Building together beyond our differences

Voices Across Waters is a living chain of conversations among ecofeminist activists from across the Mediterranean: Svetlana Balovska Đurković, Mariona Bonsfills Clotet, Noe Diaferia, Asmaa Elmalky, Simona Getova, Jasmina Husanović, Lena Penšek, Roula Seghaier, and Shereen Talaat. Through intimate and courageous dialogue, the series amplifies voices, stories, and political imagination rooted in care, solidarity, resistance, and transformation.Across borders and struggles, each episode explores how ecofeminism challenges patriarchal, colonial, capitalist and extractivist systems while nurturing collective alternatives grounded in justice, dignity and ecological balance. These are not just interviews. They are acts of alliance building towards collective liberation. They are conversations between commerades, between friends. They are hope.In this episode, Noe interviews Asmaa, an environmental lawyer and feminist researcher from Egypt, about ecofeminism as a systemic alternative to patriarchy, neoliberal exploitation, and colonial power.Asmaa reflects on the layered realities of Egypt, urban and rural, Mediterranean and African, and how ecofeminism must be shaped by local communities rather than imposed as a universal solution. Together, they discuss borders, political repression, solidarity under occupation, and the importance of centering Palestinian struggles within Mediterranean activism.This conversation is both intimate and political. It’s a reminder that solidarity is not about speaking for others, but about listening, amplifying and building resilient communities beyond our differences.Asmaa Elmalky (interviewee) is a feminist environmental lawyer from Egypt. She holds a Master’s degree in International and Comparative Law from the American University in Cairo and is the head of the research department at the Egyptian Foundation for Environmental Rights. Noe Diaferia (interviewer) is a transfeminist activist from Southern Italy. They are active in the nonviolent civil resistance movement Bruciamo Tutto (Let’s Burn Everything) advocating for radical systemic change and social justice.This podcast series is part of the Ecofeminism in the Mediterranean initiative and was developed as a chain-interview format designed to create relational dialogue across territories, experiences, and struggles.An initiative by Research & Degrowth International: Research & Degrowth is an academic association dedicated to advancing research, training, and collective reflection on degrowth, ecological justice, and post-growth transformations. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, it supports critical thinking and collective action toward socially just and ecologically viable futures. Project coordination and leadership by Lena Penšek, activist and communicator of the Ecofeminism in the Mediterranean project, with visual identity and artwork by Alexandra Mestre Garcia. Find out more at https://degrowth.org/ Design and production by Efecto Colibrí: Efecto Colibrí helps create narratives that advance a just, diverse, and regenerative reality. It drives systemic change by transforming the stories that quietly shape our worlds. Through narrative research, co-design of systemic-change narratives, and story activation, Efecto Colibrí builds understanding, moves conversations forward, and equips teams to create change through narrative clarity in times of noise and polarization. Creative design by Ana Amrein, founder of Efecto Colibrí, together with Gonzalo Díaz, architect and editor. Find out more at: https://efectocolibri.com/en/ If this conversation resonates with you, share it and help these voices travel further across the Mediterranean and beyond.