Episodes

  • Twenty years of the Lavazza Foundation

    Twenty years of the Lavazza Foundation
    Sep 29 2024
    It comes as no surprise that the story of the Giuseppe and Pericle Lavazza Foundation Onlus started in front of a cup of coffee, at a small table of a famous hotel in Bogota, Colombia. This is where, in 2001, Mario Cerutti (who at the time was the purchasing director for Lavazza), and Markus Fischer (head of Volcafe sustainability projects) sat down to discuss the state of the coffee industry, which at that time was going through a severe crisis. Here they came to a solution that they soon put in to practice – by focusing on sustainability, which was completely unheard of back then. This would lead to several projects, under the common, evocative and purposeful name of ¡Tierra! – That would in turn lead to the Foundation itself in 2004. In this podcast, we’ll talk about the guiding principles that the Foundation has followed for its first twenty years of life, and also mention some of the projects which would find concrete answers for the needs of the land and those of the people who work on it.
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    10 mins
  • Ep.3 - In front of the lens: Waris Dirie (English version)

    Ep.3 - In front of the lens: Waris Dirie (English version)
    Jan 12 2024
    Waris Dirie was born in Somalia, and she’s experienced the horrors of violence since she was a child: that of her father towards her mother, and that towards herself. At the age of 5, she was the victim of genital mutilation – a practice that all females have to endure in order to be “fixed” for a future marriage. After being promised to a 60-year-old for five camels, Waris ran away on foot to Mogadisciu, where she found employment as a maid in the house of an uncle and ambassador. She moved with him to London, where the second half of her life began. A photographer saw her and offered her the chance to pose for a few shots, which opened up the world of fashion to her. In 1997, she talked aboutinfibulation for the first time, and this started her activity as an activist. Today she’s the UN ambassador against female genital mutilation, she’s written books on the subject and founded the Desert Flower Foundation – an organization that supports victims of infibulation. In the Lavazza 2024 calendar she posed for the camera of Thandiwe Muriu.
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    10 mins
  • Ep.2 - In front of the lens: Denis Mukwege (English version)

    Ep.2 - In front of the lens: Denis Mukwege (English version)
    Jan 12 2024
    In 1999 in Bukavu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dr. Denis Mukwege founded the Panzi Hospital, a clinic specialized in gynecology and obstetrics. The main goal was to reduce maternal mortality. However, Panzi’s first patients weren’t pregnant women, but victims of sexual violence. Since then, Dr. Mukwege has helped over 80,000 patients that suffered rape in war, and for this work he was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2018. Daniel Obasi, for the Lavazza Calendar 2024, photographed a group of women of the Panzi Foundation - an organization created in order to support the Panzi Hospital: Dr. Neema Rukunghu and several sexual violence survivors that now have the opportunity to regain confidence in themselves.
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    11 mins
  • Ep.1 - In front of the lens: Zulaikha Patel (English version)

    Ep.1 - In front of the lens: Zulaikha Patel (English version)
    Jan 12 2024
    When she was just 13, she became a symbol of the struggle against racism when she stood up against the rules of her school – the Pretoria High School for Girls – which was forcing black girls to straighten their curls. Since then, Zulaikha Patel never stopped her battle and went on with her activism, also thanks to the non-profit organization which she founded: Dare to Change. By creating small libraries in African schools in troubled areas, her mission has been to educate new generations of young black girls and boys to fight racism. In the Lavazza Calendar 2024, she was photographed by Aart Verrips.
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    10 mins
  • Ep.3 - Davanti l'obiettivo: Waris Dirie

    Ep.3 - Davanti l'obiettivo: Waris Dirie
    Dec 12 2023
    Waris Dirie nasce in Somalia e sin da piccola conosce da vicino l’orrore della violenza: quella del padre nei confronti di sua madre, e anche quella che subisce in prima persona. A 5 anni, infatti, è vittima di mutilazione genitale, la pratica a cui sono sottoposte tutte le femmine per essere “sistemate” in vista del matrimonio futuro. Dopo essere stata promessa a un uomo di 60 anni in cambio di cinque cammelli, Waris scappa a piedi fino a Mogadiscio, dove viene impiegata come domestica a casa di uno zio ambasciatore. Con lui si trasferisce a Londra, ed è qui che inizia il secondo tempo della sua vita. Un fotografo nota la sua bellezza e le propone di posare per alcuni scatti che segneranno il suoingresso nel mondo dell’alta moda. Nel 1997 parla pubblicamente per la prima volta dell’infibulazione e inizia così il suo percorso di attivista. Oggi è ambasciatrice Onu contro le mutilazioni genitali femminili, autrice di libri sul tema e fondatrice della Desert Flower Foundation, un’organizzazione a sostegno delle vittime di infibulazione. Nel calendario Lavazza 2024 ha posato per l’obiettivo di Thandiwe Muriu.
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    11 mins
  • Ep.2 - Davanti l'obiettivo: Denis Mukwege

    Ep.2 - Davanti l'obiettivo: Denis Mukwege
    Dec 12 2023
    Nel 1999 a Bukavu, nella Repubblica Democratica del Congo, il Dottor Denis Mukwege ha fondato il Panzi Hospital, una clinica specializzata in ginecologia e ostetricia. L’obiettivo primario era quello di diminuire la mortalità da parto. Le prime pazienti del Panzi, però, non sono state donne incinte, ma donne vittime di violenza sessuale. Da allora il Dottor Mukwege ha prestato assistenza a oltre 80.000 pazienti stuprate all’interno di conflitti, un impegno che nel 2018 gli è stato riconosciuto con il Premio Nobel per la Pace. Per il Calendario Lavazza 2024, il fotografo Daniel Obasi ha ritratto alcuni volti importanti della Panzi Foundation, organizzazione nata a sostegno del Panzi Hospital: la DottoressaNeema Rukunghu e diverse donne sopravvissute alla violenza sessuale che ora hanno l’opportunità di ritrovare la fiducia in loro stesse.
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    11 mins
  • Ep.1 - Davanti l'obiettivo: Zulaikha Patel

    Ep.1 - Davanti l'obiettivo: Zulaikha Patel
    Dec 12 2023
    Quando aveva 13 anni è diventata il simbolo della lotta al razzismo per essersi imposta contro le regole della sua scuola, la Pretoria High School for Girls, che costringeva le studentesse nere ad addomesticare i propri ricci. Da allora, Zulaikha Patel non ha mai interrotto la sua battaglia e ha continuato a portare avanti il suo attivismo anche attraverso l’organizzazione no-profit di cui è fondatrice, la Dare to Change. Creando piccole biblioteche all’interno di scuole africane situate in zone difficili, la sua missione è quella di educare le nuove generazioni di bambine e bambini neri verso una nuova consapevolezza antirazzista. Nel Calendario Lavazza 2024 è stata ritratta dal fotografo Aart Verrips.
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    10 mins
  • Ep.3 - Behind the lens: Thandiwe Muriu (English version)

    Ep.3 - Behind the lens: Thandiwe Muriu (English version)
    Oct 18 2023
    As a child, her father put a camera in her hand, and from that moment, Thandiwe Muriu has been taking pictures. The Kenyan artist puts female figures at the forefront of her works, and highlights their strength and importance towards the world. Muriu is part of a new generation of African creatives, who look towards the future but always remember their past. This makes a difference in her art: for the 2024 Lavazza calendar, her main inspirations are ancient African proverbs and traditional colorful fabrics.
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    12 mins