
Hosted by Andrea Macdonald Creator ideaXme · EN

Neil Koenig, former BBC series producer, now ideaXme board advisor and interviewer, talks with Kristina Lunz, Co-founder Centre For Feminist Foreign Policy. The battle of women for equality has been underway for centuries. But campaigners believe the rewards of success would be great; as Emily Venturi, a speaker at the 1878 International Congress of Women's Rights in Paris put it, "the world would be transformed". Today, the push continues. One area where advocates believe progress is being made is in the field of foreign policy. Kristina Lunz is an entrepreneur, author and activist. She is also co-founder of the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy. I caught up with her at this year's Symposium, an annual event organised by the students of the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. In this interview with me for ideaXme, Kristina Lunz talks about the long history of the struggle for women's rights, how a feminist approach could transform the practice of foreign policy, and the reasons why she believes that a world where women had more say in how it was run would be a better place. KRISTINA LUNZ - BIOGRAPHY Kristina Lunz is co-founder and co-director of the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy, an award-winning human rights activist and former advisor to the German Foreign Office. She was named one of the 30 under 30 (in Europe and DACH) by Forbes, is Handelsblatt/BCG "Thought Leader 2020", Focus Magazine "100 Women of the Year 2020", and was awarded "Young Elite - Top 40 under 40" by Capital Magazine, Additionally, she is an Atlantik Brücke Young Leader, Ashoka Fellow as well as a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader. Her book "The Future of Foreign Policy is Feminist" was published by Econ/Ullstein Verlag in February 2022. She holds a Bachelor's degree in psychology, as well as a Master's degree in global governance and ethics from University College London and another Master's degree from the University of Oxford in Global Governance and Diplomacy. After graduation, she worked for the United Nations in Myanmar and for an NGO in Colombia, among others. Kristina Lunz has (co-)initiated several activist campaigns such as "No means No" and a campaign against sexism in the Bild newspaper. Centre For Feminist Foreign Policy: A research, advocacy, and consulting organisation dedicated to promoting Feminist Foreign Policy across the globe. https://centreforfeministforeignpolicy.org IMAGE CREDITS Portraits of Kristina Lunz: courtesy of the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy Kristina Lunz: https://twitter.com/Kristina_Lunz https://de.linkedin.com/in/kristina-lunz Neil Koenig: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilkoenig/ https://twitter.com/neilkoenig?lang=en ideaXme links: ideaXme https://radioideaxme.com ideaXme is a global network - podcast on 12 platforms, 40 countries, mentor programme and creator series. Mission: To share knowledge of the future. Our passion: Rich Connectedness™!

Andrea Macdonald, founder of ideaXme interviews Stela Solar, Director of National AI Centre, CSIRO Australia. They talk of "Australia's world first" initiative to develop, roll out and manage AI and how Stela Solar leads it. Biography Stela Solar is the Director of the National Artificial Intelligence Centre, hosted by CSIRO's Data61. In this role, Stela is focused on building value for Australian people, businesses and the country, through use of Artificial Intelligence. Over the past 15 years, Stela has cultivated expertise in capturing new revenue opportunities presented by emerging technologies and business model transformation. Stela is passionate about removing barriers to positive technology adoption and engagement. She leverages her broad experiences across business development, strategy, ecosystem development, marketing and product management to inform her insights surrounding cross-organizational factors affecting an organization's ability to capture an advantage. Prior to CSIRO, Stela most recently held the position of Global Director of AI Solutions Sales and Strategy at Microsoft, and before that was with channel partners Ingram Micro, Express Data, and web security startup M86. Stela has recently returned to Australia from 7 years in the US technology industry. She has a Masters of Interaction Design and Electronic Arts from University of Sydney, and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of NSW. Outside of work, Stela enjoys competitive sailing and plays cello and piano. Image credits: Stela Solar portrait: TBA Stela Solar and the National AI Centre CSIRO, Australia and RAIN Links: https://www.csiro.au/en/work-with-us/... https://www.csiro.au/en/work-with-us/... https://twitter.com/stela?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/stelasolar ideaXme links: ideaXme https://radioideaxme.com ideaXme is a global network - podcast on 12 platforms, 40 countries, mentor programme and creator series. Mission: To share knowledge of the future. Our passion: Rich Connectedness™!

