebrates World Cider Day Ramborn Cider company has developed award winning artisanal ciders from local apples, pears and even quince. The company is committed to working sustainably and to continuing the heritage that Luxembourg once had for cider-making. Carlo Hein and his family have been working in the sustainable construction sector and renewable energy sector since 1996 with their company Becolux. They built the first windfarm and first open solar park. Committed to good business practice, Ramborn Cider company is one of the first B Corps in Luxembourg too. World Cider Day will be celebrated on June 3rd and symbolises the start of the apple cider season. You can celebrate at Ramborn, where they'll have cider-making masterclasses, a DJ who will incorporate natural sounds and can also make cocktails, tours of the Cider Haff, food and fun for all the family. Naturally there will be cider tastings, plus the first 'Cider Pong' tournament in Luxembourg. CISV - a youth organisation to build global friendships Vicky Koster and Louisa Guarda joined CISV through word of mouth. Sadly, due to the decline during covid, the Luxembourg CISV chapter is at risk, and these young students came to tell us the great worth of this initiative. Have you got a gap in your summer plans and you're aged 11 upwards? Well then it's worth getting in touch with CISV to look at what they have on offer, not just for summer, but throughout the year. The idea is to connect people around the world and help develop great global citizens of the future. Their events are organised depending on age, from global villages to youth meetings, 'step up' and seminars. They provide amazing opportunities to travel too! Get in touch to see what's going on this summer.

This week on the Lisa Burke Show, Professor Valérie Schafer, Nathan Summers and Patrick Mischo discuss ChatGPT and AI more generally as it becomes part of our life. OpenAI released an early demo of ChatGPT on November 30, 2022, and since then this chatbot has infiltrated conversation across many domains. Top of the list, perhaps, was education, and so I turned to the University of Luxembourg to tell me who is working on how to figure out how to deal with Chat GPT at this level. Professor Valérie Schafer is a Professor in Contemporary History at the C²DH (Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History) at the university. Her main research interests are the history of the Internet and the Web, digital cultures and infrastructures, and born-digital heritage (especially Web archives). My other guests are Nathan Summers and Patrick Mischo. Nathan is an AI Research Analyst working for the Luxembourg Tech School. His work primarily focuses on ethical dilemmas associated with real-world application of AI systems. Patrick Mischo is the Office Senior Partner of Allen & Overy in Luxembourg. He talks about 'Harvey' - Open AI’s GPT for for lawyers. As we enter this new world, with Open AI such as Chat GPT, we need to become even more aware of the way in which it works, how we can use it for good, and what the pitfalls could be. Naturally, with education (and other work), universities need to think about plagiarism and fraud. How can one use Chat GPT in a creative and pedagogical way? How should one word and reword questions to get the best out of Chat GPT? Valérie explains that they use Chat GPT as a base, as a tool, with students and improve on one's answer from there. However, there is great risk of AI hallucinations, as Nathan Summers explains. AI systems can very confidently provide us with untrue information. There is also inherent bias. Despite Chat GPT being based on enormous amounts (but only with data up to 2021), this data is likely skewed as the internet has been used and populated with information predominantly in certain countries. It will become very important to constantly cross-reference any information given by Chat GPT. As it happens, the mechanism of AI systems is a black box - we don't really know the internal workings of these neural networks, especially in proprietary systems. This raises a different issue, once more, the power of big tech companies in our lives? Valérie reminds us that if the information is free, we are the product, and with that we need to be increasingly careful of what information we input. This is especially true, and precarious for young people. When it comes to delegating small tasks or generative roles, AI will definitely change the job market. Patrick Mischo talks about the use of Harvey within their work as a law firm. However, AI systems cannot be held legally liable for damages. As with education, in the legal field it is necessary to develop a critical eye to spot any potential inaccuracies. We'd love to hear your thoughts on how Chat GPT is changing your work or life. Are you worried about your job? Do you think it's a wonderful addition to the tech world we co-habit?

Want to up-skill to become tech ready for the job market? DLH is the place. Plus, applications for the Take Off Show are open for youngsters! The Digital Learning Hub is about to celebrate its first birthday on 16 May. Dr. Serge Linkels, manager of DHL, talks to us about the ideas behind its creation. Working closely with ADEM and industry, they found out that about one quarter of the jobs on the market today require IT skills and currently people resident in Luxembourg cannot fill those posts. And so it was crucial to train and re-train those in the job market, or wanting to enter the job market. Jenna Pütz, Communication Officer at DHL, talks about the various courses on offer, from beginner courses to high-end coding. They work with terrific partners to offer training in coding, cybersecurity, blockchain, design thinking and have just added AI / Chat GPT. They have a small team which works with AI and analyses the jobs across the EU and those which are most sought after in Luxembourg. Training requirements are matched to the needs of the job market. DHL is based in Esch, Belval and the courses are open to anyone over 18. For students or those in the public sector, training is free. Many companies also cover the costs. For others, the cost is kept low. Take Off - Science Challenge Show! The Take Off Science Challenge Show is now open for entry - be quick, as the closing date is 21 May! Open to anyone aged between 15 and 21, this science show is jointly produced by FNR and the André Losch Foundation. Mr. Science himself, Joseph Rodesch, will be one of the co-presenters on the Science Show along with Lucie Zeches and Olivier Catani. Be sure to check filming dates as the final 12 will be filmed in August. This will be the biggest show production ever attempted in Luxembourg. Léa Merino talks to us about the role the André Losch Foundation plays as education is one of their main pillars. You'll be able to watch the whole show on RTL. Plus, languages are no barrier - applications are open to those who speak English, Luxembourgish, French and German.

This week on the Lisa Burke Show, Ambassador Fleur Thomas, Dr Christian Barkei and Louise Benjamin talk about celebrations for King Charles III's coronation today in Luxembourg. Prof Marcus Hesse also joins us to speak about Luxembourg's enormous urban planning complexity. Ambassador Fleur Thomas, Dr Christian Barkei and Louise Benjamin talk about celebrations for King Charles III's coronation today in Luxembourg. Prof Marcus Hesse joins us to speak about Luxembourg's enormous urban planning complexity. Today is King Charles III's Coronation and there will be celebrations all over the world. Here in Luxembourg, St. George's International School will host the centre-point of celebrations as about 700 people gather to enjoy the day with live-screen TV, many organisations celebrating British fare. There will be plenty of food on offer including food from Ghana and other Commonwealth countries. Ambassador Fleur Thomas talks about accompanying the Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg to the airport as they made their way to London for the ceremony. Dr. Barkei, as host for the event, emphasises the pride St. George's has in this capacity. Louise Benjamin is out-going President of the British-Luxembourg Society, who will be one of the organisations present. This organisation is open for anyone to join. The Complexity of Luxembourg's Growth in Urban Planning My second topic of the day is less celebratory - how to plan for future growth of Luxembourg from an urban planning point of view. Prof. Marcus Hesse is Professor of Urban Studies at the University of Luxembourg, working there since 2008. He talks, very diplomatically, about the difficult issues Luxembourg has in terms of urban planning as Luxembourg continues to grow. Prof. Hesse's research team look at the development of Luxembourg as a small, but global, financial centre. There is a new 'spatial revolution' as it becomes a services-led urbanisation. Perhaps one, of many issues, is that we have an 'extraverted economy' and an 'introverted governance'. Prof. Hesse's message is really rather bleak. There seem to be no clear answers in how to manage Luxembourg's growth. As he says, it's a very complex issue, but he also advises politicians to think carefully about how to implement. Perhaps one of the most striking observations is that all of this research is done in Luxembourg, but it's very unclear if politicians or town planners take heed at all.

A packed agenda for this week's show with the Director of EHTL plus teachers, and what's coming up for the Summer Space Festival next weekend! The Hotel and Tourism School of Luxembourg, EHTL, is gaining an increasing reputation for success as it builds a portfolio of excellence in teaching. The director, Michel Lanners, talks about the philosophy of the school and its offerings to students aged 14 all the way up into adulthood and new career choices. Carlo Cravat, fourth generation of the Grand Hotel Cravat family, is one of the professionals who adds his experience to the teaching agenda. So too does David Edwards, who has worked all around the world in the restaurant and hotel business. As we talk, the widespread nature of what hospitality means becomes apparent. This genre includes all of the obvious contenders, plus restaurants in care homes or food on airplanes. The image of those who go into the hotel and restaurant business is not always of the highest calibre, but EHTL and its teaching staff underline their purpose - to produce managers, who have enormously versatile skills which can be transferred to so many different industries. David Edwards is particularly keen to talk about the strong business and finance part of the EHTL BTS, where compulsory internships are also a large part of the teaching curriculum. "They leave as students and return as adults." We all felt the importance of the horesca sector during Covid times, and EHTL is a centrepoint of excellence to train those in Luxembourg in this field. Summer Space Festival The third edition of the Summer Space Festival will take place for the first time ever in Luxembourg this year. On Friday 5 May at Abbaye de Neimënster there will be workshops for space professionals and students to talk about all the various careers available in the space industry, plus much more. Registration is required for the Friday event. Saturday 6 May is open to the public and will free to enter with loads of activities, including astronauts and even Jedis! (Did you know about the 'Academy of the Force' in Metz?! We end by chatting about food in space - did you know it tastes different?! And, as ever, that brings a union of conversation between both sets of guests this week!

Do you think it's possible to heal yourself? Metin Hara has worked hard to develop a set of esoteric skills combined with modern medicine to help us help ourselves. Metin Hara was born in Istanbul with a genetic blood coagulation disorder due to a factor 8 protein deficiency along with allergies to 1200 things! With so much sickness to contend with as a child and frequent hospitalisations, Metin decided to control his illnesses himself from the age of 12. A family friend guided his healing abilities from the age of 15. Metin has continued to add to his esoteric journey by exploring many other teachings, alongside becoming a physiotherapist at Istanbul University. This choice was deeply influenced by the physiotherapists who helped Metin's father walk again following a terrible car accident. Along the way, Metin also became a successful actor to fund his education, deemed Most Promising Actor in the International Ankara Film Festival in 2008 as one of the leading actors in the film “Listen to the Nay” released in 2007. This work, no doubt, helped his current work as a public speaker to cumulatively thousands of people. Nowadays, Hara mostly spends his time giving private sessions and seminars, and writing books. His first book, The Path, is the first of the Invasion of Love trilogy, sold more than 100,000 copies within three months and remained on bestseller lists for eight months. The second book, The Breath came out in October 2016, and in March 2018 his 3rd and 4th books were launched: Action For Goodness and Science For Goodness. For any life he touches, Metin plants a tree or adopts a dolphin. In April of 2021, Metin released Dandelion and the Wind, Turkey’s first interactive inner journey novel. If he were to have a mantra it would be, "Whatever you are doing, make the best of it".

In her show this week, Lisa talks about the latest trends for buyers and renters. Mortgage expert Quentin Gigovic tells us how to have hope for mortgage applications and durations. In her show this week, Lisa talk's through the latest trends for buyers and renters. Mortgage expert Quentin Gigovic tells us how to have hope for mortgage applications and durations. Housing prices in Luxembourg have dipped for the first time since 2008. This is, of course, in relation to the increase in mortgage rates. For many, it still doesn't feel like a good time to buy as the mortgage rate increase offsets the drop in prices. Plus, if people have savings tied up in funds or shares, on the whole they have also lost value. However, historically, mortgage rates around 4-5% are still good value. In this week's interview with Dr. Julien Licheron, researcher at LISER, Soufiane Saadi, CEO of atHomeGroup and senior mortgage broker Quentin Gigovic, they talk trends and how it can be a positive for some, especially buyers. AtHomeGroup have seen 1.2 million visitors to their site in one month. The appetite for housing has not decreased. And now, rather than having to make up your mind on the spot, people have time to visit properties and negotiate. Watch the show: If you want to learn more about the backstory to the Luxembourg housing market you can find my interview on this topic a couple of weeks ago.

Ermesinde is a secondary school with a different educational ethos. Here, some students and co-director talk about their lycée On my show this week, we start with a round-up of the week's news with Sasha Kehoe and then dive into education at Ermesinde. Lycée Ermesinde is based in Mersch, with its own educational philosophy. They have plenty of space, its set in nature, and there's even a boarding house. Philippe Demart, Directeur Adjoint, talks about how the school's approach is to discover a student's strengths, and allow the student autonomy to develop them through various 'entreprise' and personal projects. Student Vicky Koster explains a typical school day where there are a few shared lessons but plenty of time between lessons to work on one's own choice of project to pursue. The students get to run their own cafe, for example. Other entreprise include marketing ('Chelsea Studios'), sport, beauty, creative writing, motion studio, arts et métiers, nature and more. Students Ines Carvalho and Africa Lima explain their 'mémoire' or extended essay. This is a long-form piece of research that they work on throughout the school year. As with other lycées in Luxembourg, the students will finish with the Luxembourg Baccalaureate, but Philippe Demart doesn't believe the students need to dedicate the previous five years in the 'typical' mode of education to achieve that Bac. Indeed the school's mindset is to develop independence, teamwork through organisation of events, personal choice in all they do and the exploration of various workshops in order to define more clearly one's own strengths and inclinations for a working life. José Santos talks passionately about his fondness for the 'Dragons' entreprise, which is a sports club. For José, despite the distance from his home in the south of Luxembourg, there was no other school choice for him. This was it! José and Philippe talk about the entrance interview and application. Philippe suggests an early application if you want to increase your chance of entry success. He also explains that the interview, with student and parents, is about trying to discover what the student might want to pursue in later life, as far as they can know aged 11 or 12. If you want to apply to Ermesinde, apply early and ponder the question 'What can you do for the school? What can you bring to the school?'

Over three decades notated inside 62 little red diaries, now available as a book, are a great legacy to modern European history and to the art of note-keeping. David Harley first came to Luxembourg in 1975 as a translator, April Fool's Day as he fondly remembers. Through his life working within the European Union, he was Director of Press and Media, Spokesman of the President, Pat Cox (2002-2004), Secretary-General of the Socialist Group (2004-2007) and Deputy Secretary-General of the European Parliament, where he was responsible for overseeing the final adoption of EU legislation. Throughout this time, David kept a record of European history as he witnessed it, living through it as a man 'in the shadows', a humble 'bag carrier and note-taker'. Of course, he was infinitely more than this; his humbleness cannot mask his intelligence, but adds to it. It's no wonder people like John Hume used to visit him weekly, 4pm on Monday afternoons in his Strasbourg office to be precise, to 'fire off his frustrations'. David is a made to whom one could talk in confidence, knowing the right moves would be had, the right conversations would take place 'upstairs' on their behalf. David's diaries, now housed in the European University Institute in Florence, are dotted with anecdotes of leaders he's met: Blair, Schröder, Chirac, Berlusconi, to name but a few. He is interested in the contradictory nature of their characters. And his longevity to serve the European Union runs beyond many high-profile politicians, seeing the chain from one to the next, and how the trajectory of history waxes and wanes. David talks about how the EU staggers from crisis to crisis, and yet has had some golden periods which he witnessed: the introduction of the single market and the Euro. And through all the hard periods, the EU is 'characterised by resilience'. We talk about how the US views the EU, "The ignorance at the highest level of US politics of the EU is surprising." Whilst working at a consultancy in Brussels, David once hosted an American Ambassador in the EU for US-EU trade who observed: "In Palo Alto - the guys wake up and ask What am i going to innovate today? When people in Brussels wake up they say, What am I going to regulate today?" On meeting David, I reflect on the time I interviewed Jean-Claude Junker. Both have a link with history that we are losing if we're not careful to learn it and reflect on its teachings. More and more, our MEPs, those working in the EU institutions will be younger, without any connection to the reasons behind why the EU was created. For all the flaws one may find, as David says, "The cause is worth it." It's no wonder that in 2011, David Harley was awarded a CMG for services to international diplomacy by Queen Elisabeth II. Matters of Record - Inside European Politics - The Diaries of David Harley 1992-2010 can be purchased at Ernster in Luxembourg and also online. Get in touch! I would be so grateful if you would subscribe to the podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify! I'd love to know what shows you want more of, and what ideas or guests you enjoy so that I can tailor my show to suit your requests.

After a reflection of the week's news with Sasha, Lisa talks to CEO of atHome Group Soufiane Saadi, and Antoine Paccoud and Julien Licheron, researchers from LISER. As we recorded this show on 17 March, firstly, we wish you all Happy St. Patrick's Day! Secondly, 18 March is Sasha's birthday, so we all wish her a wonderful birthday weekend. And now to the week's reflection of the news. Sasha and I discuss St. Patrick's Day celebrations across Luxembourg and beyond. You can find out what's going on over the weekend with Comhaltas Luxembourg, the Irish Club of Luxembourg, Eirelux and The Black Stuff. The Gaelic Sports Club of Luxembourg is often featured on our 'sister' show, Letz Talk Sport. It's the 20 year anniversary on March 20th of the Iraq War. What have we learned since? The banking sector is going through the worst crisis since 2008 with Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Swisse making the news this week. Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg has downplayed a newspaper report suggesting his wife, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, had a verbal altercation with staff over a lack of support with her wardrobe. He said that the newspaper story which appeared in the Lezteburger Land was not 100% accurate and speculations were made. Food features in our chat as we discuss bad eating habits in Luxembourg! On the opposite side of things, we also discuss Michelin starred restaurants here. The latest version of the AI chatbot, GPT4 is out and it can give you recipes from photos of food! The Luxembourg Housing Market Perhaps the most talked about topic in Luxembourg - house prices. Today will be the first in a series of shows I will cover on what's happening to the housing market at this time, with interest rates rising. My guests are Soufiane Saadi, CEO of atHomeGroup; Antoine Paccoud and Julien Licheron, both researchers from LISER. There is so much to discuss when it comes to why the housing market is as it is here in Luxembourg that we just being in this episode. There will be two more in the coming two months and if you have any questions you would like to put to our guests please send them in! Soufiane talks about the trends they have seen on atHome.lu with prices, supply and demand for buyers, sellers and renters. Antoine talks passionately about the broader structure of the Luxembourg housing market, with specific focus on the ownership of land, construction companies, fiscal policies which have made it extremely attractive to invest in property, the lack of social housing, land tax (up to now it's been very cheap to hold onto land), inheritance tax and so much more. Julien discusses the changes observed since 2017 and the acceleration in the growth of housing prices before the recent stagnation over the last 9 months. We discuss rental issues and what we might expect medium to long term in order to get back on track. Please do subscribe to the podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify! I'd love to know what shows you want more of, and what ideas or guests you enjoy so that I can tailor my show to suit your requests.

Ville de Differdange has hopes to follow Brooklyn's path to being a city for artistic endeavour & the British & Irish Film Festival is upon us! Ville de Differdange has big ambitions: to become the 'Brooklyn of Luxembourg'. After being an industrial city historically, Max Felten is driving it forward to become a hub for artists and entrepreneurs. As City Manager and Chief Economist for Ville de Differdange, Max brings a wealth of his own experience to his dreams. Felten started life as an Investment Banker in New York, followed by moving into the fashion industry in London. He speaks with great honesty about his time in both cities and how he's working to revitalise the city he loves. Natalia Wrona and Céline Lacroix are two women who have benefitted from Ville de Luxembourg's help, now setting up their businesses in the city. Natalia is a make-up artist and photographer, and Céline is a baker who set up her business during covid. Check out their wonderful instagram pages! The British & Irish Film Festival Luxembourg season is about to start: 19 - 24 March. As always, Geoff Thompson has been scouring various film festivals across the isles of Ireland and Britain to find films and documentaries worth showing here in Luxembourg. This year there will be a spring and autumn festival. Geoff has found a sprinkling of films in Irish (with English subtitles) and actor Lorcan Crantich will be present to chat about three of the films he stars in. As ever, Sasha Kehoe brings us a reflection of the weeks' news.

Giorgio Bruins and Séverine Daniel have brought the Wim Hof method to Luxembourg. Dr. Mithu Storoni tells us how it works and why exercising our autonomous nervous system is good for us. How many of you extol the values of a cold shower, or even a swim in the sea / lake? Cold showering and swimming is all the rage these days and Wim Hof has something to do with it. Wim Hof, a.k.a. 'Iceman_Hof', had to deal with a sudden tragedy in his young adulthood when his wife committed suicide, leaving him with their four young children. Part of his recovery to cope was working with cold water. Now the story of Wim Hof has developed much further, and the science behind why his methods of breathing and cold water exposure have a positive effect on us is being properly explored by scientists and the medical profession. Giorgio Bruins and his wife Séverine Daniel went through their own dip in life, as we all do from time to time. Perhaps chronic stress, to which no medicine can truly cure it. After a birthday present 'Wim Hof' experience in Ireland, Giorgio felt something shift in his body and within weeks felt his energy return. Séverine also noticed a huge change in her heart rate, as her resting rate fell by 10 beats per minute. They went on to completely change their working lives and create B-You here in Luxembourg, giving a variety of sessions to help build mental resilience, physical resilience and increased immunity. I was given the opportunity to try out their course last weekend and since then I am doing my best to turn my showers to cold (with a deep exhale) at the end! *** IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT NO ONE SHOULD JUMP INTO A COLD LAKE OR SEA WITHOUT KNOWING HOW TO REGULATE YOUR BREATHING OR WITHOUT SUPERVISION UNTIL YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR OWN BODY *** Dr. Mithu Storoni is a Cambridge neuroscientist and eye surgeon who now spends her time researching huge amounts of scientific papers across a plethora of fields to build links between the research. It's so hard for even a physician to be across all medicine with the wealth of information out there that we need people like Mithu to help us navigate the mind in our information-laden, digital world. Her first book, Stress Proof (published by Penguin Random House, 2017), explored the spectrum of chronic stress from a multidimensional perspective. Mithu explains how we have developed our environment to be so regulated - generally warm rooms or cars, minimal movement throughout the day, that our autonomous nervous system doesn't have enough exercise to be in its best working condition. There is on-going research into how heat exposure (such as bikram yoga or saunas) and cold exposure can re-equilibrate a nervous system that is not quite balanced. This has links to auto-immune disease and general well-being. Mithu tells us how Charles Darwin, Florence Nightingale and Alfred, Lord Tennyson were all exponents of cold water showers for their health and recovery. Medicine, in recent years, has become reductionist. We need to be in our environment more to stimulate all of our senses. We also talk about the 'Blue Zones', brought to fame by Dan Buettner, where people live long lives for a variety of reasons. Some include the community element, the general need to move throughout the day, and good natural food. Dr. Storoni is currently working on her new book, Hyperefficient, to be published next year. As ever, Sasha Kehoe brings us a reflection of the week's news. This week we are delighted to celebrate the first birthday of RTL Today Radio! You can now find RTL Today radio on radioplayer.lu too.

