Lisa Burke Show

Nobel laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk and Deputy Minister Alona Shkrum join Lisa Burke to discuss the Advocacy Coalition and the cost of silence for Europe My Guests: - Her Excellency Ambassador Barbara Karpetová, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg - Inna Yaramenko, the Representative of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and Vice President at LUkraine - Oleksandra Matviichuk, Chairwoman of the Center for Civil Liberties, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. - Alona Shkrum, First Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine. - Kristina Mikulova, Head of Regional Hub for Eastern Europe for the European Investment Bank In this powerful episode, the conversation shifts from the abstract concept of 'aid' to the urgent reality of strategic investment in European security. As Ukraine enters its fourth year of full-scale invasion, a new initiative has been developed by Ambassador Karpetová with the help of Inna Yaramenko. 'The Advocacy Coalition - Defending Our Future Now' has launched in Luxembourg to remind the continent that defending Ukraine is synonymous with defending the future of democracy itself. This year-long set of events will pass the baton between the founding embassies: Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and the United Kingdom, to stand united in the conviction that defending Ukraine means defending Europe’s future. Beyond Charity: A Strategic Investment Supporting Ukraine in 2026 is now viewed as a strategic investment in the infrastructure of European security. Alona Shkrum, Ukraine’s First Deputy Minister for Reconstruction, explained that waiting for hostilities to cease before rebuilding is not an option. "If we do not reconstruct water, utilities, energy supply, schools, and hospitals, then people will leave," she noted, emphasising that keeping the economy functioning allows Ukraine to fund its own defence and protect the eastern borders of the European Union. The scale of destruction is staggering: the road damage alone is equivalent to the distance from Luxembourg to Iran, and the amount of housing destroyed, over 3 million units, exceeds the total housing stock of Denmark. Humanising the Numbers Whilst the statistics are overwhelming, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk focuses on "humanising the numbers". She shared the harrowing story of 10-year-old Ilya from Mariupol, whose mother died in his arms in a frozen apartment after they were caught in Russian shelling. Matviichuk also recounted the experience of Professor Irak Kyvslovski, a philosopher who spent 700 days in captivity and gave lectures on philosophy to rats in his solitary cell just to hear a human voice. "Dignity is action," Matviichuk told the audience, asserting that the "accountability gap" in international law must be closed by establishing a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression. A Year of Intensive Advocacy The Advocacy Coalition, a partnership between LUkraine, the European Commission, and nine resident embassies in Luxembourg (but they're open for more partners), will host monthly events throughout 2026. These events will tackle critical themes such as countering disinformation, reconstruction, and the role of the Ukrainian diaspora. The first event will take place at the European Parliament in Luxembourg on March 23, featuring a keynote address by Matviichuk, focussing on the abducted children. Unity as the Strongest Weapon The message from my guests underlines that unity is the strongest weapon against authoritarianism. As Ambassador Barbara Karpetová noted, even a small nation like Luxembourg can provide "shared inspiration" by standing together, mirroring the visionary leadership of historical figures like Pierre Werner, former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, whose home she now resides in. The Power of Ordinary People Matviichuk emphasises that "ordinary people can do extraordinary things". Inna cites the 700 Luxembourgish families who offered to host refugees within just three days after the invasion began. Digital Engagement: The Coalition is launching an Advocacy Platform, a digital ecosystem featuring authentic testimonies from diplomats, volunteers, and citizens to humanise the impact of solidarity.

From Graiguecullen to Luxembourg - a visit ahead of Ireland’s EU Presidency, as Carlow is paired with the Grand Duchy. I never thought I’d be able to get Killeshin into an article - my home village in Ireland, where my father grew up, and where he is now buried. 
However, it turns out that Minister Jennifer Murnane O’Connor knew my dad, goes to Killeshin at least once a month and is also a first cousin of Ollie Hennessy - a brilliant musician (who also worked with my dad) whom I’ve had the pleasure of singing with. And I thought Luxembourg was small! Jennifer Murnane O’Connor is a Fianna Fáil TD for Carlow - Kilkenny and Minister of State at Ireland’s Department of Health. Ireland will hold the EU Presidency from July to December 2026, during which time the 26 counties of Ireland will be paired with the other 26 countries of the European Union. Luxembourg will be paired with Carlow. This is not an accident. There is a deep historical connection between Luxembourg and Carlow. Carlow, Echternach and a centuries‑old bridge County Carlow and Echternach are rooted in centuries of history through St Willibrord. These historical, symbolic connections make it somehow easier to open up cultural conversations, generate tourism, deepen civic relationships and even spark new business and educational partnerships. Murnane O’Connor visited Echternach, the basilica and learned more about Saint Willibrord, whose pilgrimage binds Echternach to Carlow and nearby Leighlinbridge where a relic is held in the cathedral. County Pairing: Carlow meets Luxembourg Ireland’s 2026 EU Presidency will include a new “County Pairing” initiative that links each of the 26 Irish counties with one of the 26 other EU member states. Under the programme, ambassadors and ministers will visit their counties for public events about Europe, with a strong emphasis on bringing Brussels beyond capitals and big cities. For TD Murnane O’Connor, success in December 2026 would mean visible, practical links: school and university exchanges, twin‑town projects between local councils, joint cultural festivals and sport. “Community groups, schools, sports clubs, businesses – they all need to be involved so that we build something that lasts.” A growing Irish community, and 'soft ambassadors' abroad Luxembourg is home to more than 2,500 Irish citizens, a number that surprised even the Minister. She met many of them at a reception hosted by Irish Ambassador Jean McDonald, whom she calls “an absolute lady, an excellent ambassador” along with GAA members, Darkness Into Light organisers and the Irish Young Professional Network. For Murnane O’Connor, Irish people abroad are 'soft ambassadors' whose pride in their identity quietly shapes how Ireland is seen in Europe. Her young Carlow intern, Amy, summed up the generational angle: when Irish students think of going abroad, they still imagine the USA, the UK or Australia, “but to think that there’s so many people here working in EU institutions and in financial work in Luxembourg is fantastic.” And many of us never leave. “Most of the people I spoke to came for two or three years,” the Minister noted, “but if you go over three years, you never go home.” A like‑minded partnership in a turbulent world The timing of her visit underlined just how closely aligned Luxembourg and Ireland see themselves