VOICE OF COMMONS
VOICE OF COMMONS
Podcast Description
Broadcasting from Venice – a city on the climate frontlines – Voice of Commons is a new podcast amplifying the voices of our Global Commons: Antarctica, the Ocean, the Atmosphere, and Outer Space. As we approach the 1.5°C threshold set by the Paris Agreement, destabilised Commons are triggering rising seas, mass displacement, and increasing ecological and geopolitical instability – yet they remain voiceless in global governance. They have no representation, no voice, and no vote in decisions shaping our collective future. Voice of Commons aims to change that.Launched as a Special Project of La Biennale di Venezia and led by architect and activist Giulia Foscari, founder of UNLESS, Voice of Commons challenges existing governance models by building a transdisciplinary platform at the intersection of art, science, policy, and technology. Through conversations hosted by Giulia Foscari with global changemakers – from Sylvia Earle to Christiana Figueres, Johan Rockström, and Kumi Naidoo – the podcast fosters Global Commons literacy, sparks imagination for just and sustainable futures, and calls to action for intergenerational justice.Part of a broader global advocacy initiative, the podcast is joined by the Speak-Up for the Commons campaign – inviting grassroots participation – and a Petition calling for the legal and political recognition of the Commons and the establishment of a Global Commons Assembly.All are catalysed from the Voice of Commons’ Planetary Embassy in Venice, where each day representatives from Indigenous communities, nation-states, or stateless nations take the stage to lend their voices to the Commons – building, together, a planetary Constituency to ensure a safe and operating space on Planet Earth for All-kind.Hosted by Giulia Foscari.Broadcast from the Voice of Commons’ Planetary Embassy, in Venice. Voice of Commons, a project by the agency for change UNLESS.Launched as a Special Project of the 19th Venice Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, under the Patronage of UNESCO, with the recognition of The European Space Agency and endorsed by United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.LISTEN FROM VENICE, FROM ORBIT, AND BEYOND.Sign the Petition voice-of-commons.org/petitionSpeak Up for the Commons by submitting voice-of-commons.org/speakupFor more information voice-of-commons.orgFollow us on IG @una_unlessWrite to us [email protected]</...
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast's central themes revolve around climate justice, the sustainability of Global Commons, and intergenerational equity. Episodes include discussions on urgent topics like the impacts of fossil fuel reliance with Kumi Naidoo, ocean conservation with Sylvia Earle, and planetary boundaries with Johan Rockström, fostering a narrative that emphasizes systemic change needed for a safe future.
Broadcasting from Venice – a city on the climate frontlines – Voice of Commons is a new podcast amplifying the voices of our Global Commons: Antarctica, the Ocean, the Atmosphere, and Outer Space. As we approach the 1.5°C threshold set by the Paris Agreement, destabilised Commons are triggering rising seas, mass displacement, and increasing ecological and geopolitical instability – yet they remain voiceless in global governance. They have no representation, no voice, and no vote in decisions shaping our collective future. Voice of Commons aims to change that.
Launched as a Special Project of La Biennale di Venezia and led by architect and activist Giulia Foscari, founder of UNLESS, Voice of Commons challenges existing governance models by building a transdisciplinary platform at the intersection of art, science, policy, and technology. Through conversations hosted by Giulia Foscari with global changemakers – from Sylvia Earle to Christiana Figueres, Johan Rockström, and Kumi Naidoo – the podcast fosters Global Commons literacy, sparks imagination for just and sustainable futures, and calls to action for intergenerational justice.
Part of a broader global advocacy initiative, the podcast is joined by the Speak-Up for the Commons campaign – inviting grassroots participation – and a Petition calling for the legal and political recognition of the Commons and the establishment of a Global Commons Assembly.
All are catalysed from the Voice of Commons’ Planetary Embassy in Venice, where each day representatives from Indigenous communities, nation-states, or stateless nations take the stage to lend their voices to the Commons – building, together, a planetary Constituency to ensure a safe and operating space on Planet Earth for All-kind.
Hosted by Giulia Foscari.
Broadcast from the Voice of Commons’ Planetary Embassy, in Venice.
Voice of Commons, a project by the agency for change UNLESS.
Launched as a Special Project of the 19th Venice Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, under the Patronage of UNESCO, with the recognition of The European Space Agency and endorsed by United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
LISTEN FROM VENICE, FROM ORBIT, AND BEYOND.
Sign the Petition voice-of-commons.org/petition
Speak Up for the Commons by submitting voice-of-commons.org/speakup
For more information voice-of-commons.org
Follow us on IG @una_unless
Write to us [email protected]
Send us a Voice Note! https://www.speakpipe.com/voiceofcommons
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
For our 10th episode, Voice of Commons responds to questions from our listeners about the origins of the project and UNLESS. We share a special live conversation held during the vernissage of the Venice Biennale between architects Giulia Foscari and Eva Franch i Gilabert. The dialogue frames the urgency, structure, and ambition of Voice of Commons and explores the project’s multi-scalar planetary mobilisation from high-level advocacy to grassroots participation. They also reflect on the transformation of Scarpa’s 1952 Biennale ticket office into the Planetary Embassy – a space of democratic in-betweenness broadcasting voices from Indigenous communities and the more-than-human world. From political imagination to spatial activism, the dialogue traces how Voice of Commons amplifies unheard voices and catalyzes systemic change.
Giulia Foscari is an architect, curator and activist who practised in Asia, the Americas and Europe. She is the founder of UNA/UNLESS. UNLESS is a nonprofit agency for change advocating for the Global Commons; UNA is an international architecture practice. Her work with UNLESS includes Antarctic Resolution, recipient of multiple awards including the European Commission’s S+T+ARTS Grand Prize. With UNLESS, she launched Voice of Commons as a Special Project of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. Giulia has taught at the University of Hong Kong and the Architectural Association in London. She is the author of Elements of Venice and editor of Antarctic Resolution (both Lars Müller Publishers). She previously worked with Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid, and serves on several boards including ASOC. She was born at 338 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Eva Franch i Gilabert is an architect, curator, educator, and researcher, widely known for her radical and visionary approach to architecture, cultural institutions, and public engagement. She is the co-founder of FAST – a new platform for investigation and research in art, architecture and technology; she is also professor at UMPRUM and co-founder of MODEL, Barcelona’s forward-thinking Architecture Festival. She previously served as Director of the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London and as Chief Curator at Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York City. Her diverse practice spans exhibitions, theoretical manifestos and public lectures that challenge entrenched boundaries of design, governance, and spatial politics. Eva is a member of the Voice of Commons Advisory Council. She was born at 335 parts per million carbon dioxide in the Atmosphere.
LISTEN FROM VENICE, FROM ORBIT, AND BEYOND.
Sign the Petition voice-of-commons.org/petition
Speak Up for the Commons by submitting voice-of-commons.org/speakup
For more information voice-of-commons.org
Follow us on IG @una_unless
Write to us [email protected]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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