Why is it important to register for the municipal elections? Minister Corinne Cahen, Serge Wilmes and Michèle Schilt tackle this question. On my show this week we dig into why it's important (nay - imperative) that we register to vote in our municipal elections. I'm joined by Minister Corinne Cahen, Minister for Family Affairs and Integrations, and Minister for the Greater Region; Serge Wilmes, first Alderman in Ville de Luxembourg; and Michèle Schilt, Deputy Director of the Zentrum fir politesch Bildung (Centre for Citizenship Education). Minister Cahen talks passionately about the I Can Vote campaign. She is doing all she can to raise awareness around why we should vote, and actually, it's mandatory in Luxembourg. The ministry has put huge effort into trying to educate citizens on how to vote, why it's important and what change it can effect. You can find out more on the Letz Vote site, Integration in Luxembourg, the official website on elections in general by the Government, statistics on elections and more information about the political system in Luxembourg. Serge Wilmes is young, vibrant and hugely energetic about working for the City of Luxembourg. He is full of ideas of how to improve a city he clearly loves and is very open to the international community who make up, by far, the people who live in the city. Michèle Schilt tells us about Super-Wal-Kiermes, a fairground stand that focuses on democratic principles, elections and the responsibilities of a municipality through fun and thought. So, as they all said, register to vote today and make your voice heard! You can find out more on these websites: Link to the campaign: www.icanvote.lu https://www.letzvote.lu/ https://integratioun.lu/electionscommunales2023/ elections.public.lu (official website on elections by the Government) www.cefis.lu (statistics about previous elections here: https://cefis.lu/serie-red/) www.zpb.lu (information about the political system in Luxembourg)

This week, Janet Alldis joins us to talk about her famous father, radio presenter Barry Alldis. Benny Brown describes the history of Radio Luxembourg and its importance. Janet Alldis is rightly proud of her father, Barry Alldis, who was a DJ on Radio Luxembourg 208. Unfortunately he died too young, very suddenly at 51 and it was only then than Janet saw the influence he had had on his listeners. The family were inundated with boxes of tributes. From then on, Janet has worked hard to keep the memory of her father alive; firstly publishing a book full of interviews, and now with a song, 'Under The Covers', which she wrote and is co-produced by Freddy Cannon. You can vote for the song on the Heritage Charts in the UK - please do so! The song is also available on Spotify. "Dad’s life was all about music and so I too had the urge to express my feelings and childhood memories into a song. It is my story," says Janet. Benny Brown has worked on radio in Luxembourg for so many years, one might think of him as 'the last man standing' in radio here. Born in San Francisco, Benny obtained his first job in radio as a teenager in Hawaii, by mowing the grass at the local radio station in return for "free" records! He's been enamored with radio all his life, and as a teen listened to lots of faraway radio stations late at night. Benny came to Europe after military service in Vietnam. He was on the air with AFN in Frankfurt, and then lured to Radio Luxembourg in 1979 by their Programme Director in London (Tony Prince.) At the time, Radio Luxembourg 208 was the world's most powerful commercial radio station, and Benny was working with their medium and short wave broadcasts, as well as with Luxembourg's 'Community Radio' every afternoon. Benny Brown was twice selected by Billboard Magazine as the 'International Radio Personality of the Year.' Later, while based in London, Benny worked with European syndicated radio programming. In the German language, Benny hosted the weekly 'American Top 40', which was the world's most-listened-to radio program. Benny was on the radio at RTL's Radio Letzebuerg from 8 to 11pm for eight years from 2008 thru 2015. And since 2015, he's regularly heard on Luxembourg's Radio 100,7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Alldis https://open.spotify.com/album/41lsEEToFMPXsacumu6rlj?si=hoeAbsCPRLG-yxpwERA9Tw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHyqvVUoFhE heritagechart.co.uk

"Innovate. Demonstrate. Elevate. Advance." says the UN as it launches its 8th year for Women in Science. To mark the day, in the lead up to Women's Day on 8 March, Research Luxembourg will release six videos following six female scientists in various stages of their life's work. Anyone who knows me knows I love science. And so it's a delight to host a show dedicated to the UN's eighth International Women and Girls in Science Day - 11th February. The theme this year is: "Innovate. Demonstrate. Elevate. Advance. I.D.E.A.: Bringing communities Forward for sustainable and equitable development" Why is it still important to have this conversation and shine a light on women in science? Well, there are many sets of statistics to show that women represent about a third of researchers, and yet only about 12% are members of national science academies. In AI, only one in five professionals are female. There's a pay gap for female researchers and their career's tend to be shorter, their work under-represented in high-profile journals and - for whatever reason - fewer women enter managerial positions in science and engineering. Research Luxembourg has collaborated with the Ministry for Equality (MEGA) for the second year running to release a set of six videos featuring six female scientists at various stages of their career. The theme is 'Be Brave - Women [& Girls] in Science and you can watch the trailer here. https://youtu.be/frIU2TrookA The goal of the campaign is to tell a variety of stories, and the many paths of women in science; to inspire and to give role models. You can see all the videos on the websites of Research Luxembourg and FNR over the course of the coming month up to 8 March, Women's Day. researchluxembourg.org/en/women-science-2023/ https://www.fnr.lu/womeninscience What is Research Luxembourg? Research Luxembourg is a joint initiative of the main actors in Luxembourg public research, with the support of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research: Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER), Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), University of Luxembourg, Luxinnovation and Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR). As equality of educational opportunity is one of the pillars of the national research and innovation strategy, gender equality is a central aim for developing a fair research environment in which all talents can foster excellence. Research Luxembourg is represented in our studio conversation by Marc Schiltz, CEO of FNR. This campaign features six women and two of them join me in the studio: Sallam Abualhaija,a research scientist working on AI with software engineering at the University of Luxembourg’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust, SnT; and Anne-Marie Hanff, a nurse now working towards her PhD with LIH to protect people with Parkinson's disease degenerating over time. I am also joined by Kristel Weinreich, Senior Recruitment Officer at LIST, and Carole Blond-Hanten, sociologist at LISER in the Labour Market Department. Please do subscribe to the podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify! I'd love to know what shows you want more of, and what ideas or guests you enjoy so that I can tailor my show to suit your requests.

The Kavli Centre for Ethics, Science, and the Public at the University of Cambridge bring science conversations to the citizen. Professor Anna Middleton, Dr. Richard Milne and Dr. Catherine Galloway talk to Lisa about their mission. Professor Anna Middleton, Dr. Richard Milne and Dr. Catherine Galloway talk to Lisa about their mission. The Kavli Centre for Ethics, Science, and the Public aims to foster global conversations on ethical issues related to frontier science; the type of science that can really impact our lives. To start with, they are tackling issues such as genetic editing, AI and Big Data. In September 2022, the centre's director, Professor Anna Middleton who herself is a genetic counsellor, convened the first ever Citizen's Jury in the UK on human genome editing, asking 21 people with 'rare' inherited conditions in their families to consider whether a UK government should ever consider changing the law and allow certain serious conditions to be 'edited out' of a person's family tree. The policy recommendations from that jury will be published later this month. Dr. Richard Milne, is taking the conversation global; trying to understand how different cultures, languages, populations deal with the same question. He aims to connect scientists and the consequences of their work with the public. Dr. Catherine Galloway, a journalist and writer, focuses on the creative translation of this work and innovating the message delivery. For instance, Catherine set up the Hopes and Fears Lab where scientists met 'real people' in a cardboard lab to chat about their work with emotions! In this discussion, we delve into what happened at the four day jury debate on the ethics around genome editing, the importance of words in our legislation, and how one quickly spirals into philosophical debate, as all of these discussions hinge on so many 'What if....' questions (Catherine's favourite question). The science is pushing boundaries every day - that's the nature of research. Is our general discussion keeping pace? What is our responsibility to take part in these discussions? For instance, we may not even know we carry a rare genetic disorder (one in twelve do), but if we did, would we want to pass it onto our children? Will our children be able to genetically modify their children? The answer is probably yes. Do you want to be part of that debate?

Lynda Shephard shares a life's work in art, its value in education and a happy life. Lidiya Cherneva explains various types of intelligence. Emma Baxley talks about doubly gifted children and how to help them. This week on The Lisa Burke Show, Sasha Kehoe reflects on the news week that was: - Chat GPT causes concern over future jobs. Will it mean creatives have to become more creative about their work? - Man died in stabbing incident at football pitch in Esch-sur-Alzette - Home working and cross-border rights under further discussion - Future of the Luxembourgish language? - Oscar nominations for Luxembourg - Vicky Kreips 'Corsage' film out of the running? - Man lost at sea for 28 days saved by sauce! - Julian Sands still missing in the Californian mountains. Art and Education Lynda Shephard has travelled the world post graduation from Cambridge in Art History and Education. She founded the Relative Art Centre in Dubai in 1994 and has held several solo international exhibitions as a professional watercolourist. Here we discuss the role of art in education and in our lives. In Ancient Greek times the role of education was to endeavour to live a life of harmony and happiness. Nowadays education can feel like a treadmill of trying to achieve higher grades in certain subjects, with a constant crush on artistic endeavours. Why is art important? Can it help us think more creatively? Lynda talks about the range of artistic jobs available today, and to think about learning business acumen alongside art to succeed in selling one's work. Turner was a canny businessman and Picasso was the first artist to become a millionaire whilst still alive! Art is also used hugely in therapy and was used as such by Winston Churchill and Paul McCartney. Different types of Intelligence Lidiya Cherneva moved from Bulgaria to Cyprus and then onto the UK where she graduated from the University of Oxford. She tells us the circuitous route to get there, in order to study design and implementation of evidence-based behavioural Interventions through the lifespan. Lidiya went on to study Cognitive Behaviour therapy, mindfulness and positive thinking, and is now completing her master’s degree in psychology with the University of Glasgow. Lidiya explains the seven types of intelligence as laid out by Howard Gardner and his colleagues: Logical-mathematical Linguistic Bodily-kinaesthetic Interpersonal Intrapersonal Spatial Music And so, somewhere in this range, we all have strengths. Nowadays it's often the intra and interpersonal skills that can lead to mental health issues. Without knowing how to understand one's own emotions, it's hard to connect to others. The good news is that due to neuroplasticity we can retrain our brain to improve with respect to most skills, despite out background, time in our mother's womb, and innate ability. Double Giftedness Our resident TikTok expert, Emma Baxley, is actually a qualified teacher with a specialism in helping 'doubly gifted' children. Those children who have ADD, ADHD, autism or one of a number of other 'gifts' and therefore think in a hugely different way. It requires a special teacher, a lot of support and one-on-one care to truly enrich such a child's life. This sort of support is currently not available in Luxembourg.

Martine Risch, sexologist and psychologist from the Cancer Foundation Luxembourg talks about the double taboo of sex and cancer. Cindy Gallop shares the reasons for Make Love Not Porn's global success. Following on from a look-back at the week's news with Sasha Kehoe, my guests this week talk about sex, breaking down the taboos of intimacy in relation to cancer, and real-life sex versus porn. Free psychological & onco-sexological counselling to cancer patients & relatives Martine Risch is head of the Luxembourg Cancer Foundation's psycho-social service. With her training as a psychologist, psychotherapist, clinical sexologist, she offers free psychological and onco-sexological counselling to cancer patients and their relatives in four different languages. A cancer diagnosis is already one shock to be overcome. With this come myriad other issues which can result in changes to the body for men and women. "The most important thing is to raise the silence and break the taboo about cancer and sexuality, and also to involve the partner about sexual fears and problems. There are solutions!" Martine talks about sexuality in all its guises, far from just sexual intercourse. "Sexuality is way more than that: it’s feeling comfortable in our body, it’s sharing intimacy within the couple" As more cancers can be cured, there is great hope for life after cancer, but sometimes side effects mean people suffer in different ways . "Many patients struggle with sexual problems during and after treatments, but the medical staff don't talk about it easily, and most people don’t dare ask. They think they’re the only one suffering from it." Common problems due to treatments are hair loss, weight gain or loss, scars, mastectomies for women which change the body image rapidly and too drastically, so that people might feel ashamed, might not feel attractive and lose self-esteem. For men it’s often erectile dysfunction, for women early menopause; lack of desire, the change of their body image and, again, the loss of self-esteem. Martine talks about the need for communication. She explains that you might withdraw from intimacy because you feel ashamed, and the fear of getting abandoned by your partner is another huge sexual inhibitor. You can find out more information about the free counselling services and webinars here: https://www.facebook.com/fondationcancer https://www.linkedin.com/company/fondation-cancer/ https://twitter.com/fondationcancer https://www.instagram.com/fondationcancerluxembourg/ Make Love not Porn https://makelovenotporn.tv/ Cindy Gallop, founder and CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn, launched the idea at TED 2009 – ‘Pro-sex. Pro-porn. Pro-knowing the difference’. In 2013 she turned MakeLoveNotPorn into the world’s first user-generated, human-curated social sex video-sharing platform, "socializing and normalizing sex in order to make it easier to talk about, to promote consent, communication, good sexual values and good sexual behavior". "MakeLoveNotPorn’s mission is to end rape culture by spearheading the Social Sex Revolution (the revolutionary part isn’t the sex, but the social)." Cindy has brought the sometimes prudish and embarrassing conversation around sex into slightly more mainstream conversation. Those who know her background know that this lady was a formidable advertising executive in New York; founder and former chair of the US branch of advertising firm Bartle Bogle Hegarty. Cindy is outspoken and clear in what she wants. Irrepressibly and delightedly single but with many relationships with much younger men. Cindy has never wanted to marry or have children, but enjoys encounters with 'nice men' as she calls them, with her radar for just that. Ms Gallop's attitude to sex and her outspokenness on ageism is a voice we don't hear often from the female bastion. She might just be at the forefront of the #sextech unicorn race. Honest in her pursuit of fun, want to make money and to make it via sex. @cindygallop @makelovenotporn">https://www.cancer.lu/fr/sexualite https://www.facebook.com/fondationcancer https://www.linkedin.com/company/fondation-cancer/ https://twitter.com/fondationcancer https://www.instagram.com/fondationcancerluxembourg/ Make Love not Porn https://makelovenotporn.tv/ Cindy Gallop, founder and CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn, launched the idea at TED 2009 – ‘Pro-sex. Pro-porn. Pro-knowing the difference’. In 2013 she turned MakeLoveNotPorn into the world’s first user-generated, human-curated social sex video-sharing platform, "socializing and normalizing sex in order to make it easier to talk about, to promote consent, communication, good sexual values and good sexual behavior". "MakeLoveNotPorn’s mission is to end rape culture by spearheading the Social Sex Revolution (the revolutionary part isn’t the sex, but the social)." Cindy has brought the sometimes prudish and embarrassing conversation around sex into slightly more mainstream conversation. Those who know her background know that this lady was a formidable advertising executive in New York; founder and former chair of the US branch of advertising firm Bartle Bogle Hegarty. Cindy is outspoken and clear in what she wants. Irrepressibly and delightedly single but with many relationships with much younger men. Cindy has never wanted to marry or have children, but enjoys encounters with 'nice men' as she calls them, with her radar for just that. Ms Gallop's attitude to sex and her outspokenness on ageism is a voice we don't hear often from the female bastion. She might just be at the forefront of the #sextech unicorn race. Honest in her pursuit of fun, want to make money and to make it via sex. @cindygallop @makelovenotporn on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn. Get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify! I'd love to know what shows you want more of, and what ideas or guests you enjoy so that I can tailor my show to suit your requests.

In this long discussion, our Minister of Finance for Luxembourg talks about her background, and we also move onto important aspects of life today: indexation and taxation bands. Yuriko Backes experienced a wonderfully global upbringing: born in Kobe, Japan; went on to study at the London School of Economics, LSE; a Masters in Japanese Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, SOAS, London: and another masters in European political and administrative studies from the College of Europe in Bruges. Professionally, the list is long, interesting and always dedicated to diplomatic or political service. Madame Backes began her career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where roles included: - Permanent Representation of Luxembourg to the United Nations in New York - Permanent Representation of Luxembourg to the European Union in Brussels from 2001 to 2006. - Deputy Head of mission at the Luxembourg Embassy in Japan from 2006 to 2008, and as - Deputy Head of the Directorate for International Economic Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Luxembourg from 2008 to 2010. From 2010 to 2016, Yuriko Backes was the diplomatic adviser and sherpa to Luxembourg Prime Ministers Jean-Claude Juncker and Xavier Bettel. 2016 to 2020 she was the representative of the European Commission in Luxembourg. From June 2020 until her appointment to the government, she served as Marshal of the Grand-Ducal Court. Now, of course, we know her as Minister Yuriko Backes, Minister of Finance for Luxembourg. An International Mind Minister Yuriko Backes imbibed the childhood of an international family. She talks about the aesthetic, consensual culture of Japan. Her career developed naturally, she says, with multiple languages and respect for other cultures. She is very open-minded and loves “the differences and overcoming differences using communication as a tool”. It helps to find compromises in her current job, she adds. How do you know what path to follow? Well, after her studies which mixed international relations with Japanese history and sociology, then European Studies, Minister Backes says that they all contributed to being a diplomat. “But it’s always the hand on experience later that makes the difference.” Over the years her CV has built up a base including the UN, European Institutions, diplomatic posts and more. Was there a best job? Diplomatically, she replies,“I’ve been very lucky and enjoyed every job I’ve done….and never counted the hours of work in the different jobs. One led to the next and the next.” “When Prime Minister Junker asked me to become his diplomatic advisor and sherpa that was a special moment in my career. Today as finance minister it’s the most challenging [job] of them all” And what about the work load? What did she learn from her time as advisors to two Prime Minister? “Prime Ministers travel a lot. This gives you the time to discuss different issues, different dossiers. There’s always so much to read, questions they will ask. You need to keep them up to speed as they cannot be constantly following the press. One needs to consider very carefully what kind of information will be most useful for them for a given meeting” “It’s constant exchange” Do personalities change with power? Minister Backes spent three and a half years with Jean-Claude Junker towards the end of his career, and was assisting and advising Xavier Bettel as he started his premiership. “They grow into their jobs with experience.” Indexation We’re set to have two or three indexations this year, which can cripple companies financially. Minister Backes explains why they chose to postpone one indexation to April this year, after tripartite negotiations last year, to make it a little more predictable for employers in an uncertain environment. If there’s a third index this year government will compensate for the companies. “An important part of what we’ve done is to make sure we can assist and support companies as much as possible.” “The investment we did with solidarity two package is having results. We will be able to bring down inflation. Also with TVA being put down by 1%.” Statec shows it is having an impact. So what about talent acquisition? “I spend a lot of time thinking about talent attraction and talent retention” Minister Backes talks about the housing issue, “We need to try to drive the offer on the market to satisfy the demand”. International schools - the government has done a lot here with free education. But, she notes, “Not all problems in the world can be solved via taxation” If budget was no problem was would be the first thing you’d do? “I’d love to be able to provide the opportunity to people to invest in start-ups in green finance for example, the digital transformation. These investments could be deducted from their taxes. I think this is an inclusive way to go forward as a society.” Taxation bands “This is a taxation system that I inherited…I’m very well aware of the problem. In order to solve it I think it needs to be part of a larger reform of the taxation system. This year we are in a crisis mode so I have been focusing mainly on crisis management. “Before I joined the government they had decided jointly that this was not something they could deal with in this legislature because any kind of general reform of the taxation system takes time. “The tax system we have in Luxembourg needs to be updated to take into account how society has evolved. This really does takes time and takes a consensus in the country. Transition phase towards a new system, towards our way of living.” Minister Backes also talks about the role of women and how that has evolved. “I’m discussing this with the IMF. How women are perhaps disadvantaged in our tax system is of great interest to me and something I would really like to work on” Minister Backes underlined that the tax issue “may even take longer than one legislature with a transition phase. I would like to work on this though - it’s fundamental for our country.” Addressing Paulette Lenert’s comments on Prime Minister’s New Year’s interview that if there are any wage indexation changes, this should go hand in hand with a tax reform to redistribute wealth from top to bottom: “If we’re going to increase the tax brackets this is not going to bring in enough money to have the huge support for lower income people. One does not pay for the other. We have a very big middle class and it’s just simply not so easy. “This wonderful idea of increasing taxation for companies - I’m very skeptical about this because I think increasing taxation is not the way forward. We need to attract companies and talent attraction. Part of that is keeping companies here. It’s only by having well established companies that are staying in Luxembourg that we can have companies paying good salaries. So it’s in the interest of the people that we keep good companies here… I have to think long term.” Alongside being Finance Minister, Madame Backes is a great role model and advocate for women ‘daring to do’. She is in talks with the IMF about how women are perhaps disadvantaged with certain tax systems.

Do you know what a Cordwainer is? What about the most popular girls and boys names in Luxembourg in 2022? Or the ten most commonly bought cars here? Happy New Year dear listeners! Hope you all had a restful holiday period, and had time to reflect on what type of 2023 you might want. Let's hope it can happen. This week we have the return of Sasha's reflection of the week's news. We chat about the New Year speeches of Zelensky, Putin and Bettel. Bullying and ghettoisation are two topics in the news regarding school life in Luxembourg. Harry's constantly in the news recently, with the upcoming release of his book 'Spare', although Spanish publishers have already released it. Amazon will cut 18,000 jobs globally - something that may well hit the high Amazon work-force here in Luxembourg. Do you know the most popular girls and boys names for babies born in Luxembourg in 2022? How about the top 10 most popular cars bought in Luxembourg? How to follow your fashion dream Liz Breuer, 100% Luxembourgish, wanted to study fashion from a young age. However, the traditional school system of Luxembourg didn't fully support that, given that fashion or any related industries are not part of the 'normal' school curriculum here. (Ermesinde does teach differently - more self-opted project based work with a myriad of options. Arts et Métiers is another school option for non-traditional learning). Nonetheless, Liz pursued her dream; went on to study at the renowned Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, remained there to work with a variety of well known brands, and has now co-founded her own marketing agency, the New Normal Bureau. This agency is focused on digital communication and sustainable progression for brands and organisations. Cordwainer Laney Jane MacCormack Laney MacCormack trained as a cordwainer (shoemaker) at the London College of Fashion, where she went on to be a guest lecturer. Since living in Luxembourg over the last five years, Laney has continued her work with artisinal, bespoke shoe-making, handbags and other leather products. The off-cuts of this work she uses for headwear, which has become even bigger sale-point. Laney also gives personalised crafting sessions. She has worked closely with the Migrants in Fashion programme sponsored by the European Commission. And is a member of 'The Lux Tribe of Mad Hatters'. Get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify! I'd love to know what shows you want more of, and what ideas or guests you enjoy so that I can tailor my show to suit your requests.

The kindness of an airport aide went viral when Luxembourg actress Hana Sofia Lopez told the story. Sasha Kehoe, Melissa Dalton and Meredith Moss wrap up the year they've had on their shows too. Sasha Kehoe, Melissa Dalton and Meredith Moss wrap up the year they've had on their shows too. The kindness of a stranger - it never fails to lift our hearts. And what better message for Christmas than that of our very own Hana Sofia Lopez who found herself stranded in New York with no luggage and then had to travel on to Montreal, again with no luggage! But on this occasion it was coupled with a reception she had to attend with Prime Minister Xavier Bettel. We hear the story of how Azalia came to her rescue. RTL Today Radio We're so thrilled to have been able to bring you a mixture of news, talkshows and interviews from all spheres of life over the last year since our inception this Spring. In this conversation, Sasha looks back at some of the year's top stories; Melissa reflects on some of her most memorable interviews, and Meredith chats (with Santa legs atop her head) about her work on The Sam Steen Show. We can't wait to bring you more next year! Meanwhile, from The Lisa Burke Show, and all of us at RTL Today Radio, we wish you a wonderful Christmas holiday period and a peaceful entry into 2023! Get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify! I'd love to know what shows you want more of, and what ideas or guests you enjoy so that I can tailor my show to suit your requests. Wishing you all a Happy Christmas and a special start to 2023.

Dr Sohom Das, Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist in London; Nicolas Zharov & Inna Yaremenko from LUkraine and Sasha Kehoe from RTL Today Radio chat to Lisa Burke. A Psych for Sore Minds Dr. Sohom Das is a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist and YouTuber based in London. His works focuses on offenders with severe mental illness. Sohom assesses and rehabilitates mentally disordered offenders in prisons, courts and in special secure psychiatric units, such as Broadmoor Hospital - reserved for the most dangerous and violent mentally ill patients. He is also an experienced expert witness, who regularly provides evidence on defendants in Criminal Court, including the Old Bailey. In this conversation, Sohom opens up about some of the most extreme cases he has had to deal with as a psychiatrist and expert witness. Does a defendant ever fake mental illness? How would one know? Why does the mind react with psychotic episodes when under extreme stress? Does mental illness remove criminal responsibility. Dr. Das is clear in his role as having to assist the court and not to decree judgement. It seems that most psychiatric conditions have a nature and nurture element. And yet, there are certain triggers such as alcohol and drugs in teenage years. Life traumas exacerbates risk, although individuals have different resilience to trauma. And sadly with mental health issues there can be a social drift downwards as people can find themselves in and out of prison, isolated and marginalised. Ukraine is calling! Nicolas Zharov and Inna Yaremenko from LUkraine continue to work unfailingly to provide for Ukrainian refugees in Luxembourg and those remaining in the country. In Luxembourg, they have set up a Saturday school to help all Ukrainian children here. They have been actively collecting for 112 rescue vehicles to send to Ukraine and the first convoy will leave on 21 December, including 8 ambulances donated by CGDIS. Aside from this there is another project running: Generators of Life, to help provide much needed heat and electricity during this period of extreme cold when many areas in Ukraine do not have heating or electricity. With Dr. Das we also talk of the psychological effects of such on-going trauma. Get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify! I'd love to know what shows you want more of, and what ideas or guests you enjoy so that I can tailor my show to suit your requests.

And 'Why Why Why?' with Rick Serrano. Plus Didier Goossens and Emily Iversen talk about LetzSCIENCE and RestART Beirut. Rick Serrano melds his love of philosophy with his work as an international public speaker and executive coach. With an MBA from the Harvard Business School, and a certified coach by the University of Cambridge, Rick helps people crystallise and aim for their dreams. In this show Rick talks through some tips to get us all motivated to reflect back on 2022 and think about what we want to achieve for 2023. You might already know that writing a list down and framing it, so that others can hold us accountable is a wonderful approach. Rick also suggests we think about the Japanese Ikigai diagram - an ancient wisdom to maximize our potential. Towards the end of the year people often reflect back on their life that year. Rick gives us some inspiration on how we can create our personal plans for 2023. He encourages us to ask 'deep why's' (i.e. why, then another why, and another after that), daring to dream big. Rick makes us think about the time wasted on trivial and unnecessary chat on negative things: 'efficiency obstacles', steering us towards more worthy uses of that finite quantity of time we have on earth. What gives us energy? Who gives us energy? That's where we should focus our time and thoughts. Rick definitely puts our most valuable asset, time, to great use. Aside from his 'professional' work, Rick is an avid philosopher, having studied it at various universities over the last 12 years. Rick is also an artist and has an upcoming exhibition at the Austrian Embassy in Luxembourg on 11 January 2023. If you want to explore his work more, you can do so on Serrano's YouTube site, read his book Next Destination, go! or learn more about the fabulously titled 'The Picky Picky Cherry Picking Theory'. Rick is also a founding member of The Luxembourg Freedom Initiative, a non-profit fighting modern slavery. LetzSCIENCE Didier Goossens, Head of Communication at Luxembourg's National Research Fund, FNR, and Emily Iversen, Digital Communication Manager at the FNR talk to us about their augmented reality app, letzSCIENCE, to help the general public understand (FNR financed) public research projects undertaken here in Luxembourg. Dider also talks about a different project he co-founded in 2020. RestART Beirut is an organisation that strives to protect and preserve Beirut's cultural heritage by emphasising education and fostering strong academic collaborations in this field. Get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify! I'd love to know what shows you want more of, and what ideas or guests you enjoy so that I can tailor my show to suit your requests.