in Europe. On the same week, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Luc Frieden and Finance Minister Gilles Roth were in Dublin meeting the Taoiseach and Tánaiste, as both countries prepared for debates on competitiveness, the single market and financial services. Ireland and Luxembourg are frequently described as “like‑minded” on European competitiveness and financial services, and both host significant financial sectors. Yet they are also pushing back together against Franco‑German efforts to centralise EU financial supervision by expanding the powers of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) at the expense of national regulators. Luxembourg fears that turning ESMA into a centralised supervisor would “add complexity, bureaucracy and costs” without genuinely strengthening the single market, Finance Minister Gilles Roth argued in Brussels. Ireland’s Finance Minister Simon Harris echoed that view, insisting that “centralising supervision is not necessary” even as he expressed determination to conclude negotiations by year‑end, with Ireland due to hold the rotating EU Presidency in the second half of the year. For Murnane O’Connor, this kind of alignment shows how small states can punch above their weight in EU debates when they work together. Ireland’s EU Presidency: unity, security and everyday impact “Being in Europe is very important for us. It’s about unity: working together to protect jobs, support agriculture, advance education and keep people secure.” Jennifer wants ordinary citizens to feel this Presidency on the ground: in town‑hall debates, farm meetings, cultural events and youth projects funded under the Communicating Europe Initiative. For Ireland, it is also an opportunity to showcase a country that has evolved from its agricultural roots into a global tech and finance hub without losing sight of the land and the farmers who work it. The average farmer in Europe is 54 years old, and younger people are increasingly reluctant to take over family farms. Climate change, volatile fuel and heating costs and the seven‑days‑a‑week nature of the job make it a tough sell. “Farmers are the lifeline of who we are. We need to support them, protect them, and make sure we mind the land.” Public health, wellbeing and a new drugs strategy Beyond Europe, the Minister’s 'day job' is to work on public health, wellbeing and Ireland’s national drugs strategy. In Luxembourg she visited ABRIGADO, a frontline facility that works with some of the most vulnerable people in society, and was struck by its almost 20 years of experience, multi‑disciplinary approach and the kindness of the staff. Back home, she has just launched a public consultation on Ireland’s new national drugs strategy – the first major rethink in a decade, reflecting how drug use has spread beyond cities into rural communities and small towns. She is especially focused on awareness, prevention, family support and tackling stigma. The Minister is also moving fast on one of the most contentious youth‑health issues of the moment: vaping. She has brought legislation to the Dáil to ban disposable vapes and restrict the proliferation of sweet flavours and eye‑catching packaging that clearly target younger people, along with new rules on nicotine pouches and display bans similar to those already applied to cigarettes. “Vaping has become a huge challenge in Ireland. These are the changes you can make as a politician – and they matter to parents and to young people.” Her broader health and wellbeing brief includes everything from walking trails to men’s sheds and emerging women’s sheds, community spaces supported by small government grants where people, often retired or widowed, can meet, learn, volunteer and avoid isolation. There are more than 380 women’s sheds in Ireland already, in addition to a larger network of men’s sheds. “You don’t want anyone feeling alone,” Murnane O’Connor said. “Being involved in your community is one of the best things you can do for your health.” A personal political journey Murnane O’Connor’s political story is interwoven with that of her late father, who served for over 20 years on Carlow’s town and county councils. When he fell ill, he asked her to stand so that “between us” they could continue serving; she became a councillor two and a half years before he died, and has been in politics ever since. “Politics is like a calling. You have to love it. It’s seven days a week, and every election is a new battle, but the rewards are exceptional when you can change someone’s life with something simple.” Happy St. Patrick’s Day “I want to wish everyone a happy St Patrick’s Day. I’m so proud - we’re all so proud - to be Irish. It’s a great day, and we’re delighted to share it with Luxembourg.”

Nine young ladies discuss closing intersectional gaps, crisis management, and why the world needs more female diplomats now. The Future of Diplomacy is Female: A Masterclass in Leadership Lisa's studio was filled with the energy of nine bright young ladies aged 16 to 19. They won the 'Diplomat for a Day' competition, a joint initiative by the British and Canadian embassies designed to encourage girls to become advocates for change in a field where women remain under-represented. The winners: Lisa Betz, Priya Trivedi, Martina Gil Tierno, Aknur Borjakova, Sophie Goettsch, Xamantha Gavadan, Zoe Gaicio, Candice Boutoleau, and Anne Banthrongsakd, were selected for their compelling essays on closing intersectional gaps between men and women. Trial by Fire: Crisis Management The day began with a high-stakes crisis simulation involving an imaginary island and a hotel fire, forcing the students to act as embassy managers under intense media pressure. Candice Boutoleau, who acted as a manager, noted the stress of "critically thinking on the spot," while Aknur Borjakova managed communications to keep the public calm despite "fake news" and information leaks. "I think that whatever you're saying is a clear answer that's going to guide people. And it's okay to not know... but it's better to wait and then tell people correctly inform them rather than just putting out numbers that are incorrect." Priya Trivedi Safety and STEM The conversation shifted to the daily realities of being a young woman. Lisa Betz spoke candidly about the "uncertainty" women feel when going out at night, comparing her experience to that of her brother. "It feels unfair because I know that men don't have to put up with these things and they don't have to be scared to go out. They don't get told all these things." Lisa Betz The disparity extends to the STEM fields. Anne Banthrongsakd, a participant in the Luxembourg Informatics Olympiad, highlighted the "enormous disparity" in computer science, noting there were only three girls compared to 20 boys in the semi-finals. She advocated for the philosophy of 'see it to be it' urging for more female figures in STEM to break biased mindsets. Global Perspectives and New Solutions The winners brought perspectives from the Philippines, Laos, and back to Europe, addressing issues from domestic abuse to healthcare research. Candice Boutoleau proposed a revolutionary concept: an anonymous radio station where victims of domestic abuse could share their stories to build a global community. Xamantha Gavadan emphasized that while western countries have made progress, the global fight must include ending practices like female genital mutilation and restrictive divorce laws. The day included a formal lunch with the Luxembourg Ladies Ambassadors Club, meetings with Minister Obertin and MP Gusty Graas, and a certificate reception to mark their journey as the diplomats of tomorrow.

