I wrote this poem in reference to recent events related to racism, particularly the systemic injustices that non-white people typically face in white majority countries, but it is pertinent to any kind of situation that perpetuates discrimination based on race. It highlights the fact that both the good and the bad we see in others are essentially a reflection of ourselves. With heightened self-awareness, we become one with others, and in turn, we see our true selves in others. In that state of being, we have no cause for hatred or hostility but only love and acceptance. This poem is…
2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the UNESCO Man and Biosphere program. This program aims to enhance the relationship between man and nature through improving livelihoods whilst safeguarding our natural environment and cultural heritage. This is a big task in our busy modern individualistic societies where we tend to be more concerned about our livelihoods at the expense of the latter and are thereby collectively disconnected with our natural world. We are also collectively losing our cultural diversity. A common feature in our globalized world seems to be a hyper focus on the many immediate and urgent matters that compete…
Imagine the ocean without fish. In a short while, it may take more imagination to remember a time when our oceans were teeming with life. Decades of destructive fishing practices has left us with rather precarious levels of fish stocks today, especially of large predatory fish such as bluefin tuna and cod, with serious implications for the rest of the marine food chain. The nefarious practice of (mostly illegal) bottom trawling has, in addition, destroyed hundreds of thousands of marine mammals, seabirds, sea turtles, sharks, and coral reefs. What is left is often barren waters.
In 2016, I moved to Dublin to begin a research degree in energy and society at UCD. In parallel, I volunteered with UCDVO, an overseas volunteer sending agency registered under UCD, as a team coordinator in 2019. …
I first came across the concept of Ubuntu during my preparations for the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) classes I was to travel to Ruaha, Tanzania to teach last summer. Ubuntu is a free open-source software widely used in Africa, one I would have to become familiar with myself prior to my trip. A quick Google search revealed to me that apart from being a Linux-based operating system, Ubuntu was actually a Zulu word meaning “I am, because you are”. The Ubuntu philosophy celebrates one humanity, accepts sharing or “humanity towards others” as a critical part of one’s own identity…
Trash has always been a major problem in developing countries. Strangely enough, for residents of the developing world, litter can become such an accepted fact of life, that apart from perfecting the muscle memory involved in sidestepping any litter that bars someone’s progress to their destination, little thought goes into where it came from, let alone coming up with a solution.
I have long been acquainted with litter whilst growing up in India. Our school required every student to stay behind after school to clean their classrooms before leaving the premises, and organized random litter picking days when students’ cleaning…
Sanghamitra C. Mukherjee
I am a Dublin-based climate activist and researcher working in the space of sustainability, migration, technology and society. I love nature and the outdoors :)
