Francisca Velasco

The recent earthquakes that have hit Groningen these past few years have done more than shake the ground. They have shaken up people’s lives and the future of Groningen. Right now, The Netherlands is the EU’s biggest gas producer due to the large natural gas field in Groningen reaching, 45 kilometres from North to South, and 25 kilometres from East to West. It is the tenth largest in the world. But after about 50 years of drilling, something had to give. That something ended up being the homes

The purchase of a marriage has been globally accepted and since then, it’s consequences have also gone ignored. In the 19th century, American women were purchased from well developed areas to marry men on the west frontier. Later in the 20th century, women from less developed nations started to seek men in developed nations. The 21st century brought the internet and opened the market for online marriage shopping. Now within the arranged marriage business, there is a new phenomenon of EU women

After the Law and Justice Party (PiS) came into power in Poland, the LGBT+ community has experienced even more discrimination than before. Yet, one of the country’s regions, Pomerania, seems to be defying all odds when it comes to tolerance and acceptance of this persecuted minority. FRANCISCA VELASCO He is a gardener, a substitute teacher, a Mayor (or rather, Sołtys in Polish) and a husband to another man.  Łukasz Włodarczyk has lived in the small village of 700 people, Bobrowniki, for abou

It might be too soon to celebrate a supposed decrease in Poland’s Gender Pay Gap. Women’s salaries may be rising, but their rights are standing still. FRANCISCA VELASCO A PwC report stated that Poland would close the gender pay gap by 2021. But after the Law and Justice party (PiS) took over in 2015, the support for women’s rights have been declining, said Anna Karaszewska, one of the founders of Poland’s Women’s Congress and it’s former president. Recently, a Polish MEP went viral for his c

Cyber warfare was an emerging battlefield until now. Russia has equipped itself with cyber troops, bringing us into a completely new era of cyber conflicts. Amidst all of the western accusations of cyber attacks from Russia, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced their new military branch – Information Warfare Troops, showing that they are ready to pioneer this new battleground. The end to a Friday in January and beginning of a presumably well-deserved weekend in a newsroom turned sour when

Why Islamophobia is on the rise in a country that houses so few Muslim people. It’s one of the most Catholic countries in Europe and has one of the strictest refugee policies. Yet in Poland, where few Muslims actually call home, the same concerns that have dominated other European countries with refugees are ever prominent. In 2016, Ipsos, a global research initiative, conducted a survey which saw Polish people believe that 7% of their population is Muslim. The actual number is extraordinarily

[af muslimer] ikke fandt sted. Efter PiS’ magtovertagelse og den politiske forandring i Polen har der været lagt betydelig vægt på nationalitet og polskhed. PiS indså, at islamofobi og spørgsmålet om flygtninge kunne give dem politisk kapital,” fortæller Konrad Pedziwiatr. “Mange højreorienterede organisationer i Polen mener, at vi er under en alvorlig trussel. Og de bruger situationer fra Vesteuropa til at øge deres popularitet blandt mennesker, der har brug for en fælles fjende,” siger Maciej

GRONINGEN – Around the world earthquakes cause disaster and force economies into downfall. Earthquakes in and around Groningen in the Netherlands have proven extremely damaging, but have also opened up the region to unprecedented economic potential and a drive for an innovative economy supported by green energy. “I don’t think any of this would have been possible without the earthquakes”, says Marco Smit, director of Economic Board Groningen, in his office that overlooks Groningen’s high-tech u