Gaia Solutions Podcast: Recent Episodes
Gaia Solutions Podcast
As our present is facing many global challenges, in the western world a sense of unfairness in the system is rising, faith in the old institutions and politicians are beginning to break down. Are we on the edge of an old system dying?
We are living in times of existential crisis. Geopolitical challenges, climate change and the migration of people all around the world opens up many questions. In this episode, we'll dive into Benjamin Buttler's insights on various topics that are shaping the future. From emerging technologies like AI, biotech, and blockchain to social and environmental issues, we'll explore what the future holds and how we can prepare for it.
Buttler will share predictions on how these trends will impact our lives, work, and society in the years to come. We'll also discuss the challenges and opportunities that arise with these changes and how we can navigate them.
So, if you're curious about what the future has in store for us, join us for this exciting conversation with Benjamin Buttler. Get ready to be inspired and gain a new perspective on the world we live in.
According to Benjamin Buttler, “at the same time, scientists, technologists and change makers have been reporting to me the whole decade that amazing new innovations were in the pipelines: we were entering the Fourth Industrial Revolution or perhaps the Singularity. Many of our problems were going to be resolved by new technologies.
I’ve sometimes called it the ‘Great Paradox” – the fact that things seem to be getting better and worse simultaneously at an accelerating pace! But basically I call it revolutionary change. In an eco-system like a forest, trees and animals might die, but at the same time new flora and fauna and organisms are growing. It really depends what you look at.”
How systematic change and a new approach to grass-root organizations are needed to end human trafficking worldwide 49.6 million people were still living in modern slavery in 2021, of which 27.6 million were in forced labour, and 22 million were in forced marriage. Many people are still exploited in the private sector, forced commercial sexual […]
Can ed-Tech be a catalyst for high-quality education in Sub-Saharan Africa? Undoubtedly, education is one of the key factors we should focus on if we want to solve economic and social inequalities in our world. The importance of improving this Sustainable Development Goal, has been echoed through the efforts of charities, NGOs, public sector entities, […]
Education is without a doubt one of the key focus areas to concentrate on if we want to solve economic and social inequalities in our world. It is one of the 'hottest' SDGs and charities, NGOs, public sector entities as well as private individuals have spent billions of dollars in the last decades trying to fix a broken system.
Yet to this day, in sub-Sharan Africa, millions of children are falling behind and failing to learn. School dropouts have been rising and that part of the continent is plagued by a serious learning crisis. According to a recent report by UNICEF, it would take 11 years to get 70% of Learners to grade 7 maths, and only 1 in 10 learners has foundational skills.
Edulution was founded in 2015 and runs catch-up programmes in learning centers with offline ipads in South Africa, Namibia, and Zambia.
The platform reaches marginalized Sub Saharan African communities living in inner-city townships, remote rural areas, and refugee camps. The Centres are serving over 18,000 active Learners per month. What is special here is that Edulution is tackling several systematic challenges at once. The large unemployment of youth by giving local youth the opportunity to become a coach and train younger students on the tablets. It also increases high quality education and with its innovative business model promotes entrepreneurship and innovation.
In this episode you will learn:
- Technology alone is insufficient to transform education
- Human development, is the secret ingredient
- Creating a new job class is required to complement the current education systems in sub-Sharan Africa to transform educational outcomes
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If you’ve paid any attention to the state of coral reefs you know that the situation is pretty grim - only 20% of global tropical reefs are in good condition with roughly half having collapsed in recent years. The good news is that new technologies are entering our oceans to help turn this situation around- and do so in a fraction of the time required by natural processes.
rrreefs is a Swiss-based Not-For-Profit organization pioneering a scalable solution for ecosystem regeneration, through the use of modular 3D printed clay structures to support and enhance coastal ocean life. Ocean acidification, pollution, and overfishing are ever-present threats to ocean life and rrreefs believes that these challenges can be overcome in part by simply creating more spaces rebuilding lost habitats to support the ocean’s existing biodiversity.
Their innovative hollow lego-like brick lattice provides a profound number of niches for ocean life, in a way augmenting the natural role of coral reefs on the ocean floor. Each brick has a finely textured eco-engineered surface, offering a home to hundreds of organisms each.
As a completely modular system, their synthetic reef supports be constructed to complement natural tides and topography, providing erosion protection and a wide variety of niches. The bricks are 3D printed in clay and heat treated, providing an ideal substrate for corals to attach to and grow. Better yet, this design can be produced locally using open-source plans, creating new jobs globally in ecosystem restoration.
Ultimately this biodiversity gives a food source and growing medium for new corals to take root, turning a man-made structure into a vibrant and diverse biological community.
In this episode you will learn:
- What are the core challenges facing global oceanic biodiversity
- Why coral reefs are exceptionally important for ocean biodiversity and the carbon cycle
- How their design evolved by using both art and deep environmental research
- Their results from real-world testing off the coast of Colombia
- How Rrreefs plans to scale its impact
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Jonathan spent 13 years with Doctors Without Borders managing humanitarian medical programs across the Balkans, Africa, and India, in areas of war, outbreak and natural disaster. In 2013 he became the Deputy Executive Director of Doctors Without Borders Canada. Eventually, Jonathan became frustrated going to work everyday to deal with the humanitarian fallout of a sick planet, and he became increasingly focused on the drivers of climate breakdown and ecological collapse. Recognizing that human and ecosystem health are fundamentally interdependent, he followed his vision for change, becoming Executive Director of Health In Harmony in 2017.
What you will learn:
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Protecting and expanding Earth’s tropical rainforests is the simplest, most effective and least expensive way to reverse global heating and mass extinction.
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The experts at knowing how to protect and expand Earth’s tropical rainforests are the people who live in them.
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Radically Listening to these Indigenous Peoples and Local Rainforest communities - and investing precisely in their systems-oriented solutions - is a pathway to cool the planet, rejuvenate species biodiversity, thwart future pandemics and restore social justice.
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Samuel is the CEO of a French Startup called Berger-World. In the last 2 years he’s became famous by having democratizing a solution for saving the water ressources. With the birth of his first daughter he took the innovative technology of Potacium from diabers and invented a solution that can save up to 70% more […]
Everyone wants to make an impact, but what if that impact made things worse? Well-meaning NGOs the world over come to communities in the global South to make their lives better – but how often do they really take seriously the needs felt within their community of beneficiaries? Without this dialog, could their well-intentioned […]
If you’ve paid any attention to the state of coral reefs you know that the situation is pretty grim – only 20% of global tropical reefs are in good condition with roughly half having collapsed in recent years. The good news is that new technologies are entering our oceans to help turn this situation around- […]