BBC Learnings · Section 6

Looking for utopia

In this programme, we're looking for utopia. You mean a perfect world?

Level: C1 · 109 sentences

Transcript

  1. In this programme, we're looking for utopia.
  2. You mean a perfect world?
  3. A place where everyone lives together in harmony?
  4. Does that kind of place exist, Rob?
  5. Probably not, but it's something we aspire to create.
  6. A happy place where everyone is cared for and nobody goes without.
  7. Well, let me know if you find it
  8. and I'll head there straight away.
  9. Well, one place that is trying to be like
  10. that is the Dutch city of Amsterdam.
  11. We're going to be finding out what they're doing
  12. with the help of some doughnuts.
  13. But first, Georgina, I have a perfect question for you.
  14. According to the 2020 United Nations World Happiness Report,
  15. which country is the world's happiest?
  16. Is it… a Finland b Singapore or c Austria?
  17. That's tricky, but I imagine that if only for the scenery,
  18. it's a Finland.
  19. OK, Georgina, I'll tell you if you are right
  20. or wrong later on.
  21. Anyway, let's get back to Amsterdam,
  22. a city that's doing its best to use creative
  23. ideas to be sustainable.
  24. That's right, and it's using the concept of a ring doughnut to use as a model for its sustainability.
  25. Economist Kate Raworth, who we will hear from shortly,
  26. describes this as a picture of 21st century prosperity for humanity.
  27. Now, thinking of this ring doughnut,
  28. the idea is not to leave anyone in the hole in the middle falling short on the essentials of life,
  29. but at the same time not going beyond the outer ring,
  30. because there we put so much pressure on our planetary home
  31. it can cause climate change.
  32. So here is Kate Raworth speaking
  33. on the BBC World Service programme People Fixing the World,
  34. talking about how Amsterdam is trying to fit into this doughnut approach.
  35. Amsterdam has started with a goal
  36. of saying we want to be a thriving, inclusive,
  37. regenerative city for all residents while respecting planetary boundaries.
  38. That's like saying we want our city to live in the doughnut.
  39. And that changes how you build.
  40. You don't bring in more new raw materials from across the other side of the world.
  41. You say, right,
  42. how do we reuse the construction materials that are already in our city to build new buildings?
  43. How do we change the way that people travel?
  44. Start asking very different questions from the outdated economic
  45. mindset that they were taught before.
  46. Interesting stuff from Kate Raworth there.
  47. The people of Amsterdam are trying to live within the doughnut.
  48. Their aim is to live and look after each
  49. other without harming the planet.
  50. It's a big aim, but they want their city to be thriving,
  51. so growing and being successful.
  52. And it wants to be inclusive, including everyone and treating them equally.
  53. This is beginning to sound like Utopia, Rob.
  54. To achieve this,
  55. Kate talked about using locally sourced materials for building
  56. and thinking about how people travel around,
  57. basically making it a sustainable city.
  58. It's about people thinking differently and not doing things
  59. in the same way they've always been done.
  60. It involves changing the way people think or their mindset.
  61. Another idea from the Netherlands that fits the doughnut
  62. model is the making of recycled jeans.
  63. The People Fixing the World programme visited a company
  64. where old jeans were mixed with new organic cotton
  65. to make new ones.
  66. The new ones might not be affordable for everyone,
  67. but they do reduce cotton production
  68. and the use of chemicals and water.
  69. The process creates jobs too.
  70. Well, let's hear from Bert Van Son, CEO of Mud Jeans.
  71. Listen to why he tries to work within the donut model.
  72. If you take the donut economy
  73. and you see the inside of the circles,
  74. if you break that boundary, mistreat people
  75. and you have people making your jeans,
  76. but they don't have any social security or any liberty
  77. or any medical care or those kinds of things,
  78. you will never be able to make nice jeans.
  79. It has to become human again, making clothing.
  80. Bert Van Son sees the benefit of the doughnut economy
  81. by treating people fairly and with respect.
  82. The opposite is to mistreat.
  83. He thinks they should have things such
  84. as social security a payment system by governments that helps people live a reasonable life.
  85. And he says you can't make nice jeans without being human.
  86. He doesn't just mean being a person,
  87. but being someone with compassion, feelings and respect for others.
  88. Mmm, all this from a doughnut!
  89. Hopefully this will lead to a happier city and country.
  90. But for now, what is the happiest country in the world, Georgina?
  91. Yes, you asked me earlier,
  92. according to the 2020 United Nations World Happiness Report,
  93. which country has been named the world's happiest.
  94. And I said Finland.
  95. Come on, make me happy and tell me I'm right!
  96. Well, happily you are correct.
  97. Well done! Finland is top of the list for the third year in a row,
  98. with Denmark coming in second.
  99. But before you head off there,
  100. we need to recap some of the vocabulary we've discussed today.
  101. Of course, we've been discussing utopia a perfect place
  102. where everyone lives together in harmony.
  103. Thriving describes something that is growing and successful,
  104. and inclusive means including everyone and treating them equally.
  105. We also mentioned mindset… That describes the fixed thoughts
  106. and attitudes someone has.
  107. To mistreat someone is to treat them badly or cruelly.
  108. And social security is a payment system by governments
  109. that helps people live a reasonable life.