Circle of Voices

In this episode, I bring you behind the walls of the Palais des Congrès in Tio'tià:ke (Montréal) where the 15th Conference of the Parties #COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity took place. 

For two weeks, representatives from civil society, business, finance and politicians from 196 countries gathered to agree on a global biodiversity framework: a strategic plan to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

In my show, I deliberately feature the voices of youth, women and Indigenous peoples. Voices featured in this episode: 

* Elisabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary of the CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) 
* Aishwarya Puttur, youth climate justice organiser with Mock COP 
* Grandma Klasom Satlt'xw Losah, land defender and matriarch at Ada'itsx/Fairy Creek Blockade

Recorded in December 2022. 
Composed and produced by Louise Romain. 

Credits: 
Melancholic Haze by FoolBoyMedia: https://freesound.org/s/271339/
Wind in Pine Trees: https://freesound.org/s/147638/
Outro song 'Excess Charge' by Shaolin Dub.

Visit www.tuneintotheworld.com to learn more about my work.

At the heart of COP15 - Part 1

In this special episode* I bring together recordings from the Athabasca river with voices from Indigenous land & water protectors and members of the Canadian organisation 'Keepers of the Water'. After decades of extracting bitumen (a form of crude oil) in Northern Alberta, the toxic wastewater from the mining activities is starting to become a problem... 

But the federal and provincial governments of Canada, together with industry, have a solution: they want to change domestic law to legalize the release of the tailings ponds (the residual wastewater from the mining operations) into the Athabasca river. 

This river directly feeds into the Mackenzie River Basin, which is known as the Amazon of the North: the largest watershed in Canada and the most intact large scale ecosystem on the continent.

What can you do to support? 
1. https://www.keepersofthewater.ca/tar-sands-tailings-ponds
2. https://act.environmentaldefence.ca/page/122490/action/1

🎤  Hear from Melody Lepine, Tori Cress, Daniel T’seleie and Paul Belanger, as they all shared their concerns as part of a press conference at the latest UN biodiversity conference -COP15- last December in Tio'tià:ke, Montreal. The press conference was organised by Environmental Defence Canada and Keepers of the Water. 

🐦 The more-than-human voices are the Athabasca river and various animals recordings provided by the sound library of the Yellowstone National Park (as these species are also endemic to the Wood Buffalo National Park): red-winged blackbird, Wilson's snipe, warbling vireo, bald eagle, western meadow lark, common loon, savannah sparrow, sandhill crane, bison and wolves.
https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/soundlibrary.htm

*This episode was created for RAVEN Debriefs, the podcast series of the Canadian organisation RAVEN Trust, which raise funds for Indigenous People's access to justice. Visit: https://raventrust.com/podcast/

Music credits by Holizna CC0, Soft and Furious, and Loyalty Freak through the Free Music Archive.

Recorded in August and December 2022, produced in March 2023 by Louise Romain.

Additional info about organisations involved

- The Canadian organisation ⁠⁠RAVENTrust⁠⁠ raises funds for Indigenous People's access to justice. 
- ⁠Environmental Defence⁠ is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.
-Keepers of the Water is an indigenous-led organisation

Toxic threat for the Amazon of the North

In 2022, I traveled to Brazil at the time of the national elections. I went with the intention to record sounds and stories of resistance and resilience, in times of collapse and crisis. I created this sound journey to bring you on the road with me...

I will guide you through some of the country's most iconic landscapes, from the Coast of Bahia to the heart of the Amazon, sharing songs and prayers from the Pataxó people, bringing you the entrancing chant of the Yoruba ocean goddess Yemanja, and even get you involved into Brasilian politics.

This sound journey was originally created for a performance at the event 'Sing for Earth Day', April 22nd 2023 in Stroud, UK.

It features songs from the Pataxó communities of Barra Velha and Porto do Boi (in Bahia) and a displaced community in Paraty. The song 'Yemanja' was recorded in Salvador, as part of the Balé Folclórico da Bahia. 

Recordings, script and composition: Louise Romain
Sound editing: Rory Thomas Lawton

Immersive sound journey through Brasil

Each year in September, people gather on Lenapehoking -the ancestral territory of the Lenape people- to attend the New York Climate Week. But this year was quite special... Are you curious to hear more from people turning the tides for climate justice? 

Listen to this trailer and make sure to follow the show here and on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2EYkHP6ASCUCvWU2job8vE] to be notified when the episodes get released.