Neil Koenig, former BBC Producer/Director and now ideaXme board advisor interviews Chris Stott, Founder, CEO and Chair of Lonestar Data Holdings Inc. Neil comments: Space entrepreneurs often have grand visions. As the billionaire Elon Musk explained, in a BBC Radio 4 documentary I produced some 15 years ago, his dream is to help mankind become a space-faring civilisation by lowering the cost of interplanetary travel. Today, Mr Musk is making progress, as his company SpaceX continues to build ever bigger rockets and win new customers. And according to fellow entrepreneur Chris Stott, there has indeed been a dramatic fall in the cost of space transport, largely because of the work that SpaceX and its rivals have been doing. As a result, many opportunities for new businesses have emerged. Chris Stott has long been fascinated by space, and he has worked in the industry throughout his career; his wife Nicole is a former NASA astronaut. He now has an audacious plan: to put data centres on the Moon. It sounds like a crazy idea, but Mr Stott is deadly serious. He says that, because the costs of space travel have come down so much, the project is now eminently feasible. In this interview with me for ideaXme, Chris Stott talks of his passion for space, why he thinks it is vital for human society to have data backups in places beyond Earth, and why he believes that the survival of human civilisation depends on mankind successfully venturing into space. Official biography Experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of profitably working in the space, satellite, and telecommunications industries consistently delivering shareholder value. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Corporate Social Responsibility, Business Planning, Analytical Skills, and Innovation Management. Strong entrepreneurship professional with a MSS focused in Space Sciences from International Space University. Multi Award winning Documentary Film Maker and Executive Producer. Lonestar Data Holdings Inc. Lonestar has been founded by a proven team of experts from the Cloud and Space verticals to pioneer a future for data at the edge for all of us. Our mission is to apply abundance thinking and exponential technologies to the exploration of the Moon and the endless possibilities of lunar storage for the human race. Lonestar's vision is fueled by remarkable investors led by Scout Ventures, 2 Future Holdings, Seldor Capital, the Veteran Fund. Irongate Global Capital, Atypical Ventures, and Kittyhawk Ventures. Chris Stott and Lonestar Links: https://www.lonestarlunar.com https://twitter.com/Lonestar_Space Neil Koenig: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilkoenig/ https://twitter.com/neilkoenig?lang=en ideaXme links: ideaXme https://radioideaxme.com ideaXme is a global network - podcast on 12 platforms, 40 countries, mentor programme and creator series. Mission: To share knowledge of the future. Our passion: Rich Connectedness™!

