Hay Festival Colombia Digital

Conversation between Adriana Villegas Botero and activist and ecofeminist thinker Yayo Herrero (Spain), one of the most important voices of a movement that advocates for environmental care with a gender perspective. Yayo Herrero defines the aim of ecofeminism as “putting at the centre what is necessary to sustain life”. Herrero is an anthropologist, lecturer and a very influential researcher in the ecofeminism and ecosocialism fields in Europe. She has been coordinator of the Ecologistas en Acción NGO and has taken part in numerous social initiatives on the promotion of Human Rights and social ecology.

An important talk on burning issues, with three proposals for the future to build a better world, by participants in the festival who, from their respective trenches and countries, raise problems and solutions needed for a world in crisis. With educator and writer Elisa Guerra (Mexico), environmental activist and feminist Yayo Herrero (Spain) and social leader and activist Paula Marcela Moreno (Colombia), in conversation with Hay Festival Director Cristina Fuentes La Roche.

From the hanging gardens of Babylon to the organic gardens of the "urban guerrillas", the garden has been a reflection of society. The way we use the "tamed nature" of gardens evolves with the world and with each individual. Santiago Beruete (Spain), academic, philosopher and gardener, reflects in his latest book, Un trozo de tierra (A piece of land), on the urgency and necessity of preserving the environment, offering us a close and intimate look at nature, which is both our environment and our livelihood. This work continues the cycle of other texts by Beruete, such as Jardinosofía (Gardensophy), Verdolatría (Greenery) and Aprendívoros (Learnvorous). In conversation with Rosana Arizmendi.

The future of our societies depends on the commitment to preserve our planet earth and its ecosystem. In an immersive and thought-provoking conversation three distinguished visionaries —Vincent Doumeizel, Valerie Trouet and David Lindo— will explore their unique perspectives on nature and the profound wisdom it offers in a conversation with sustainability expert Isabela del Alcázar.

Doumeizel is a renowned French environmentalist and sustainability advocate, in his last book he reflects on powering the seaweed revolution. Trouet is a Belgian paleoclimatologist whose book Tree Story: The History of the World Written in Rings received such as Doumeizel’s an outstanding acclamation by the critique. Lindo on his side is known by many as “the urban birder”, prominent naturalist and broadcaster on the BBC, he is considered as one of the world's leading experts in ornithological tourism and urban birds. How will be the unveiled harmony of nature?

El Tema, an original idea by Gael García Bernal and Pablo Montaño, directed by Santiago Maza and produced by La Corriente del Golfo, is a web series of six short documentaries that cover some of the most urgent matters related to the climate crisis in Mexico. The series is presented by the actor, director and producer, Gael García Bernal, and the writer and linguist Yásnaya Elena Aguilar. At this event we present episode five, Océanos, which looks at the coral reefs of the island of Cozumel. The ocean gave us life and is the planet’s main climate regulator. 1% of the seafloor has coral, an ultra-diverse ecosystem that is home to a quarter of the world’s fish species. Yet 0.5% of this has been destroyed by human activity. It is time to stop turning our back on the sea. With Yásnaya Aguilar and Mina Morsán, in conversation with Claudia Ivonne Hernández.

Language: Spanish

Documentary duration: 12 minutes

The war in Ukraine is causing large amounts of damage to the environment. Weapon systems and mass burials are causing soil contamination, while Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant has devastated entire ecosystems in southern Ukraine, raised the risk of waterborne diseases and destroyed irrigation systems and farmlands, threatening global food security. Russian shellfire near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant fuels fears of a nuclear catastrophe.

The shadow of history also looms over the conflict’s environmental effects; the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power station was a catalyst for the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union, and cultural revolution in Ukraine.

Lawyer and writer Philippe Sands, literary critic Tamara Hundorova and writer Rebecca Solnit talk to writer Sasha Dovzhuk about how Russia’s actions are affecting the global ecology and whether international law can prevent a new ecological catastrophe.

All the speakers except Sasha Dvozhuk will join remotely

Closed captions are available for this event in English and Spanish. Click on the "cc" icon in the video frame to select.