Featuring Tzeporah Berman at an event hosted by WECAN (Women's Earth and Climate Action Network) speaking about the progress of the Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty campaign: https://fossilfueltreaty.org/

The music in the trailer are street recordings of the saxophonist Lewis Jordan and of the brass band Rude Mechanical Orchestra.

Recorded and produced by Louise Romain in September 2023.

Trailer - New York Climate Week 2023

In the summer of 2022, I travelled across Canada on a quest to gather sounds and stories of resilience and resistance, as we journey through times of collapse and crisis.

I met Tamara Archie in Tk'emlúps (Kamloops) in the semi-arid part of British Columbia, Western Canada. She works for Qwelmínte Secwépemc and shares here some of her wisdom about being in right relation to the land.

Qwelmínte Secwépemc is a collective of leadership from eight Secwépemc communities working together with the B.C. Government to move forward via the Qwelmínte Secwépemc Government to Government table. Find out more: https://www.qwelminte.ca/about-us

Interview, atmospheric recordings and production: Louise Romain. 

Other credits: Holizna CO (Dreams) from the Free Music Archive and Heartbeat Fast Tempo by CTCollab -https://freesound.org/s/223614/ - License: Attribution 3.0.

Visit www.tuneintotheworld.com to learn more about my work.

On Secwepemcúl’ecw

This is the final episode of my series '30 voices from the UN Ocean Conference'. Part 1 centred on the voices of youth engaged in the ocean space, while part 2 was all about women. This final episode cuts across the board. 

The people you will hear care deeply about the Ocean. But also about human rights, peace, climate justice, and solidarity with living beings, whether they are humans or from other species. They are artists, translators, activists, directors, solutionists and profoundly optimist. They share about their achievements during this UN Ocean Conference, but also their criticism, their doubts and how much further we have to go, still. 

If you enjoy what you hear, support Circle of Voices via my Patreon and become a monthly sponsor to contribute to my production and creative work into this world: www.patreon.com/c/CircleofVoices. Single direct donations are also possible here: buy.stripe.com/aFa4gB5zWbYzdDzc48fbq00. And share the episode with a friend you think might find this valuable.

I am Louise Romain, sound artist, documentarist, anthropologist, and the podcast producer of Circle of Voices. This episode was created with unedited voice notes  I received via Signal, Telegram and Whatsapp.

This episode features:

*Tara Pierce - Lecturer at the Earth Law Center, Co-founder of Earth Law Alliance / https://www.earthlawcenter.org/

*Emilie McGlone - Director of Peace Boat US / https://peaceboat-us.org/

*Néfur - Singer, Composer and Performer / https://nefurmusic.com/

*Azzedine Badis - Communication Manager at Global Seaweed Coalition / https://www.safeseaweedcoalition.org/

*José Lobo - Interpreter with Tinta, faciitaor and linguistic support for Brasilian small scale fisher

*Bodhi Patil - Ocean climate solutionist / https://www.bodhipatil.com/

*Maite Mompó - Director of Stop Ecocide International in Spanish / https://www.stopecocide.earth/

*Sam Lee - Folk singer, storyteller, conservationist and song collector, Britain / https://samleesong.co.uk/

*Michael Stewart - Co-founder of Seatrees / https://seatrees.org/

*Hajaniaina Ratsimbazafy - President of the management board of Natiora Defenders in Madagascar / https://natioradefenders.org/

*Jane Lawton - Director of impact for the Earth Species / https://www.earthspecies.org/

//Credits// Music by Shame Mckenna 'Surfacing' via Uppbeat. Sounds: Whales in the Rain by listeningtowhales -- freesound.org/s/322539/; Dolphin in Caribbean Sea (Mexico) by felix.blume -- freesound.org/s/161691/; and various phone ring tones by sapatac, genviou, and Aldergrove Studios.

Circle of Voices is a podcast produced by Louise Romain. Find out more about her work: tuneintotheworld.com/

30 Voices from the UN Ocean Conference 2025 - Part 3: World Ocean Voices at UNOC3

I'm an anthropologist, an imagination activist, a campaigner for multispecies justice and Indigenous rights, a podcast producer and a spoken word artist.

I create immersive sound journeys that bring together authentic stories from the frontlines of climate action, sounds from nature and atmospheric recordings. My show 'Circle of Voices' gathers stories of resilience and resistance in times of collapse and crisis, through human and more-than-human voices. It is an invitation to dream deeper into possible and desirable futures, while engaging with themes of socio-political and environmental justice.

For more info, visit: http://tuneintotheworld.com/

30 Voices from the UN Ocean Conference 2025 - Part 3: World Ocean Voices at UNOC3

Lou/ise