Neil Koenig, former BBC Producer/Director and now ideaXme board advisor interviews artist Shahzia Sikander. Neil Koenig comments: One aim of the ideaXme series is to Move the human story forward™. Is that something that art can help with? The artist Shahzia Sikander believes it can: "art is something that we learn to tell stories with. It's a means, a catalyst, but it also is how you are in pursuit of your own truth or a broader truth" she explains, "but then in that journey, what happens is how you negotiate a place in the world for future generations". Shahzia Sikander was born in Pakistan and has lived and worked in New York since the 1990s. She has created works in many different forms, from miniatures to animation, sculpture and more. Her first major public art commission, "Havah..to breathe, air, life", is currently on display in Madison Square Park in the heart of New York City. It includes some dramatic pieces, such as an 18 foot tall sculpture in the centre of the park, and another 8 foot high figure on the roof of a nearby courthouse, where it joins some existing works The show is on view until June 2023, after which it will move on to Houston. In this interview with ideaXme board advisor Neil Koenig, Shahzia Sikander talks about growing up and studying art in Pakistan, her interests in exploring notions of authenticity, assimilation, and "interstitial spaces that are harder to define", and the role that technology might play in the future development of art. Biography Shahzia Sikander (Pakistani, b.1969) is an artist based in New York City best known for her Mughal miniature painting as well as her Persian miniature painting. Sikander is also a performance artist, a muralist, a mixed media artist, and an installation artist. Having been taught the art of miniature painting in the traditional Pakistani technique, she adds her own modern take on the pieces, making her art unique. Religion plays a significant role in her work as well as her personal life, due to her Muslim beliefs. Through her work, she explores how Muslim women are challenged by the Western way of living. She has been known to wear a veil in public, though she did not do so prior to her relocation to the United States. She does so as an experiment to study how Westerners are affected by the tradition. Sikander attended the National College of Arts in Lahore and earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1992. She studied at the Rhode Island School of Design, and in 1995 she earned her Master of Fine Arts. Sikander's first solo exhibition took place in 1993 at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, D.C. Many solo exhibitions followed, taking her to such places as the Whitney Museum of American Art at Philip Morris in New York in 2000 and The San Diego Museum of Art in California in 2004. In addition to the solo exhibitions, Sikander also participated in many group exhibitions, including those held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2005 and Museum Ludwig in Germany in 1999. Sikander received a number of awards, including the Shakir Ali Award/Kipling Award from the National College of Arts, Lahore in 1993, The Joan Mitchell Award in 1999, and the MacArthur Fellows Program in 2006. Sikander continues to impart her personal touch and some political and social views into what may be considered to be an impersonal and disciplined tradition. She continues to exhibit work all over the world and adjust her work to reflect the current status of her culture.

Discover why everyone "should fall in love with biotech". Find out how here: https://www.the-odin.com Dr. Jo Zayner, PhD, Biophysics, is a "visionary" biochemist and genetic designer. For over 15 years, they have pioneered work in the field of bioengineering, publishing a number of scientific papers on the topic. Zayner is transgender and uses they/she pronouns advocating for diversity, body autonomy and science for all. Jo received their PhD in Biophysics from the University of Chicago, winning several awards for their work on engineering proteins. They then spearheaded work on developing engineered microbes for Mars terraforming at NASA, eventually leaving to start The ODIN, a bioengineering company based in Austin, Texas that is working to make genetic engineering accessible to everyone. Zayner's groundbreaking work in human genetic engineering and medicine has been the focus of many documentaries, including the Netflix documentary Unnatural Selection https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/8020... and the NYT documentary Gut Hack https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/op... . They have been made fun of on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and written about in media all over the world including The New York Times, The New Yorker, El País, Le Monde, Time, Scientific American and NPR, among others. Somehow Jo still finds time to be an accomplished artist whose work has been featured in exhibits at San Francisco MoMA, Philadelphia Museum of Art, NY MoMA, ZKM and the Smithsonian. The ODIN, team believe the future is going to be dominated by genetic engineering and consumer genetic design will be a big part of that. They are facilitating this by offering tailored biotech kits and tools that allow anyone to make unique and usable organisms at home or in a lab or anywhere. Safely of course! Twitter: @4LovOfScience https://twitter.com/4LOVofScience Instagram: @jzayner https://www.instagram.com/jzayner/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/josiah.zayner Video footage from Canva. Voice over for ideaXme introduction: Neil Koenig former Senior BBC producer and journalist and current ideaXme board advisor and guest interviewer. Music for ideaXme introduction: Music: Space Heroes by MaxKoMusic | https://maxkomusic.com/ Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ideaXme https://radioideaxme.com ideaXme is a global network - podcast on 12 platforms, 40 countries, mentor programme and creator programme. Our mission: Move the human story forward. Our passion: Rich Connectedness! Find the text version on ideaXme's website shortly www.radiodideaxme.com Watch this interview now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rz7ueNbA_Y

New opportunities are waiting for you in the global space industry! Shelli Brunswick, COO Space Foundation. Episode 2, ideaXme Thought Bite. Workforce development roadmap. The Space Foundation: https://www.spacefoundation.org Shelli Brunswick: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shellibru... Twitter: https://twitter.com/shellibrunswick?r... On Space Foundation's website: https://www.spacefoundation.org/human... Want to create an ideaXme Thought Bite? Apply here: info@ideaxme.com Voice over for ideaXme introduction: Neil Koenig former Senior BBC producer and journalist and current ideaXme board advisor and guest interviewer. Music for ideaXme introduction: Music: Space Heroes by MaxKoMusic | https://maxkomusic.com/ Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ideaXme https://radioideaxme.com ideaXme is a global network - podcast on 12 platforms, 40 countries, mentor programme and creator series. Mission: To share knowledge of the future. Our passion: Rich Connectedness™!

