The market for uranium changed in a dramatic way. Uranium has become one of the most sought after resources in the world: during five years the price of uranium increased twenty-fold. Uranium mining, the first chain link of the nuclear energy production has always been out of the public eye. A web of propaganda, disinformation and outright lies covers its 65-year history.
The 2015 October event of Place for Future Transdisciplinary Education Network was focused on this problems.
Watch the entire video of the event here:
26 October 2015 in New Bulgarian University
On October 26, 2015 in New Bulgarian University (NBU), SCA Shtastlivetsa organised two discussions on the topic “What links Bulgaria and Namibia? The Lying about Clean Nuclear Energy”. The event included screening of the film “Yellow Cake: The Dirt behind Uranium” (director: Joachim Tschirner) and a conversation with one of its inspirers – Mrs. Bertchen Kohrs (Earthlife Namibia), within the framework of the project “Enabling students and citizens to realize their global environmental and social footprint” (CEE Bankwatch Network No 681/15).
Participants in the discussion and co-organizers of the event were also Natural Sciences Department at NBU, Student Council of NBU, ECO PRO Club – New Bulgarian University, Environmental Association “Za Zemyata/For the Earth”.
The students were impressed by the global nature of uranium pollution problems, the scale of civil society initiatives in Germany and Namibia, and the personalities who organise them. There was a lively debate.
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Organisation Team:
Earthlife Namibia (Bertchen Kohrs)
ECO PRO Club – New Bulgarian University (Silvia Savova)
Environmental Association „Za Zemyata / За Земята“ (For the Earth) – Bulgaria (Genady Kondarev and Daniel Popov)
Shtastlivetsa Civic Association (Radosveta Krastanova and Petar Kanev)
PLACE FOR FUTURE Transdisciplinary Education Network
Together with Environmental Association „Za Zemyata / За Земята“ (For the Earth) – Bulgaria, ECO PRO Club from New Bulgarian University, Shtastlivetsa / Щастливеца Civic Association and Earthlife Namibia we manage to show in public the documentary “YELLOW CAKE The Dirt Behind Uranium”. This film takes the viewers to the biggest active mines in Namibia, Australia and Canada while at the same time in Germany the film accompanies the most gigantic clean-up operation in the history of uranium mining.
MOVIE TRAILER:
YELLOW CAKE: The Dirt Behind Uranium A film by Joachim Tschirner (2005 – 2010, 108 Min.)
Movie Site: http://www.yellowcake-derfilm.de/
More about Bertchen Kohrs:
Bertchen Kohrs grew up in Northern Germany; she studied chemistry in Braunschweig, Germany. She immigrated to Namibia in 1973, where she worked for Veterinary Services of the Ministry of Agriculture and was instrumental in setting up the toxicology department.
In 1983, Bertchen moved to South Africa, where she qualified as medical technician and worked in diagnostic laboratories for human medicine.
She returned to Namibia in 1988 and again worked for Veterinary Services. This time she set up an epidemiology section for animal diseases for Namibia and all SADC (Southern African Development Community) countries.
In her private capacity, Bertchen acted as co-founder of Earthlife Namibia, a voluntary, non-profit and non-governmental organisation (NGO) concerned with environmental and social issues and sustainable development. Since 1992, she is director of Earthlife Namibia. The NGO tackles controversial problems which are not touched by other environmental NGOs. The present main topic is mining of uranium in the protected Namib Naukluft Park. The investigation of copper smelting operations in Tsumeb and its impact on the environment and residents resulted in the contact with Genady Kondarev and Daniel Popov.
The two debates are carried out with the financial support of the European Union.
The content of the debates, seminaires and public lections is entirely the responsibility of Shtatslivetsa Sofia Civic Association, Enironmental Association “Za Zemyata/For the Earth” and PLACE FOR FUTURE Educational Network and in no way can it be considered to reflect the positions of the European Union.