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NL It ain't easy going green, part 1: Montenegro
This series is written in collaboration with International Foundation GroenLinks (IFG). EU enlargement is back on the agenda. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and amid growing uncertainty about the United States’ role in Europe, EU leaders have increasingly stressed the need to expand the Union. Closer cooperation with countries in Eastern Europe [...]
Mass displacement, white phosphorus and ecocide: where is our focus on Lebanon?
Source: Flickr The images are by now painfully familiar: families rushing out of their homes, residential areas turning into rubble and a population with nowhere that seems safe. Only this time, these images do not come from Iran or Gaza, but from Lebanon. Since the beginning of March, the Israeli offensive in the country has intensified rapidly. Hundreds of thousands of people are striking [...]
The Jetten we know; the Jetten we want
Seven years and a lot of grey hairs ago, I met Rob Jetten. That the atmosphere was top notch, and that of those hairs, can be seen in the photo. But more importantly: that day stood for something very beautiful, something a Jetten 1 cabinet should stand for. The situation: in March 2018, I was allowed [...]
Green ambitions in the textile industry: who wins, who loses?
Photo: Textile factory in Malaysia - Free Malaysia Today Is the fire of second-hand clothes at the textile market in Ghana on 30 January the wake-up call the garment industry needs? While the flames show the impact of uncontrolled textile waste, the European garment industry remains one of the biggest polluters. After food, housing and mobility, European textile consumption has [...]
Marius Troost, EP candidate: "Europe is so powerful, if you get something done there you change the lives of millions of people for the better"
Ahead of the European elections on 6 June, we speak to Marius Troost (31), who is in position 14 for GroenLinks-PvdA as a candidate for the European Parliament. Cheerfully, Marius arrives at his café around the corner in Amsterdam West, where the interview takes place. It immediately becomes clear that Marius is especially driven [...]
With the honest story, Lara Sibbing cycles through the EU and the Netherlands
The European Parliament elections are coming up. Also on 6 June, Green-Left-PvdA will appear on the ballot paper with a shared list in which 'green' and 'red' come together. In the run-up to these elections, we therefore speak to several GL-PvdA candidates. In this interview Lara Sibbing - number 16 on the list - about [...]
The Africa Day Youth Think Tank in action!
At the FMS, youth engagement is a high priority. For this reason, last summer we launched the Africa Day Youth Think Tank, a project in cooperation with Erasmus+. Thirty young people, from diverse educational and personal backgrounds, united around a shared interest: the African continent. Together, they have spent the past [...]
African climate summit: much-discussed carbon credits are not a panacea
Photo: Attendees at the African Climate Summit in Nairobi - Flickr / Paul Kagame This month, African Union members met to form a common position on climate policy ahead of COP28. Carbon credits were a focus point. Governments see a lot of potential in this system, but there are many legitimate criticisms. [...]
Why climate justice is also a social struggle
Photo: Jay Wennington via Unsplash In several countries where the FMS operates, the excesses of climate change and pollution by multinationals are becoming visible - with major consequences for populations. They experience the direct consequences of environmental pollution, such as poor air quality, cleared forests, and water scarcity. This has triggered various forms of protest - often met with violent [...]
International Women's Day: International issues need female leadership
Belarusian activist Tasha Arlova gives a lecture in The Hague, 2022. Photo: FMS Today is International Women's Day. On this day, we reflect on the emancipation of women in our society, and stand in solidarity with women and other marginalised groups fighting for equal rights worldwide. International Women's Day is observed every year on 8 [...]