In this episode of our Portrait Series, we sit down with Rebeca Arguedas, President of UFS and a prominent voice in sustainability in the facility management sector. Interviewed by Clara Ledoux, Rebeca walks us through her journey as a Latin-American woman in a field traditionally dominated by men and explores how intersectionality shapes our ideals and opportunities.
Recorded on the 20.03.2025
Credits
Interviewer: Clara Ledoux
As a Maastricht Diplomat alumni and journalism student, French-Lankan Jonathan Wijayaratne has a unique view on the world. In this episode they talk with Fin Gerke about their journey from European Studies to journalism, the state of journalism and media in Europe, and their roots living in many cultures and countries.
Recorded on the 20.02.2025
Credits
Producer and interviewer: Fin Gerke (@finenomenon)
Happy #UNDay 2024! Today marks the 79th anniversary of the United Nations—79 years of navigating global crises and challenges. One issue, however, stands out today: climate change.
To commemorate this day, we interviewed Dr. Sanae Okamoto from UNU-MERIT—a COP veteran and former private sector mentor turned researcher. She shares her insights on the intersection of climate change and mental health.
This podcast is a collaboration between The Maastricht Diplomat, UNSA Maastricht, UNU-MERIT, and the United Nations University. It is also the first episode in our new portrait series, where we will interview inspiring people from all walks of life and all over the world to bring you the best insight into their fascinating lives and opinions.
Credits:
Interviewer: Sarah Hourquet (@sarah_hrat)
Research & Production: Mercure Libbrecht Gourdet (@mercurelibbrechtgourdet)
Production & Audio Technician: Raquel Ureña (@raquiarguedas)
Bauhaus is one of the most influential art and design movements of these days. Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Marcel Breuer are all prominent and common names – but what about Marianne Brandt, Lilly Reich, Gunta Stölzl, and many more?
These women are mostly remembered as wives and assistants but not for their significant contributions to the Bauhaus movement.
This episode by Lenja Charlotte Burmeister (@lenjacharlotte) will dive into the role of women at the Bauhaus school, especially highlighting their significant influence and position at the school and outlining the most important principles, beliefs, and history of the Bauhaus school.
We're back for season 2! Charelle and Brendan are excited to share that they are back for a new season of Understanding Europe with a three part series on Democracy Promotion in the EU. Go over and have a listen!
Understanding Europe - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cerim
Are all South American countries the same? In the final episode of our podcast series “One Month Abroad” hosted by @lee.ann.l, Anthi and Sophia tell us about their intercultural experiences in Colombia and Uruguay. They highlight the vibrant culture of both countries, ranging from street vendors to dancing, but also talk about stereotypes commonly held about the South American continent. For more insights into living abroad for a month, check out episodes 1 and 2 of the series!
In the second episode of our podcast series “One Month Abroad”, our host @lee.ann.l interviews Lotte and Lily who conducted field research in Cyprus and Mozambique. How does your positionality affect research and life abroad? How is a field study different from an Erasmus exchange? Check out this episode to learn the answers to such questions and discover our guest speakers’ insights on intercultural experiences. Also, don’t forget to keep an eye out for next week’s episode!
In the Maastricht Diplomat’s new podcast series “One Month Abroad”, our host @lee.ann.l interviews five guest speakers who spent one month abroad for a field study. The three episodes discuss what it is like to live for one month in a different country and what challenges and joys are connected to intercultural experiences. In this first episode, our guests Sophia and Jakob talk about their experiences in Uruguay and Thailand. Stay tuned for the next two episodes, where the series will take you to Cyprus, Mozambique and Colombia!
A trip to the hospital after a bike accident and moving to the Netherlands from the US. In this episode we explore the Dutch healthcare system from an EU and non-EU perspective, hear from the experiences of Fin and Sophie, and find out what you should know and do before you need to engage with the system.
If you want to know more, here you can find resources that might help you:
General information about healthcare in Maastricht: https://mymaastricht.nl/health/
Information about compulsory insurance in the netherlands from Maastricht University: https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/support/during-your-studies/money-matters/compulsory-health-insurance
Get assistance from the international student helpdesk: https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/support/during-your-studies/international-students-while-maastricht/international-student-helpdesk
Wandering if you need to see a doctor? Check out https://moetiknaardedokter.nl/en/
Emergency on university grounds? Call 0031 433875566
Need acute help but your GP is closed? Call the GPs' emergency post at Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+) https://www.mumc.nl/huisartsenspoedpost-maastricht-en-heuvelland
Don’t know how severe your symptoms are? Check at: https://moetiknaardedokter.nl/en/
More information on the EHIC: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1021&langId=en&intPageId=1747
Apply for a EHIC with Dutch health insurance: https://www.hetcak.nl/en/healthcare-abroad/ehic/
The 10th and last episode of CERiM's Understanding Europe is out now! This time, Charelle and Brendan talk about the different episodes that have been published this year, discussing how they link and what threads are pulled throughout them all. So if you haven't yet had a chance to listen to this year's episodes this is the place to start! A TL;DR if you will.
Secondary sources:
Understanding Europe: On Memory and Identity
Understanding Europe: Open Strategic Autonomy?
In this episode, Brendan and Charelle sit down with Assem Dandashly and Gergana Noutcheva to discuss the legitimacy of the EU as an external democracy promoter in its southern and eastern neighbourhood while internally it is dealing with a rule of law crisis in member states such as Poland, Hungary, Austria. Has this internal crisis affected the way the EU is perceived? Has it hindered its legitimacy as an international player? Join them as they unpack these questions!