Insights from the EIB Group Forum 2026: EIB President Nadia Calviño joins global leaders to discuss security, space, and why dignity is our best defence. The EIB Group Forum 2026, held in the heart of Luxembourg, served as a powerful reminder that Europe is no longer taking its security, energy, or democratic values for granted. Under the theme "A Strong Europe in a Changing World," a stellar lineup of speakers and an international audience explored how investment and individual action are shaping a resilient future. In this video you’ll find: 00:00 Nadia Calviño, President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), on the EIB’s mission, European resilience, and the main levers of competitiveness. 16.40 Nikolai Coster-Waldau, Actor and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador on climate optimism, the UNDP’s mission, and the strength of European unity in Greenland. 26.46 Oleksandra Matviichuk, Nobel Peace Prize Winner & Chair of the Center for Civil Liberties; on the resistance in Ukraine, the power of ordinary people, and reclaiming European values. 42.00 Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, ESA Astronaut from Poland, on the "European story," space as critical infrastructure, and the Space Tech EU funding program. The EIB: Financing the European Success Story Nadia Calviño, President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), describes the institution as one of the EU's greatest success stories. By leveraging capital from Member States, the EIB transforms infrastructure, from highways and hospitals to high-risk innovative startups in the space sector. President Calviño emphasised that 2026 is the ‘year of competitiveness’ focusing on market integration and simplification to help European companies remain resilient against global shocks. An Optimist’s Guide to Humanity Actor and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Nikolai Coster-Waldau brought a message of hope, urging a shift away from "doom and gloom" climate communication that creates division. Through his project, An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet, he explores human innovation and the common values that connect us. He emphasised that whilst the planet will survive, our focus must remain on protecting one another through unity and solidarity. Dignity as Action: The Frontline of Freedom In a deeply moving speech, Nobel laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk reminded the forum that "ordinary people can change history". Detailing the harrowing reality of the invasion in Ukraine, she argued that the collapse of the international order was preceded by an ethical crisis. For Matviichuk, the fight for Ukraine is a fight for the very idea of freedom, asserting that "dignity is action" and that Europe must move beyond being a "consumer of democracy" to becoming its fierce protector. From Outer Space to Strategic Sovereignty Polish astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski shared his journey as a student in Łódź to the International Space Station: a path only made possible by Poland’s EU accession and the Erasmus programme. He highlighted that space is not just for dreamers; it is "invisible, critical infrastructure" that synchronises power grids and stock markets. Through the €500 million Space Tech EU program, the EIB and ESA are now funding the next generation of European technological champions. https://www.undp.org/goodwill-ambassadors/nikolaj-coster-waldau https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Astronauts/Slawosz_Uznanski-Wisniewski https://www.nobelprize.org/events/nobel-prize-dialogue/brussels2024/panellists/oleksandra-matviichuk/#:~:text=Oleksandra%20Matviichuk%20is%20a%20human,the%202022%20Nobel%20Peace%20Prize.

Mistral AI’s CEO Arthur Mensch calls time on 3‑Month Notice periods and points to the lack of CMOs in Europe, not talented engineering. Europe’s AI Champion With a Warning Arthur Mensch, co‑founder and CEO of Mistral AI, has become one of Europe’s most visible AI leaders, scaling his company from zero to around 800 employees in under three years. Speaking at the EIB Group Forum, he combined optimism about Europe’s AI potential with a blunt diagnosis of what is holding it back. For Mensch, Europe’s problem is no longer a lack of raw engineering talent, but the systems around it: hiring rules, fragmented regulations and shallow scale‑up experience at the executive level. Unless these are fixed, he argues, Europe risks remaining dependent on foreign AI providers for its economic, strategic and cultural future. “Viscosity of Hiring” Why Three Months Is a Catastrophe The most notable part of Mensch’s intervention, talking to a room-full of European executives and bureaucrats, was his attack on Europe’s “viscosity of hiring,” the drag created by long notice periods and HR rules that slow fast‑growing companies to a crawl. “The biggest problem in Europe are the notice periods… The viscosity of hiring is much, much higher than in the US. An employee who wants to leave his company has to give a three‑month notice period. And that’s a full catastrophe.” Mench believes that workers who want to leave should be able to move in about a week, not three months; the current system locks in talent and cripples high‑growth companies that need to assemble teams at startup speed, not bureaucratic speed. This viscosity exists across Europe, with some countries even worse than others, making it systematically harder to build fast‑scaling tech champions than in the US. 
“We should give more right to employees, make sure that if they want to leave their company, they can leave… in like a week.” For founders, investors and policymakers, he is precisely clear: if Europe wants to compete in AI, it cannot afford a labour market calibrated for a different era, and not global competition. The Hidden Talent Crisis: Not Engineers, But Executives Mensch also dismantles a familiar cliché: that Europe’s problem is a shortage of technical people. In his view, Europe is actually very good at producing junior engineers, and Mistral’s strategy is built around that. Mistral hires junior talent from across Europe, with major pools in Paris, Luxembourg, Warsaw, Germany, Greece and a large second office in London. The company deliberately opens local offices so people can stay in or near their hometowns, given the right project and compensation. They also bring back experienced Europeans from the US to inject seniority into teams. The real shortage, he says, is in senior leadership: “The biggest hurdle we find ourselves in is to hire senior people, executives, people that have scaled go‑to‑market teams, people that have scaled marketing teams. The talent shortage is not where you would expect it… Here, there’s basically zero CMO that actually can do what we need to do in Europe.” In Silicon Valley, he notes, he could interview ten strong CMO candidates in a week and hire one the week after. In Europe, he says, there are “basically zero” CMOs who have already done what a company like Mistral needs to do at scale. This is the deeper ecosystem problem: Europe has produced fewer companies that have already gone all the way from start‑up to IPO, so there are fewer seasoned executives who know how to ride that curve. Stock Options, Regulation Nightmares and Fragmented Rules Mensch is pragmatic about compensation and competes with the seven figure plus salaries at US tech giants. He says top recruits can earn similar salaries at Mistral, heavily leveraged with stock options and equity. Given the company’s trajectory, he argues that joining Mistral has already been more attractive financially than joining Google for some. However, he calls Europe’s fragmented stock option regimes “a bit of a nightmare” - there are effectively 27 different systems to navigate. He would welcome more unification, even though he recognises fiscal rules make that hard. This sits on top of broader regulatory friction: country‑by‑country tweaks to EU rules complicate life for fast‑growth companies, from tax and social security to HR processes. Scaling a European company means learning, then re‑learning, the rules in every new market. His core ask is simple: remove easy‑to‑fix blockers such as notice periods and fragmented stock option rules so that European scale‑ups can allocate their energy to technology and markets, not legal contortions. Sovereignty, Strategic Autonomy and Europe’s AI Cloud Despite his criticism, Mensch is in many ways betting on Europe. He founded Mistral after time at Google DeepMind and in French academia because he feared there would be no European champion in generative AI at all. He frames AI sovereignty in three pillars: Economic sovereignty: if Europe remains 80% dependent on US AI providers, value created here will be reinvested in R&D there, widening the gap. Business continuity: if critical processes across utilities, industry and public services run on foreign AI, Europe becomes a “client state” vulnerable to someone else’s off‑switch. Cultural plurality: AI systems are “interaction machines” with built‑in cultural biases; fully centralised control of these systems is, in his view, incompatible with democracy. Mistral’s response: - Build state‑of‑the‑art models that can be deeply customised for enterprises and states, including on‑premises deployment to keep sensitive data in‑house. - Focus on B2B rather than consumer, letting European companies and institutions serve their own end users. - Invest deliberately in multilingual capabilities, accepting slightly lower performance in English to raise performance in European languages such as French and German. 