Shelli Brunswick, COO of Space Foundation talks of the Space Economy and improving access to work in the space industry. Episode 1 of Shelli Brunswick's ideaXme Thought Bite! The Space Foundation: https://www.spacefoundation.org Shelli Brunswick: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shellibru... Twitter: https://twitter.com/shellibrunswick?r... On Space Foundation's website: https://www.spacefoundation.org/human... Want to create an ideaXme Thought Bite? Apply here: info@ideaxme.com Voice over for ideaXme introduction: Neil Koenig former Senior BBC producer and journalist and current ideaXme board advisor and guest interviewer. Music for ideaXme introduction: Music: Space Heroes by MaxKoMusic | https://maxkomusic.com/ Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ideaXme https://radioideaxme.com ideaXme is a global network - podcast on 12 platforms, 40 countries, mentor programme and creator series. Mission: To share knowledge of the future. Our passion: Rich Connectedness™!

Neil Koenig, ex BBC producer and current ideaXme board advisor and guest interviewer, interviews Mohammed Afkhami, philanthropist and art collector. If asked to name a country associated with modern art, few people today might think of Iran. The collector Mohammed Afkhami is working hard to change that perception. In this age that we are in now anything that promotes misunderstood or unknown cultures is a plus. In recent years he has amassed a large collection of Iranian art. Mr Afkhami says his love of art began at an early age: "we used to visit my grandfather's house multiple times a week, and he collected Islamic art and antiquities, Western artworks, Japanese lacquer…it was a fascinating and enchanting house of treasures". He left Iran as a young child, after the revolution at the end of the 1970s. After embarking on a successful career in finance, he eventually returned in the early 2000s. "It felt like coming home" he explains. Mohammed Afkhami was surprised and delighted by the quality of contemporary art available, even though there were only a small number of galleries open at the time in Tehran. He bought works by Sirak Melkonian and Massoud Arabshahi for around $500 apiece. Since then, the collection has grown to include works by artists such as Shirin Neshat, Monir Farmanfarmaian, Parviz Tanavoli, Abbas Kiarostami and many more. What is the art scene like in Iran today? According to Mr Afkhami it is thriving, despite the impact of sanctions. There are now hundreds of galleries in Tehran, he says: "an artist is lucky to have a show that lasts longer than a month, because there's such a backlog of artists wanting to exhibit". In an interview with me for ideaXme, Mohammed Afkhami talks about his passion for his country's art, how he built his collection and how he works with artists and galleries, and how art can serve to broaden understanding and break down cultural barriers. "Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians—The Mohammed Afkhami Collection", can be seen at the Asia Society in New York until May 2022. Drawing from the collection of financier and philanthropist Mohammed Afkhami, the exhibition comprises paintings, sculptures, photographs, and videos. Of the 23 participating artists, over a third live in Iran, over a third live outside of Iran, and five live in New York City. These established, mid-career, and emerging artists are working from unique vantage points, informed by a rich cultural heritage as well as more recent extensive social and political unrest in Iran. Referencing "contemporary Persians," the exhibition's title evokes an ancient culture that is still very much alive today. The curator of the exhibition is Dr. Fereshteh Daftari. Neil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilkoenig/ https://twitter.com/neilkoenig?lang=en ideaXme is a global network - podcast on 12 platforms, 40 countries, mentor programme and creator series. More soon. Get involved: https://radioideaxme.com/get-involved/ Mission: Move the human story forward™