Perhaps the issue of greatest urgency today is the terrible impact that human activity is having on the planet Earth, threatening thousands of species and ecosystems with extinction, and even putting the viability of our own species at risk. Books such as The Sixth Extinction are of great importance for teaching us about this situation. This international bestseller by the journalist Elizabeth Kolbert (United States) won the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction in 2015. In this work the author looks at how human activity has disturbed the balance of nature, to the point that it is the greatest threat to the planet’s biodiversity and on the point of causing the world’s next mass extinction. Kolbert has written regularly for The New Yorker since 1999, specializing in scientific subjects, and in her most recent book, Under a White Sky (2021), she asks what can be done to stop and repair the damage being caused by humans, looking particularly at the work of biologists, engineers and researchers who work tirelessly for the conservation and restoration of nature. In conversation with Carla Santana Torres.

Eliane Brum is a Brazilian journalist, writer and documentary maker. She was educated at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica in Rio Grande do Sul and has won over 40 Brazilian and international reporting awards. She participated in the compilation of special reports on Doctors Without Borders, ¡Dignidad!, which also featured authors such as Mario Vargas Llosa. She is the co-director of two documentaries: Uma historia severina and Gretchen: filme estrada. She is the author of La Amazonia: viaje al centro del mundo (2024), a book that narrates her move from Sao Paulo to Altamira, a city where the construction of one of the world’s largest (and most ecologically devastating) dams is taking place. Brum will speak to Adriana Villegas.

Simultaneous translation from Portuguese to Spanish available

Perhaps the issue of greatest urgency today is the terrible impact that human activity is having on the planet Earth, threatening thousands of species and ecosystems with extinction, and even putting the viability of our own species at risk. Books such as The Sixth Extinction are of great importance for teaching us about this situation. This international bestseller by the journalist Elizabeth Kolbert (United States) won the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction in 2015. In this work the author looks at how human activity has disturbed the balance of nature, to the point that it is the greatest threat to the planet’s biodiversity and on the point of causing the world’s next mass extinction. Kolbert has written regularly for The New Yorker since 1999, specializing in scientific subjects, and in her most recent book, Under a White Sky (2021), she asks what can be done to stop and repair the damage being caused by humans, looking particularly at the work of biologists, engineers and researchers who work tirelessly for the conservation and restoration of nature. In conversation with Carla Santana Torres.

Marta Peirano (Spain) is a journalist and researcher who specialises in the relations between power and technology. Her work is known for its critical and analytical insights, investigating the dangers of concentrated power structures and addictive digital dynamics, and has received international recognition. Her latest book is Contra el futuro, resistencia ciudadana contra el feudalismo climático. According to her, there are solutions to climate change within our reach and her book sets out some strategies for citizen action in order to counter the acceleration of climate feudalism and disaster capitalism; a new anti-apocalyptic approach that builds hope for the future. In conversation with Olivia Zerón.

This summer's heat waves, water scarcity, fires, have put the effects of climate change at the center of the debate more than ever. Meteorological phenomena and interventions on nature are causing alert about our future and that of the planet. Butterflies are disappearing. The deterioration of their habitats due to the use of pesticides, industrial fertilizers and monoculture farming has meant that the numbers of these insects have dropped by 80% in the last fifty years, and the threat of their disappearance is becoming ever more real. The problem goes far beyond the sad loss of some wonderful insects: this is an ecological catastrophe. The renowned evolutionary biologist and ecologist Josef H. Reichholf, winner of the Sigmund Freud Award for Scientific Literature, has been studying lepidopterans for years, and is the author of The Disappearance of Butterflies, a fascinating work of non-fiction about these insects and a cry for help in the face of the disaster of their decline. For his part, Joaquin Araujo, naturalist, author, screenwriter and series director, who stands out among many for having been the first Spaniard to be awarded the UN Global 500 and the Wilderness Writing Award and for being the only Spaniard to be awarded twice the National Prize for the Environment, makes us aware of the biological and poetic importance of water, through his latest book “Somos agua que piensa” "We are water that thinks".