“You can’t focus on just building domestic technology for Europe, you need to be an exporter.” Mensch is sharply critical of the concentration of consumer AI in a few global players and warns that this will be a major factor in upcoming elections. Open Source, Humanities and Bias: A Broader Vision of AI Mistral’s philosophy is strongly rooted in open source. Mensch insists that open technologies drive the internet and that Europe needs open, sovereign building blocks if it wants a say in how AI evolves. Contrary to stereotype, his teams are not only pure engineers. The research group is dominated by PhDs, but some are humanities‑trained. Journalists and other humanities experts work on “model behaviour”, ensuring outputs are usable, responsible and culturally aware. He cites a project with a humanities‑heavy Molière specialist team that used Mistral models to generate a new Molière play in the playwright’s style. On gender, he offers a snapshot: about a third of Mistral’s research team are women; over half of his leadership team are women; around a quarter of engineers are women. He argues that Europe “exits” women too early from research and scientific tracks and says Mistral actively does more outbound to potential female candidates to compensate for lower application rates. Bias inside the models remains, in his words, a “hard topic”, but one they tackle through specific evaluations and behaviour checks. The Future of AI in Europe, If Viscosity Falls In his closing remarks, Mensch describes AI as an inflection point big enough to redefine Europe’s economic structure. He sees an opportunity to create large‑scale, vertically integrated European AI cloud service providers that reduce dependency on foreign digital services. 
“The new dependency… is a process dependency and a business continuity risk. So we need such actors to emerge.” But his implicit condition is stark: Europe must make it possible to build and scale these actors at speed. That means tackling hiring viscosity, simplifying stock options and making it easier for European founders to assemble world‑class teams in weeks, not quarters. Arthur Mensch and Mistral is so far a success story -he issued a blueprint and a warning. Europe’s AI decade will be decided as much in HR law and fiscal codes as in research labs and data centres.

Jerusalem pastor Sally Azar and analyst Ashraf Al-Ajrami on daily life under occupation, peace principles, and what Europe can do now. My guests this week are Rev. Sally Azar, political analyst and former Palestinian Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs Ashraf Al-Ajrami, and Meryem-Lyn Oral, Communications Manager from EPICON. Rev. Sally Azar and Ashraf Al-Ajrami came to Luxembourg with the EU-funded European-Palestinian-Israeli Trilateral Dialogue Initiative (EPICON) to speak honestly about what life feels like to grow up in Israel and Palestine. Jerusalem-born pastor Sally Azar (the first female Palestinian pastor, ordained in 2023) describes a childhood where crisis becomes routine: "You’re always protected… to not really know what’s going on around you.” Azar explains how separation is built into daily movement and also the mindset: “We live next to each other and not really with each other,” as people go to different schools, use different buses, and live in different neighbourhoods. And then there are the literal walls purposely dividing people. This is not shared humanity, and people on each side of the wall do not truly know how people live on the other side. Political analyst and former Palestinian Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs, Ashraf Al-Ajrami, traces how a child’s sense of injustice can harden. “I felt the occupation since my childhood,” he says, describing how the idea of resistance took hold early. Ashraf spent twelve years in Israeli prisons living in inhumane conditions. Both guests return repeatedly to the same tension: the conflict’s engines are political power, rights, and forced inequality, not religious. Sally underlines “we’re not fighting Jews… we’re fighting an Israeli occupation,” knowing the sensitivity around confusing political critique with antisemitism. And yet, in the middle of the bleakest realities, she insists on a moral counterweight: “there’s nothing more powerful than love.” So what, concretely, can Europe do? Al-Ajrami argues that this is not charity but self-interest: “It is a flavour of the values of Europe,” he says, pointing to the economic and security consequences when conflict grinds on. They both urge Europe to act with one, confident voice, and to enforce human rights not hatred and separation. Links (all at the end) EPICON https://linktr.ee/epicon.project Sally Azar https://www.elca.org/people/rev-sally-azar Ashraf Al-Ajrami https://www.all4palestine.org/ModelDetails.aspx?gid=14&mid=88205⟨=en

Cambridge Chancellor joins Lisa Burke to explore AI’s impact on education, free speech, climate challenges and why universities still matter. On this episode of The Lisa Burke Show, Lisa welcomes The Rt Hon the Lord Chris Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury and the 109th Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. A former Labour Cabinet Minister, culture champion, environmental leader and the first openly gay Cabinet Minister in the world, Lord Smith reflects on a lifetime of public service and the evolving role of universities in a fast‑changing world. He describes a university’s purpose as more than teaching or research: it is a place where “truth is honoured, evidence is sought, and debate happens.” At Cambridge, he reminds new students that they’re not there to become better than others, but to become “the best version of themselves.” Yet he is clear that university is not the right path for everyone, arguing that the UK’s push toward 50% university attendance diluted its value. On AI, Lord Smith recognises the power of large models to analyse vast bodies of knowledge instantly, but stresses the need for human judgment: AI can imitate style, but “it can’t be genuinely creative.” He warns too of our “post‑Trump age,” where misinformation has become normalised, making critical thinking more essential than ever. Lord Smith also reflects on his legacy as Culture Secretary, where he introduced free admission to UK national museums. A moment with a father and daughter at the Science Museum, he says, confirmed that “a career in public life was worth it.” Museums, he argues, are part of a nation’s collective memory and should never be gated by wealth. In discussing climate challenges, Chancellor Smith draws from his years chairing the Environment Agency, emphasising the need to trust scientific experts and to prioritise resources wisely. His lifelong love of the Scottish mountains began in a school expedition to Torridon, a formative experience that shaped his passion for nature and environmental stewardship. As Chancellor, he sees his role as both ambassador and advocate for higher education, calling the UK university fees system “broken” and in urgent need of reform. Above all, he places hope in the next generation: “Whenever I despair, I think about our young people… and that gives me hope.” A conversation spanning education, ethics, environment and the future, this episode is a powerful reminder of why leadership grounded in empathy, curiosity and truth still matters.