Join Lisa and guests: Rachel Watkyn, CEO of The Tiny Box Company, Melissa Dalton on her improv work, artist Philippe Lamesch and RTL's Sasha Kehoe. Rachel Watkyn -Tiny Box Company Rachel Watkyn set up Tiny Box Company in a bedroom 14 years ago, into a company which now turns over circa £10m. Yes, she's a brilliant entrepreneur and business woman, but what's all the more remarkable is how she got here. It's not often we hear the voice of those who've lived through traumatic childhoods, who have experienced life in a children's home, to then be returned to a home which remains unstable. And despite this start, Rachel managed to put herself through A levels, university and then into the world of work. Her working roles included implementing a new financial system for the Government of Sierra Leone in 1998-1999. This was a pivotal moment for Rachel as she witnessed another level of poverty when the civil war was raging violently at this time, and there were literally people starving and many people injured and maimed by the rebel soldiers. Health issues have paralleled her life’s work. From chronic fatigue syndrome to cancer, nothing has deterred her determination to get back up and think, outside the box. In 2008 Rachel and her then business colleague Robin Banks were invited onto Dragons Den and two dragons, Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis offered investment of £60k for 40%. Tiny Box Company grew rapidly, to now employing over 90 staff and turnover circa £10m per annum. Whilst running the Tiny empire, Rachel unfortunately experienced breast cancer in 2016 and lung cancer in 2019. Cancer has returned once more and she will soon have a mastectomy for which we wish her nothing but the best. As an outspoken advocate for female led small businesses, Rachel runs free business clinics on a Thursday for any small business owners who want advice, or often just to chat through hurdles they are experiencing and gain some confidence. It is Rachel's innate mental strength, which I find extraordinary to witness, is such a shining example to us. From selling sweets as a 7 year old, and measuring her wealth in terms of sugar, to a renowned success, she constantly gives back to others, and looks upon her life as being one of the lucky ones. Melissa Dalton - Luxembourg's Improv Queen You may know Melissa as the voice of The Home Stretch at RTL Today Radio, but she’s also a trained actress with a passion for Improv, guiding classes and also performing herself! You can join Melissa's improv classes by registering here. The next one will be on December 6th. Melissa's Improv Troupe is called The Garage Gang and their next show will be on 17th Dec at Theatre Le Dix. Buy tickets here and join their instagram page here. Philippe Lamesch - artist (and biologist) Philippe discovered his passion for printmaking in Boston in 2001 and went on to train as a traditional printmaker at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the KALA Art Institute in Berkeley, In 2014, Lamesch and three of his friends create the non-profit organization ‘Art2Cure’ with the mission to stage art fundraiser where revenue is split evenly between the artist and a good cause. In just four years, the young organization managed to raise over €200,000 for biomedical research. Get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify! I'd love to know what shows you want more of, and what ideas or guests you enjoy so that I can tailor my show to suit your requests.

Join Lisa and guests: Sasha looks back at the week's news, Kate Buckeridge explains the science of soil, and Luxembourg Tech School branches out to help young people with autism and refugees. In this week's show, as ever, we reflect on the week's news with Sasha Kehoe. Soil and Climate Dr. Kate Buckeridge, a Canadian soil microbiologist at Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), talks about why soil is important for food and climate. There will be a soil sustainability conference on Friday 2nd December. You can find my previous interview with Sadhguru on soil here: https://today.rtl.lu/media/podcasts/a/1944612.html Her current project, ADAPT, investigates how climate and agricultural management interact to influence soil microbial physiology, and how this influences soil carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions. Kate's PhD is in ecosystem ecology from Queen’s University, Canada, where she researched how increased snow depth alters Arctic tundra nitrogen cycling. Kate also worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the US and UK, investigating the impact of Arctic permafrost thaw on soil microorganisms, climate warming on Boreal nitrogen and carbon cycling, and agricultural grassland land-use intensity on microbial physiology. For those who want a bit more science, Kate uses stables isotopes as tracers of plant litter and microbial necromass, combined with microbial genomics, to explore the relationship between microbial community structure and ecosystem function. Luxembourg Tech School branches out Sergio Coronado and his team continue to expand the remit of the Luxembourg Tech School. In this discussion he is joined by Julie Tangeten who has been instrumental in reaching students who have autism or have come to Luxembourg as refugees. If you would like to get in touch with the Luxembourg Tech School you can do so via the website. Get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify! I'd love to know what shows you want more of, and what ideas or guests you enjoy so that I can tailor my show to suit your requests.

Join Lisa and her guests for a round up of the week's news with Sasha Kehoe, emotional flexibility and deliberate calm with Dr. Jacqui Brassey, and fencing with our national champion Flavio Giannotte. As always, we start the show with a look back at the week's news with Sasha Kehoe, news presenter from The Sam Steen Show. Dr. Jacqui Brassey talks about her own personal story which took her through another degree and research on how to deal with anxiety, burn out, imposter syndrome and all associated feelings. She looks at the science of how our bodies deal with stressors and what tools we can use to cope more effectively. We talk about emotional flexibility and how to lean into what we are thinking and feeling. Jacqui Brassey is McKinsey’s chief scientist and the director of research science for the firm’s People & Organizational Performance Practice. She’s also an affiliate leader of the McKinsey Health Institute. Her books, Advancing Authentic Confidence through Emotional Flexibility and this year - Deliberate Calm: How to Learn and Lead in a Volatile World are available now! All proceeds go to Save the Children. Fencer Flavio Giannotte is five times the champion of Luxembourg and in the top 100 fencers in the world. As an elite sportsman he talks to us about the need for acceptance and mental confidence as he trains for the Olympic Games 2024. If you want to know more about fencing you can visit the free international fencing tournament on November 26 and 27 here in Luxembourg. The club where Flavio trains, Escrime Sud, offers three months free training for 7-15 year olds if you're interested in trying out the sport. Please do subscribe to the podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify! I'd love to know what shows you want more of, and what ideas or guests you enjoy so that I can tailor my show to suit your requests.

Dr. Elisabeth Letellier, Prof. Rejko Krüger and Dr. Ibrahim Boussaad talk about their work in medical research on colorectal cancer and Parkinson's disease, where prevention is key. After a two week hiatus, due to getting covid, then moving house, I'm back! So lovely to be in the studio once more surrounded by my wonderful guests. To start the show, as ever, Sasha Kehoe gives us a rundown of some of the week's news stories and there is no shortage to choose from. We chat about COP 27, the US midterms, ex-Spanish King Juan Carlos, the Norwegian Princess and her husband, Prime Minister Bettel's home screen and loads more! My guests this week all come from the scientific world where research meets medicine. Curbing Colorectal Cancer It may not be a common topic of conversation, but colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer, and the second when it comes to mortality rates. Over the last few days, Dr. Elisabeth Letellier and her team have set up part of a 'colon' at Belle Etoile to educate passers-by about the importance of gut health to prevent colon cancer. Did you know there is a national screening program for the over 55s? However, the age of getting colon cancer is reducing. Why is this? Well there are probably many reasons but one that we can take control of is our gut microbiome; our gut health. About 20% of this type of cancer is genetic and the rest is due to other influences. Dr. Elisabeth Letellier co-heads the Molecular Disease Mechanisms (MDM) group at the Department of Life Sciences and Medicine. Her current research focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying tumor initiation and progression in colorectal cancer, with a special focus on the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome has gained increasing interest over recent years. Several studies have identified specific species that are highly enriched in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. However, the interrelationships are complex and multifaceted. For us, the main message is to try to have a varied and balanced diet with lots of fibre. Preventing Parkinson's Disease Professor Rejko Kruger is a doctor and a researcher, Professor for Neuroscience at the University of Luxembourg and Director of Transversal Translational Medicine at the Luxembourg Institute of Health. Since June 2019 he works between the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) and the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) to contribute to personalised medicine Dr. Ibrahim Boussaad is a research scientist at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) of the University of Luxembourg. Parkinson’s disease is made up of many different subtypes, which Rejko and Ibrahim have been trying to disentangle to provide, eventually, personalised treatments at the National Center for Excellence in Research on Parkinson’s. www.parkinson.lu We can explain 20-30% by genetics. The others cannot refer back to a single mutation. Someone who has a specific sleep problem is 80% more likely to get Parkinson’s, and there are all sorts of other factors too, but ageing is the highest risk factor. Parkinson’s disease is, in fact, the premature ageing of neurons. This work carried out by Ibrahim and Rejko depends on patient participation - cell donation. Everyone with Parkinson’s in Luxembourg is invited to enter this research. Their work is effectively a Proof of Concept; a pipeline from bed to bench to bed. And this approach can be applied to other and new neurodegenerative diseases, even cancer. About half of Parkinson’s patients get dementia, so this research is linked. Developing a centre of excellence has allowed the group to collaborate across disciplines and different institutions. A national prevention plan for dementia exists, telling us about lifestyle factors to avoid / add into our lives to avoid dementia. But it doesn’t yet exist for Parkinson’s, which is why Rejko and Ibo have developed a survey for 50-80 year olds - please fill this out! There is also a NCER-PD (National Center for Excellence in Research on Parkinson’s) Facebook page www.pdp.lu (Dementia Prevention Programme) www.heba.lu (Healthy Ageing Study; here we can invite everyone between 50 and 80 years) www.facebook.com/ncerpd/ (Parkinson : Recherche au Luxembourg | Luxembourg | Facebook) By the time someone has Parkinson’s, 60% of the nerve cells in brain are gone. And so, the main aim is to prevent people getting Parkinson’s. And if one has the disease, to slow down the progression and maintain quality of life. It's all about healthy aging The side effects of Parkinson's can be treated very well, but the chronic progression, as of this moment, cannot be prevented. For more in-depth learning you can visit the YouTube channel with videos on NCER-PD research and from ParkinsonNet Luxembourg therapists: https://www.youtube.com/c/NCERPD/ And there is an upcoming conference in January on Precision Medicine in Parkinson’s Disease: www.facebook.com/events/1352821858819934/?ref=newsfeed Get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify! I'd love to know what shows you want more of, and what ideas or guests you enjoy so that I can tailor my show to suit your requests. [comments]

This week we work on well-being with my guests: holistic therapist, globally trained, Ayano Everling; Hypnotist Alain Wolff and The Happy Guts Company founder Jennifer Olding Yet again, it's been a week of tumult in British politics. This and more is discussed with Sasha Kehoe as we reflect on some the week's news, from the serious to the farcical. Mind Body Soul: Ayano Everling Ayano Everling is a holistic therapist and founder of BodyMindSoul. She was born in Luxembourg to a Luxembourgish father and Japanese mother. Ayano worked as a teacher for 12 years before becoming increasingly disenchanted with the monotony of how we live in this 'mechanical' world. This impetus spurred her into a two year sabbatical, travelling around the world with an open mind, gaining so much to develop as a holistic therapist on the way: massage, reiki, yoga, meditation and so much more, all unplanned. Ayano met the Dalai Lama when in Tibet, and took his course for two weeks which cost just €15. In Borneo she worked with Orang Utans. Hawaii gave her the opportunity to immerse herself in the ways of Lomi Lomi. And so the travel continued: Panama, Mexico and the list continues before she returned to Luxembourg during Covid. And now, she has opened her own practice in Senningerburg. Ayano deeply cares about living a life guided by synchronicity. We also talk about the importance of nature and music. "I really believe in being in the moment, that life is a journey to be present in each moment, unfolding and making sense slowly, if you don't resist the teachings" Internet www.bodymindsoul.lu Instagram: Bodymindsoul_lu The Happy Guts Company: Jennifer Olding Alongside being a fellow Weimaraner mum, Jennifer Olding founded The Happy Guts Company after starting out by making fermented food for her own family, when she couldn't find the food she wanted in shops here. The Happy Guts' Company, founded in 2018, specialises in organic probiotic beverages and condiments produced in Luxembourg. Their mission to: "Give Everyone Everywhere A Happier Gut." Jennifer is British Chinese with a background in finance and banking. She describes herself as “an aficionado of all things fermented, or just good food and wine in general, and spend a lot of time cooking and eating with my family and friends.” In this conversation we talk about the link between gut health and the brain, mental health, exercise, diversity in food, probiotics and prebiotics. http://thehappygutscompany.lu Alain Wolff Alain Wolff started life as a horse shoe maker. The physical exertion resulted in several slipped discs. This plus different factors in his life led to a burnout in 2007. In order to figure out why, he trained in NLP, Systemic Coaching, Wing Wave, Equine Assisted Coaching and Sophrology. In 2013 he met Martin Straus, the founder of the InTellAct Institute and inventor of the Life Puzzle Pro, who became a mentor until his death in 2019. He started working as a hypnosis instructor in 2015. In 2021 he founded his own school, the Hypnosis Institute, training doctors, medical staff and also private people and will soon expand his field to schools and other public institutions. www.hypnosis.institute www.hypnose-luxemburg.com www.intellact.lu www.instagram.com/hypnosis.institute Get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify ! I'd love to know what shows you want more of, and what ideas or guests you enjoy so that I can tailor my show to suit your requests.

Futurist Liselotte Lyngsø is joined by architect Carole Schmit and Kenny Graham, CEO of Tomorrow Street, to talk about trends of the future. This week, as always, Sasha Kehoe starts the show with a reflection of the week's news. We start with the ever-present heaviness of developments in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis. Other stories include how NASA can now deflect asteroids; ex-Luxembourg spy Frank Schneider and his involvement with OneCoin; the University of Luxembourg's movement up the World University rankings, and controversy in the Alaskan Fat Bear Week competition! Futurist Liselotte Lyngsø Liselotte is one of the top futurist's in the world and will be here in Luxembourg next Wednesday, for the British Chamber of Commerce’s futuristic Leadership Forum on: Leading Towards the Success of Tomorrow. Her job is trying to extract real transformations from noise in the news of today. Liselotte really wants us to be able to create the future, to democratise this skill, and not leave it to the decision-makers. She hopes that we, the people, can be empowered to act. Currently she's working with the defence arm of the Denmark government. But what is defence these days? Gas pipes, wifi, traditional defence...? With Deep Fake, Liselotte gives some positive perspectives on this technology - to bring back to life someone who has died in Iran to send the messages to the people in power. We're moving into a 'precision age' and Liselotte explains the strength in this to give us maximum investment. Evidence shows that the most important aspect for education is the teacher. If more people cycle, it will save the government money in terms of healthcare. We should put our energy in a dynamic way so that we don't 'pick the winners too early' We have a responsibility to learn for life. Lectures are not planned for our minds. In a 45 minute lecture we only retain about 2%. Evidence shows that staying at home to work is not good for on-boarding. University evidence shows that creating a caring community, a shared kitchen for students, increases results. Architect Carole Schmit - Petite Maison Carole Schmit is an architect at the Administration des bâtiments publics, managing large-scale public projects on behalf of the state. She was a guest lecturer at the University of Luxembourg for 4 years in for their Master in Architecture. Carole founded Polaris Architects and has been nominated, exhibited and published in local and international media. In this conversation we talk about the construction of 'Petite Maison' at the University of Luxembourg, Belval. Carole talks about the trends in construction, the move towards circularity, a new paradigm shift in architecture design and how it's so important to start from a common set of values. When teaching students from all over the world, she works with them to connect architecture through storytelling. The Arch Summit - Kenny Graham Kenny Graham has been the CEO of Tomorrow Street since July 2019, which is a Joint Venture between Vodafone Group, a global telecoms business, and Technoport, Luxembourg’s technology business incubator. Tomorrow Street is focused on attracting innovative young tech companies and tech talent to Luxembourg and scaling their technology across Vodafone’s global ecosystem. In this chat we talk about the upcoming Arch Summit and all the wonderful speakers, being held at LuxExpo on 26 and 27 October. Get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify ! I'd love to know what shows you want more of, and what ideas or guests you enjoy so that I can tailor my show to suit your requests.

Dr. Hanne Christensen, a Norwegian biologist, talks to us about her work on large carnivores and her interest in recent Neanderthal studies. Kate, Morgan and Arnit are three exciting young minds taking part in the Young Scientists Contest, and join me with the director of FJSL, Sousana Eang. Dr. Hanne Christensen, a Norwegian biologist, talks to us about her work on large carnivores and her interest in recent Neanderthal studies. Kate, Morgan and Arnit are three exciting young minds taking part in the Young Scientists Contest, and join me with the director of FJSL, Sousana Eang. Just hours after my interview with Dr. Hanne Christensen, who passionately describes her interest in Neanderthal genomics, thanks to the work of Svante Pääbo at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for this work, rendering her respect all the more warranted. Hanne is a biologist from Oslo, Norway, but has lived in Luxembourg since 2008, moving for her husband's work, Dr. Arno Gutleb. In Norway, ecology and big carnivores was her field. She worked with wolves, lynx, red fox and otters. Her PhD was a government project - why were otters disappearing from southern Norway? And it wasn't just Norway. Much of Europe saw the same decrease in population. The culprit turned out to be toxic chemicals like PCB which accumulate in the fat of fish, which the larger carnivores then go on to eat. PCBs are still present in our environment. Dr. Christensen worked with the WWF in Norway aiming to protect the mountain habitat for wild reindeer. Norway as the last refuge of wild reindeer in Europe. More recently Hanne's interest in genetics and the work of Svante Pääbo at the Max Planck institute in Leipzig has caught her attention. His team worked for many years to decipher the Neanderthal genome from bones found in different caves in Europe. "What they found, and how they did it is genius work of clever scientists." So inspired was Hanne that she has even written a book inspired by the new knowledge of the Neanderthals, currently being translated into English. Fondation Jeunes Scientifiques Luxembourg This weekend 69 participants from 17 countries will present their work and ideas at Expo-Sciences Luxembourg 2022 at Forum Campus Geesseknäppchen. It’s open to the public and free to enter! Sousana EANG is the Director of Fondation Jeunes Scientifiques Luxembourg, FJSL. Her aim is to make sure young scientists get all they need to succeed in their science journey! My younger guests all participated in the National Jonk Fuerscher Contest 2022: Aikaterina (Kate) Karageorgiadi, Arnit Dey and Morgan Csarno Peklar. Kate Karageorgiadi is 18, Greek, came to Luxembourg 7 years ago with her family. In her project, ‘Colour, how it affects emotion and its associations’ she investigated the emotions associated with each colour and how those associations affect the liking of the colours individually. Kate grew up in a house full of colour and art. Her mother studied fine arts and Kate imbibed this passion without knowing it. Alongside her A level subjects of biology and chemistry, Kate is studying psychology. She wants to go on to study medicine or genetic biology. “The idea for ‘colour and emotion’ came from my love for art and my constant exposure to it. My house never had white walls. I was free to choose the colour of my room’s walls since l was little. When I started studying psychology the idea clicked. My life involves around colour without me realising it. It sets my mood. It’s a subconscious process that happens constantly.” So she looked into it. What is colour? What emotions does it trigger in us? What response? How can these results be used in hospitals or businesses to help the surroundings? Arnit Dey, 14, is Indian but born in Dubai. He moved to Luxembourg just one year and has designed a pair of ‘glasses’ for blind people using sonar technology and translating its data into an audio description of the bearer’s surroundings. His teammate is Punya SENTHILKUMAR. The idea was inspired by a walk in Bambesch, seeing some bats and realising they use echolocation. His interests go well beyond science though, with a deep passion for football, music and writing. “The title for our science project was 2020ForAll and it's a pair of glasses which helps blind people understand their surroundings better and increases their mobility. It is just in the initial phase of product development and we need to further develop this but we already have created a prototype of the idea.” Morgan Csarno Peklar is 16, and was born in Canada but of Hungarian origin. His project, Ormcrypt – Encryption Decryption Program is a python code (coded in python version 3.7.9) based on cryptography and the technology of encryption and decryption. It offers an encryption and decryption function, along with many other functions to experiment with encryption keys. He was awarded participation to Mobisciences Morocco. Despite his talent for coding, Morgan wants to make it as an actor! We wish you luck Morgan! Get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify ! I'd love to know what shows you want more of, and what ideas or guests you enjoy so that I can tailor my show to suit your requests. https://fjsl.lu/activities/njfcontest https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2022/press-release/ https://www.eva.mpg.de/genetics/staff/paabo/

Dr. Arno Gutleb, Elisabeth Schilling, Dr. Jessica Levy and Sasha Kehoe are Lisa's guests this week, to talk about their work and the news around it. Kicking off the show, Sasha Kehoe guides us through a reflection of the news this week. An Alternative to Animal Testing Dr. Arno Gutleb is Group Leader for Environmental Health at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST). His group have been developing a way to replace animal experimentation by in vitro models. The group is developing in vitro assays with a focus on the alveolar region of the lung with a focus on inflammation and respiratory sensitization. He graduated from the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria and holds a PhD (2006) in Environmental Sciences from Wagheningen University, The Netherlands. He has a habilitation from the University Lorraine, France (2018) and is a European Registered Toxicologist (ERT) (since 2002). He is Distinguished Professor at the University Iuliu Hatzieganu, Clujh, Romania and Visiting Professor at the Universidad Andrés Bello, Santiago de Chile. He is a member of the Network for Preliminary Assessment of Regulatory Relevance (PARERE) of the European Union Reference Laboratory for Alternatives to Animal Testing (ECVAM) and Head of Delegation of Luxembourg to the Working Group of National Coordinators of the Test Guidelines programme (WNT) of the OECD. Since 2020 he is Co-chair of the US-EU NanoEHS CoR. He founded INIVITROLIZE, a LIST spin-off, In June 2022. Elisabeth Schilling Elisabeth Schilling is a dancer and choreographer. She develops transdisciplinary projects between movement, design, the visual arts, and music with international teams. Since 2021 she is Artist in Residence at TRIFOLION Echternach and since 2022 Associate Artist at Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg. She talks to us about her life in dance and her upcoming show Ita Infinita. In the past 5 years, Elisabeth's works have toured over 230 performances in 19 countries and were performed in institutions such as Saatchi Gallery London, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Kunstfest Weimar. Elisabeth received numerous choreographic commissions: Gauthier Dance, Tate Gallery London (BMW Tate Live), Museum of Applied Art Frankfurt, Scottish Dance Theatre Youth Dance. As a dancer, Elisabeth regularly performs in international productions across Europe. She has performed for close to 40 choreographers and companies such as Scottish Dance Theatre, Sasha Waltz (Repertoire), Trisha Brown (Repertoire), Clod Ensemble. Elisabeth is recipient of several awards: Dance Umbrella (‘Young Spark’), Bolzano Danza and AWL Mainz. Recently nominated for a Fellowship at New York University / Centre for Ballet and the Arts, she was awarded the Luxembourg Dance Award 2021. Her last work HEAR EYES MOVE. Dances with Ligeti was nominated for an OPUS Klassik 2022. SOS Détresse Dr. Jessica Levy talks to us about the new offer from SOS Détresse in English - Wednesdays 11.00 - 23.00 open to anyone on 45 45 45 . Get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify I'd love to know what shows you want more of, what ideas or guests you enjoy so that I can tailor make my show to suit your requests.

