Justice Studio Sessions Justice Studio

Welcome to Episode 13 of Justice Studio Sessions. In this episode we discuss young people in Wessex, South West England. We focus on the work of the Wessex Dance Academy which is a dance school for young people aged 15-25 based in Hampshire. The young people referred to the Academy are either excluded from, or not attending, school, care leavers or those with experience of the criminal justice system. Justice Studio was lucky enough to work with the academy twice – in 2013 when we undertook an outcomes study, and again in 2020 to do a refresher of the study as the covid 19 pandemic broke.

We are lucky to have Clare Hobbs with us for the discussion. Clare is the creator of the Wessex Dance Academy, establishing it 2009 because she wanted to bring dance to those who would not otherwise experience it. As manager of the Academy, she and her team, have been working closely with the young people ever since.

In this episode we discuss the lives of the young people who have been through the Academy, how the programme operates and the positive outcomes they are able to achieve in the young people’s confidence and self-esteem. We look at the challenges it faces in a funding landscape that does not always acknowledge the importance of the arts and touch on how the pandemic has affected a growing number of young people who are not in school.


Links

Follow Wessex Dance Academy on Instagram: @wessexdanceacademy
Justice Studio’s website: www.justicestudio.org
Follow Justice Studio on Instagram: @justicestudio
Follow Justice Studio on Twitter: @justicestudio
Follow Marianne on Instagram @creatrix.london
Title Music by Luke Fraser @the_tonic_
Show Artwork by Marianne @creatrix.studio

Welcome to Episode 12 of Justice Studio Sessions. In this episode we discuss the situation for veterans in war torn Ukraine. The Russo-Ukrainian war, which began in 2014 and has escalated since 2022, is affecting the whole country. We delve into the experiences of the men and women fighting in the conflict, and how the different waves have affected their ability to reintegrate into society.

We are extremely lucky to be joined from Ukraine by Ivona Kostyna. Ivona is the co-founder of Veteran Hub and is a Kyiv-based expert in veterans affairs with nine years of practical experience designing and launching non-governmental programs of support for veterans and their families in Ukraine. She is also a spouse of a Ukrainian warrior.

As well as understanding how the conflict has affected the veterans and people currently, fighting in the war, we set out how this experience has affected the families of the veterans and how Ukrainians are having to acclimatise to continuing threat.


Links

Veterans Hub can be followed on the following platforms:

Website | Telegram | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok
Justice Studio’s website: www.justicestudio.org
Follow Justice Studio on Instagram: @justicestudio
Follow Justice Studio on Twitter: @justicestudio
Follow Marianne on Instagram @creatrix.london
Title Music by Luke Fraser @the_tonic_
Show Artwork by Marianne @creatrix.studio

Welcome to Episode 11 of Justice Studio Sessions. In this episode we look at the difficult instances of near deaths in male prisons in England. We discuss the adult male prison estate, the challenges it has faced over recent years, and the tragic violence within it.

Joining us for the discussion is Rob Allen who works on prison reform in the UK and internationally. From 2005 to 2010 he was director of the International Centre for Prison Studies (ICPS) at King’s College London, undertaking research on imprisonment and assisting prison systems to comply with international standards. He has undertaken prison reform work in Africa, Latin America and Asia and is an associate of Penal Reform International. He has written widely on criminal justice including “Reducing the use of imprisonment: What can we learn from Europe?” He co-hosts the Transform Justice podcast.

Rob has undertaken a number of reviews into near deaths in the male prison estate in recent years and gives us an in depth picture of the circumstances around them. This difficult topic reveals deep issues with the prison system and culminates in our discussion about how prisons can be rethought.

Links
You can read Rob’s blogs at https://reformingprisons.blogspot.com/ and follow him on X (formerly twitter) @robroballen
The Article 2 Investigations Rob talked about on the podcast can be found at https://www.iapondeathsincustody.org/ac-report and
https://www.iapondeathsincustody.org/ad-report
Justice Studio’s website: www.justicestudio.org
Follow Justice Studio on Instagram: @justicestudio
Follow Justice Studio on Twitter: @justicestudio
Follow Marianne on Instagram @creatrix.london
Title Music by Luke Fraser @the_tonic_
Show Artwork by Marianne @creatrix.studio

Welcome to Episode 10 of Justice Studio Sessions. In this episode we look at international tax abuse. As part of this discussion, we look in-depth at illicit financial flows, tax havens, financial secrecy and imperialism.
Joining us for this discussion is Alex Cobham, an economist and chief executive of the Tax Justice Network. He is also a founding member of the steering group of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation, and of the technical advisory group for the Fair Tax Mark, and a commissioner for the Scottish Government’s Poverty and Inequality Commission. His work focuses on illicit financial flows, effective taxation for development, and inequality. His books include The Uncounted; Estimating Illicit Financial Flows: A Critical Guide to the Data, Methodologies, and Findings, with Petr Janský; and just published by SAGE, ‘What do we know, and what should we do about tax justice?’
Alex talks us through how we can counter the problem of international tax abuse through tax justice including setting out how we can use reparations to counter the effects of centuries of colonialism.