Neil Koenig, ex BBC producer and current ideaXme board advisor and guest interviewer, interviews curator Marcello Dantas. Are humans the only creatures who can appreciate art? Perhaps not, says Marcello Dantas. His latest project aims to create "art that's meaningful to other species", such as birds, bees, or bats. Mr Dantas, a curator who has worked with many internationally known artists, is no stranger to innovative ventures. In 2021, he was appointed curator of the SFER IK Museion, located in the jungle near Tulum, Mexico - and this might be his most unusual undertaking so far. SFER IK, described as "an interdisciplinary arts centre", is an unusual structure built largely from natural materials. It's the creation of the architect and social entrepreneur Roth, who's also the founder of the nearby Azulik hotel. Although construction was complete by late 2019, the pandemic meant activity had to be paused. The museum is now due to relaunch in March 2022, with a show by Japanese artist Makoto Azuma, known for pioneering work with plants and flowers. The centrepiece will be a 15m high "artificial tree, made of plants" explains Mr Dantas, which will have "a common nutrient body that will feed this amazing biodiversity that will exist inside the museum." A key goal will be to try to create what he calls "bio-agreeable" art - work in tune with its location, in this case, in the middle of a jungle in which humans are a distinct minority. It's also one example of the kind of work that Marcello Dantas finds particularly exciting: pieces that are integrated with their setting. Another is an exhibit which will appear soon at SFER IK, by Mexican artist Hector Zamora. This will involve the use of thousands of balls, moving around inside the gallery: "it will be like you are inside of a giant pinball machine' explains Mr Dantas. "Think about what's the most prohibited thing in a museum, apart from setting it on fire - playing football perhaps? But what if the museum plays football with you?" For Marcello Dantas, works like these point towards an exciting future for art, and away from the current approach of the modern art world, which he finds a little dispiriting: "you see a painting hanging on a white wall in Hong Kong, and then you see the same painting on a white wall in New York". For him this model is sterile: "we want to go from sterility to fertility". In this ideaXme interview, Marcello Dantas talks to producer, journalist and ideaXme board adviser Neil Koenig, about his career in the world of art, his plans for the SFER IK museum, and how he sees the future of art developing. Marcello Dantas is an award-winning curator and artistic director specialising in interdisciplinary practices both in and outside Brazil. He was the name behind the conception of distinct museums and cultural institutions across South America, such as the Museum of Portuguese Language; Japan House Sao Paulo and the Museum of Nature in Brazil; Museo del Caribe and Museo del Carnaval in Colombia; and the Telecommunications Museum in Argentina. In 2021, he was appointed curator of the SFER IK Museion in Tulum, Mexico. He has also curated some of the most popular solo shows of the last decade, including Ai Weiwei's Raiz, the largest exhibition ever staged by the artist in Brazil in 2018. Marcello Dantas has also curated several solo exhibitions with some of the most influential contemporary artists of today, including Anish Kapoor, Laurie Anderson, Erwin Wurm, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Jenny Holzer, Rebecca Horn, Bill Viola and many more. Since 2014, he has become part of the curatorial board at the Vancouver Biennale, and in 2020, he was appointed curator of the 13th Biennial Mercosul that will take place in Brazil in 2022. Interview links https://www.sferik.art https://br.linkedin.com/in/marcello-d... https://twitter.com/marcellodantas https://roth-architecture.com Neil https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilkoenig/ https://twitter.com/neilkoenig?lang=en ideaXme ideaXme https://radioideaxme.com ideaXme is a global network - podcast on 12 platforms, 40 countries, mentor programme and creator series. More soon. Get involved: https://radioideaxme.com/get-involved/ Mission: To share knowledge of the future. Our passion: Rich Connectedness™!