Food on paintings and glued hands on the highway – you probably have heard of these kinds of protest during the past few months, when reports about the “Last Generation” protest movement went viral. Their protests continue and the opinions on them differ. In this episode, Chiara gives you a background about the origins of the “Last Generation” movement and their latest actions. Critiques will be discussed as well as if their protest actions contribute positively to raising awareness to the climate crisis.
Link to sources: https://linktr.ee/lastgenerationep
Europe day! Europe day? What does it even mean? In this episode Brendan and Charelle talk about the significance of Europe Day and the difficulties of forming a Common European Identity. In doing so they are joined by Dr. Aline Sierp, an expert in memory studies, who outlines what studying memory entails and the difficulties that are faced when trying to create a common European memory, and in the process a common European Identity. So if this intrigues you, give it a listen!
Secondary Sources:
- Short explanations of key terms by leading memory scholars.
- Sierp, Aline (2023). Europeanising Memory: The European Union’s Politics of Memory. In Maria Mälksoo (Ed.) Handbook on the Politics of Memory. Edward Elgar Publishing
- Sierp, Aline (2020). EU Memory Politics and Europe’s Forgotten Colonial Past. Interventions, 22(6), 386-702
- Films:
o Schindler’s List, 1993 by Stefen Spielberg
o Shoa, 1985, by Claude Lanzmann
o Waltz with Bashir, 2008, by Ari Folman
o The Act of Killing, 2012, by Joshua Oppenheimer
Asia’s oldest democracy has had a long history of ethnic conflict and corruption at the highest levels of the state. In response to the harshest economic crisis their country has ever experienced, Lankans took to the street last year, launching a protest movement called ‘Aragalaya’ (Sinhala for ‘struggle’). In a headline-grabbing turn of events, the protesters managed to oust the ruling Rajapaksa family, with the hope for system change. But one year later, the epilogue is bittersweet. In this last episode of the MD’s series on Sri Lanka, Jonathan explores the political aspect of the crisis. They tell the story of the Aragalaya with the help of anecdotes from activist Father Rohan Silva, chairman of the Centre for Society and Religion; and they discuss what’s next for Lankan democracy with Dr. Asanga Welikala, senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Law.
Link to sources: https://linktr.ee/lkpodcast3
Leen and Hadrian take a deep dive into the world and politics of the 2017 Academy Award nominee Call Me By Your Name (Dir. Luca Guadagnino). Starting from its refreshingly naturalistic cinematography, to exploring the controversies surrounding its plot, cast, and social/ethical responsibility. Everything all the way up to a profile of the most overlooked character in the film, passing through countless other cinematic examples, reflections, debates and experiences.
Link to sources:
Revisiting Call Me By Your Name.
One of the greatest scenes ever animated.
André Aciman: The Meaning and Message of 'Call Me By Your Name'
Why Call Me By Your Name's Other Love Story Matters, Too.
In today’s episode Brendan and Charelle wrestle with the concept of strategic autonomy, also referred to as strategic sovereignty and possibly other names. You might have seen the term circulating online in light of Macron’s recent visit to China. But what does it actually mean to be strategically autonomous? Join them as they talk to Dr. Sophie Vanhoonacker, an expert in European external relations, to unpack this concept.
Secondary Sources:
What do a crystal piano owned by Miranda Kerr, a painting by Picasso and the Wolf of Wall Street have in common? They were all paid with money from Malaysian citizens. Of course, without them knowing. In this final episode of her series “Crooktocracy”, Chiara tells us the incredible and almost unbelievable story of the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a state fund created by then Prime Minister Najib Razak. The scandal ended up squandering 4.5 billion dollars, an enormous amount of debt that will rest on Malaysians for the next 20 years. How did this happen? And who is to blame?
Link to all mentioned sources: https://taplink.cc/crooktocracy1mdb
Starting from Canne's Grand Prix winner and Oscar-nominated “Close” (2022, Lukas Dhont), Hadrian and Leen will explore the general themes emerging from Dhont's sophomore feature, tying into the general themes of today's social climate. This film stole viewers’ hearts because it centers on children, children facing problems all too mature for them. Sadly, this reflects our current reality today, one where politicians are using these young minds as scapegoats for their anti-LGBTQ legislation all over the world. This new form of discrimination, along with recent developments in politics, and how the film ties into all of this, will be the center of this episode's discussion.
Link to sources: https://linktr.ee/mdpodcast
Last week, the French government passed a very controversial pensions reform, against the opinion of 70% of the French people and trade unions. They did so using article 49.3 of the Constitution, allowing them to skip a vote in Parliament. The French have been protesting against this reform and the way it was forced through, culminating on Thursday 23 March. Jonathan was on the scene in Paris with their friend Thalia and interviewed people from different backgrounds on their thoughts on the reform and the future of the 5th Republic.
For a better understanding of French politics, you might be interested in Jonathan's episode from last year, "The Fifth Republic explained: the 2022 French elections".
Link to sources: https://linktr.ee/mdfrenchprotest
"Europe will be forged in crisis, and will be the sum of the solutions adopted for those crises", these were the words of Jean Monnet. But what is a crisis, and how does Europe act when it is confronted by one? Join Brendan and Charelle as they have a conversation with two CERiM experts, Dr. Esther Versluis and Johan Adriaensen PhD, who will lead them through crisis management 101.
Secondary Sources:
Game Over: The Inside Story of the Greek Crisis - by George Papaconstantinou.
Alarums and Excursions: Improvising Politics on the European Stage - by Luuk van Middelaar.