The International Voice

08/02/2020

Aberdeen activists are calling on people to get behind a series of events raising awareness of climate change.

28/01/2020

A few months ago at the Student Council, members of the ASCN proposed a Meat-Free Monday motion which had the overwhelmed support of the Student Councillors and the student body. The motion was presented because the fight against climate change must be fought in all areas of society. In fact, The United Nations' IPCC report states that we have less than 12 years to limit the effects of climate change before it's too late. Now you may ask, why meat? Meat was targeted because the FAO estimates that livestock production is responsible for 15% of the global greenhouse emissions. Other organisations estimate that it could be as much as 51%. In other words, livestock production is the largest world polluter and therefore avoiding meat is the single most significant way to reduce our carbon print.

In spite of this, the Trustee Board of the Student Association did not ratify the motion, arguing that they had concerns with the "wording of the motion". I was told that I would receive a list of recommendations which I still have not received. To make matters more complicated, one of our Student Councillors who opposed the motion was so successful at lobbying the Trustee Board that he also managed to convince the Principal himself; who at the Student Council made clear that he would not implement the recommendations made to the University. Put differently, the motion will have no practical effect as long as the University does not put it into practice. As far as I am concerned, AUSA only owns the Union Brew; therefore, the motion will only affect our student bar, which I presume doesn't sell many meat products.

What is the point of this whole text then? Student Councillors have a mandate, we are representatives of the student body, we represent their will. It isn't very reassuring to see that the Student Council has virtually no power and that an unelected body can overrule us. The Trustee Board needs to be reformed, they must be held accountable. What is even more important is that the students of the University of Aberdeen should know that they have all been disrespected because they have been publicly invalidated in the only place where they have a real say, in their own Student Association!!

What can we do? We should mobilise together and show our discontent at the AUSA Annual General Meeting which will be held on the 11th of February at the William Guild Arts.

08/11/2019

Very Controversial indeed.

The Aberdeen Student Climate Network is deeply disappointed with the University of Aberdeen Student Association ( AUSA). It has been more than six months since we have been trying to be recognised as a Student Group and we have met all the criteria stated in the Association's bylaw, yet they are reluctant to accept us. In fact, they have even failed to give us a proper explanation for their refusal.
In September, we attempted to submit a motion via the Student Council aimed at acquiring this official recognition. Yet, AUSA esteemed the motion no competent, failing once again to give us an explanation for this decision. It is important to notice that other Student Groups, like CASE, have been previously recognised as such via the Student Council, leaving a precedence. This motion was seconded by more than 120 students, it was the motion with most seconders in the history of the Student Council.

AUSA is not acting fairly and is failing to make the Association a diverse community. The Aberdeen Student Climate Network stands for a just and noble cause, yet they seem to be keener to cooperate with controversial pro-life groups.

ASCN will keep fighting for climate justice, with or without the cooperation of AUSA.

02/11/2019

Feliz día de los mu***os ! 💀🥀

Completely unrelated, today we discussed Self-determination. We covered the wave of protests going on around the world (Chile, Hong Kong, Egypt, Guinea, Cataluña..) - how much are we ready to sacrifice for our own political destiny?

Self-determination in the private sphere: Arranged Marriages!
The debate got really heated 🔥🔥 what do you think? Would you let your family and friends choose your partner? Is it really mere patriarchal domination?

We apologize for the messiness of this episode. We got very excited! We are just so happy to be given the chance to contradict each other in front of a microphone 💕
See you next week!

19/10/2019

Thanks for joining us today in our discussion on the Kurdish struggle and identity 🥰 looking forward to having you on the show again!

09/10/2019

04/10/2019

We did it!!
So grateful for the support we have received in just one day!
Thank you to everyone who tuned in. If you couldn't, you will find our first episode on Aberdeen Student Radio website from tonight.

Music we shared today:
- "Water" by Inna Modja
- "4 DEGREES" by ANOHNI
😊

Greta's speech at the UN : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW3IQ-ke43w

Ecological grief study: Cunsolo, Ashlee, and Neville R. Ellis. "Ecological grief as a mental health response to climate change-related loss." Nature Climate Change 8.4 (2018): 275.

Many thanks to our guest Mustafa Mabruk for this priceless contribution!

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theinternationalvoiceasr/

See you soon!!

04/10/2019

Hi everyone!

We are very excited to announce that in our first episode we will be discussing about Greta Thunberg's UN speech the Global General Climate Strikes, climate grief and musical climate activism. Today's special guest will be Mustafa Mabruk, the Press Coordinator of the Aberdeen Student Climate Network.

Tune-in at 16:00!

http://www.aberdeenstudentradio.co.uk/