1 July 2021

EFC launches series of four podcasts in advance of Annual Conference 2021 in Vienna

How can philanthropy build on the momentum of the innovations of the past two years to help accelerate real sustainable change, not in the distant future, but right here and now?

With no vaccine for the climate crisis, and no herd immunity for inequality, the 2021 EFC conference will look at ways for philanthropy to help catalyse a more holistic response to the vast challenges that still lie ahead. The event will take shape via four interwoven strands (Climate, Democracy, Philanthropy and Society), each moderated by an expert who is widely recognised in the field, and will consider the four underlying themes of culture, digital agenda, education and civic engagement.

To raise the curtain on the 2021 EFC Conference, due to take place from 18-20 October in Vienna, the EFC is producing a new series of four podcasts. Each podcast will feature two guest speakers (including the moderator of the respective strand in Vienna) and will focus on one of the four conference tracks: Climate, Democracy, Philanthropy and Society. Speakers will be joined by EFC Chief Executive Delphine Moralis and 2021 Conference Chair Franz Karl Prüller, and each podcast is hosted by Chris Burns, a Brussels-based journalist, moderator, media trainer, and video producer.

Keep up to date with all our podcasts with the new EFC Anchor.fm channel!

Episode 1 – Climate

There is no vaccine for the climate crisis.

The climate emergency was established well before Covid-19 altered our daily routines. Alongside lockdown, the year 2020 initiated a 10-year countdown to halve greenhouse gas emissions. In this decisive decade, actions taken by markets, governments and citizens will determine liveability on our planet for the next century.

Speakers:

Moderator

  • Chris Burns, Journalist

Episode 2 – Society

In March 2020, the pandemic struck European societies in a time of profound changes, divisions and tensions, spurring fear and defiance, and threatening social cohesion, democracy, and peace.

Dividing lines among people, territories, and generations were a growing concern for many before the crisis. While the pandemic has created a common fate, common threats and common constraints, it has also shed a different light on societal issues, by revealing our vulnerabilities and accentuating existing challenges.

Speakers:

Moderator

  • Chris Burns, Journalist

Episode 3 – Democracy

Covid-19 has not only prompted global health and economic crises: It has contributed to a democratic crisis as well. The pandemic has often been used as a pretext to shrink civic rights and freedoms and for corporations and governments to break or evade laws which are meant to hold them accountable.

As we emerge from the Covid-19 crisis, does the “new normal” mean narrower civic space; long-term curtailment of freedom and equality; and the ubiquity of surveillance? Or could it mean harnessing the myriad opportunities offered by new forms of political and civic organising, and by technology, to help challenge power, deliver social justice and to reimagine and reinvigorate what we actually mean by “democracy”?

Speakers:

Moderator

  • Chris Burns, Journalist

Episode 4 – Philanthropy

Essayist Arundhati Roy poignantly referred to the Covid-19 pandemic as a “portal” – a characterisation which necessitates a pause and reflection on what we want to take forward and the preferred future philanthropy and civil society need to shape.

The Philanthropy track will consider philanthropy’s actions at three levels of analysis:

  • Philanthropy’s legitimacy within democracies
  • Its responsibilities regarding closing civic space (especially where digital dependencies play a role)
  • The behaviours and practices that individual foundations mainstreamed during the pandemic which offer new opportunities for the future

Speakers:

Moderator

  • Chris Burns, Journalist

For more information contact Jon Warne.