Lisa's guests this week showcase the abundant creative spirit in Luxembourg, from music for all at the Philharmonie, to calculating our carbon footprint, to redirecting your life as a fashion designer. This week, as always, we take a look back at the week's news with Sasha Kehoe, but with a focus on females. In the upcoming Italian elections we have Georgia Meloni featuring as a frontrunner. Iran has been in the news ever since 22-year old Mahsa Amini died last week after being detained by the “morality police” for some violation of the country’s laws on women’s dress. Now, protests are widespread. In Spain, the entire top female footballers have resigned as a unit in order to oust the head coach, for harming their emotional state and health. Percussion Extravaganza at the Philharmonie If you're looking for something for all the family this weekend, check-out the Percussion Extravaganza at the Philharmonie. Pascal Sticklies, Head of Education at the Philharmonie, talks about the Philharmonie's commitment to music education for all ages via concerts, outreach and workshop programmes. The Philharmonie's expert team build tailor-made programmes in different languages for various age-groups, to encourage music as a natural part of people's lives as they grow. They know that not everyone's family has the habit of attending somewhere like the Philharmonie and hence the importance of bringing music into the schools, to democratise access. CarbonNerd Project https://carbonnerd.list.lu/ Dr. Claudia Hitaj leads research on sustainable finance and manages LIST's CarbonNerd project to educate young people and the general public about climate change, our carbon footprint, and decarbonization paths ahead. She is also the host of the Net Zero Future series on the podcast Luxunplugged. https://podcasts.apple.com/lu/podcast/luxunplugged-podcast/id1484198880 One of Claudia's many missions is to empower us to effect change with respect to decarbonising our lifestyles by 2050. She is conscient that getting to this goal is not easy and will mean government policy change and a lot of effort from all of us. The average carbon footprint of a Luxembourg resident is 13 t of carbon dioxide per person per year - one of the highest in Europe, and indeed the world. The main contributors are transportation, followed by housing, food, consumption goods, and public services. For more information on how to help visit climateagence.lu Luxembourg Fashion Week https://www.luxembourgfashionweek.lu/ It's almost here again: Luxembourg Fashion Week is on 1 October next weekend. This year two new designers, who changed career direction entirely, will showcase their work. Francine Keiser (@Francini_K">https://www.philharmonie.lu/en/education/percussion_extravaganza If you're looking for something for all the family this weekend, check-out the Percussion Extravaganza at the Philharmonie. Pascal Sticklies, Head of Education at the Philharmonie, talks about the Philharmonie's commitment to music education for all ages via concerts, outreach and workshop programmes. The Philharmonie's expert team build tailor-made programmes in different languages for various age-groups, to encourage music as a natural part of people's lives as they grow. They know that not everyone's family has the habit of attending somewhere like the Philharmonie and hence the importance of bringing music into the schools, to democratise access. CarbonNerd Project https://carbonnerd.list.lu/ Dr. Claudia Hitaj leads research on sustainable finance and manages LIST's CarbonNerd project to educate young people and the general public about climate change, our carbon footprint, and decarbonization paths ahead. She is also the host of the Net Zero Future series on the podcast Luxunplugged. https://podcasts.apple.com/lu/podcast/luxunplugged-podcast/id1484198880 One of Claudia's many missions is to empower us to effect change with respect to decarbonising our lifestyles by 2050. She is conscient that getting to this goal is not easy and will mean government policy change and a lot of effort from all of us. The average carbon footprint of a Luxembourg resident is 13 t of carbon dioxide per person per year - one of the highest in Europe, and indeed the world. The main contributors are transportation, followed by housing, food, consumption goods, and public services. For more information on how to help visit climateagence.lu Luxembourg Fashion Week https://www.luxembourgfashionweek.lu/ It's almost here again: Luxembourg Fashion Week is on 1 October next weekend. This year two new designers, who changed career direction entirely, will showcase their work. Francine Keiser (@Francini_K), was a lawyer for many years before launching her couture brand earlier this year. Francine studied couture in Paris and won the school's 2021 annual parade out of 500 designers. https://www.francinik.com/ Francine is inspired by the sixties, with her debut collection featuring glamorous evening dresses that combine classical fabrics and technical material as well as more simple, chic outfits. Anushka Prakash, originally from India, emigrated to Europe after she married, and decided to study shoe design in 2018 in the internationally recognised Institute Marangoni in Florence, Italy. Her brand is called Moajaza which means miracle in Arabic. https://www.moajaza.eu/ Anushka, for Luxembourg Fashion Week, will show her second collection of handcrafted footwear inspired by cultural heritage around the world. Get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify I'd love to know what shows you want more of, what ideas or guests you enjoy so that I can tailor make my show to suit your requests.

Queueing for the Queen, the recent British Luxembourg Society's visit to London and Jana Degrott's movement to get more young people and minority groups into politics. This week's show continues the theme of world news which has been saturated by the pageantry and documentation of Queen Elizabeth II's life. Noteable is the queue which has weaved it's way around London, so much so, that it has its own twitter, instagram and Youtube channels. Sir Nicholas Forwood KC, Patron of the British Luxembourg Society and a retired judge from the European Court of Justice, talks about the change from 'QC' (Queen's Counsel) to 'KC' (King's Counsel). Nicholas also had the opportunity to meet the Queen twice; once as a young barrister in Oxford and secondly when knighted. Jacqui Spence Member of the Council of the British Luxembourg Society. She was in London with a group of BLS tourists on Thursday 8th September when the Queen was pronounced dead, and so the plans for the weekend's trips had to alter somewhat, but in an historical and poignant way. Jana Degrott is a co-founder of We Belong Europe, an initiative to inspire next-generation leadership for young Europeans from diverse backgrounds to create a future pool of role models. In her podcast Wat Leeft?, she discusses some of the most urgent social issues of our times with guests who are changing narratives and challenging the status quo. As a believer in the importance of youth voices in government, Jana is also a local councillor in her hometown of Steinsel and one of the youngest elected officials in Luxembourg. She has been an activist from the age of 15, is an Obama leader with the Obama Foundation program, a council member of the Apolitical Foundation and for many years in the leadership team of EYP Luxembourg Why representation in politics matters to strengthen democracy with Jana Degrott Subscribe and get in touch! You can always get in touch with me on social media. Please do subscribe to the podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify https://b-l-s.lu/ https://www.webelongeurope.com/services https://journal.lu/en/wat-leeft-microaggression

Coming to you via radio, on video in RTL Play and podcasts I'm delighted to be back with a wonderful array of guests after the summer break. Filmed on Friday 9th September, we reflect on the life of Queen Elizabeth II, such a long life of dedicated service carried out with quiet grace and dignity. One tweet which struck me personally was that she has reigned for more than a quarter of the existence of the United States. In a look back at other news, Sasha Kehoe guides us through some of the stories of the week. The energy crisis will affect us all across Europe for many more months. Gazprom has switched off Nordstream 1. Zelensky has been quoted as saying, "Europe has to pay higher gas prices; we fight the war." Luxembourg Energy Minister Claude Turmes has set out guidelines of how to reduce energy use which is part of the EU's emergency plan, which sets out that member states must voluntarily save 15% of energy by the end of March next year. There is some good news in terms of energy – more solar energy was produced in the entire EU this summer than ever before. According to the think tank Embeer Climate, 12% of all electricity produced in the EU was solar. Producing that amount of gas would have cost over €29 billion. Germany has had to backtrack on its nuclear power pledge, keeping two power plants on standby beyond the end of this year, which is a U-turn in policy following the stop of Russian gas supplies. In positive news, Google maps have launched a sustainable route feature, also available in Luxembourg. Another energy saving initiative saw Nobel prizewinning physicist urging Italians to save gas by turning it off as they cook pasta, incurring the wrath of chefs who have told him to keep his genius out of the kitchen. ESRIC-ESA Space Resources Challenge: Moon Prospecting Rockhal has been turned into a lunar surface, covered in artificial moon dust. It's currently hosting an ESRIC-ESA Space Resources Challenge with contenders from all over the world. https://gouvernement.lu/en/actualites/toutes_actualites/communiques/2022/03-mars/29-esric-esa-space.html To talk us through this and much more to do with space resources, I'm joined by Dr. Kathryn Hadler, Director of the European Space Resources Innovation Centre (ESRIC). https://www.esric.lu/ Dr. Hadler joined ESRIC on 1st April 2022 to lead the development of the centre, advancing scientific discovery and technology development in space resource utilisation. She is a chemical engineer by background with many years of experience in the terrestrial mineral processing sector. Dr. Hadler was a Lecturer in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London from 2011 to 2022. Dr. Hadler talks about what space resource mining means, and why it's important for space, but also for Earth technology. Using AR and VR to help First Responders in areas of radiation Dr. Roderick McCall, Group Leader of the Visualisation and Interaction Research Group at LIST, talks to us about some of his latest research to help First Responders. Originally from Scotland, Dr. McCall aims to use new technology to improve people’s lives. Dr. McCall's research focuses on STARRI and RISARX; using AR to train First Responder teams. https://www.list.lu/en/news/terrific-results-for-the-terriffic-project/ Get in touch I love to hear your feedback and ideas for new stories. You can get in touch with me via social media. If you have time, please do subscribe, rate and review my podcast on Apple, and Spotify

Sadhguru is a world-renowned yogi who is currently turning the world's attention to the quality of our soil. And it's the final week to enter Miss Tourism for Luxembourg! Giuseppe Catellaneta tells us more. Netty Thines talks about the Luxilux app to discover the city, and Sasha Kehoe gives us a round-up of the week's news. Giuseppe Catellaneta tells us more. Netty Thines talks about the Luxilux app to discover the city, and Sasha Kehoe gives us a round-up of the week's news. Sadhguru Sadhguru, 64, is a busy man. A man who only needs a first name. Perhaps you know of him due to his lifetime's work as a yogi and spiritual leader. Or you may have become more recently acquainted with his beneficent face as he travelled across 27 countries on his motorcycle: 30,000km in 100 days; raising awareness of his Save Soil campaign, generating the world's largest people's movement. In this interview he talks of the urgent action required in order to feed our soil, otherwise we in turn cannot be fed. Sadhguru has been talking to policy makers and farmers for over 30 years about the state of the soil, and says that no one took action. "30 years of soil degeneration - a good pillow to sleep on." Save Soil is a global response to this crisis. Across the world soil is dying. 52% of agricultural soil is already degraded. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation says we may have only 60 years of agriculture left if soil degradation continues, inevitably resulting in a global food crisis. Sadhguru's educational track did not follow what we, today, might consider to be the 'intellectual' path. And yet he always observed, listened and remains curious. His travels and ability to work with people all over the world means his observations are global. On education he says: "The biggest mistake we have made in the process of creating human societies is the way we have structured education. We have made people misunderstand that memory is intelligence." Sadhguru founded the Isha Foundation in 1994, which is a yoga and spiritual non-profit organisation. He is also the guide and inspiration for the Sadhguru Center for a Conscious Planet established by Harvard Medical School’s Beth Israel Deaconess Center. Discover Luxembourg with Luxilux Netty Thines, a communication's expert and co-founder of Mediation, has recently launched Luxilux, a city app to discover Luxembourg's heritage with trails and tresure hunts, challenges and cultural highlights. There's even vouchers for free drinks and restaurant reductions. Today you can explore Luxembourg city and Esch Sur Alzette with, with Schifflange coming very soon. Miss Tourism Luxembourg There's still one week to go to enter Miss Tourism Luxembourg: calling all females, 18-35 years old, 1.65 metres tall or above. You can apply online or by emailing [email protected]">https://www.luxilux.lu/en/ Miss Tourism Luxembourg There's still one week to go to enter Miss Tourism Luxembourg: calling all females, 18-35 years old, 1.65 metres tall or above. You can apply online or by emailing [email protected] Giuseppe Castellaneta tells us more. Get in touch I love to hear your feedback. You can get in touch on social media and please do subscribe, rate and review my podcast on Apple, and Spotify

We catch up on the week's news with Sasha Kehoe plus more from the wonderful minds of Séan Cleary and Steve Whiting. Sean Cleary, Executive President of the Future World Foundation talks about his insights on so many levels of issues in the world right now and how we can begin to address them. Steve Whiting, Head of Payments at Soldo, talks more about the role of fintech in our fast changing geopolitical world. Get in touch I love to hear your feedback. You can get in touch on social media and please do subscribe, rate and review my podcast on Apple, and Spotify.

Following on from ICT Spring here are some more interviews I had the opportunity to undertake on a whole range of diverse conversations from the metaverse to embedded finance, solopreneurs to the SnT department of the University of Luxembourg. ...From the metaverse to embedded finance, solopreneurs to the SnT department of the University of Luxembourg. My guests are Mike Butcher, Steve Whiting, Catherine Barba and Carlo Duprel. Mike Butcher MBE is Editor-at-large of TechCrunch, and co-founder of ThePathfounder.com magazine and its editorial events. Mike has been named one of the most influential journalists in European technology by Wired and The Daily Telegraph. He co-founded The Europas Awards for European startups, the non-profits TechVets and Techfugees, the co-working network TechHub. He is a regular tech commentator on the BBC, Sky News, CNN, CNBC and Aljazeera and has been a judge on The Apprentice UK. GQ magazine named him one of the 100 Most Connected Men in the UK and he’s a “Maserati 100 innovator”. He has advised the UK government on tech startup policy and awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. Steve Whiting, Head of Payments at Soldo, is a self-confessed payments geek, with more than thirty years’ experience developing real-time transaction processing systems and growing payments companies to scale. Prior to joining Soldo in 2015, he played a key role in establishing Postilion for S1 Corporation as a global retail payments solution and taking Alaric to the point of acquisition by NCR. Having studied Computer Engineering and Artificial Intelligence, Steve’s formative years were spent in the pioneering days of payments technology, writing code and implementing solutions at companies like Logica and American Express. Today, these early payment architectures and protocols form the bedrock of worldwide payments infrastructures. Steve believes payments is one of the most vital ingredients of a functional society and that by helping businesses in particular, Fintech companies like Soldo can be a powerful force for good. At Soldo, Steve is responsible for the technology that connects Soldo’s spend management product to external payment providers and ecosystems, focussing on adding new strategic payment solutions to enable local and regional growth. Catherine Barba is a Tech entrepreneur, Digital pioneer and a retail & e-commerce industry Futurist Entrepreneur, e-commerce pioneer, expert in digital transformation and Future of Work, Catherine Barba is one of the most active female business angels in France and committed to the promotion of diversity for years. After creating and selling several e-commerce companies, she’s about to launch her 4th venture, an educational program for freelancers and solopreneurs. She was awarded with many distinctions among which that of “Femme en Or” in 2011, “Alumni of the Year” of ESCP in 2012, Women of economic influence in France in 2014, the "Inspiring Fifty" prize in 2015 and 2016, Knight of the French National Order of Merit and Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honor. Catherine Barba serves on the board of directors of Renault Group, Etam Group and the French American Chamber of Commerce. Catherine graduated from the ESCP Business School, ranked among the best business schools in Europe. Carlo Duprel holds a PhD in Physics, from RWTH Aachen (Germany). He comes most recently from Deloitte Luxembourg where he served as Director in the Advisory & Consulting Group. He held several functions from this position, such as leading the innovation initiative at Deloitte, the FinTech activity and managing the BOOST programme providing professional services to startups. Furthermore, he led the Policy team specialized on providing policy advice to European institutions, agencies and bodies, as well as the Luxembourg Government. Before joining Deloitte, he worked for more than 10 years for the National Research Fund in Luxembourg where he was responsible for Programme Development and International Relations. Carlo will head the TTO in SnT. As always please do get in touch. Let me know your thoughts on our topics. If you subscribe and review my podcast it will really help us to be found in the metaverse of audio chatshows!

World views and life experiences from Tony Parker, Sophie Lacoste, Séan Cleary, Nasir Zubairi and Thomas Kallstenius. ICT Spring 2022 was buzzing this year with so many people sharing their knowledge on such a range of topics, with the common thread of loving technology in one form or another. Amongst the guests were Tony Parker, retired NBA Champion & Club President LDLC ASVEL. He's now an entrepreneur and investor. I also spoke to Sophie Lacoste who speaks about her life growing up with the Lacoste business infusing her life from childhood, to selling the company, and now her work with the Porosus Endowment Fund. We also talk about her clothing brand Fusalp which she runs with her brother Philippe. They bought the company 8 years ago. Sean Cleary, Executive President of the Future World Foundation talks about his insights on so many levels of issues in the world right now and how we can begin to address them. Joining him are Nasir Zubairi, CEO of the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology, LHoFT, and Thomas Kallstenius, CEO of the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, LIST. ICT Spring is hosted within the Digital ICT Week, organised by the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce and Farvest, to stimulate conversation and digital transformation, illuminate the latest tech trends and present growth opportunities for startups and SMEs.

Do you know what percentage of fashion is not used or sold? Katarina Rimarcikova tells us why we must change our fashion habits. And Dr. Toni Burke talks to us about trends in Aesthetic Medicine. Changing Face of Fashion Katarina Rimarcikova has been working in the fashion world her whole life. From graduating from Central St. Martins to working in luxury fashion houses such as Alexander McQueen and Gucci, she then set up her eponymous label in Paris. https://www.aligncreativestudio.com/ https://www.katarinarimarcikova.com/ Katarina now focuses on her work as a Subject Leader in Fashion Arts at the London College of Fashion, UAL, University of the Arts, London, since 2013. She continues to travel the world to deepen her knowledge of best practices in sustainability, innovation, circular design and responsible business. In this conversation, Katarina explains why we need to care about our clothes and how we can begin to move from a linear to circular fashion economy. Sustainability in fashion is a complex topic that can only be addressed by collaboration and knowledge. Currently 30% of what is made in fashion is not used or sold. About 68% of all textiles are made from oil and it takes around 400 years to break some fabrics down. Add to this the millions of tons of microfibres entering our water systems each time we wash our clothes. As for 'luxury' fashion - what does that even mean anymore? Expert craftsmanship or luxury mass-produced, expensive labels who want a global brand? Care, Repair, Maintain Organic cotton might not use heavy duty pesticides (which in turn affects soil health), but does use more water. And so we need to constantly rethink how we design to solve these global environmental problems. Rimarcikova believes we need to empower designers and design for disassembly. We also need to redesign mixed fabrics so that they can biodegrade. Brands need trust, transparency and loyalty. And our duty, as conscious consumers, is to 'Care, repair and Maintain', plus to always remember that we have influence through our wallet. Aesthetic Medicine Dr. Toni Burke has been working in aesthetic medicine since 2008 and during that time has seen the field bloom. However, as this burgeoning field of medicine develops, so too do the ethical questions plus legal implications. In the UK, currently anyone can inject (botox or fillers). However, if there is a complication, as a patient you can only report if the practitioner is a licenced medical professional (doctor, dentist etc). Alongside the commonly known botox, there are myriad other aesthetic practices, and the main goal is to make people feel good about themselves at the age they are. Unfortunately, there is also the weight of social media pressure which makes some people feel insecure. Dr. Burke believes body dysmorphia is on the rise. She believes aesthetic medicine should not be a trending beautification treatment but to help self-confidence in becoming the best we can be, with a natural look, at whatever stage of life we are in. Dr Burke completed her medical training at University College London Medical School and entered a surgical rotation under the London Deanery before finally specialising in Medical Aesthetics in 2008. She is a full member of the British College of Aesthetic Medicine, registered with the General Medical Council and forms part of the CMAC Specialist Advisory Board, a collaboration regarding the management of complications in Medical Aesthetics. For almost a decade, Dr Burke has worked as a Harley Street practitioner whilst also becoming a lead trainer supporting the standards of educational growth for Aesthetic medical professionals. More recently she has opened Fitzrovia Clinic in central London focusing on personalised service and results-driven treatments. Outside of clinic, Dr Burke has a passion for anatomical imagery, improving the quality of medical visuals within this specialised field. Her illustrations and 3D animations can be found online, published in medical journals, and most recently, a book focusing on Injection Anatomy, widely used in the Aesthetic community. https://fitzroviaclinic.com/ I love to hear your feedback. You can get in touch on social media and please do subscribe, rate and review my podcast on Apple, and Spotify

Privacy, counterfeiting - what's the difference? Intellectual Property has recently been in the news with the Jeff Dieschburg case. Here we discuss IP from the 15-24 year old perspective. We also talk music with Fete de la Musique and more! Here we discuss IP from from the 15-24 year old perspective. We also talk music with Fete de la Musique and more! In this week's show I talk to Julio Laporta, Head of Communications at EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) about the 3rd edition of the "Intellectual Property and Youth Scoreboard". I also talk to Vanessa Cum - the new President of Fete de la Musique and Séverine Zimmer - the coordinator of the festival. Finally, David John Pike, a professional singer, talks about his upcoming performance with the Choeur de Chambre de Luxembourg. Intellectual Property and Youth Scoreboard The 3rd Edition of the "Intellectual Property and Youth Scoreboard" study from the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) has just been released and to talk us through what this means, I’m joined by Julio Laporta from Alicante in Spain. A lawyer by profession, Julio Laporta is the Spokesperson and Head of Communications at EUIPO. Last year it ranked as the most innovative intellectual property office in the world. EUIPO manages the registration of the European Union trade mark (EUTM) and the registered Community design (RCD), which provide intellectual property protection to all EU Member States. The European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights was set up in 2009 to support the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights and to help combat the growing threat of intellectual property infringement in Europe. And this outfit was transferred to the EUIPO in 2012. Mr. Laporta talks through the results for Luxembourg and how we compare to the rest of Europe. He emphasises how important it is to respect what others have created. "If you create you deserve protection." Piracy and counterfeiting costs governments €19 billion. It also costs us, with an increased risk of cyber attacks. EUIPO works with Interpol as the money from piracy and counterfeiting is linked to terrorism and human trafficking. One of the ten priorities of the EU is IP crime On the Jeff Dieschburg case, Julio Laporta is not able to comment on specific cases, but said: "Be careful from where you draw your inspiration. When you study for your tests you don't want to be copied...nobody should be. When you make the effort, the merit is for you." Fête de la Musique I love to hear your feedback. You can get in touch on social media and please do subscribe, rate and review my podcast!. Fête de la Musique is about to start! It runs from 16 - 21 June and is the biggest musical concert in the country with 300 concerts in 6 days, so there's certainly something for you to enjoy, for free! Singing Singers, professional and choral, suffered greatly due to covid. Now they're back! Carmina Burana will be performed next week at the Philharmonie with Choeur de Chambre de Luxembourg. David John Pike will perform as a soloist. Get in touch I love to hear your feedback. You can get in touch on social media and please do subscribe, rate and review my podcast on Apple and Spotify!

The Minister for Education talks about free childcare during school weeks, free music lessons, the new Digital Hub, and new schools across the country to serve Luxembourg's diverse population. Claude Meisch, Minister for Education, talks about free childcare during school weeks, free music lessons, the new Digital Hub and new schools across the country to serve Luxembourg's diverse population. Minister Claude Meisch has been a member of the DP since 1994, He was elected to Parliament for the first time in 1999. Claude Meisch has held the role of Minister of Education, Children and Youth and as Minister for Higher Education and Research across two consecutive governments, after the election in 2013 and 2018. Recently the Ministry have announced free childcare during school weeks from September, including free school lunches for 4 - 12 year olds. School lunches will be means tested for secondary school students. The reasons behind free childcare around school hours is to stimulate the social skills of a child, the 'softer' education, still vital to a thriving society. Alongside this, free music lessons (including dance, diction, theatre and whatever else is offered by the conservatoires) will also be available from September 2022. This extends to adults with a cap for each inscription at €100 per year. The government feels that music is an important part of the creative educational landscape. Digital education has been lacking, admitted Minister Meisch, and he is hoping to improve this gap by launching the Digital Hub and Ecole 42. We speak at length about the burgeoning schools across the country serving a hyper diverse population, where there can be more nationalities in one class than pupils! The government have settled on the European Baccalaureate as the system which seems to serve the most students in these new schools. The conversation wraps up with a view on the University of Luxembourg, research in this country, and what Minister Meisch might want to do next. I love to hear your feedback. You can get in touch on social media and please do subscribe, rate and review my podcast!.