Where can we retain the human touch, impactfully, in the age of AI? Thomas Scherer, cloud architect & computer scientist working for Google joins Lisa. One Saturday night, Thomas sat down with Gemini and asked, "What will make me the happiest person in the world?" Over the course of the next few hours, he got some fascinating results. All of this is part of the story of AI in our lives today, but there is so much more. This conversation is a small reflection of where we are with AI and why we should embrace its benefits, learning as much as we can with careful curiosity. From Horses to Cars “What do I do with my horse-riding skills now that the car has been invented?” With this statement, Thomas reminds us that mega shifts in our human experience is historically normal, and a reflection of the human mind’s brilliance. The AI Shift is just another technological step change. AI is replacing ‘commodity tasks’ - those which are repetitive, standardised processes, providing us with more time to lean into creativity. We become the navigator whilst the more mundane jobs could be taken over by AI. A new way to Search Traditional search engines try to match words whereas modern AI systems match meaning. When you search for trousers for instance, AI systems can use images and semantic understanding to infer style, intent, and context rather than just scanning for the keyword ‘pants or trousers.’ Large language models (LLMs) such as Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and so on, predict the most likely next word, turning colossal amounts of data into fluent conversation, explanation, and even advice based solely on statistical probability of word patterns. We don’t even need to invent the perfect query as they can also predict this. AI as Your Collaborative Partner Used well, AI is more like a creative collaborator: a brainstorming partner that proposes alternative angles, structures, and prompts. For small businesses, it can become an extra “virtual team,” generating draft podcasts, social posts, or marketing visuals that can then be curated and refined. But all the while, it remains the human who sets the objectives and the required tone. This also lends itself to the possibility of many people becoming autonomous, single-person businesses. Agents: When AIs Start Working Together When you give an AI tools and sub-tasks, it can orchestrate them toward a goal. One agent might create images; another might check whether those images match the brief (e.g. 'sunny landscape, not rain’); together, they negotiate improvements until the output fits what you asked for. Even non-technical people can use early agent-like products. NotebookLM, for instance, lets you upload documents, then: - Ask questions about them in natural language. - Generate personalised podcasts from your own material that you can listen to during a commute. - Work across multiple languages, both in sources and in the audio you generate. A recurring complaint in companies is: “Our data is too messy to do AI.” That is partly true for training bespoke models: bad data in, bad model out, but paradoxically, AI is also very good at cleaning data in the first place. You can literally give such a tool a messy folder of information and ask to make sense of it. Because it understands patterns in addresses, email formats, names, and categories, AI can, for example: - Standardise your contact lists so mailings no longer bounce. - Extract fields from scanned paperwork and fill out forms for you. - Help you perform a “data spring clean” on everything from CRM records to home admin. For an individual drowning in paperwork, this is transformative: scan, upload, and ask the AI to pre-fill or summarise, then you simply review and sign. Everyday Simplifications with AI You do not need to be a computer scientist to get real value from AI. A good starting sequence for a normal day could include: - Identify what you hate doing: repetitive emails, calendar logistics, summarising long documents, or form-filling. - Ask the AI directly: “Show me how to use you to spend less time on this task,” then iterate based on its suggestions. - Start with non-sensitive data and low‑risk tasks, and only move to personal or client material once you understand the provider’s terms and privacy guarantees. People in Luxembourg working across languages can also benefit from live translation and dubbing: tools already exist that let you speak in German and be heard in French or English in your own voice, with a slight delay, in meetings or recorded content. Jobs, Risk, and the Human Edge AI is reshaping the job market. In the UK, one study found that companies using AI had eliminated 11% of previous roles and left another 12% unfilled, while creating 19% new roles, which is a net loss of 4% overall, with the UK faring worse than the US on the balance between jobs lost and created. That reality naturally fuels both excitement and anxiety. What AI targets first are commodity tasks: copy-pasting, routine classification, basic template writing, or standardised analysis. The more your work relies on unique human context, judgment, empathy, and rapport, from live concerts to therapy and even parenting, the harder it is to replace. The opportunity, and pressure, is to climb the value chain: stop being the engine that moves the data and become the navigator who decides where to go. Trust, Safety, and Owning Your Self Image and Voice As AI systems get better at imitating voices and faces, distinguishing fake from real becomes a societal survival skill. Voice scams already exploit cloned speech to convince parents their child is in danger, and manipulated images can travel faster than fact‑checks. Two layers of protection are emerging: - Technical safeguards such as watermarking in generated images or audio, which allow downstream tools to flag AI‑created content. - Legal and ethical frameworks like GDPR in Europe, which treat your appearance and voice as personal data requiring your consent for alteration and reuse. - Providers also increasingly commit to indemnifying users when material generated within the rules is later challenged on copyright grounds, shifting some of the risk back to the platforms that trained the models. Prompting: Talking to AI so It Really Helps You do not need to be a prompt engineer, but a few habits make a big difference. First, describe what you do want rather than only what you do not want: “Keep the face unchanged and brighten the background” works better than “Don’t change the face.” Second, you can use AI to improve your own prompts: - Tell it your goal (“I want a video that shows X for Y audience”). - Ask: “Write a detailed prompt I can paste into a video/image generator.” - Edit the suggested prompt so it fits your tone, context, and constraints. Over time, this becomes a self-teaching loop: the AI drafts the prompt, you tweak and observe the output, and your intuitive sense of what to ask for gets sharper. AI, Emotions, and the Limits of the Machine Some people now confide in chatbots as if they were friends or therapists. In one late-night experiment, Thomas asked Gemini to interview him and figure out what would make him “the happiest person in the world”; the system eventually pointed out contradictions in his answers and nudged him toward deeper reflection. That shows how AI can mirror back patterns in your own thinking and ask probing questions. But it still lacks the embodied empathy, nuanced perception, and ethical responsibility of a trained human therapist, who reads not just words but tone, pauses, posture, and history. AI can supplement support; it should not replace serious care. Why You Should Start Now Paradoxically, Thomas’s biggest fear is not that AI will take over, but that people will be left behind because they are too afraid to try it. Like refusing to learn to drive when everyone else has moved to cars, opting out of AI entirely risks shrinking your options just as the toolset explodes. The most practical stance is curious, critical use: test it, set boundaries, keep the human touch at the centre, and let the machines handle the drudgery.

