The World Overheard 2

The World Overheard is a series of conversations about journalism, translation, and power, developed by Translator – an independent magazine of translated journalism and non-fiction from beyond the Anglosphere – in dialogue with Ibraaz. 

The second event in this series asks how are environmental crises reported around the world – and whose crisis gets narrated, in which language, and for whom?

Translator has published translations of climate journalism from different angles and different parts of the world: from penguin massacres in Patagonia to phosphate dumping in the Gulf of Gabès to lithium mining in Serbia. The same planet, radically different stories. Together, these works show how ecological crisis is never one story, shifting entirely depending on where you stand.

This panel of climate journalists asks how translation might help build a global consciousness of interlinked crises and surface the often systemic connections between local and global stories. Speakers include Najlah Ben Salah, and Alžběta Medková and Michal Špína, joining remotely, with Karen Gray joining in person. The conversation will be moderated by Charles Emmerson.

Doors open at 5.30pm; events starts at 6pm and ends at 8pm.

Speaker details:

Alžběta Medková (born 1982) is a Czech journalist. She has worked for Czech Radio and published in various Czech media outlets. At A2, she serves as the editor of the "Public Space" and "Interview" sections. She focuses primarily on social, human rights, and environmental issues.    

Michal Špína (born 1985) is a Czech journalist, editor, translator, and literary historian. He is the deputy editor-in-chief of A2 Cultural Biweekly. His work focuses on the culture and society of Central and Eastern Europe and Spanish-speaking countries. He also writes about the history and current problems of rail transport.  

Together, Alžběta and Michal are working on a series of reports for A2 on Europe’s environmental and social issues, with a focus on the local perspective. 

Najla Ben Salah is a journalist, activist, and human rights monitor based in Tunisia. She is a staff journalist at Nawaat – the pioneer of alternative journalism in Tunisia and the region – where she covers civil liberties, social justice, and the ongoing crackdown on dissent. Her work has also appeared in Al Mayadeen TV, I Watch, Orient XXI, and other local and international outlets 

Karen Gray is an editor, gardener, fermenter and mother. She is editorial operations director of Atmos, a media organisation focused on re-enchanting people with nature. Atmos stories are told through a variety of platforms: print, podcast, newsletter, website and social media. She has worked in magazine publishing since 2001 and played instrumental roles at i-D, Tatler and Dazed. Gray is currently writing her first book.  

Charles Emmerson (Moderator) is the editor of Translator and the author of three books. His essays and criticism have appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, New Lines, and the Times Literary Supplement. He is currently working on a book retelling European history from the margins and a podcast about exiles as links between British and global histories.