The Order of Malta Luxembourg is starting a series of fundraising activities, starting with the Roude Leiw Polo Club, to raise money for a homeless shelter. Whichever ranking, rating or survey you look at, Luxembourg will sit high in the charts, in terms of GDP, wealth, low unemployment and a good social security network to help those in need. And yet, there is an evident homeless issue. To address this, the Order of Malta Luxembourg, a Catholic organisation dating back over 900 years, aims to build a homeless shelter to give the homeless a place to stay, food, conversation, and medical care. For this, they need to raise €100,000. The first step, in a series of fundraisers, will be an upcoming event with the Roude Leiw Polo Club, open to all to enjoy the Polo, horses, food and drink. The event will take place weekend of 11 / 12 June with a charity dinner on the Saturday night plus a tombola with some wonderful prizes to be had. In this conversation, I talk to Jessy Morbé, President of the Order of Malta Luxembourg, Wilhelmina Von Blumenthal, a superb polo player who represented Oxford University during her time as a student there, plus the University of Luxembourg, and Alexander Gebhard who is a newcomer to both horse riding and polo simultaneously, and is already Vice-President of the Board of the Roude Léiw Polo Club A.s.b.l. One might assume that polo is an elite sport, but Wilhelmina (Billie) makes it clear that their club, based in Merl, is open to family and friends and is a place to have fun whilst enjoying the horses and the sport. My Guests: Wilhelmina von Blumenthal is a graduate in Modern Languages from Oxford with a Masters in Art History, and now works for the Gallery Nosbaum Reding here in Luxembourg. Wilhelmina has been riding all her life, show jumping for many years, but discovered polo in 2011 on her gap year. She played for Oxford University throughout her studies, and for the University of London during her Masters. Wilhelmina has been a volunteer with the Order of Malta for the last three 3 years and is about to become a full member. Jessy Morbé is President of the Order of Malta Luxembourg. He works as a technical engineer for the Institut superieure de technologie Luxembourg. Additionally, he is a volunteer with the St John’s Ambulance and runs breakfasts for the homeless around the country throughout the week. Alexander Gebhard studied modern and medieval languages at the University of Cambridge, followed by a Masters in European Politics and Society at Oxford, another Masters in Vocal Performance and Opera at the Royal Academy of Mucic, and is currently doing a 'part-time' PhD at Cambridge whilst also working at the foreign office. He started riding and polo last year. Links: https://www.poloclub.lu/ https://www.orderofmalta.int/sovereign-order-of-malta/ https://ordredemalteluxembourg.org/ https://www.facebook.com/events/4647623338684045?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22surface%22%3A%22page%22%7D]%7D I love to hear your feedback. You can get in touch on social media and please do subscribe, rate and review my podcast!. Please subscribe and review on Apple and Spotify

Pollinators are pillars of our ecosystems and on UN World Bee day I chat with Dr. Michael Eickermann from LIST. Also, Evegenia Paliy tells us about the Ukraine-Luxembourg Business Club's upcoming event. Pollinators are pillars of our ecosystems and on UN World Bee day I chat with Dr. Michael Eickermann from LIST. Also, Evgenia Paliy tells us about the Ukraine-Luxembourg Business Club's upcoming event. Dr. Michael Eickermann is an agricultural entomologist (someone who studied insects) at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) since 2007. He researches fundamental and applied national and international research projects on plant protection, apiculture (beekeeping) and the development of alternative controls for pests. He now also works on the impact of climate change on agricultural systems. For 10 years Michael has been a beekeeper himself. He has also been on the board of National Beekeeper Organisation and editor of the Luxembourgish Beekeeping Journal (Lëtzebuerger Beien-Zeitung). The 20th of May was declared the “World Bee Day” by the UN to raise awareness about the importance of honeybees as pollinators. The total economic value of pollination worldwide has been estimated at around $153 billion. "Every third bite of food we take we owe to pollination of plants by bees." Of course, honeybees also produce honey, wax, propolis, gelée royal and collect pollen. And alongside the honeybee, we celebrate butterflies, bumble bees, solitary bees and beetles as well as bats as vital pollinators. Due to the importance of pollination, the Agro-environmental Systems Group at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) is studying the influence of agricultural practices on honeybee health since 2010 in a project called “BeeFirst”. Funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development and carried out in close collaboration with the Administration des Services Vétérinaires (ASV) and the Administration des Services Techniques de l'Agriculture (ASTA), several factors affecting colony losses in winter were identified. https://www.list.lu/en/research/project/beefirst/ https://www.list.lu/en/environment/environmental-sensing-and-modelling/group/agro-environmental-systems-group/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-eickermann-3905411a8/ Business Stands with Ukraine Evgenia Paliy dashed into my studio directly from a French law exam to tell us about an upcoming event to raise money and awareness for SMEs in Ukraine and independent artist refugees here in Luxembourg. Evgenia is the CEO and a founding board member of the Ukraine-Luxembourg Business Club asbl (ULBC). Together with its partners Luxinnovation, Luxembourg for Finance and the Embassy of Ukraine in Brussels they invite you to attend a charity dinner with a silent art auction. The charity dinner aims to raise the profile for SME business and startups in Ukraine which are affected by the war. The proceeds from the entry tickets, sponsorship packages and private donations will be channeled to their international partner - Ukrainian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (UVCA) which provides aid for the Ukrainian startup community in the distressed territory, and whose innovative business currently need some help to stay afloat and continue to support the Ukrainian economy. Ukrainian artists This event is performance-based and will feature Ukrainian artists: Oxana Berezhna and a sculptor Michael Levchenko, and two Luxembourgish artists: Ott Neuens and Elisabeth Calmes. It will be possibly to meet the artists in person and buy their art works on the night itself. The evening will continue with the singing of two vocalists of the Taras Shevchenko National Opera and Ballet Theatre of Ukraine Nataliia Semeniuta and Tetiana Liubymenko who recently became refugees in Luxembourg. To conclude, the winners of multiple international contests in Latin dancing, Renat and Inna Korobka will demonstrate the passion and braveness of the Ukrainian fight via their performance. Many talented, well-educated people found their temporarily homes in Luxembourg, and ULBC want to shine a light on the talent that now resides here. HOW TO GET INVOLVED ULBC are looking for sponsors, media partners and everybody who would like to join the initiative. You can Buy a ticket for the event: price for the single ticket is EUR 175 The charity dinner with a silent art auction “Business Stands with Ukraine” will take place on June 9th in Luxembourg city. For more information about the event please visit https://www.weareulbc.com/ Get in touch! I love to hear your feedback. You can get in touch with me on social media and please do subscribe, rate and review my podcast!. [comments]

This weekend the Asteroid Foundation put on a space event with the Scouts association FNEL. Plus, artist Katarzyna Kot talks about the relationship of her art with nature. This weekend the Asteroid Foundation will put on a space event with the Scouts association FNEL. Plus, artist Katarzyna Kot talks about the relationship of her art with nature. Razvan Petru Radu and Colleen Fiaschetti talk about Asteroid Foundation's new working relationship with the Scout Federation in Luxembourg, FNEL, represented here by Carolyn Milne. Katarzyna Kot-Bach is a Polish artist, trained in sculpture and art pedagogy at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow and the National School of Fine Arts in Paris. She has lived in Luxembourg since 2004 and works as an independent artist in her studio in Koerich with the group Sixthfloor. Her work in bronze and wood has continued to garner international interest, at sculpture meetings and symposia. She exhibits across the world and is a lecturer of wood carving and drawing. This year she has been exhibiting at the prestigious Domaine de Chaumont-Sur-Loire in France - the first Luxembourg based artist to do so. Centre d'Arts et de Nature de Chaumont-sur-Loire. https://asteroidday.org/ http://kotkart.lu/ https://www.fnel.lu/en/home https://domaine-chaumont.fr/en/chateau-historic-grounds-and-stables https://asteroidfoundation.org/about/

We don't have a future without it. So say these talented entrepreneurs who are doing something about it. My guests this week are Filip Westerlund who developed Our Choice, Antoine Welter and Xavier Kohll who founded Circu Li-ion. Our Choice Whilst studying for his masters in psychology at the University of Luxembourg, Filip Westerlund started his company, Our Choice. The idea was borne on the shores of western Sweden, cleaning up plastics on the beach. Filip naturally has high energy but preserves his entrepreneurial panache with the basic rules of eating well, sleep and doing something completely different to avoid burn-out. He also practices acceptance and tries to focus on the goal, the action. 25 billion sneakers are produced every year, and 90% of these end up in landfills. On average, trainers are used for 3 - 12 months and then disposed. Filip believes in longer use period, then repair and recycle. Filip is also integral in growing the fashion community here in Luxembourg, growing together and not competitively. Filip has won numerous awards including those by the Ministry of Economy in Luxembourg, and he was dubbed 'the most influential circular economy Entrepreneur and Pioneer on the continent of Europe'! Our Choice launched "The world’s first circular sneakers” on Kickstarter in 2021 raising over $10,000 within a week. The product range now also sells circular cardholders made from upcycled fish skin and soon to come are circular sunglasses. The company is now planning for a pivot as Filip and his team are building a marketplace for verified circular products to unite the full supply chain and establish new market standards in fashion. Circuli - ion Antoine Welter and Xavier Kohll are the founders of Circu li-ion - upcycling Li-ion batteries from the automotive sector and power tools, and building CO2 neutral energy storage systems. Antoine first came across Xavier on LinkedIn. Immediately there was a spark of mutual respect and values. Their first shared brainstorming google doc, formed after a stroll in the woods, was 'Bring Entrepreneurship back to Luxembourg', at a time when neither was living in Luxembourg. However, Xavier wanted to return and Antoine wanted to work with Xavier. They wanted to build a business with purpose and mission. Their idea focusses on high density lithium batteries, a key technology which we will increasingly need we need to become a green economy in the future. It's green but could be a lot greener. Currently when batteries are 'recycled' they are burned. Their aim is to maximise the lifetime of Li-ion batteries, and the growth rate is huge. Antoine is the CEO of Circu Li-ion and carries the American 'can do' attitude having spent part of his youth there. His masters in Finance and Marketing has been put to good use in the 15+ ventures he has been involved with. Xavier is the CTO, whose PhD in Chemical engineering is from ETH Zürich. He's leading the development of the automated battery disassembly system, and looking for highly skilled engineers in various fields. "It's challenging and therefore super interesting", says Xavier, Antoine takes on the mantle of business brain. He is well connected across Europe and complimentary of the help available from the Luxembourg government. Even so, he believes the government could help rather easily with more traction. Some entrepreneurial advice from the pair: Fail fast and iterate Be extremely complementary as a founding duo And as a consumer, be a thoughtful user. [comments]

With another packed show, my all female guests tackle tough topics with practical, actionable steps. My guests this week are Kristina Mikulova, Christiane Bourg, Emma Farrell and Deirdre Ryan. Kristina Mikulova, originally from Slovakia, has a deep passion for giving back to the world. A highly accomplished woman with a PhD in Political and Social Sciences from Oxford University, she has travelled the world on assignment with Slovakia’s government and international organizations, including the World Bank. Kristina now resides in Luxembourg and is a Senior Expert at the European Investment Bank. In this conversation she talks about her time volunteering with the incoming refugees at the Slovak/ Ukrainian border, why it means so much to her to give back, and how she helps to mentor those volunteers around her with her own expertise in crisis management. Christiane Bourg set up Protransplant after her father was given the gift of increased life due to a liver transplant, after being suddenly diagnosed with liver cancer with a mere 8 weeks to live. We talk in depth about the importance of organ donation, how rare the chance to become an organ donor statistically would be, how to talk to family and friends about your choice if that ever came to pass, and how Luxembourg sits on the organ donor list compared to other countries within Eurotransplant, of which we are a member. And finally, Emma Farrell and Deirdre Ryan tell us about the 5km walk 'Darkness into Light' happening on Saturday 7 May in Luxembourg City. This walk, which started in Ireland, is now a global walk to shine a light on mental illness and suicide. If you don't want to walk, or can't join the walk, there is always an opportunity to donate to the cause of destigmatising the conversation around suicide. If you'd like to get in touch with me, feel free to do so via social media. I always love hearing your ideas which serve our community. http://www.protransplant.lu/ https://www.facebook.com/DILLUX/

Sonification is a burgeoning field of science and music. This project kicks off next weekend in Rockhal, part of Esch 2022 Capital of Culture. Plus, Daniel Sahr talks about his time in Dubai building the Luxembourg Pavilion for World Expo 2020. Sonification is a burgeoning field of science and music. This project kicks off next weekend in Rockhal, part of Esch 2022 Capital of Culture. Plus, Daniel Sahr talks about his time in Dubai building the Luxembourg Pavilion for World Expo 2020. The Sound of Data, or sonification, can be thought of as the visualisation of data for the ears. It's a combination of science and music plus the use of big data. Patrizia Luchetta and Paul Bradshaw talk to us about the multi-faceted launch event on Sunday 1 May at Rockhal, Belval from 1400 to 1930. We'll meet a cyborg, a colour-blind man who uses a sonification implant to 'see' colours, for example. Other guests include Valery Vermeulen, Nuria Bonet, Alexandra Supper, Cristian Vogel and Cedric Fischer. There are many partners in this project including FNR, LIST, the University of Luxembourg, Rockhal and more besides. There'll be plenty on offer for children to explore and deeper discussions too. For scientists and musicians interested in taking part in the project's artist residency the information about how to apply is already online. This project will continue until 3 December 2022. World Expo Dubai 2020 Daniel Sahr, Director of the Luxembourg Pavilion for the World Expo 2020 in Dubai is just closing down this project before rapidly starting on the next for Osaka World Expo. Here, we reflect on the five year journey from standing in the sand to a set of global pavilions visited by thousands. The World Expo was one of the first big events to open post / during covid for people to start travelling and exploring again. The Luxembourg Pavilion itself saw almost 700,000 visitors - more than the population of the country!. We hear stories of a child thanking Luxembourg for helping to build his country, the UAE with steel from Belval to build the Burj Khalifa. And so it goes on. The memories of the student chefs getting the chance to cook and learn from the best in Dubai at the Pavilion. Daniel, aside from the personal celebration of getting married and about to have his first child, is already thinking and planning for Osaka 2025. For anyone interested in the tenders for applications, keep your eyes peeled for more information on the website to come! www.thesoundofdata.lu www.luxembourgexpo2020dubai.lu https://www.instagram.com/thesoundofdata/ https://www.cc.lu/

SUMO chats graffiti to NFTs, with a session or two on marketing in between. SUMO we may know from the painted LuxAir planes but his work has a long history, and his concept of space and time runs through it all. In this conversation we talk about his name, the characters that he uses in his work (crazy baldhead and others), what is is to be an independent artist and what other skills are required to make it work successfully. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sumoartwork/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sumoartwork Gallery 1:1 : www.gallery1to1.com Website www.sumo.lu Online Shop: www.sumoartwork.com My radio show will be available every Saturday at 11am, repeated on Sunday at noon, and also available as a podcast on Apple, Spotify - wherever you reach them. Send me feedback and get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast if you’re a podcast listener as it really helps the podcast to be found amidst the plethora of others out there, and it puts little Luxembourg on the podcast map. Apparently rating the podcast also very much helps and would be very appreciated.

Entrepreneur Anna Salewski talks about setting up Scroble and the situation in her homeland Belarus. From an Auchan boycott to Afghanistan, the furthest star spotted by Hubble to Boris Becker's missing trophies, we catch up with the week's news with Sasha Kehoe, newsreader from The Sam Steen Show. Did you know 'Earendel - the furthest start spotted by Hubble - is named after the old English for “morning star". Charles-Louis Machuron talks about how he started Silicon Luxembourg, his aims for the future and the importance of a strong mentor. Anna Salewski explains how the novel shopping concept Scroble works and her up-coming event next week, where comedian Marta Correia will perform. RTL Today Radio My show will be available every Saturday at 11am, repeated on Sunday at noon, and also available as a podcast on Apple, Spotify - wherever you reach them. Send me feedback and get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast if you’re a podcast listener as it really helps the podcast to be found amidst the plethora of others out there, and it puts little Luxembourg on the podcast map. Apparently rating the podcast also very much helps and would be very appreciated.

Dr. Hilde Hardeman reflects on the war in Ukraine, with the lens of an academic of the region who has devoted her life to working for the European Union with the goal of a peaceful and prosperous Europe. We also talk about Relais pour la Vie with Claudia Gaebel. Dr. Hilde Hardeman reflects on the war in Ukraine, with the lens of an academic of the region who has given her life to work for the European Union with the goal of a peaceful and prosperous Europe. We also talk about Relais pour la Vie with Claudia Gaebel. This week my show starts with a round up of the week's news with Sasha Kehoe, newsreader from The Sam Steen Show. We discuss lighter aspects of the news such as "I have a Crush on Zelensky. I'm pretty sure everyone does." by Caitlin Moran at The Times! And more besides... My main guest is Dr. Hilde Hardeman, Director General of the Publications Office of the European Union, a post she took up in December 2021. Prior to that, her vast experience of work in service of the European Commission since 1994 includes: - Head of the European Commission's Service for Foreign Policy Instruments - Deputy Head of Cabinet to the Commission's Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness - head of the Commission President's briefing team - in charge of the units for relations with Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus. Hilde Hardeman holds a Ph.D. in Slavic philology and history from the University of Leuven, having studied at Leuven, Stanford University and the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris. Through her vast knowledge of the Russian people and its history, and her career with the Commission, we talk about how dialogue progressed through the years to where we see ourselves now. Dr Hardeman talks about the fundamental need for peace. As a child, growing up in Ypres, she was very aware of it being a World War I front. There was only one tree in the entire region that predates the war. The whole city had to be rebuilt after being flattened in 1918. The whole landscape is scarred by bombs, to this day. Her grandparents grew up as refugees in France. In the sixties and seventies, her parents and others recorded stories of those who had lived through the wars and produced their memories and testimonies in a book available in French and Dutch. They also raise funds for a garden dedicated to the constant flow of refugees, from which we all descend. And a little bit about the Publications Office of the EU: they handle an enormous amount of data and are the official provider of - publishing and open data management services to all EU institutions. - the central point for EU and case law, publications, open data, research results, procurement notices and other official information. Their mission is to make all of this information available to all EU policy makers, public administrations, citizens and businesses. They have to work hard in figuring out how to disseminate information, hold long term data well, and flow with the digitalisation of data. My second guest is Claudia Gaebel is Head of Communication & Fundraising at Fondation Cancer, the Cancer Foundation Luxembourg, and organised the first Relais pour la Vie in Luxembourg in 2006. It has grown from 3000 runners to 14000 participants in the last in-person event in 2019. Relais pour la Vie is taking place this weekend, where teams of people run or walk for 24 hours to raise money and think about the life of a cancer patient for one whole day. There's still time to register a team and participate. The Cancer Foundation has three pillars of care: awareness for cancer prevention, support for cancer patients and their families, and research funding. My show will be available every Saturday at 11am, repeated on Sunday at noon, and also available as a podcast on Apple, Spotify - wherever you reach them. Send me feedback and get in touch! Please do subscribe to the podcast if you’re a podcast listener as it really helps the podcast to be found amidst the plethora of others out there, and it puts little Luxembourg on the podcast map. Apparently rating the podcast also very much helps and would be very appreciated.

Do you have new-born baby items you can donate to help Ukrainian refugees? Plus, we celebrate 75 years of the British Luxembourg Society. As we sit listening to Gosia Kramer, CEO of The Office, talk about her background studies in Post-Soviet Transformations, and thus her want to work to help the Ukrainian refugees, plus those in Ukraine, there is a sad circularity of war. Jacqui Spence was a young child in World War II. Now she is on the board of the British Luxembourg Society and recounts her memories of being bombed in London. The irony is that the British Luxembourg Society was "born out of the ashes" of WWII and as they celebrate their 75th year, another war is on our doorstep. President Louise Benjamin and secretary Darren Robinson tell us what they have planned throughout the year. Gosia Kramer, CEO of The Office ( https://theoffice.lu/) , is mostly known to us as the beautiful and talented Polish entrepreneur that she is. What is less well-known is that her studies at the University of Poznan in Poland targeted studies on Post-Soviet transformations. Gosia studied in the Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Finland carrying out the Polish government’s mission to monitor these countries on their path to political and economic transformation. She also worked with UN researchers and missions from Belgium on precisely the same topic. In Luxembourg, before becoming an entrepreneur, Gosia was an account manager to the Central Bank of Russia and witnessed how they prepared for current military operations/wars, managing all of their US and EU portfolios In the last few weeks, Gosia, a well-known member of the Polish community, has been working very hard with her team and other volunteers to collect many items for the Ukrainian refugees. British Luxembourg Society Luxembourg ( https://b-l-s.lu/) My three guests Louise Benjamin, the President of the British Luxembourg Society, Darren Robinson, its secretary, and Jacqui Spence, talk about the 75th Anniversary Year and what's on offer throughout the year. Louise Benjamin is British and Luxembourgish, originally from Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, and has lived in Luxembourg since 2002. An English Solicitor and a Luxembourg Avocat à la Cour by training, she runs Benjamin Law Firm. http://www.benjamin.lu/ Louise is on the boards of STEP BeNeLux, which shares legal and other best practices across the region, and Life Project 4 Youth (LP4Y), an NGO providing practical education to young adults who are victims of extreme poverty. https://en.lp4y.org/ Darren Robinson is British and has lived and worked in England and Australia, and has permanently resided in Luxembourg since 2006. He is a Founding Partner of Anderson Wise, an independent Recruitment & Executive Search firm founded in Luxembourg. https://andersonwise.com/ Darren has been a Council member of the British Chamber of Commerce for Luxembourg since 2008, and has been recently been elected for his 3rd term on the Council for the British-Luxembourg Society and currently holds the position of Secretary. https://www.bcc.lu/ Jacqui Spence was born in London during the war, and then emigrated to Johannesburg, South Africa just after the war. During her years there she saw the pillars of apartheid laid down around her, despite the efforts of many students, and others, to oppose this. Jacqui returned to London after graduation, worked in survey research, married and moved to Luxembourg as her husband joined the European Parliament, and Jacqui worked for the European Commission. In 2000 Jacqui became the National Director for The Royal Academy of Dance representing Benelux, France and Monaco. She served on the National Council for Foreigners, headed their committee for women, and worked to get the government to recognise dual nationality in 2009. https://mfamigr.gouvernement.lu/en/le-ministere/attributions/integration/conseil-etrangers.html RTL Today Radio You can listen to the show on the RTL Today Radio player via the RTL Today App. My show will be available every Saturday at 11am, repeated on Sunday at noon, and also available as a podcast on Apple, Spotify - wherever you reach them. Send me feedback and get in touch! https://www.lisatoniburke.com/ Please do subscribe to the podcast if you’re a podcast listener as it really helps the podcast to be found amidst the plethora of others out there, and it puts little Luxembourg on the podcast map. Apparently rating the podcast also very much helps and would be very appreciated

Are we living in a 'driverless world'? I talk to Tom Fletcher, CMG, about his latest book, "Ten Survival Skills for a World in Flux". And Guy Daleiden talks about the VR section of the Luxembourg City Film Festival. Let me introduce you to my guests this week: Tom Fletcher has led a life so full of diverse and exceptional postings that it's hard to know what to mention first. So let me just fall backwards with a few of its highlights. Currently, Tom is Principal of Hertford College at the University of Oxford, a post he’s held since September 2020. He started career life in the Foreign Office, becoming foreign policy adviser to three UK Prime Ministers from 2007-11, and the UK's Ambassador to Lebanon from 2011 - 15. He then pivoted towards education, becoming a Visiting Professor at New York University whilst living in Abu Dhabi. During this period, he authored a report on the skills the next generation need to thrive in the 21st century. And in 2018 Tom founded ‘The Foundation for Opportunity’. His books include 'The Naked Diplomat: Power and Politics in the Digital Age', published in 2016, and this year has a wonderful book entitled 'Ten Survival Skills for a World in Flux' My next guest is Guy Daleiden, CEO of Film Fund Luxembourg. The Film Fund, an official Government organisation, is in charge of promoting, developing and financing the country’s film industry. It’s also one of the main partners of the Luxembourg City Film Festival and in charge of the VR (virtual reality) Pavilion that runs at Neimënster until March 13.   https://www.hertford.ox.ac.uk/staff/tom-fletcher https://tomfletcher.global/page/display/Foundation-for-Opportunity https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ten-Survival-Skills-World-Flux/dp/0008447802 http://www.filmfund.lu/ https://issuu.com/vrpavilion/docs/vr_pavilion_final2022  http://www.filmfund.lu/film-catalogue/films/vr-pavilion-vr-to-go-2022 https://issuu.com/vrpavilion/docs/vr_cinema_final2022_v3  http://www.filmfund.lu/news-events/latest-news-events/news/le-film-le-sommet-des-dieux-sacre-meilleur-film-d-animation-aux-cesar-2022

Ukraine, a look back at the week's news, and a look towards the Luxembourg Film Festival. Hello everyone and welcome to The Lisa Burke Show! As many of you may have seen, we now have RTL Today Radio, which you can access through the RTL Today app - just press the little radio button top right. My podcast will now morph into this radio show, and vice versa - this show will become a podcast. My show will be available every Saturday at 11am, repeated on Sunday at noon, and also available as a podcast on apple, Spotify - wherever you reach them. Send me feedback! Get in touch! I’m on all the socials, as Sam Steen would say. Now, as with my previous podcast, each week I’ll dive into a topic or a person’s life, but we’ll also have cultural and news sections. And with that little intro, welcome to my first radio show here on RTL Today! So my guests this week are: - Sasha Kehoe, bringing us her reflections on the week’s news - Nicolas Zharov, President of LUkraine - And then we’ll talk about the Luxembourg Film Festival with Duncan Roberts, and Director / Producer, Nicolas Steil, founder and CEO of Iris Productions. https://www.ukrainians.lu/ https://www.luxfilmfest.lu/ http://www.filmfund.lu/industry-guide/companies/iris-productions

How can we develop a sustainability mindset intrinsically, without the need for nudges? "What type of children do we leave to this world’ says Raymond Schadeck, one of my two guests on this long and winding conversation on sustainability. Joining him is Professor Marcus Müller from Sacred Heart University Luxembourg. (SHULU) "You cannot prescribe innovation" says Marcus, and goes on to talk about the Sustainability in Action leadership platform developed by SHULU. SHULU have developed the 3C model of sustainability to generate confidence, inspire creativity and fuel collaboration. Marcus believes that if you want to drive sustainable innovation you need to understand what drives people and their creativity. Marcus talks about the current of fear, control and individualism which can only ever achieve short-term effects of raising awareness. Raymond talks about people wanting to be part of something, especially something for good. We are animals with a herd mindset. He hopes we can have more positive news, more hope to inspire and connect people to work together for a sustainable future. Behaviour, as they say, is contagious. https://www.shu.lu/sustainability-in-action-leadership-platform/ https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/ My Guests: Professor Marcus Müller is Professor of Management & Director of Strategic Initiatives at Sacred Heart University Luxembourg. Marcus enjoyed a global career in finance before turning to academia. Raymond Schadeck is an independent director for sustainable and societal projects. Subscribe to the podcast: Subscribe to all my podcasts on whatever player you choose to use: RTL Play, iTunes or Spotify. You can get in touch with Lisa at www.lisatoniburke.com

Do you know how fertile you are? Infertility affects one in six couples. We talk about the highs and lows; the costs, literally, but also emotionally and physically. Infertility is not uncommon and yet the conversation is still rather taboo. Here I talk to Virginie Vast, Head of Procurement for Europe at Amazon, and Zenia Dutta Roy, founder of Les Sûtras in Luxembourg. They discuss their infertility treatment years, the importance of support, and the ways in which they coped. Some highlights of this conversation: - listen to your body - put a time limit on how many rounds you will try - find your support group - men need support too - think about the adoption process in parallel - don't wait too long to get your fertility checked (even if you're single) Subscribe to all my podcasts on whatever player you choose to use: RTL Play, iTunes or Spotify. You can get in touch with Lisa at www.lisatoniburke.com https://lessutras.com/ - Zenia's shop in Luxembourg.