Rugby Club Luxembourg hosts Oxbridge this weekend in Stade Josy Barthel. This weekend on The Lisa Burke Show, rugby takes centre stage as Rugby Club Luxembourg (RCL) prepares to welcome a combined Oxford-Cambridge “Oxbridge” team to Stade Josy Barthel for what is believed to be their first ever visit to the Grand Duchy. Seniors player and schools rugby coordinator Matthew Dennis Soto explains that the fixture offers a perfect mid‑season test for RCL, while also reconnecting him with university teammates from his PGCE days at Oxford, in a match he jokes might even mark a “secret retirement” at 80 minutes. The game also plugs Luxembourg directly into one of the sport’s oldest traditions: the varsity rugby culture that has produced generations of international players since the first iconic Oxbridge match in 1872. On the show, Matthew tells us how the Oxford and Cambridge system has historically functioned as an informal England trial, with selectors once taking 15 to 20 players from a single varsity match into national squads. Today, professional academies have taken over much of that role, but the commitment remains close to professional standards: double daily training sessions, gym and pitch work, video analysis and eight hours of study woven through the day. That intensity, he argues, leaves graduates ready for both professional rugby and demanding careers beyond sport, thanks to a culture where “buy‑in” is non‑negotiable and no one can simply skip training because they are tired. RCL’s aim is to build that ethos, with more Luxembourgish now spoken at training than English or French, and a growing number of locally raised players feeding into the national team. Rugby Club Luxembourg: 500 members, 54 nationalities, one “tribe” Vice President Tony Whiteman sketches the remarkable growth of RCL, founded in 1973 and now boasting around 500 active members encompassing players, referees and coaches, making it one of Luxembourg’s largest sporting organisations. The club currently represents 54 nationalities and competes in Germany’s First Division, a notable achievement for a country of Luxembourg’s size and a testament to decades of volunteer‑driven development. Tony’s own story mirrors that journey: arriving from New Zealand “for 18 months” to play rugby, finding community in the legendary Irish pub The Black Stuff, and staying to build a life, a family and a career, helped along by a network of club members who even opened professional doors in finance. And he has done the same for so many more. Belonging, discipline and life skills on and off the pitch A recurring theme of the discussion is rugby’s unique capacity to create belonging across ages, body types and backgrounds. Nathan Sneyd, now a familiar voice from “Let’s Talk Sport” and a long‑standing squash coach in Luxembourg, describes rugby as a “jigsaw of athletes”, where fast and slow, tall and short, heavy and light all fit together in different positions toward a shared objective. That sense of purpose and identity, symbolised by a simple shirt colour, translates into powerful benefits for mental health and social integration, especially for newcomers who might otherwise dismiss Luxembourg as “quiet” if they never join a club or community. Tony highlights rugby’s thread of decency: respect for referees, listening to coaches, learning discipline from adults outside the family, as a life school that employers value, noting that his own first job in Luxembourg came precisely because a manager trusted the work ethic of sportspeople. Women’s rugby and infrastructure: the next frontier Looking ahead, the guests agree that women’s rugby represents one of the biggest growth opportunities, both globally and at RCL. The club has established a women’s section with regular training, and women’s rugby is cited as one of the fastest‑growing areas of the sport, yet limited pitch space in Luxembourg City is now a hard constraint on how far that momentum can go. As Director of Rugby Antoine Alric (who could not join the recording) works across elite competition, 350‑plus youth players and an expanding women’s programme, the club is lobbying for at least half a pitch more in the short term and, eventually, a second ground to match demand. For listeners inspired to get involved, Nathan underlines how approachable Luxembourg’s sporting community is: from elite racer Dylan Pereira inviting Instagram messages from aspiring drivers to RCL’s own open‑door culture, often the first step is as simple as showing up or sending a message, and letting the game, and the community around it, do the rest. https://rcl.lu/

The power of movement & defining the love you want: movement choirs; nervous system regulation & a ten-step path to figure out the type of love you deserve On this episode of The Lisa Burke Show, dancers Veronique Scheer and Gabrielle Staiger talk about how the body stores emotions. Mentor Rick Serrano walks through a simple checklist to define a partner that matches your life goals and one deserving of you. Traumatic Injury to Identity Shift, Education and Trauma-Healing workshops Veronique Scheer, founder of Very Unique Yoga, was a professional musical theatre performer living her dream life in Barcelona as a young adult. This dream was abruptly halted by a devastating motorbike accident at 21. Through years of rehabilitation, a law degree (plan B) and reinvention, Veronique turned to yoga, pilates and trauma-healing practice. She realised that movement could me more than performance or aesthetics; it could be a tool for nervous system regulation, trauma healing and identity reconstruction. “The nervous system governs how we experience life.” Today, Veronique’s work blends movement science, hormonal literacy and nervous system education into a holistic approach, particularly supporting women navigating stress, burnout, postnatal recovery and life transitions. She distinguishes between nervous system regulation and long‑term training, emphasising that our reactions often arise from stored patterns in the nervous system long before cognition catches up. Co-regulation in couples Veronique also conducts couples yoga classes, and can see how their nervous systems sync in a calming or dysregulated way. Through workshops and couple classes, she sees first‑hand how movement can reveal communication patterns, power struggles, people‑pleasing and sexual disconnect. These workshops also show how playful, shared movement can help partners remember why they fell in love. Using practices such as AcroYoga, she watches trust, control and surrender play out physically: some couples re‑discover laughter and tenderness; others confront that their relationship may actually be over. Veronique’s upcoming digital academy and app (launching 2026) brings together: - Nervous system regulation - Hormonal health education - Trauma-aware movement - Conscious relationship development

How do you show up in your own body, to yourself? What’s your own internal dialogue? And how does that manifest as confidence?