Read Alex’s Books:
https://uncounted.org and
https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/what-do-we-know-and-what-should-we-do-about-tax-justice/book286416

Links for this episode
Tax Justice Network website: https://taxjustice.net
Global Alliance For Tax Justice website: https://globaltaxjustice.org
Follow Tax Justice Network on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TaxJusticeNetwork
Follow Tax Justice Network on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TackleTaxHavens
Follow Tax Justice Network on Twitter/X: @TaxJusticeNet
Justice Studio’s website: www.justicestudio.org
Follow Justice Studio on Instagram: @justicestudio
Follow Justice Studio on Twitter: @justicestudio
Follow Marianne on Instagram @creatrix.london
Title Music by Luke Fraser @the_tonic_
Show Artwork by Marianne @creatrix.studio

Welcome to Episode 9 of Justice Studio Sessions. In this episode, we examine the lives of the women working in the fisheries sector in Fiji. The discussion sits firmly at the intersection of gender justice and climate justice and how both these issues affect the fisherwomen.
 
Justice Studio were extremely lucky to come across this issue as part of our research project into intergenerational movement building in feminist groups, when we discovered the brilliant Women in Fisheries Network in Fiji (WiFN-Fiji). The WiFN-Fiji is the premier non-government organisation representing the rights, interests and concerns of women in fisheries in Fiji. So we are thrilled have a representative of that amazing group with us in this episode.
 
Adi Alani Tuivucilevu, is a marine biologist who is passionate about women's empowerment within the fisheries sector. She started her career working in rural and maritime communities around Fiji as a marine researcher for a Provincial Council and for Global Vision International and is currently the coordinator for the Women in Fisheries Network. As a passionate advocate for women in fisheries Alani oversees the implementation of projects, leads their evidence-based programming, and is a powerful advocate for women fishers.
 
In our discussion we understand how the different pressures of traditional gender roles and climate justice are affecting fisherwomen, the differences between the (more male) formal and (more female) informal fishing sector, and wonder at the simply incredible indigenous knowledge that these fisherwomen have of the sea, the shore and what it can us.
  
For more information:
 
View the Video Connecting Women Fishers to Market about the fisherwomen harvesting Nama (Sea grapes): https://youtu.be/ohRtVTnF74k?si=jIE2NvHUVJEr7X3O
 
Women in Fisheries in Fiji website: www.womeninfisheriesfiji.org
 
Follow Women in Fisheries Network on Facebook
 
Follow Women in Fisheries Network on Instagram: @womeninfisheriesfiji
 
Follow Women in Fisheries Network on Twitter/X: @WiFN_Fiji
Justice Studio’s website: www.justicestudio.org
Follow Justice Studio on Instagram: @justicestudio
Follow Justice Studio on Twitter: @justicestudio
Follow Marianne on Instagram @creatrix.london
Title Music by Luke Fraser @the_tonic_
Show Artwork by Marianne @creatrix.studio

Welcome to Episode 8 of Justice Studio Sessions. In this episode we discuss child slavery in the chocolate industry. This was a topic that Justice Studio came across during an evaluation for the German Government, of their Covid 19 Regeneration and Re-build Programme, which supported suppliers in the coffee and cocoa sectors across Africa.

Joining us is Terry Collingsworth in an international human rights lawyer and founder of International Rights Advocates. He was General Counsel of the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) from 1989 to 2006 and made Executive Director in 2001. Since 2007, Terry has focused primarily on human rights and bringing lawyers, educators, and human rights activists together to collaborate on strategic litigation, public policy, consumer campaigns, and targeted actions against child slavery in the chocolate industry.
 
In our discussion we highlight the issue of child labour, hazardous work and slavery, the income inequalities at the different stages of the cocoa supply chain, Fair Trade and the Rainforest Alliance, and how, despite the Harkin Engel Protocol, the chocolate industry has failed to make any real steps to stop child slavery.
 
International Rights Advocates' website: https://www.internationalrightsadvocates.org/
DONATE to help them at: https://www.internationalrightsadvocates.org/donate
 
For more information on the issue:
 
View The Chocolate War via Amazon Prime and other streaming services:https://www.internationalrightsadvocates.org/advocate/hostascreening
 
Read about Terry’s work:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/children-harvesting-cocoa-used-by-major-corporations-ghana/
 
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2023/12/20/cargill-child-labor-lawsuit
 
Switching to ethical chocolate:
 Link to send emails to cocoa companies: https://stopcocoaslavery.carrd.co/
Find ethical chocolate companies here: https://www.slavefreechocolate.org/ethical-chocolate-companies
 
Justice Studio’s website: www.justicestudio.org
Follow Justice Studio on Instagram: @justicestudio
Follow Justice Studio on Twitter: @justicestudio
Follow Marianne on Instagram @creatrix.london
Title Music by Luke Fraser @the_tonic_