We probably all know someone who has been affected by cancer, whether directly or indirectly. Today we shine a light on World Cancer Day. My Guests are: - Dr. Lucienne Thommes - Sarah Kretschmer - Tobie Brealey Dr. Lucienne Thommes has been the director of the Cancer Foundation Luxembourg https://www.cancer.lu/fr since 2016. She is also a board member of the European Cancer Leagues. https://www.cancer.eu/ Sarah Kretschmer is a psychologist and psychotherapist working with the Cancer Foundation Luxembourg . Tobie Brealey describes herself as an apparently-healthy, fit, working mother of three, diagnosed with stage 3 oesophageal cancer in August 2018. She had chemo, radiation and a life-changing surgery here in Luxembourg, and has been cancer-free since then. In this conversation we talk about the impact of cancer on the patient and the family, what care can be found in Luxembourg, who covers the costs, and so much more. The Cancer Foundation Luxembourg (Fondation Cancer) have their questionnaire online today to be filled out by those who have had cancer or who have cancer right now. You can find it online and despite it being in French or German you can answer in English. https://www.cancer.lu/fr/comment-te-dire https://www.cancer.lu/de/koennen-wir-darueber-sprechen #commenttedire #daruebersprechen Cancer Foundation Luxembourg on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/fondationcancer/ World Cancer Day https://www.worldcancerday.org/ Please let us know your experiences of cancer in Luxembourg, whether as a patient or a family member or caregiver. Subscribe to all my podcasts on whatever player you choose to use: RTL Play, iTunes or Spotify and please leave me a review! You can get in touch with Lisa at www.lisatoniburke.com

Do you even know where your data is stored? Which city? What's the electricity cost? 'Edge' data centres might be the answer... This week we talk about a topic which is not yet hitting the headlines: the exponential increase in the electricity footprint of ICT this decade. Do you know where your data is stored? Or how much energy it costs to 'transport' data? The electricity footprint of ICT in 2030 could be 51% of global electricity and contribute up to 23% of globally released greenhouse gas emissions. This can be broken down to show that data centres account for about one third of this, and data transport another third. Herein comes the idea of an 'edge' data centre, much closer to the place it's needed. My guest, Philippe Rechsteiner is CFO of Dataqube - the world’s first standalone 5G-ready Edge Data Centre System. Developed by researchers in Cambridge, they have relocated the HQ to Luxembourg. In this conversation we talk about why Edge Data Centres are better for the environment. But we also talk about entrepreneurship in Europe compared to America. How easy is it to raise money here? Why do Europeans seem so risk adverse? I hope you enjoy the podcast! Please do subscribe and leave a review!

If you had one more day to enjoy life, what would you wish for? Ambulance Wish, Ambulanz Wonsch, https://www.ambulanzwonsch.lu/about-us/, is going to be launched in Luxembourg 22 January 2022 at the Dutch Embassy. The idea of Ambulance Wish was created by the Dutch Ambulance Driver, Kees Veldboer. One day, with a bit of time to spare, Kees asked his bedridden patient Mario, who had been a seaman, if there was anything he'd like to do. "I'd love to see the harbour one more time". And so Kees took him there. "Would you like to sail again?" Kees asked Mario. Well of course, Mario replied, but I now need a stretcher. Kees made it happen. And so the idea of the Ambulance Wish was born, which grew into Stiching Ambulance Wens, https://www.ambulancewens.nl/en, in the Netherlands. It has now spread to 16 countries and is about to be launched in Luxembourg. Through this conversation with Karen van Hout, we learn that it's the smallest things in life which mean the most to us in the end. It seems that our roots and nature are intrinsic to our deepest wants and final wishes. "Adding life to days" was Kees Veldboer's mantra. Ambulanz Wonsch’s mission is to give people who are in end-of-life care and bedridden, the resources, specialist transport and medical support they need to fulfil their final wishes. The service is entirely donor-funded and staffed by medically trained health care professionals who volunteer their time. They have their own, purpose-built ambulance, focussed on comfort, with a soft mattress, pillows and a duvet. It’s equipped with shuttered windows so that the patient can look outside, enjoy the view, but cannot be seen. My Guest: Karen van Hout has a 17-year background in healthcare, volunteering and in professional roles. She is the owner of Of Wood and co-founder of the Systemic Neuroscience Consulting Group in Luxembourg. Through her work, she met Yvette, the person with whom the idea of Ambulanz Wonsch actually started. Ambulanz Wonsch - Social Media: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ambulanzwonsch/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ambulanzwonsch/ Twitter https://twitter.com/AmbulanzWonsch LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/ambulanzwonsch/ Dear Listeners I'd be delighted if you could subscribe to my series and leave a review - it really helps for the podcast to be found. You can get in touch with me at www.lisatoniburke.com Subscribe to all my podcasts on whatever player you choose to use: RTL Play, iTunes, Spotify or XML: https://play.rtl.lu/shows/en/in-conversation-with-lisa-burke/episodes https://podcasts.apple.com/lu/podcast/rtl-today-in-conversation-with-lisa-burke/id1503348120 https://open.spotify.com/show/4mrOtFFEXKa1DyxzfyUX1o

Want some home-grown culture? Well Esch-Alzette and the surrounding areas are about to take on the mantle of European Capital of Culture, along with Kaunas in Lithuania and Novi Sad in Serbia. Want some home-grown culture? Esch-sur-Alzette, 10 ‘Pro-Sud towns’ and 8 French towns that constitute the “Communauté de Communes Pays Haut Val d’Alzette” (CCPHVA) become the European Capital of Culture on February 26th. That means a full programme of major cultural events and exhibitions, across the whole region, open to everyone! My guests are Nancy Braun, the General Director of the Esch2022 project, and Jessika Maria Rauch, lead PR and Public Affairs for Esch2022. https://esch2022.lu/en/ The work has been a cross-border collaboration with the French communes. Plus, pan-European as the team worked closely with Kaunas and Novi Sad - the other two European Capitals of Culture for 2022. This title normally regenerates an area. Nancy and her team have been conscious to think about sustainable development, that can hopefully increase local and international tourism to a, currently, under-visited region of Luxembourg and France. The theme is REMIX Culture to support the REMIX Future of Esch 2022. From February 26th there will be a host of concerts, exhibitions, performances, virtual events and workshops, but you must register! The Minett region, formerly very industrial, has transformed into a fascinating area of nature reserves and so much more. The 'Land of the Red Earth' can be explored by bike or hiking trails. More Information: You can become a volunteer! Don't forget to register for your free tickets to whatever events you choose to attend! Dear Listeners, I'd be delighted if you could subscribe to my series and leave a review - it really helps for the podcast to be found. You can get in touch with me at www.lisatoniburke.com Subscribe to all my podcasts on whatever player you choose to use: RTL Play, iTunes, Spotify or XML. https://podcasts.apple.com/lu/podcast/rtl-today-in-conversation-with-lisa-burke/id1503348120 https://play.rtl.lu/shows/en/in-conversation-with-lisa-burke/episodes/r/1661239 https://open.spotify.com/show/4mrOtFFEXKa1DyxzfyUX1o

So much of what we want to understand about the nature of God in our lives is "beyond the capacity of the language that we’ve got", Evelyn explains, as she describes her calling to priesthood. Evelyn talks about her spiritual and educational path over recent years, to become Curate at the Anglican Church of Luxembourg. Community is at the core of their Chaplaincy here Luxembourg and their three pillars are: - a diverse community where everyone belongs - a prayerful community that seeks to act with integrity - a worshipping community that invites questions Church website: www.anglican.lu Upcoming services: All the services are CovidCheck plus masks and limited numbers, so registration on Eventbrite is necessary. Overview: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/anglican-church-of-luxembourg-32072471675 Weekly e-news: https://www.anglican.lu/index.php/contact-us/ FB page: https://www.facebook.com/AnglicansinLuxembourg Revd Evelyn's public instagram account that reflects her life in ministry rather than the church as a whole: https://www.instagram.com/2019revelyn/ Contact details: Revd Geoff Read [email protected] Evelyn [email protected] General enquiries [email protected]">https://www.anglican.lu/index.php/services/ All the services are CovidCheck plus masks and limited numbers, so registration on Eventbrite is necessary. Overview: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/anglican-church-of-luxembourg-32072471675 Weekly e-news: https://www.anglican.lu/index.php/contact-us/ FB page: https://www.facebook.com/AnglicansinLuxembourg Revd Evelyn's public instagram account that reflects her life in ministry rather than the church as a whole: https://www.instagram.com/2019revelyn/ Contact details: Revd Geoff Read [email protected] Evelyn [email protected] General enquiries [email protected] My Guest: Revd Evelyn Sweerts is a priest in the Church of England, serving the Anglican Church of Luxembourg where the Chaplain is the Revd Geoff Read. She’s a Dutch-born British-Luxembourgish European who has lived in Luxembourg for the last 14 years. She and her husband Michael have four children and (currently) 1 dog and 2 cats. Dear Listeners, Please let us know how you celebrate the holiday season, whether you are religious or not. What binds you together as a community? Will you be able to travel to see family this year? And of course, we'd love to know your favourite Christmas Carols! Subscribe to the podcast! I'd be delighted if you could subscribe to my series and leave a review - it really helps for the podcast to be found. You can subscribe to all my podcasts on whatever player you choose to use: RTL Play, iTunes, Spotify or XML. Get in touch with Lisa Burke at www.lisatoniburke.com

"Mary Berry ate my tart and it didn't have a soggy bottom!" The joyous and colourful Anne Faber talks about her delectation for food, food journalism, her Advent Instagram supporting local business, and what she'll be cooking for Christmas. Plus, we want to hear YOUR recipes for the holidays! The joyous and colourful Anne Faber talks about her delectation for food, food journalism, her Advent Instagram supporting local business, and what she'll be cooking for Christmas. Plus, we want to hear YOUR recipes for the holidays! From camembert wedges with cranberry sauce whilst camping, food has always brought joy to Anne's life. Now, as the most famous (and only?) TV Chef in Luxembourg, her books and shows share that passion. Anne's down-to-earth charm and creativity is beguiling. But this energy also shows a deep commitment to hard-work and her innate intelligence. Anne works very hard, London hard, where she spent 12 years. Firstly as a student, doing the 'safe' studies of English Literature at UCL (University College London), followed by a postgraduate degree in Journalism at City University, London, specialising in food and drink writing. As a producer at Associated Press (AP) she was beginning to feel rather burnt out when serendipity played a part in her literally walking into the then editor for Time Out London's Food and Drinks section. And so, after a short internship, she got the job as restaurant critic, where she "ate her way around London". In parallel, Anne continued to work as a TV producer for ZDF and RTL Germany (from London), and in 2010 started her food blog Anne’s Kitchen, which was awarded a Digital Food Award by Food & Wine magazine in the US in 2013. During her time in London, Anne applied for the first series of The Bake Off and got down to the final 20! And happily adds, "Mary Berry ate my tart and it didn't have a soggy bottom" Back home, Anne's Kitchen has flourished. Anne has many culinary strands but the main ones remain TV and writing books. She takes inspiration from her travels, and when that's not possible, can travel the world in food through instagram! In her library of cookbooks, Nigella's prose is the type she most respects for its literary finesse. Having trained under Alain Ducasse in Paris in 2015, Anne's knowledge is solid, but when constructing her own recipes, she is conscious of how much effort her readers are likely to put in, plus what ingredients are available to us here. And more recently, Anne has been ever more thoughtful about how to use up leftovers so that there are none. We want your recipes for Christmas and the holidays! I know that many of you who listen are from lots of different places around the world. We would love to hear from you! What are your favourite Christmas or holiday recipes? How do you celebrate. What are your traditions? Send us some recipes and photos and I'll make sure Anne sees them too! Anne's details: www.anneskitchen.lu Facebook http://www.facebook.com/anneskitchentv/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/anneskitchen/ Twitter https://twitter.com/anneskitchentv Anne's TV Show http://anneskitchen.co.uk/tv-show/ Anne's books 'Flavours of Home' 'Tastes of Luxembourg' 'Home Sweet Home - My Luxembourg' 'Barcelona, Istanbul, Berlin' (winner of the Luxembourg Book Prize 2015) 'Anne's Kitchen - British food with a twist' (winner of the Luxembourg Book Prize 2014) Anne's Wine: Anne has her own wine, Anne’s Pinot Gris, created in collaboration with Domaine Caves Desom. Her Luxembourg-shaped cookie cutter keeps inspiring people to bake little Luxembourg cookies at home. Subscribe to the podcast! I'd be delighted if you could subscribe to my series and leave a review - it really helps for the podcast to be found. Get in touch with Lisa Burke at www.lisatoniburke.com

From the history of indexation in Luxembourg to its pros and cons across the socio-economic spectrum, Aline Muller and Jean-Paul Olinger discuss with Lisa Burke. From the history of indexation in Luxembourg to its pros and cons across the socio-economic spectrum, Aline Muller and Jean-Paul Olinger discuss with Lisa Burke. Indexation of wages has existed in Luxembourg since 1975, across the public and private sector. This means that wages are automatically increased in accordance with the consumer price index. This average is monitored over a rolling period of six months using a 'cote d'application'. However, Luxembourg is in the minority of countries using indexation for wages. The economic and social arguments are varied and nuanced, over which demographic one focuses on, and what time period. How does indexation affect social inequalities, our competitive edge compared to neighbouring countries, and what voice does a freelancer have? Through all of this discussion, the main aim for any government should be to: "Maintain business activity and employment at the end of the COVID crisis whilst maintaining social cohesion” My guests: Jean-Paul Olinger, Director of Union des Entreprises Luxembourgeoises (UEL) and the Institut National pour le Développement durable et la Responsabilité sociale des entreprises (INDR). He holds an MBA from HEC Lausanne and a Master of Business Law and Taxation from the University of Mannheim. Jean-Paul joined the tax team of KPMG Luxembourg in 2005, where he went from assistant to partner. And in January 2018, he joined UEL. Aline Muller, CEO of LISER (Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research), affiliate Professor of Economics and Finance at the University of Luxembourg and the University of Liège; andMember of the Board of Directors of the Luxembourg Central Bank. LISER’s mission is to provide well-grounded and clear-cut answers to policy relevant questions with the objective to advance knowledge in economic, social and spatial sciences. Aline presents at many leading international finance conferences and her work has been published in top ranked finance journals. She regularly teaches financial economics and applied econometric courses at the Radboud University of Nijmegen, Maastricht University, Erasmus University Rotterdam, University of Luxembourg and University of Liège. And also lectures at several universities in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Australasia. Subscribe to the podcast I'd be delighted if you could subscribe to my series and leave a review - it really helps for the podcast to be found. You can subscribe to all my podcasts on whatever player you choose to use: RTL Play, iTunes, Spotify or XML. Get in touch with Lisa Burke at www.lisatoniburke.com or on social media (Instagram, Twitter @lisa_toni_burke )

It's back! With products and produce from around the world, the Bazar International will open its doors once more at LuxExpo this weekend. It's back! With products and produce from around the world, the Bazar International will open its doors once more at LuxExpo this weekend. A much loved, pre-Christmas event, the Bazar International will be open from the evening of Friday 26th (when not all the stands will yet be in full-flow) through to Sunday 28th November. Don't forget to register (for free) to gain access as numbers have to be capped for Covid-safety. This event showcases stands from various countries whose residents are living here in Luxembourg: their food, drinks and various items from those countries. As usual, the Grand Duchess, Maria Teresa, will visit on Saturday afternoon, and after visiting the various stands, she will do a book signing. Earlier this month her book, A Sovereign Love, co-written with Stéphane Bern, was published. All proceeds will go to her non-profit organisation, Stand, Speak, Rise Up, which denounces rape as a weapon of war. Charity stands at the heart of the Bazar International. Each country's stand chooses their own charities to support, which are global in nature. Once the costs of hiring the venue, utility and moving overheads are paid, all profits from everything that is sold is divided between the charities. The entire organisational committee, and all the people who work on the stands are volunteers. My Guests: Carmen Decalf, President of the Bazar International Organisational Committee Charlotte de Vreeze-Nauta, Head of PR for the Bazar International Mars di Bartolomeo, Member of Parliament and President of the Parliament's Health Commission. Please subscribe to my series and leave a review for us - it really helps for our podcast to be found. You can subscribe to all my podcasts on whatever player you choose to use: RTL Play, iTunes, Spotify or XML. Get in touch with Lisa Burke at www.lisatoniburke.com

Do you enjoy reading a book, learning about literature and meeting the authors? Then Walfer Book Fair is for you, coming up this weekend. Plus, take part in the famous RTL Dictée! This weekend the Walfer book fair, Walfer Bicherdeeg is open once more where you can find books in all the languages of Luxembourg. You’ll get a chance to chat with some authors present, book publishers and sellers, and there’s a children’s section too. So come and enjoy yet another outdoor activity suitable for all the family. Clubs and Competitions If you’re interested in writing yourself there are many options for clubs and competitions such as: Les Cahiers Luxembourgeois http://cahiersluxembourgeois.lu/ A:LL - Association Luxembourg Literature https://www.allschreftstellerinnen.info/ Word-in-Progress events https://kulturfabrik.lu/project/word-in-progress Déseouvrés events at Rotondes https://www.rotondes.lu/fr/notre-actu/des-confettis-plein-les-yeux Lëtz Write https://letzwrite.art/ Poetry Club https://www.meetup.com/de-DE/Poetry-Club/ Writers Who Talk https://www.writerswhotalk.lu/home Concours littéraire national https://mc.gouvernement.lu/fr/Domaines/appels-a-projets/concours-litteraire-national-2022.html Prix Laurence https://www.prixlaurence.lu/new2021/home/1/fr/ Printemps des poètes Luxembourg concours multilingue 'Jeune Printemps': http://printemps-poetes.lu/ Black Fountain Press www.blackfountain.lu Upcoming literary prizes include: 18 November - Lëtzebuerger Buchpräis by the Federation of Book Publishers 8 December - Concours littéraire national ceremony My guests: Béa Kneip has worked at RTL since 2006, and presents a show on literature from Luxembourg for the past 7 years, which is now a podcast called Lecture vun heiheem. Since February 2021, Bea also co-hosts another podcast, with Jérôme Jaminet, where they talk about literature from Luxembourg and around the world in Luxembourgish, RTL Bicherlies. Anne-Marie Reuter is an English teacher at Lycée Robert-Schuman. She also runs Black Fountain Press, an English-language publishing house. Anne-Marie sits on the board of the publishers' federation, Lëtzebuerger Bicherediteuren and of the writers' association A:LL (Association: Luxembourgish Literature). And, she’s a writer herself. Anne-Marie has published a collection of short stories, On the Edge, and Blue. She has also translated French poems by Lambert Schlechter into English, One day I will write a poem, plus a play by Larisa Faber from English into Luxembourgish, Disko Dementia.

The biggest science event in Luxembourg is open once more! An opportunity to spend the day with real researchers, experiment and learn new ideas. The Science Festival in Luxembourg started in 1995 and this year will mark the 13th edition. It was started by the former Director of the Museum, Norbert Storm, who was inspired by the very famous Science Festival in Edinburgh. The idea was to promote science within the museum and to showcase that museums can be fun! Now it’s a huge event, where science communicators meet the public, present their own projects to the public and there are plenty of activities for all age groups. The FNR joined as a funding partner in 2003. The Science Festival fulfils one of the four pillars of the FNR to promote science to the public. Nowadays the Science Festival is the biggest science event for the public in Luxembourg, attracting 10 to 12,000 visits in a normal year. Researchers engage with the public and get feedback. It’s a wonderful two-way communication channel. And afterwards families return and often keep the conversation going at home. The Science Festival runs from 11-14 November. The first two days will be for school visits. This year more than 400 schools registered but only about 160-180 can get a space due to Covid (and fewer workshops - 45 rather than 65). The main festival at the weekend, is a Covid Check event and people must register. One of the four pillars of the FNR is to Promote Science to the Public. There is funding available for anyone who has a strong idea and wants to apply for this PSP awards. My Guests Patrick Michaely, Director of Communications and Public Relations at the National Museum of Natural History since it re-opened to the public in 1996. Jean-Paul Bertemes - Head of Science in Society for the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) and the chief editor of science.lu. The National Museum of Natural History houses scientists and naturalists who study the specimens in the collections, devoted to the scientific aspects of our natural heritage. Perhaps it’s not so well known that it is also a research institute, where science and culture are completely interwoven. The FNR is the main funder of research activities in Luxembourg and also has a mission to promote science to the public. Links www.science-festival.lu Twitter: @SciFestival_lu Instagram: @luxsciencefestival Registration link: Science Festival Webpage: https://www.science-festival.lu/ Event page on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1441935726159343 www.mnhn.lu Facebook: facebook.com/naturmuseelux Twitter: @naturmusee Instagram: @naturmusee LinkedIn: Musée national d’histoire naturelle Luxembourg www.fnr.lu FNR’s science in society activities in a nutshell: https://www.fnr.lu/science-in-society/ FNR’s public outreach funding scheme: https://www.fnr.lu/psp-funding-programmes/ Facebook @fnrlux Twitter @FNRLux LinkedIn Fonds National de la Recherche (FNR), Luxembourg Instagram @fnr.lu science.lu Facebook @science.lu Instagram @science_lu tiktok @science.lu">https://registration-science-festival.lu/en Science Festival Webpage: https://www.science-festival.lu/ Event page on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1441935726159343 www.mnhn.lu Facebook: facebook.com/naturmuseelux Twitter: @naturmusee Instagram: @naturmusee LinkedIn: Musée national d’histoire naturelle Luxembourg www.fnr.lu FNR’s science in society activities in a nutshell: https://www.fnr.lu/science-in-society/ FNR’s public outreach funding scheme: https://www.fnr.lu/psp-funding-programmes/ Facebook @fnrlux Twitter @FNRLux LinkedIn Fonds National de la Recherche (FNR), Luxembourg Instagram @fnr.lu science.lu Facebook @science.lu Instagram @science_lu tiktok @science.lu Subscribe to the podcast Please subscribe to my series and leave me a review - it really helps my podcast to be found - and thank you for taking the time to do so! Subscribe on RTL Play, iTunes, Spotify or XML. Get in touch with Lisa Burke if you have any thoughts for future podcasts at www.lisatoniburke.com