 Confidence is a trainable skill, which is a good thing as it can influence so many aspects of our lives from work to personal relationships, even to the relationship we have with our own body and mind. It’s shaped by mindset, nutrition, hormones and fluctuates through the various changes and challenges of life. Confidence as a Skill: how to Build Self-Belief Founded by Natalia Wrona, Confidence House was created in response to a recurring pattern Natalia observed over nearly two decades of working closely as a make-up artist and photographer with clients: many people appear confident externally, yet feel deeply disconnected internally. Through guided make-up lessons, image advice, and ‘self-confidence photography’, clients are offered a safe space to reconnect with themselves. These sessions are about reclaiming a connection to your own external-facing body. “Caring for one’s appearance is not superficial. It can be a powerful act of self-respect. When we treat ourselves with intention, we begin to rebuild confidence from the inside out.” But confidence is built on the inside, some of which we have control over (nutrition, sport, sleep) and some of which is outside of our control to some degree (life events, hormonal fluctuations). Menopause, Hormones and Confidence For many women (and men - something we speak about less at the moment), hormonal transitions play a major role in confidence. That reality is at the heart of Lëtz Menopause, a non-profit association raising awareness around perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause in Luxembourg. Dr. Susanne Folschette, explains that confidence loss during hormonal transitions is often misunderstood or misdiagnosed. Anxiety, sleep disruption, brain fog, and self-doubt can begin years before menopause itself, frequently without women realising what is happening. Education is transformative. Understanding the biological changes at play reduces fear, restores self-trust, and allows women to advocate for themselves. Menopause is a natural transition that deserves informed support, evidence-based care, and open conversation. ‘Mr. Breakfast’ on Nutrition, the Brain and Emotional Confidence Confidence is also biochemical. University lecturer and micro-nutrition specialist Anthony Sternotte highlights how nutrition directly influences mood, emotional regulation, and resilience. Micro-nutrient deficiencies, including iron, zinc, B-vitamins, and amino acids, can impair neurotransmitter production, affecting serotonin, dopamine, and melatonin. Skipping meals, particularly breakfast and lunch, may feel efficient, but over time it undermines energy, focus, and emotional stability. Nutrition supports confidence by supporting the brain. A well-nourished body creates the conditions for calm, clarity, and self-belief, especially during periods of stress or hormonal change. Confidence Development Is Multidimensional and Trainable Confidence as a skill can grow when we: - understand what is happening in our bodies and take care to listen - nourish ourselves properly - set boundaries and protect our energy - invest time in self-care and self-knowledge - allow ourselves to be seen, imperfectly and honestly Confidence is about trusting yourself even when things feel uncertain. To just keep going. Suggested Reading on Confidence and Self-Esteem To deepen the journey of confidence development, our guests recommend these books: - Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway — Susan Jeffers - The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem — Nathaniel Branden - The Gifts of Imperfection — Brené Brown

Luxembourg depends on international talent and launched Work in Luxembourg this week to attract, integrate and retain global skills. Luxembourg is competing in a global race for talent. With the launch of Work in Luxembourg, a national portal and brand, the country is reshaping how international professionals discover, choose and settle in the Grand Duchy. Talent attraction, integration and retention is central to Luxembourg’s economic future. This week, I was joined by Muriel Morbé, Director of Talents & Skills at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, to unpack what Luxembourg is doing differently to attract the best talent. Around 75% of Luxembourg’s workforce is international, including residents and cross-border workers. At the same time, demographic shifts, digital transformation and accelerating retirements are reshaping the labour market. Despite unemployment figures, many sectors, from digital and finance to healthcare, engineering and technical trades, face acute skills shortages. The challenge is to both attract people and ensure they stay. Luxembourg is trying to attract about 335,000 new recruitments by 2040 to meet its workforce requirements, according to estimations from the General Inspectorate of Social Security (IGSS) and the Chamber of Commerce. The Work in Luxembourg portal is designed as a single national entry point for both international talent and companies of all sizes recruiting globally. It brings together job opportunities, practical guidance on living in Luxembourg, immigration pathways and relocation support all under one coherent national narrative. Alongside the digital portal, a new physical Talent Desk has been launched. This human touchpoint recognises that ‘talent’ does not arrive alone. International professionals arrive with partners, children and real lives, and if families fail to integrate, talent leaves. The Talent Desk supports both individuals and employers with administrative guidance, integration pathways and access to the right networks. A standout element of the initiative is the forthcoming Spouse Programme, developed with partners including the Ministry of Family Affairs and the House of Training. It helps partners of international recruits understand Luxembourg’s economy, explore career or volunteering opportunities, and build social and professional networks. “Integration is not a ‘nice to have’, it’s an economic imperative.” As work evolves through AI, automation and multigenerational workplaces, Luxembourg is also focusing on lifelong learning, re-skilling and talent development. Through initiatives such as the House of Training and the Chamber’s Talents 4 Luxembourg recommendations, the emphasis is on preparing for today’s jobs, and roles that don’t yet exist. Luxembourg is no longer just competing for jobs is competing for people, for families, and for long-term commitment. The success of Work in Luxembourg will not be measured by whether people choose to build a life here and stay. Work in Luxembourg portal
 https://workinluxembourg.com/ Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce
 https://www.cc.lu Talent Desk (via Chamber of Commerce / House of Entrepreneurship)
 https://www.cc.lu/house-of-entrepreneurship/ Talents 4 Luxembourg https://www.cc.lu/toute-linformation/actualites/detail/34-recommandations-pour-renforcer-lattractivite-le-developpement-et-la-retention-des-talents-au-luxembourg

