Meet the WCS Core Team

Photo by Debora Tingley on Unsplash 

A bit of general background:

2014: Hans Joergen Rasmussen introduces  “The Climate School” in Narvik, Norway. At the same time he starts creating two websites, a collection of climate related videos and a science based knowledge website.

  • 2015: Rob de Laet and Hans Joergen Rasmussen meet at COP21 in Paris
  • 2015-19: A number of lectures based on the content of “The Climate School” are given in Norway and Turkey, where Hans Joergen spends the wintertime. A group of Turkish students form a “Climate Club” and decide to spread the messages to other Turkish schools and Universities. They rename the course to “World Climate School”, design the logo, and generously give it to Hans Joergen for use worldwide.
  • 2018-20: The websites are becoming modernised – partly with the help of an English web-developer, Carl Burness, who is offering us his services on a voluntary basis.
  • https://theclimatecinema.org https://climate-change.site https://worldclimateschool.org
  • 2020: Rob introduces Hans Joergen to Inger-Mette. This has far-reaching consequences. They create the NGO “World Climate School” with base in Norway, and Inger-Mette´s international contacts start listening to our Teach-The-Teachers philosophy. The result of this is, that we start developing a Pakistani version in collaboration with SDG´s Academy Pakistan. Later we start working with a dedicated team in India as well. (For details about this, see the “What we do” page. Inger-Mette has deep connections to Africa, especially Zimbabwe, so we start working with them as well.
  • 2021: We continue our efforts from 2020. In addition we are being joined by new members in our team, (you will meet them all further down this page) and we are adding a new website to our web-presence, the website you are presently visiting: https://worldclimateschool.net. In addition WCS teams in Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria are showing significant results.  Late 2021 we have added Bangladesh to the list of projects, and late December a project in USA has been established. WCS Finland is  being prepared. 

Rob
de Laet

Dutch, born 1956, studied philosophy, former eco-tourism operator, Earth protector focusing on the Amazon forest. Living in Brazil. We will need to reinvent ourselves urgently to create a sustainable future for our offspring and all living creatures. We need to regenerate our beautiful living planet Earth, while birthing a new collective consciousness and an ecological civilization. We need in fact heal the future and create a save and miraculous space for all life that wants to be born on the great journey of evolution. With Love & Gratitude.

Inger-Mette Stenseth

Stenseth brings in forward the principles of agile- and experiential learning to schools and communities. With extended global outreach to different networks  dedicated to sustainable development goals and a low carbon society, Stenseth  brings a creative approach to build back better in the post COVID era. Stenseth is engaged in different ERASMUS+ projects in Europe, as well as online facilitator  for the global fashion industry, with focus on the green shift and circular economy. Lives in Molde, Norway.

Hans Joergen Rasmussen

Born in Denmark 1945.  Living in Norway since 1990, and partly Turkey since 2014. Retired psychologist with more than 30 years of practising psychology and teaching behind him. Full time climate activist, passionate about doing whatever possible to ensure a livable environment for coming generations. Skilled in photographic art and webdesign, and passionate about playing live music. Has developed well functioning methods for handling grief, anxiety and depression in a time of globe crisis. These methods are now integrated in WCS educational bundle.

Punam
Noor

Bangladeshi born 1988, studied law, trained as a Barrister (England & Wales), have a Masters in International and Comparative Law (Finland). Currently, undertaking my Phd focusing on International Climate Change Law and involvement of Arctic indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge in Climate Law making. Trying to be a better human one day at a time, to leave a livable Earth for the future generations.

David
Rogers

Born and educated in Canada in engineering and business. Now living in Finland and work as a Climate Reality Leader and as a member of the World Climate School’s management team. My climate objective is helping to create a more sustainable, equitable and inclusive future for us all.  My main focus today is helping to regenerate the Amazon rainforest to its former glory. Also enjoy amateur theatre, skiing and motorcycling.

Rebecca Doreen Zvomarima

From Harare, Zimbabwe.  A teacher by calling and accountant by profession. I am very passionate about climate change education especially towards the youth through practical awareness initiatives including tree planting. We have no time, it’s time to act now!

 

Eliud Omutanyi

Kenyan born 1988. I am a primary school teacher. Working with children has created an avenue to reach the community creating climate awareness and making everyone conscious of the effects of climate change and the mitigation measures. Train a child, impact the whole community!.

Rituraj Phukan

Rituraj Phukan is an environmental writer, adventurer & naturalist based out of Assam, a biodiversity-rich, climate change impacted province in the northeast of India. Rituraj is the Founder of the Indigenous People’s Climate Justice Forum, member of the IUCN and sits on the board of several international NGOs. He has personally experienced the impacts of climate change in the polar frontiers of the Arctic and Antarctic, the Himalayan region and across India. Having worked extensively at the grassroots, he says “Water is the local issue of global climate change, for people, and for biodiversity.” His work has been featured in films, books, and magazines and he has been invited to share his experiences in several countries.

Humera Iqbal

Humera Iqbal manages Livestock ACIAR projects with the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pakistan and the University of Melbourne, Australia, where she promotes her vision on climate change and its effects on livestock productivity. She also established ‘SheLeadesVet’ a volunteer initiative to support the young livestock professionals, stakeholders and students to address the farming issues for sustainable development. Humera believes that more women in leadership roles are likely the most suitable proposition for our planet.

Ann-Heidi
Paulsen Orvik

Ann-Heidi was born in 1971 in Narvik. She became a climate refugee in 1991 when relocating south to Molde. Her passion is sustainable community development, through leadership development, organizational change and societal planning for state, county, municipalities, NGOs and private sector. She founded The Democratic Tool Box in 2017, and works with business development integrated in collaborate public-private innovation through regional ecosystems. She is a local politician, and lifelong representative for trade unions in Norway, and part of national and global networks. Example: Genuine Contact Organization. 

You?

This space is preserved for a short introduction to you, your passions and your preferred roles.

Tone Lanzillo

Tone Lanzillo moved to Duluth, Minnesota in 2017 to join the Loaves and Fishes community after working in the mental health field for 30 years. Since moving to Duluth, he has been writing a series of columns on climate change for two local papers and helped produced a series for the local public television station interviewing climate and environmental activists. Tone has also served as an adviser to the Our Planet, Our Future environmental summit in Duluth, coordinated the Duluth/365 climate initiative as well as sponsored the Climate>Duluth forum and the Culture x Climate project.