President of the Pirate Party and Député since the last election in 2018, Sven Clement talks about the state of politics in Luxembourg, fatherhood, plagiarism, lobbying and spyware. The last couple of months have heralded a new chapter for Sven and his wife Christine as they welcomed their baby Mia to the world. At only two months old, she has already travelled to three countries with her parents. It seems that the arrival of a baby has not altered their clear zest for life. Clement has been one of the more outspoken Députés on his views of Prime Minister Xavier Bettel's alleged plagiarism. This is in reference to the investigation by Reporter.lu, which suggested that out of a 56 page dissertation, only 2 pages didn’t contain plagiarised content. Reporter confirmed this finding with multiple independent experts. This was a paper written in 1999 for Bettel’s Diplôme d’études approfondies (DA), a masters level research degree, at the University of Nancy-II, which is now known as the University of Lorraine. According to Sven, the issue is that Bettel hasn't even given a proper apology for what he has seemingly confessed to. As for resigning, well that leaves a void - who could replace him? It is Clement's view that there are no obvious DP candidates as they have all so clearly aligned themselves behind Bettel. Plus, the coalition makes the situation even more fragile. And so, for now, there is no clear successor if Bettel was to ever consider resigning, which is not what Clement is asking for. Clement thinks it is unlikely that residents of Luxembourg who do not hold the nationality will be allowed to vote anytime soon, 'unfortunately'. However, he believes a second chamber could work, with an elected body to discuss all laws passed in Luxembourg. This would be a way to bypass the need for constitutional change, and to allow for more open discussion across language barriers. It ails Sven to see that some back benchers are content where they are, with no ambition to change the world but only the ambition to be re-elected. Sven is not aware of any paid lobbying but says that politicians are called on a daily basis by people or organisations and their concerns. He poses the question, as was recently discussed in the Chamber, "What is lobbying?" and notes the loaded meaning to the word lobbyist. If it does happen, if politicians are paid to lend their support to causes, Sven agrees that it should naturally be declared, "but there are almost no mechanisms in place to control this". The responsibility of MPS is to have a balanced view, he adds. Clement is crowd-sourcing for Carbon Fit - a carbon dioxide removal legislative proposal for Luxembourg and Beyond. There are a number of companies working around the world to capture carbon-dioxide with vacuum-like machines, hoovering up the gas from the air, the repurposing it. Along with many other politicians globally, Sven understands the necessity to act fast to avoid excess global warming. "I would like governments not to buy spyware." Unknown security is making every computer and smartphone more vulnerable. NSO Group, the company behind Israeli spyware Pegasus, is now blacklisted by the US Treasury. They have multiple holdings in Luxembourg. Pegasus, like other 'Trojan Horses' (malware that misleads the user), can gather evidence but also plant evidence at the same time. What worries Clement is that the rule of law could be undermined. He believes it's best to use human intelligence, 'the old-fashioned way'. Bettel let slip that the Luxembourg government use spyware, that they bought Pegasus. To use "against whom?" ponders Clement. The Luxembourg government communicates between themselves using Whatsapp. "Sometimes I’m really baffled by the naivety that Luxembourgish leading politicians have when it comes to digital issues." Sven later goes on to explain that he is a "convicted criminal for hacking" when he easily found a way into the medical data-base in Luxembourg after his Medico Sportif examination. The password was on a post-it note on the computer! Subscribe to the podcast Please subscribe to my series and leave me a review - it really helps my podcast to be found - and thank you for taking the time to do so! Subscribe on RTL Play, iTunes, Spotify or XML. Get in touch with Lisa Burke if you have any thoughts for future podcasts at www.lisatoniburke.com [comments]

Did you know there's a stand-up comedy scene in Luxembourg? Elian Habra and Jess Bauldry tell Lisa all about it. Did you know there's a stand-up comedy scene in Luxembourg? Elian Habra and Jess Bauldry tell Lisa all about it. It might have gone unnoticed to you that there is a burgeoning English comedy scene in Luxembourg. Over the last five years or so, amateur comics have got together to hone their skills through weekly open mic sessions. In this conversation, they give me tips on how to start as a comic, a few basic rules. My guests: Jess Bauldry has lived in Luxembourg since 2010 and was instrumental in creating the comedy open mic scene in Luxembourg. She has always been a passionate writer, and you may also recognise her name from journalism. In 2021, she also co-founded Writers Who Talk ( https://www.writerswhotalk.lu/), a network for creative writers and has given two workshops on humour writing. Her written work can be found in a number of anthologies, including "Tales from the Fountain", published by Black Fountain Press. Elian Habra arrived in Luxembourg six years ago. Syrian by birth, Elian uses his knowledge of the Middle East to turn stereotypes of his homeland into fodder for stand-up sets. Follow Elian on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/elianhabra/?hl=en or youtube https://www.youtube.com/user/elianhabra1 Follow Jess on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bauldryjess/ or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Life-Hack-and-think-of-England-104285212027790 Some recommendations from Jess: Jess loves listening and learning from Lou Sanders (who recently performed in Luxembourg), Beth Stelling, Olga Koch, Sara Pascoe, Victoria Wood, Amy Poehler, Felicity Ward, Romesh Ranganathan, David Sedaris and Celeste Barber. Great sources of comedy are the podcasts BBC 4 Comedy of the Week and The Guilty Feminist plus Funny Women for information. For books, Jess loves: The serious guide to joke writing: Sally Holloway The Comedy Bible: Judy Carter How to be champion: Sarah Millican How to write funny: Scott Dikkers (founding editor of The Onion) Subscribe to the podcast Please subscribe to my series and leave me a review - it really helps my podcast to be found - and thank you for taking the time to do so! Get in touch with Lisa Burke if you have any thoughts for future podcasts at www.lisatoniburke.com

Are there inequalities in divorce proceedings for men? Is ‘Résidence Alternée’ the default ruling for child custody? In this podcast, I talk to Patryk Rybiński, the President of FAD Fathers Against Discrimination, http://fad.lu/, and Andy Adams, who have both experienced the inequalities of divorce when it comes to child custody and associated issues. Fathers Against Discrimination was set up to create a platform of dialogue: - to promote gender equality - to raise awareness of gender parental discrimination in Luxembourg Family Courts - to ensure that children’s rights are respected They believe Luxembourg Family Law is outdated with regards to divorce and the rights of each parent during custody hearings of children. In 2015 there was a Council of Europe ruling which called on all EU member states to introduce Equal Shared Parenting as a base for family law. [CE Resolution 2079/15]. It has existed in Belgium and Denmark for a long time. There was a change in the Luxembourg law in November 2018 to state that Equal Shared Parenting - Alternating Residence should become the default. Patryk and Andy feel that ‘Résidence Alternée’ is still not the default law in Luxembourg. Andy speaks about the 'holy trinity' of divorce being financial assets, property and custody, saying that most are split 50-50 except child custody. Once custody arrangements have been put in place, the court still needs to assign one home the main 'residence', even in the case of alternating parenting. This has all manner of consequences when it comes to receiving child benefit, tax benefits and deductions, access to health records, CNS cards, school reports, and so it goes on. “Zukunftskeess argues that regardless of even or odd number of children in a household the payment cannot be split because the IT system does not allow it. “ This particular quote from fad.lu reminds of the Little Britain sketches where David Walliams drawls "Computer says no". According to Patryk, there are no shelters for men and boys in Luxembourg, even though men also suffer from domestic violence (about 40% in 2019), and are most commonly the ones to leave the family home. Please subscribe to my series and leave me a review - it really helps my podcast to be found - and thank you for taking the time to do so! Get in touch with Lisa Burke if you have any thoughts for future podcasts at www.lisatoniburke.com

Dr Christos Christou, International President of Médecins Sans Frontières, spoke to Lisa about the vast range of work they do as they celebrate 50 years of existence. "No doctor, you're not a human. You're my hope." It's this sort of message, which Dr. Christou received from an HIV patient in Zambia nearly 20 years ago, which keeps him going. European Borders Working through war zones, at the borders of the European Union and areas of climatic degradation, these doctors, nurses, logistical staff and much more besides, have bombs dropped on their hospitals, and can be under constant threat where international human rights are often not adhered to. And yet it can be the 'quieter' zones which can cause them the most mental stress. Dr. Christou talks of little children in the Greek camps who have no hope for life. Their eyes are vacant. They commit suicide. MSF witnesses the constant violence and pushbacks at European borders and believe this is inhumane. In the past five years they have witnessed the 'hotspot approach' - the new model of MPRICs (Multi-Purpose Reception and Identified Centres), which MSF refer to as ‘closed camps’, on the Greek islands. MSF believe this will increase segregation and harm the population. Out of Libya Dr. Christou talks about the horrendous situation in Libya right now - no safe or legal way of escaping without turning to human traffickers. The schemes that were opened with IOM (voluntary repatriation) and UNHCR (transit mechanism through Niger and Rwanda) are no longer working due to obstacles in Libya and bottlenecks in the transit countries. In the absence of any alternative, people rely on criminal networks for passage, constantly at risk of violence and abuse. These people are extremely vulnerable, most of them entitled to protection. Since 2017-2018, MSF has worked with embassies and step up bilateral engagement to repatriate the most vulnerable people. Climate Change Dr. Christos talks of MSF's operational research units which can scientifically monitor the plight of refugees due to climate change for instance. MSF Luxembourg is launching a national campaign: "We care for people the world over, but will that world always be there?". Climate change means that many vulnerable population groups of the world are hit hard, due to the degradation of their environment. Covid Inequality MSF have also borne witness to the COVID vaccine inequity. Dr. Christou calls for solidarity, waive IP rights and share the knowledge. About MSF Médecins Sans Frontières is one of the world’s leading independent international medical relief organisations, working in more than 88 countries, with operational centres and national offices in 30 countries. Created in 1971, MSF launches its operations in areas where there is no medical infrastructure or where existing ones cannot withstand the pressures due to war or natural disasters, for example. MSF remains completely independent from any political rule, economic, military or religious commitment. MSF funding is based almost entirely on individual donations. The Luxembourg section of MSF was created in 1986. For me, this was one of the most poignant podcasts I have had the privilege to record. Subscribe to the podcast Please subscribe to my series and leave me a review - it really helps my podcast to be found - and thank you for taking the time to do so! Subscribe on RTL Play, iTunes, Spotify or XML. Get in touch with Lisa Burke if you have any thoughts for future podcasts here. www.lisatoniburke.com

Victoria Hodgson chats to Lisa about coffee, cocktails and an award winning cookbook before dashing off to run the Berlin marathon. It's not easy moving country as a trailing spouse, and it's often the mother / wife who trails, with or without children, but usually with no ready make network of friends or work colleagues. That's where clubs like the British Ladies Club of Luxembourg (BLC) help. Indeed there are very established women's groups of this ilk around the world. One sometimes wonders what's on offer for men in similar positions. When Victoria Hodgson arrived in 2014 with her two young boys, she pushed herself to join all sorts of clubs and is now Chair of the BLC, helping others to integrate with the knowledge of how it feels. "I do like the feel of a paper page" says Victoria as we chat about the monthly newsletter and why so many didn't want to go wholly digital; also alluding to her former life as a librarian. Please subscribe to my series and leave me a review - it really helps my podcast to be found - and thank you for taking the time to do so! You can also get in touch with me via social media and the like if you have any thoughts for future podcasts.

Now in its third year, Sven Klees talks to Lisa about what to expect at Luxembourg Fashion Week and the concept store where you'll be able to buy all that you see on the catwalk. Luxembourg Fashion Week, started by Dany and Fabi at the Fashion and Design Academy. This year it will be held in Dudelange (Hall Fonduq), opening night on October 2nd, and tickets are still available! If you can't make the big night itself there will be a pop-up store selling the same outfits from the designers in Dudelange that week, until 10th October. Sven Klees talks about his internship with Luxembourg Fashion Week as part of his masters in Theatre and Interculturality at the University of Luxembourg. https://www.instagram.com/master_twik/ We also chat about the circular economy and how they source models. Is there a change in the shape, age and general diversity of models? Sven also has his own podcast which you can hear here: So Dach Eppes! https://open.spotify.com/show/1XbVGXhVXHZwJjMDbQC9w7?si=Y65Wauv6TnuJ4AF8EIPZDg&dl_branch=1 Fashion week Tickets: https://www.weezevent.com/luxembourg-fashion-week-2021 Subscribe to the podcast Please subscribe to my series and leave me a review - it really helps my podcast to be found - and thank you for taking the time to do so! Subscribe on RTL Play, iTunes, Spotify or XML. Get in touch with Lisa Burke if you have any thoughts for future podcasts here.

Talking to Festival Director Geoff Thompson, we cover the effects of Covid-19 on the film industry, languages from the British Isles and jam making! Geoff Thompson moved from Dublin to Luxembourg over 30 years ago. In that time, amongst many other things, he set up the British and Irish Film Festival. Now in its 12th year, we reflect on how Covid affected the film industry and therefore the knock-on effect on film festivals. Geoff recalls his life-long love of film, wins a mini-debate about the Welsh language and ends by talking about jam-making! Enjoy, subscribe, comment on the podcast and write to me with more ideas! Please subscribe to my series and leave me a review - it really helps my podcast to be found - and thank you for taking the time to do so! Subscribe on RTL Play, iTunes, Spotify or XML. Get in touch with Lisa Burke if you have any thoughts for future podcasts here.

Chatting with Tim Pauly from the Luxembourg Police, we learn how to protect ourselves and our homes from criminals, from burglary to cyber crime. Tim Pauly, a First Commissaire with the Grand Duchy's Police Department, has worked as a police officer for 20 years: the first fifteen in uniform as a patrol officer and the last five in the national prevention team. In this conversation we learn about the Police-App, which includes the "My Safe" function. This allows you to save photos and information on your valuables, such as a bicycle, which simplifies complaints (if they are stolen or damaged) and a potential restitution process: If you're going on holiday you can inform the police here: https://police.public.lu/fr/commissariat-virtuel/depart-vacances.html For more general information on different aspects of crime prevention, including (cyber-) mobbing, scams and other internet evils check out this page. https://police.public.lu/fr/prevention.html There's an e-Police station, which allows you to fill out various more common forms, such as filing a criminal report, incidents and the like: https://police.public.lu/fr/commissariat-virtuel.html How to contact the police: Social media links: all @PoliceLux Twitter - you can DM the police Facebook - Messenger Instagram - Message For general questions, you can contact the police via e-mail: [email protected]">https://police.public.lu/fr/application-mobile.html If you're going on holiday you can inform the police here: https://police.public.lu/fr/commissariat-virtuel/depart-vacances.html For more general information on different aspects of crime prevention, including (cyber-) mobbing, scams and other internet evils check out this page. https://police.public.lu/fr/prevention.html There's an e-Police station, which allows you to fill out various more common forms, such as filing a criminal report, incidents and the like: https://police.public.lu/fr/commissariat-virtuel.html How to contact the police: Social media links: all @PoliceLux Twitter - you can DM the police Facebook - Messenger Instagram - Message For general questions, you can contact the police via e-mail: [email protected] or using this form: https://police.public.lu/fr/support/contact.html Subscribe to my podcast! Please subscribe to my series and leave me a review - it really helps my podcast to be found. You can subscribe to all my podcasts on whatever player you choose to use: RTL Play, iTunes, Spotify or XML. Get in touch with Lisa Burke at www.lisatoniburke.com

PISA is a show, presented by Olivier Catani, which explores science and history across Luxembourg, now available in English on RTL Today. Olivier Catani co-presents PISA with Joseph Rodesch. Together they probe how things work, the research taking place in Luxembourg and explain various historical sites across the country. Olivier has been working with RTL for 15 years. Alongside PISA, you'll also find him presenting 'Live Planet People' and 'Sondesmagazin – Mënschen a Geschichten'. ‘Pisa’ has been going since 2009 and they’re about to start Season 13. Over the last year it's been available in English for RTL Today too. Each summer the presenters devise an annual challenge which is perhaps where they have the most fun (with equal amounts of stress at times!). Some of the summer challenges mentioned by Olivier include their Survival Challenge, building a Pedalo on the Moselle, and visiting the Caves in Müllerthal. https://www.rtl.lu/tele/pisa-de-wessensmagazin

School holidays can be the perfect time to explore activities such as science clubs and centres in Luxembourg. Joseph Rodesch, more commonly known as 'Mr. Science', and Dr. Michèle Weber talk us through what's on offer to engage young minds with science in Luxembourg. The Natural History Museum in Luxembourg is a great place to start, offering workshops, camps and clubs for young people aged 6 to 18: - Panda Club at the Natural History museum: 6 - 11 year olds - Panda Challenge 2021 - Science Club at the Natural History museum: 11- 18 year olds Science Centres in Luxembourg include: - Science Centre in Differdange - Musée Tudor in Rosport - Park Sënnesräich in Lullange Online options from Luxembourg, if you want to keep them occupied 'productively' while you're working: - Science.lu is on YouTube , TikTok and Instagram And the Science Festival returns to Luxembourg this November: - Neumünster Abbey in Luxemburg Grund, 11 - 14 November; interactive science workshops and shows. Joseph Rodesch and Michèle Weber are science communicators with Science.lu which is part of FNR. You can get in touch with Lisa at www.lisatoniburke.com

"We have no immediate say on house prices, except for public affordable housing" says Mike Mathias, Premier Conseiller de Gouvernement for Minister Henri Kox. Housing is an issue that straddles many ministries. Mike Mathias explains the jigsaw to us, and where the Ministry of Housing fits; what they can achieve. He also explains the two arms of housing: capital market wants and needs versus the human right to a home and social cohesion. We talk about the hopeful impact of the recently voted in Pactes du Logement, the way in which a combination of future reforms could help utilise land and empty buildings in a more constructive way for home-seekers. This is the final episode in my mini-podcast series on Housing in Luxembourg, for now. I hope you've enjoyed it. If you have any comments, thoughts, questions, ideas, don't hesitate to be in touch. Please subscribe to my series and leave a review for us - it really helps for our podcast to be found. You can subscribe to all my podcasts on whatever player you choose to use: RTL Play, iTunes, Spotify or XML. Get in touch with Lisa Burke at www.lisatoniburke.com

Speaking with Sandrine de Vuyst from ING Bank, Lisa continues her housing mini-series. When looking at the house or apartment prices in Luxembourg, normally one also needs to consider a mortgage. Have you ever wondered what a bank looks for when you apply? Well, Sandrine de Vuyst, Head of Retail and Private Banking at ING, discusses just that. It's all about maintaining a healthy debt to income ratio, to avoid over-indebtedness. And there are lots of credit simulation tools online. Banks have a duty to take care of their clients and lend only when they think it is in the best interest of the client and their potential to pay back. Hope you enjoy the penultimate podcast in this mini-series! Please subscribe to my series and leave a review for us - it really helps for our podcast to be found. You can subscribe to all my podcasts on whatever player you choose to use: RTL Play, iTunes, Spotify or XML. Get in touch with Lisa Burke at lisatoniburke.com

Peter Kleijnenburg and Karin Waringo talk about the loss of Luxembourg's architectural heritage - the demolition of historical buildings. Peter Kleijnenburg set up the facebook group "Luxembourg Under Destruction - Mir wëllen hale wat mir hunn" in 2019 after witnessing so many beautiful homes being demolished. Prior to that, he had started taking photos in 2014 of the destruction. Karin Waringo, a member of the group, has always been active in saving Luxembourg's housing heritage. She is deeply interested in retaining the heritage internally too - the craftsmanship in woodwork, tiles and other features which provide a living history. We talk about many different aspects of why it makes sense to keep the older buildings: environmental, social and historical reasons. We compare with Housing Protection schemes abroad. "Whole cities and villages completely lose their character. We constantly live in a construction site. Entire streets been demolished." In this conversation, I also talk about some of the poignant stories which have been written in to me. Please keep them coming! Please subscribe to my series and leave a review for us - it really helps for our podcast to be found. You can subscribe to all my podcasts on whatever player you choose to use: RTL Play, iTunes, Spotify or XML. Get in touch with Lisa Burke at www.lisatoniburke.com

Jacques Vandivinit, the Director of Fonds du Logement, one of the largest social housing initiatives in Luxembourg talks about who can apply and what they offer. If you don't already own a home anywhere else in the world, if you are registered to live in Luxembourg, and if your income is low, you can apply for social housing with Fonds du Logement. They offer 70% of units to rent and 30% to buy. The idea is that with a much reduced rental rate, people at lower salary levels can try to save towards possibly buying a home in the future. The rental rate by law is about €5 /m2 without the other charges for ultilities etc. The rent is always in line however with disposable income. When buying a home, the land will continue to be owned by Fonds du Logement - you buy a leasehold in effect. Other social housing schemes in Luxmebourg include Société Nationale des Habitations à Bon Marché (SNHBM) and Fonds Kirchberg. Please subscribe to my series and leave a review! Get in touch with Lisa Burke at www.lisatoniburke.com

Continuing our series on housing, here we discuss the net return to the investor after all the costs and taxes have been considered. The four major drivers for understanding the Luxembourg Buy-to-Let market are: - Gross rental yield (not very high) - Property appreciation (has been very high - will it continue apace?) - Leverage the use of your deposit money - Tax incentives A new law came in this year so buy-to-let investors need to put down a 20% deposit. My guests, as in Housing- How to Buy, my last podcast, are Pierre Clement, managing director of Nexvia, and Vincent Quillé, managing director of Nexfin. They advise: - buy your own home first, if you can - buy a buy-to-let which is easy to sell on (1 or 2 bed apartment or such like, with good access to town). - buy off-plan or a very old house which needs to be redone. You can get more information on how to buy with our RTL Series "Luxembourg Insider" Please subscribe to my series and leave a review! It makes a great difference to being found online. Get in touch with Lisa Burke at lisatoniburke.com

We've seen house prices suddenly hike year on year since 2018. Why? Will this trend continue? What are the effects of COVID on the housing market? From 2010 to 2017, there was a price rise of 4.5 to 5%. Since 2018 it's been 10-15% per annum. Why? Well, we try to figure that out in this discussion. Then, we've also had COVID where one might think that house purchasing would dampen down. Not the case. Some reasons for the sudden hike might include the continued fall in interest rates to an exceptionally low point today, Brexit, time available during home-working / COVID to think about buying, investing in a solid asset in a changeable, uncertain market and wanting more room to work from home. Coupled with this we have the continued issue of a severe lack of housing available here in Luxembourg. The upshot is that experts are predicting a more controlled growth of the market going forward, this also due to some new laws the government have put in place which mostly affects investors / second time buyers. As for money, well tenants now frequently allocate about 40% of their income on rent, compared to less than 20% in 2010. For new home-owners there is usually a very high debt ratio (45% of income) and a very high loan to value. To discuss these issues, I'm joined by Pierre Clement, managing director of Nexvia, Vincent Quillé, managing director of Nexfin and Julien Licheron a research associate at LISER - Urban Development and Mobility, and member of the Observatoire de l'Habitat : expert on the residential market in Luxembourg since 2009 You can find out what the government and municipalities are planning for future urban planning developments on the PAG. Subscribe to the series Please subscribe to my series and leave a review! Get in touch with Lisa Burke at www.lisatoniburke.com

Tackling one of the most topical subjects in Luxembourg - the housing market. In my first podcast of this mini-series, we discuss how to buy a home. Why buy in Luxembourg? Over the last decade, house prices in Luxembourg have soared. It's been an incredibly dynamic market. Lucky for you if you bought before 2018, but since then the percentage increase has been in double figures. What's going to happen in the coming years? We will discuss that in this and coming episodes. How do buy in Luxembourg? That we discuss here. We dig into the costs, the tax credits and state aids available. Whether to buy new, old or off plan. What are the future town planning ideas? The effect of the fast tram which is meant to be ready for 2027 from Luxembourg city to Belval. Online portals to view homes The main three are: AtHome.lu Immotop.lu Vivi.lu Also, make yourself known to estate agents in the area you want to buy in! My guests Here, I chat with Pierre Clement, managing director of Nexvia, and Vincent Quillé, managing director of Nexfin. Please subscribe to my series and leave a review! It really does help get my podcast noticed on Apple or Spotify. Get in touch with Lisa Burke at lisatoniburke.com

Pia Libicka-Regulska, Martyna Adamska and Gosia Kramer join Lisa to celebrate the centenary of formal relations between Poland and Luxembourg. It might surprise you to learn that Luxembourg is actually the third-largest direct investor in Poland, with over €24 billion invested in 2019, and commercial exchange exceeded €750 million. I’m joined by three perfectly polished and poised Polish ladies: Pia Libicka-Regulska arrived in Luxembourg in 2017, appointed the Polish Consul to the Grand Duchy, combining this function with the Deputy Head of Mission. She has worked for the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2007. Previously, Pia was Vice-consul in Lille and Brussels, as well as Consul in Montreal. Martyna Adamska is an executive coach amongst other roles and has lived in Luxembourg since 2009. In 2016, she initiated a charity project - Power Breakfast - a series of 10 development workshops for Polish women living here. Martyna has been involved in the organization of the CinéEast festival since 2011. Gosia Kramer is the CEO and founder of The Office - which are blooming across the city - co-working spaces and flexible offices which also host events Subscribe to the series Please subscribe to my series and leave a review for us - it really helps for our podcast to be found. Get in touch with Lisa Burke on [email protected] www.lisatoniburke.com

Esmée Chengapen, Sophie Seale and Drew Puxty lend their expert thoughts to the roots of addiction, to view it with 'soft eyes and a compassionate heart', and how Luxembourg can't serve the need for holistic help. Esmée Chengapen, Sophie Seale + Drew Puxty lend their expert thoughts to the roots of addiction, to view it with 'soft eyes and a compassionate heart', and how Luxembourg can't serve the need for holistic help. After listening to my podcasts on Eating Disorders, Esmée Chengapen got in touch to explain that addiction, in all its guises, is a problem we don’t discuss enough in Luxembourg. Not only that, but all three therapists agreed that there is insufficient help available in general, and especially in English. My guests this week are: Esmée Chengapen - a Relational Transactional Analysis Psychotherapist (UKCP registered) and EMDR practitioner. She specialises in childhood trauma and grief and this includes individuals who have been traumatised as a result of living with family members who are or were heavily reliant on alcohol or drugs. She worked in the corporate world for 25 years before making the transition to working full-time as a therapist. Sophie Seale is a Jungian psychoanalyst and has worked in Luxembourg for more than 25 years. She specialises in early childhood trauma and has thus extensive experience with the addictive tendencies traumatised adults fall back upon in order to prop up their damaged egos. She also works with couples. Drew Puxty studied Neuropsychology and worked at the U Center near Maastricht. This is a centre where English-speaking patients resident in Luxembourg are sent for intensive therapy treatment for addiction issues among others. Although Drew is not based in Luxembourg, he knows quite a lot about extreme addiction cases from the country. "How does this substance help you?" Drew would ask if you went to seek his professional help. Please subscribe to my series and leave a review! Get in touch with Lisa Burke at www.lisatoniburke.com

Professor Dr Ulf Nehrbass, CEO of the Luxembourg Institute of Health, discusses new ways of thinking about disease and medical research. Ulf Nehrbass has become a relatively famous scientific face in Luxembourg due to his role as an advisor to the government on COVID-19 strategies. We touch on COVID in this conversation, but recognising a general ennui around the subject, we push on. Ulf wants to get on with the job in hand as CEO of the Luxembourg Institute of Health, LIH. Nehrbass' track record saw him lead and found the Institut Pasteur Korea, where he sourced an international team to become one of the first translational drug discovery institutes. Ulf was also CEO and founder of Qurient Therapeutics, a Biotech near Seoul, IPO since in 2016. Since then he created a French German translational centre Ksilink combining INSERM, Sanofi, Alsace Biovalley and BioPro. Always at the leading edge of novel ways of thinking about drug discovery and the changing language around how we view various diseases, Ulf explains how we can divide diseases into different sub-groups, with all sorts of patterns on a macro scale (biometrics) to the more established biochemistry around genes. Fascinatingly, Ulf explains how many diseases, or groupings of disease, can be attributed to an over- or underactive immune system. And therefore, figuring out one's belt of healthy immunity can equal disease prevention. Personalised medicine, precision medicine, translational medicine... it's all in here. And, according to Ulf, it's an extremely exciting time to be involved in medical research which is about to explode with new ideas, aided by AI and robotics.