Neil Koenig, former Senior BBC producer and current ideaXme board advisor and guest interviewer, interviews Daniel Birnbaum, artistic director Acute Art. Chapter headings: 00:00We're here to idea everyone! To fire up your curiosity and connect you with the people and ideas that shape our world. 00:20 Welcome to ideaXme. I'm Neil Koenig. 00:25 For more than 50 years the Serpentine Gallery has shown work by some of the world's most famous contemporary artists. 00:38 This creature is a product of augmented reality. 01:04 A parallel digital version of the show has been launched in Fortnite, a hugely popular video game developed by Epic Games. 01:15 The artistic director of Acute Art and curator of the New Fiction show is Daniel Birnbaum. 38:04 At the centre of the game is a replica of the Serpentine Gallery. 38:57 I think it will be the best attended exhibition ever produced. 39:42 What kind of work is on show in both worlds? 39:52 KAWS, many people know his work. 41:15 On the Acute Art App and you can place those paintings in your living room. 41:26 It is an exhibition that lives in 3 worlds. 51:33 Maybe that hybrid world will be the future of art. 52:45 There will be entirely new kinds of platforms I think. The pandemic has had an impact on most aspects of our lives, and the art world is no exception. With many galleries and museums closed, there's an urgent need for new ways to experience art. Technology might provide some answers, and one enterprise at the forefront of developments is Acute Art, which collaborates with artists on projects involving virtual and augmented reality. Acute Art has already worked with many high-profile artists, including Ai Weiwei, Marina Abramović, Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg, Olafur Eliasson, Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, Bjarne Melgaard, Jeff Koons and many more. The most recent project that Acute Art has been involved in is NEW FICTION, the first major solo exhibition in London by KAWS (Brian Donnelly b.1974). The show, which opened in January 2022 at the Serpentine gallery in London's Hyde Park, includes new and recent works in physical and augmented reality. A parallel digital version of the exhibition launched simultaneously in Fortnite, the hugely popular video game developed by Epic Games. In addition, an app developed by Acute Art will "offer a bridge between the virtual and the physical worlds". All the paintings and sculptures in the exhibition, as well as a miniature version of the entire show, will exist as AR works on the app, which can be viewed at home by audiences around the world, and shared on social media. In this interview, producer, journalist and ideaXme board adviser Neil Koenig talks to Acute Art's artistic director, Daniel Birnbaum, about his career in the art world, the creative challenge of curating the NEW FICTION show, and what part technologies such as augmented and virtual reality might play in the future development of art. Before joining Acute Art in January 2019, Daniel Birnbaum was Director of Moderna Museet in Stockholm. Previously, he curated the 1st Moscow Biennale (2005), "Airs de Paris" (with Christine Macel) at the Centre Pompidou (2007), the 2nd Yokohama Triennial (2008), and "Zero" (with Tijs Visser) at Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin (2015). In 2009 he was director of the 53rd Venice Biennale. Daniel Birnbaum co-authored 'Spacing Philosophy: Lyotard and the Idea of the Exhibition' with Swedish philosopher and professor Sven-Olov Wallenstein published by Sternberg Press in September 2019. Video footage of Fortnite game courtesy of Epic Games © Epic Games. Video stills shot by Neil Koenig. Video and stills from Acute Art App. Links: David Birnbaum: https://acuteart.com/tag/daniel-birnb... Acute Art: https://acuteart.com https://www.serpentinegalleries.org https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en... Neil Koenig: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilkoenig/ https://twitter.com/neilkoenig?lang=en ideaXme links: ideaXme https://radioideaxme.com ideaXme is a global network - podcast on 12 platforms, 40 countries, mentor programme and creator series. Mission: To share knowledge of the future. Our passion: Rich Connectedness™!