Both will converse with Isabela del Alcázar, Global Head of Sustainability at the IE University. As one example projects under her office: The Nurture Hub, a project founded by two students of the School of Architecture and Design and their mentor to create a space for relax for the students, enhance the biodiversity, raise awareness and attract indigenous pollinators, such as butterflies.

Once the event has finished, the authors will sign books in the booth outside IE University.

Simultaneous translation from German to Spanish and vice versa

The House of Hungarian Music, a landmark centre dedicated to music in Budapest's City Park and one of Sou Fujimoto's latest works, opened its doors to the public in January. Martha Thorne, Dean of IE University's School of Architecture, prominent urban planner and former Executive Director of the Pritzker Prize, will welcome one of Japan's most famous award-winning architects to Hay Festival Segovia. Fujimoto has received important awards in his field, and is known for projects as outstanding as the Serpentine Gallery the Pavilion in Kensington Gardens or the Final Wooden House in Kunamoto, Japan. The architect, who perceives his projects as an understanding of the relationship between architecture, nature and the human body, will discuss his work with Martha Thorne. They will also explore their shared passion for design, creativity and the cultural heritage of architecture.

Event in English with simultaneous translation into Spanish.

Twenty years ago, Clemens Schlettwein, an investor and philanthropist specialising in environmental conservation projects, and Gemma Knowles, a holistic animal therapist and dog nutritionist, author of several books on animal welfare, started their life project together, running a shelter for dogs and cats in El Garraf (Barcelona). Project and life partners, they have launched various enterprises related, for instance, to permaculture with horses or the development of a solar car. They will talk about all this with William Mut, an expert consultant in policies and promotion of productive investment, who has worked with numerous multilateral institutions including the World Bank, the United Nations, COMESA and the EU.

Event in Spanish

The Munch in Oslo is one of those new pieces of architecture that are establishing Oslo's image as a capital of sustainable, egalitarian and civilised modernity. It is the latest work by Spanish architect Juan Herreros, whose career includes other art-related creations. The verticality of the museum is one of its most outstanding features. "A disruptive idea, like hanging paintings along a spiral ramp," say the studio's directors, referring to Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim in New York. This Hay Festival, Herreros will speak about architecture, design, sustainability and interaction with the environment, as the dynamic nature of this centre allows visitors to discover both Munch's work and Oslo; the scale of the city further revealed the higher you go.

He will talk with Martin Braathen, architect and Senior Curator of Architecture at the National Museum, Oslo, M.Arch in Architecture, PhD in Architecture history (2019), formerly editor of journal Arkitektnytt, and acting director of Oslo Architecture Triennale. Braathen has many years of experience as freelance architecture critic and writer, curator.

The event will be presented by Edgar Gonzalez, Associate Dean at IE School of Architecture and Design.

Picture: Nasjonalmuseet for kunst, arkitektur og design

Event in English and Spanish with simultaneous translation into Spanish and English.

Tiago Pitta e Cunha is one of the most significant international personalities on issues related to the oceans and the changes that need to happen in our attitude towards them. He has worked for over two decades to put maritime issues on political and institutional agendas. He has coordinated the European Union’s Integrated Maritime Policy at the office of the European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and has represented Portugal and the EU at the UN in various international bodies dedicated to all matters related to the sea. Also director of the Oceano Azul Foundation, in 2021 he received the Pessoa Prize, awarded annually to Portuguese nationals who have distinguished themselves as outstanding figures in scientific, artistic or literary life. He will talk with Jesus Calero, director of ABC Cultural, who researches oceans and their shipwrecks,

They will discuss the need to care for the oceans with journalist and poet Carlos Aganzo.

With simultaneous translation from Portuguese to Spanish and vice versa.

Santiago Beruete, writer and philosopher, author of Verdolatria, Aprendivoros and Jardinosofia, and Alejandro Quecedo del Val, young eco-social activist and author of the essay Gritar lo que está callado, will explore ways out of the Ecosocial Crisis produced by the Anthropocene: ecological, social and cultural transitions necessary to put an end to this state of war with the planet.

Moderated by Beatriz González, director of De Conatus publishing house

Event in Spanish

Signing at the stand of Calle Real