David Bernstein, Elisabeth Bloxam and Caroline Mirkes were all recent Fulbright alumnae to / from Luxembourg. Here they share their transformative experiences and notes on how to apply. If you go through the who’s who of Luxembourg’s heavy-hitters and glitterati, there will be a number who were Fulbright Scholars to America. This cultural and educational scholarship offers strong candidates an outstanding opportunity to live and study in America at any point in life after a Bachelor’s degree. And it’s not just for Luxembourg passport holders (although your statistical chances of getting a place with one may be higher); the Fulbright programme operates between 160 countries. Fulbrighters talk of the life-long relationships they build both personally and professionally in this evermore interconnected world. You will hear in this conversation the ‘high value return on investment’, as David likes to put it, and believes it might be the greatest form of local citizen diplomacy. My guests Elisabeth Bloxam, herself a Fulbright alumna, is the Director of Programs at the Commission for Educational Exchange between the United States, Belgium and Luxembourg, the Fulbright Commission in Brussels - your go-to person if you’re interested in this scholarship. Elisabeth spent her Fulbright year in Luxembourg as an English Teaching Assistant, and has been with the Fulbright Commission in Brussels since 2016. Prior to that she studied European Studies and French & Francophone Studies from the College of William & Mary in Virginia (2015). David Berstein was a Fulbright Research Awardee in 2013 in Luxembourg, when he studied towards a Master in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the University of Luxembourg. He also spent time working with Silicon Luxembourg and the US Embassy during that academic year, and harbours a hope to return as US Ambassador to Luxembourg one day! David has an MD and MBA from the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry and Simon Business School. He spent a year at the Institute For Strategy & Competitiveness at Harvard Business School. Currently, David is a PhD student at the University of Leiden in The Netherlands and an orthopaedic surgery resident physician at the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program (HCORP), providing musculoskeletal care to patients at Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Boston Children’s Hospital. David is passionate about “fixing” America’s healthcare system. Caroline Mirkes is a composer, actress, cellist and pianist from Luxembourg. The Fulbright programme took her to New York University for a Masters, but she also became a part-time student at the Lee Strasberg Institute where she began to study acting. Prior to that, Caroline studied Cello Performance at Maastricht Conservatorium, the Koninklijk Conservatorium of Brussels and Escola Superior de Barcelona. Now based in Vienna, Caroline continues to create global projects and concerts, which include Performers.lu, Cello Octet Luxembourg and art creations. Recently, her short film Criminal Eyes is selected for the Lee Strasberg Film Festival in NYC and nominated for Best Supporting Actress. She continues acting at the Schauspiel schule Wien. And aside from that, finds time for dance, acrobatics and aerial silk lessons! Origins of the Fulbright Program Just after the Second World War in September 1945, a freshman senator from Arkansas, J. William Fulbright, introduced a bill in the U.S. Congress that called for the use of proceeds from the sales of surplus war property to fund the “promotion of international good will through the exchange of students in the fields of education, culture and science.” One year later, President Harry S. Truman signed the Fulbright Act into law. Senator Fulbright saw an opportunity for good in the wake of the Second World War and proposed a program whose aim was to create the kind of mutual understanding and people-to-people relationships that would prevent such global conflict from happening again. The Fulbright Program has blossomed to become the flagship international educational exchange program of the U.S. Department of State. International educational and cultural exchange In Luxembourg, the Fulbright Program provides scholarships for Luxembourgish citizens who wish to conduct research or pursue graduate study in the USA and for American citizens to come study and teach in Luxembourg. The Fulbright Commission in Brussels administers the Fulbright Program for citizens of Belgium and Luxembourg as well as participants in the Fulbright Schuman Program, but the program operates in over 160 countries worldwide and awards approximately 8,000 grants annually. Roughly 1,900 U.S. students, 4,000 foreign students, 1,200 U.S. scholars, and 900 visiting scholars receive awards, in addition to several hundred teachers and professionals. Information about grants for Belgian and Luxembourgish citizens, educational and cultural exchanges offered by the U.S. Embassy to Luxembourg can be found via my article on RTL Today. https://www.fulbright.be/awards/grants-for-belgian-and-luxembourgish-citizens/ https://lu.usembassy.gov/education-culture/

LuxAI, a spin-off company from the University of Luxembourg, design social robots to help families with autistic children. Here, Lisa talks to co-founder Dr. Aida Nazarikhorram and John McCahill. Here, Lisa talks to co-founder Dr. Aida Nazarikhorram and John McCahill. Dr. Aida Nazarikhorram and her husband created LuxAI in 2016 to merge her medical experience with his AI and robotics knowledge. They had come to Luxembourg for his PhD at the university here. Together, they created social robots to support children with autism, in order to gain the necessary skills for social inclusion, learning and independence. Across Europe, governmental institutions want to push for greater access for all to mainstream schooling and adult life. About 2% of the population is autistic. John McCahill recently joined LuxAI in order to help design effective educational games for children with autism and other special needs. His background, as a Board-Certified Behaviour Analyst in Ireland and the U.K. has seen him work with toddlers all the way up to adulthood. John is an expert in knowing how to approach the learning autistic children require, and the immense stress put on families who, so often, have to do enormous amounts without sufficient support. LuxAI was hugely aided by FNR, the Autisme Fondation Luxembourg, LuxInnovation, the Ministry of Economy and of course, the University of Luxembourg.

Sacred Heart University Luxembourg opened in 1991. Offering part-time evening classes, and full-time MBAs with internships, the ethos is to serve its students future plans and Luxembourg's desire to retain talent. The ethos is to serve its students future plans and Luxembourg's desire to retain talent. Antoine Rech, Head of Campus of the Luxembourg branch of Sacred Heart University (USA), talks to Lisa Burke about what an MBA means, and how it can transform lives. People moving here with their partners work, for instance, or international students, can benefit by gaining an internationally recognised degree plus an internship with business based in Luxembourg. Full time employees can take advantage of the part-time evening courses and utilise directly what they learn in business the next day even. Sacred Heart University Luxembourg is based within the Chamber of Commerce here in Kirchberg, but is linked directly to the American campus in Fairfield Conneticut. Please subscribe to my series and leave a review! Get in touch with Lisa Burke here: https://www.lisatoniburke.com/

Aged between 12 and 18? Have an idea you want to share with the world? TEDxLuxembourgCity is launching an Education arm and looking for one special speaker (but all others will be kept in mind for future events!) Dirk Daenen is back again, now working with the Ministry of Education, to bring TEDxLuxembourgCityEducation to life and is looking for a student aged 12-18 to be on stage with their idea. If you are a student in any school in Luxembourg, aged 12-18, you can apply to be one of nine speakers to tell the world about your idea from this stage. This hybrid event will be held on May 12th and registration is now open to watch or participate! In this podcast Dirk shares his deep passion for public speaking and his own experiences having spent a career teaching this artform.

Dr Salima Aarab talks about the family's role in eating disorders, why they're starting earlier and how Luxembourg is growing to support these concerns. Speaking with Diana Reid, a registered dietitian nutritionist, and Claudia de Boer, a psychologist and psychotherapist, we discuss the complex variety of eating disorders and how we can help either ourselves or those we care about. Luxembourg has no facility such as a clinic or hospital where people can go to seek advice or care. Indeed, this type of issue requires a multi-armed web of help: friends / family + doctor + nutritionist / dietician + psychotherapist. There seems to be a lack of trained professionals in Luxembourg also. Indeed, since COVID started, Diana's practice has massively surged to take in clients with eating disorders and she has rapidly had to add to her training. Eating disorders serve a purpose. They are rarely just about eating but point to other issues; they are usually multifactorial. Anorexia nervosa affects nearly 1% of female adolescents, with a ration of 9:1 female to male. It's extremely serious in that up to 10% of these patients can die. Bulimia nervosa affeccts about 1-2% of young women and has the same ratio of female to male, although it's not as well researched as it only became a diagnosis in the eighties. Binge Eating Disorder, also relatively recently diagnosed, affects 3% of the adult population and here the ratio female to male is 3:2. Besides these three more clearly defined eating disorders there are a spectrum of eating issues not specified, into which the majority of patients are pooled (50-70%). There is no 'look' for an eating disorder - it can affect any person, any age, any gender, any ethnicity, any body size, any sexuality. Indeed for many groups the research is severely lacking. The 'diet culture' is insidious and pervasive. it creates unrealistic standards which can physically and psychologically damage people, often at a period of development in their lives. By skipping meals you decrease the body's inate ability to regulate stress and the brain is one of the first organ's to struggle. And so, until this balance of calorie and nutrient intake is reestabllished, it is not possible to conduct cognitive work, which relies on a functioning brain. If you have any questions you would like to put to Diana and Claudia don't hesitate to get in touch and your concerns will be dealt with in a compassionate and confidential manner. I may do another podcast in order to answer questions which might arise from this discussion.

The global pandemic has seen a rise in eating disorders being diagnosed and there's no clinic in Luxembourg to treat people. Speaking with Diana Reid, a registered dietitian nutritionist, and Claudia de Boer, a psychologist and psychotherapist, we discuss the complex variety of eating disorders and how we can help either ourselves or those we care about. Luxembourg has no facility such as a clinic or hospital where people can go to seek advice or care. Indeed, this type of issue requires a multi-armed web of help: friends / family + doctor + nutritionist / dietician + psychotherapist. There seems to be a lack of trained professionals in Luxembourg also. Indeed, since COVID started, Diana's practice has massively surged to take in clients with eating disorders and she has rapidly had to add to her training. Eating disorders serve a purpose. They are rarely just about eating but point to other issues; they are usually multifactorial. Anorexia nervosa affects nearly 1% of female adolescents, with a ration of 9:1 female to male. It's extremely serious in that up to 10% of these patients can die. Bulimia nervosa affeccts about 1-2% of young women and has the same ratio of female to male, although it's not as well researched as it only became a diagnosis in the eighties. Binge Eating Disorder, also relatively recently diagnosed, affects 3% of the adult population and here the ratio female to male is 3:2. Besides these three more clearly defined eating disorders there are a spectrum of eating issues not specified, into which the majority of patients are pooled (50-70%). There is no 'look' for an eating disorder - it can affect any person, any age, any gender, any ethnicity, any body size, any sexuality. Indeed for many groups the research is severely lacking. The 'diet culture' is insidious and pervasive. it creates unrealistic standards which can physically and psychologically damage people, often at a period of development in their lives. By skipping meals you decrease the body's inate ability to regulate stress and the brain is one of the first organ's to struggle. And so, until this balance of calorie and nutrient intake is reestabllished, it is not possible to conduct cognitive work, which relies on a functioning brain. If you have any questions you would like to put to Diana and Claudia don't hesitate to get in touch and your concerns will be dealt with in a compassionate and confidential manner. I may do another podcast in order to answer questions which might arise from this discussion.

Rare disease affects more people than cancer and AIDS combined - 300 million people worldwide, 30,000 in Luxembourg. Rare Disease Day is 28 February and unites a global community of families and organisations affected by and focused on how to help those with rare disease and their caregivers. I spoke with Cristol O’Loughlin, Founder & CEO of ANGEL AID CARES, Dr. Alison Skrinar, Vice President of Clinical Outcomes Research & Evaluation, ULTRAGENYX Pharmaceutical Inc. and Shirley Feider-Rohen, President of ALAN - MALADIES RARES LUXEMBOURG. All of these women are invested personally and professionally in the Rare Disease community. There are no cures for rare disease: most are serious, chronic and progressive. Half the patients are children and a third won't live beyond their fifth birthday. This puts an incredible burden on families, particularly mothers who are primary caregivers 82% of the time. Globally, about 4-6% of the population is affected by rare disease. Shirley Feider-Rohen discovered she had a rare disease in adulthood, and passed on the gene to one of her two sons. Sometimes she asks him if he minds and his wonderful, loving, poignant reply is: "No mom. You have so many good qualities. It doesn't matter that I have just one bad one." There has to be a multi-pronged, global effort to support families: - Pharma companies, such as ULTRAGENYX, work with patients as partners to ensure patient-focused drug development - Support for the caregivers coping with often complex medical and school situations, with the high prospect of their child dying before them. It is isolating and unrelenting work for the family unit. - Patient empowerment - aided by community support, representation and awareness - Even if there are no cures currently, increase the quality of life for both patient and family.

Speaking with the Heads of ISL, St. George's and the Athénée, Lisa explores the difference between 'A' levels and the IB diploma programme, plus the years leading up to that. Education is always of concern to parents. When we move from country to country, educational choices can become more confusing. Choosing a secondary school with / for your children at the age or 10 or 11 is not easy given the variance in Luxembourg both of school systems and language options. In this mini podcast series I will talk to the experts to understand what their schools offer in terms of secondary educational choices. Why start with secondary? The diploma at the end of secondary education becomes the passport to university, and making the right choice for our children depends on our own understanding of them and the options available to us as parents. In this first episode we discuss the basic differences in what 'A' levels are compared to the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programm (IB DP) is, and even the differences between the IB offered by ISL and the Athénée de Luxembourg. My Guests: Joanne Goebbels is the Vice Principle, Head of the IB Diploma Programme and the International Classes at the Athénée de Luxembourg. She is from Luxembourg herself, and studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. Nicki Crush is in her 26th, and final, year at the International School of Luxembourg, ISL. She became Director in 2015 but has worked at ISL since 1995, starting as a geography teacher. Nicki moved from the UK but taught both in the UK and west Africa before moving to Luxembourg in 1991. The Principal of St George’s International School, Dr Christian Barkei, has worked in both the grammar school system in the UK and as Principal in two international Schools in Asia (Shanghai and Jakarta) before arriving in Luxembourg in September 2013 as the first Principal of the School. He grew up moving between Australia, the UK and Bavaria and has been part of a globally orientated family ever since. He studied at Durham University in the UK and is married to a New Zealander who also works at St. George's. Subscribe to the series! You can find all my podcasts here on whatever player you choose to use: iTunes, Spotify or XML Please do leave a review as it helps us to be found in the growing pool of podcasts! Also, don't hesitate to get in touch if you have further questions or a story idea: [email protected]

With so many organisations to join, why consider joining the British Chamber of Commerce for Luxembourg? Chairman Daniel Eischen and council-member Darren Robinson talk about the British Chamber of Commerce for Luxembourg's (BCC's) diversity, need for constant evolution and the value of its network. With Brexit-related business issues an increasing problem, BCC will either be able to guide you themselves or lead you to a person or organisation who can help. BCC is also affliated with the global network of British Chambers and their frequent webinars. Daniel Eischen is actually a Luxembourger who humbly says he is "not good at networking". Darren Robinson joined the BCC when he arrived in Luxembourg 15 years ago. Darren is also RTL Today's Job Doctor! Please do leave a review as it helps us to be found in the growing pool of podcasts! Also, don't hesitate to get in touch if you have a story idea: [email protected] For more on Lisa visit her website: https://www.lisatoniburke.com/

And other stories from Cécile Somers-Lee: translator, voice-over artist, writer and poet. A doyenne of the advertising sphere of IP Luxembourg, Cécile Somers-Lee chews the cud with Lisa Burke where they discuss all sorts from a burning baby's bottom to voice being the conduit for the soul!

Lawyer Vincent Wellens chats to Lisa about an unfortunate position some 'Accidental Americans' find themselves in, and how this fits into a bigger debate around differences in data privacy across continents. Some Europeans born in the U.S. but with no further ties there are finding it hard to open bank accounts and get mortgages in Europe due to a tax law President Obama brought into force in 2010 called FATCA. The United States and Eritrea are the only two countries in the world who base their taxation system on citizenship rather than residency. The situation gets further complicated when these Accidental Americans don't have a social security number. And the whole situation also highlights the issues with data sharing between Europe and the US, where the rights of citizens' privacy differs.

Here's competition, where everyone's a winner! The National Young Scientists (Jonk Fuerscher) competition is now open (ages 11-21) so get your entries in before 12 February! The Young Scientists Foundation Luxembourg is entering its 50th year. A great way to get involved in the scientific method of rational thinking is to enter this competition, where everyone is a winner! Even though the title has the word science in it, your project can be on any subject so long as you approach the topic in a scientific way. In this podcast we hear from last year's winner, Alex Cowan, now studying chemical engineering in Queensland, Australia. And also from the Head of Communications for FJSL, Natalie Von Laufenberg. A great start to the new year - good luck! http://www.fjsl.lu/

CEO of Luxembourg For Finance, Nicolas Mackel, chats to Lisa Burke about the importance of the financial sector here. Nicolas Mackel, a career diplomat, has temporarily side-stepped (for the last 7 years) into running Luxembourg for Finance, which serves the financial sector of Luxembourg. In this conversation he talks about the importance of the financial sector, the 'milk cow' of Luxembourg's wealth, and how 'international people of Luxembourg are helping to define what this country is'.

Florence Lemeer-Wintgens and Solveig Ellefsen are two ladies who dared to career hop 'mid-life. Florence Lemeer-Wintgens and Solveig Ellefsen swopped from working as executive PAs to something completely different 'mid-life', but something much more aligned with what fulfilled them. The curve-balls of life hit most of us at some point. Apart from the inevitable pain, they can be pivot points for us to reassess the status quo of what has been, and what might be. Florence became an image consultant at the age of 50, following in the footsteps of her Great-Grandfather who created a textile industry in the family name. She grew up surrounded by materials and colours were intrinsic to her life. Florence loves colour and emphasises its greater importance in winter months when there is less sunlight and the weather can be dreary. However, she adds that "If you shine inside you will shine outside." Solveig, also an executive PA, suffered a burn-out aged 46, trying to cope with young child, new country, new job and all of the other pressures which can implode in such a situation. This led her to starting from scratch, securing her health and well-being as a priority from which all else hangs. Solveig has written a book entitled "The Inner Sun Path to Happiness" which details her journey of taking care of herself. She believes that positive energy is contagious. "Smile to people - a tiny gift for their day." And through all of the challenges of life, Solveig believes that "Life is beautiful it's magical." "The wheel is always turning."

"Don't leave it too late!" advises British Ambassador to Luxembourg, John Marshall. HMA, John Marshall, talks to Lisa about various important administrative necessities for British citizens living in Luxembourg due to Brexit, such as: - Residency - Driving Licences - Health and EHIC for holders of an S1 - Passport validity - Use of e-gates at the airport. All the necessary forms can be found on Guichet.lu. The main message is, as for scouts: "Be prepared! Don't leave it too late!"

Jean-Claude Juncker's Luxembourg office overlooks the Gelle Fra war memorial and the city's silhouette beyond. Generously, he spoke with me for an hour with the gentle assuredness of a man who has sat at the top of politics for decades. Generously, he spoke with me for an hour with the gentle assuredness of a man who has sat at the top of politics for decades. Jean-Claude Juncker's political path started when he joined Chrëschtlech Sozial Vollekspartei, CSV, in 1974 aged 20. He moved through the roles of Ministry from 1984 to include the Ministries of Labour, Finance and Employment, until he became Prime Minister of Luxembourg in 1995. And there he remained for 18 years until 2013. More recently, we have known Jean-Claude Juncker as the President of the European Commission, 2014-2019. And from this vantage point, as a Former President and Prime Minister, he can reflect and speak more freely. This is where our conversation begins. I hope you enjoy the quiet intellect of this political powerhouse, who can sew together the threads of history which ravaged Europe and the changing relationships within the European Union as it expands. "It has become more brutal and unfair... because personal relations... have gone down in quality." His father aged just 15, alongside his three brothers, were forced into the German Wehrmacht, the German army, against their will. "He had no youth because his youth was stolen by the German Reich." And yet, his father, unlike some men who had endured the same, travelled back to Germany with his family to show the young Juncker places he had been in the war. Pertinently, his father spoke about "the absence of Europe". And Juncker, as one of the remaining intergenerational politicians who's family were intimately affected by the Second World War, is concerned that "the next generation of policy makers in Europe are running the risk to be blind when it comes to European history....because they had no witnesses who can tell them how things were." When it comes to the European Union now, he is a realist. Juncker knows better than most the pulls and pushes of different countries' mindsets, and the historical reasons why. He knows that the same European dream is not shared by all Europeans. "I'm not pessimistic but I'm also not over-optimistic." Some people feel the European Union should have a stronger voice internationally, but in order for this to be the case they need to be able to decide by qualified majority in the field of foreign policy. "That's of the essence if the European Union wants to play an international role." Juncker doesn't want the EU to become a super-power and is acutely aware that Europe is small geographically and increasingly small demographically. On media, he is a fan of print paper and good radio, particularly German or French. "They have time to explain things. They have time to compare." He is not a fan of social media. "I was never following this... They have influence but I don't want to be influenced by them... If you are reading this you are not reacting to the real problem." And our conversation ends with a series of questions from you, our audience.

Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, nominated five times for the Nobel Peace Prize, lost three daughters & his niece just four months after he lost his wife. His humbling, deeply poignant story, shows a man unbowed and more determined to hope for peace, through women and health. His humbling, deeply poignant story, shows a man unbowed and more determined to hope for peace, through women and health. Born in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Izzeldin was encouraged by his mother to strive hard through education, to rise above the abject poverty around him. And he succeeded, studying medicine at the University of Cairo, Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the University of London, and a Master of Science in Public Health at Harvard. Dr. Abuelaish became the first Palestinian doctor to work in an Israeli hospital. But despite his deep medical knowledge, his wife died of acute leukemia, on 16 September 2008, aged just 43. This left him with their 8 children. Just four months later, on 16 January 2009, during the 2008-9 Gaza War, three of his daughters and one niece were killed. And yet Izzeldin has dedicated his life to using health as a vehicle for peace and has been internationally recognised for his continued work for human rights in the Middle East. "Health and peace and mutually interconnected." Dr Abuelaish created the Daughters for Life foundation to promote the health and education opportunities for females in the Middle East. "The mother is the incubator... Only women can establish a sustainable, just world." Dr. Abuelaish has written a book entitled "I Shall not Hate" about his life's work. After all he has endured, he believes: "Hatred is a communicable, contagious, destructive, disease to the one whom is impacted by it." Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish was brought to Luxembourg by Paix Juste. "We Palestinians and Israelis are conjoined twins."

Alain Kinsch, the outgoing Managing Partner of EY Luxembourg, reflects on life at the top, ambition and legacy. After being at the helm of EY Luxembourg for 11 years in which he's grown the company 2.5 fold, Alain Kinsch is passing the baton on to his successor, Olivier Coekelbergs, through a six month transition period, next year. We discuss a multitude of topics including tips from Alain's mentor at Arthur Andersen, Norbert Becker; "... the notion of stewardship. You want to leave the firm in a better way than when you got it." Alain also believes that "education is a solution to almost everything." He talks of the ambition of hunger he sees in applicants from India and China, which is not always present in the same way from their European or American counterparts. Alain made it as a leader, which he always wanted. He will continue to serve as a Member of the Luxembourg State Council for another decade; the council of chosen representatives to help give their opinions on laws of the land.