debate: in het oog van de klimaatstorm

BIOGRAphies

Saskia Venegas Aernouts

Saskia Venegas is a Spanish-Belgian composer, violinist and music theatre maker. After finishing her violin diploma with baroque violinist Pedro Gandia’s in Spain she moved to the Netherlands to continue studying Violin at CODARTS Rotterdam. Meanwhile, she took part in interdisciplinary performances working with visual artists, dancers and actors. This experience inspired her to apply to the New Music Theatre Master at CODARTS from which she graduated in 2013. In 2016 Saskia Venegas obtained her bachelor diploma in composition at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp where she studied with Wim Henderickx, Luc Van Hove and Alain Craens. Two years later she graduated with highest distinction at her master composition final exam. Her interest in the human’s socio-political behavior, is strongly present in her own creations as well as in cooperations with other artists such as Milo Rau, with whom she  collaborated on the NTGent productions Orestes in Mosul (2019) and Familie (2020). Saskia Venegas Aernouts is founder and artistic director of the Ensemble Oihua. In 2017 Antwerp Symphony Orchestra premiered her piece At the Aegean shores and in 2018 A veces, el silencio es la peor mentira got premiered by Belgian contemporary music HERMESensemble. 

Jean-Pascal van Ypersele

Ever since he was a student, Jean-Pascal van Ypersele has had a strong interest both in the natural sciences and in societal issues, as well as a will to contribute to knowledge sharing and sustainable development. He is curious about other cultures, has extensively travelled, and is aware of development issues. He received his Ph. D. from the Belgian Université catholique de Louvain (1986, with highest honours), based on work done at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research. After military service in the Belgian Navy, he continued his research on climate change and authored papers on subjects including the modelling of sea ice, paleoclimates, the climate of the 20th and 21st century, regional climate change in Europe, Greenland, and Africa, and the ethical issues associated with responsibility for climate change. More recently, he has worked with economists on the integrated assessment modelling of climate stabilisation. He also published a report on the mainstreaming of climate change adaptation and mitigation policies in the Belgian development cooperation. He teaches climatology, climate modelling, mathematical geography and environmental sciences, and co-directs an interdisciplinary Master programme in Science and Management of the Environment. His involvement in the IPCC started before the Third Assessment Report, of which he was a lead author; he has served several times as a Review Editor and has participated in dozens of outreach events related to the work of the IPCC.

Eka van Baaren (Extinction Rebellion)

Extinction Rebellion is a decentralised, international and politically non-partisan movement using non-violent direct action and civil disobedience to persuade governments to act justly on the Climate and Ecological Emergency. In 2018, British activists assembled on Parliament Square in London to announce a Declaration of Rebellion against the UK Government. The call to rebel swiftly became global, with groups popping up the following week in Europe, the US, and soon after the world over. Speaking in this debate on behalf of Extinction Rebellion Belgium is Eka van Baaren. She was born in the Netherlands and now lives in Brussels. Eka van Baaren has a long history in activism, both in organisations such as Greenpeace and several unions, as in grassroots movements such as Extinction Rebellion Belgium. She studied environmental sciences at Utrecht University and also journalism. In Brussels, Eka van Baaren not only devotes herself to environmental activism, but also struggles on behalf of ‘sans-papiers’ and other homeless people.