Plus the RESET Festival at Neimënster Luxembourg vibraphonist and composer Pascal Schumacher has spent a career sculpting sound, as a composer and performer. A deep admirer of Philip Glass, Pascal has become more interested in the concept of time and how our perception of time can be shifted with music. A metronome is a minimal music instrument We open the show with Schumacher’s shimmering “Re: Amarcord”, which is a reworked piece from his Sol album. This album was created from a residency at Op der Schmelz in Dudelange. We then discuss the metronome experiment: when people listen to a perfectly repeating click their perception of time slows or even seems to stop. Schumacher explains that our first reaction to repetition is that it can be boring. However, minimalist composers play with this concept. “If you’re bored after four repeats, listen to eight; if you’re bored after eight, stay for sixteen. At some point, it becomes something else.” A study of Philip Glass Schumacher’s admiration for Philip Glass starts with structure as sound. Philip Glass stars with the form, the shape, the arc; before disappearing into detail. Pascal tries to pass on this lesson to students: musicians can become obsessed with tiny technical questions before they’ve even agreed what the piece is. Glass’s comfort with exceptionally long forms, he notes, was shaped by theatre thinking: the patient building of scenes for example, and that patience shows up in works like Einstein on the Beach, designed from the start as a multi-hour world the audience can enter and exit. Clock time versus Musical Time One of Schumacher’s most striking ideas is that clock time only moves forward, but musical time has more freedom. He describes music as a place like a city you visit. If you love it, you go back. That’s why a song can instantly return you to an old memory: a first kiss, a summer drive, a chapter of life you thought was gone. Music is emotional time travel. Silence We also talk about the concert moments audiences feel in their bones: the stillness before the first note, and the suspended beat after the last note when nobody dares clap first. Schumacher calls this a breath and reminds us that what we call silence is never empty; it’s a change in listening. The room is part of the piece, the lighting, the people around you at that moment in time, the season you play in. Notably American composer John Cage played with this concept with his 4’33 piece where every orchestral instrument has 4’33 bars of rest RESET Festival 2026: a ‘musical jazz hackathon’ at Neimënster Abbey Schumacher is also the musical curator behind RESET, now in its 9th edition, and it’s built around one core idea: residency changes everything. 8 musicians from 8 different countries and different ages come together to build music. RESET runs 25–31 January 2026, with eight artists in a creative residency at Neimënster. The three-night public programme Day 1 (Thu): #jazzcrawl — three short sets across the city: Neimënster (Salle Nic Klecker) → Cercle Cité → Bazaar. Day 2 (Fri): #solos — each musician takes an eight-minute solo: eight distinct “time worlds” in one evening. Day 3 (Sat): #concert — the full group comes together, with each artist contributing to the final shape of the night. RESET is the live jazz laboratory of music where Luxembourg can experience it. Pascal and the team are offering three sets of two tickets for the final performance on Saturday night at Neimënster Abbey. https://www.neimenster.lu/collection/reset/ MUSIC / TRACK REFERENCES “Amarcord (Fejká’s Daydream Version)” (SoundCloud stream): https://m.soundcloud.com/fejka/pascal-schuhmacher-amarcord-fejkas-daydream-version “Glass Two” (YouTube album playlist – includes “Mishima Closing”): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kWNfNju6rtKIVotOfOXWJC7s-HR-R4Oys “Mishima Closing” on Spotify (Pascal Schumacher & Danae Dörken / Philip Glass): https://open.spotify.com/track/5Bq9jwy1UdmIpYOmFFr8hi

Luxembourg School of Business research challenges generational stereotypes on job-hopping, hybrid work and values. Are younger generations really less loyal at work? Do they care more about purpose than pay? And is hybrid working fundamentally a Gen Z demand? A new Luxembourg School of Business (LSB) report, conducted by Dr Adam Petersen suggests the answers are far more nuanced than the headlines imply. This week on The Lisa Burke Show, I was joined by Dr Adam Petersen, Professor of Management Practice at LSB and host of RTL Today Radio’s Office Hours, to discuss the findings of the Generational Attitudes Study (released 26 January 2026) a Luxembourg-focused survey examining values, work preferences, and career expectations across generations. Adam started this research because organisations are increasingly asking for training on managing generations, yet much of what circulates online is based on stereotypes rather than evidence. What the data shows, and what it doesn’t The study analysed 326 Luxembourg-based respondents, largely drawn from business school students, alumni and professionals connected to LSB; a group broadly aligned with the private-sector talent many employers seek to attract. One of the most persistent workplace assumptions is that younger generations are less loyal and more prone to job-hopping. The data does show that younger respondents expect shorter tenure in early career roles, but Adam cautions against interpreting this as weaker commitment. Instead, he points to changed incentives. Earlier generations often benefited from defined-benefit pension schemes and long-term security. Today, salary progression and housing affordability pressures mean moving jobs can be a rational financial strategy rather than a sign of disengagement. Purpose vs pay: the stereotype flips Another widely held belief is that Gen Z and Millennials prioritise purpose over salary. The LSB data challenges this narrative. When respondents were asked to rank company priorities such as profit, people and planet, and choose between higher pay or working for a socially engaged organisation, younger cohorts were more likely to prioritise salary, while older respondents showed slightly greater emphasis on societal contribution. In a high-cost country like Luxembourg, Adam suggests this reflects economic reality rather than generational values: younger workers are often focused on achieving financial independence before they can afford to prioritise anything else. Hybrid work: not a generational divide Hybrid working is often framed as a generational battleground. Yet the report finds no clear evidence that younger generations want to work from home more than older ones. Overall, respondents across generations favour hybrid models, with preferences shaped more by role and seniority than age. Notably, Generation Z showed the highest preference for online meetings, but the lowest likelihood of reporting higher productivity when working from home. One of the most revealing questions asked who should decide which days employees come into the office: the manager or the employee. Older generations leaned more towards managerial decision-making, but Adam’s conclusion was pragmatic rather than ideological: “You cannot manage organisations using simple generational rules. You have to get to know your team.” Bias, leadership and career stages The report also uncovered subtle age-related biases. Respondents tended to prefer peers from their own generation, favoured older managers, and preferred to manage younger colleagues, suggesting an ingrained association between age, authority and competence. Adam warned that these assumptions can quietly influence promotion decisions and performance evaluations, reinforcing the need for data-driven people processes rather than intuition or stereotype. The bigger takeaway Perhaps the most important conclusion from the study is this: generational labels are weak predictors of workplace attitudes. Career stage, organisational culture, and incentive structures matter far more. For leaders, HR teams and policymakers, the message is clear. If we want better engagement, retention and performance, the answer isn’t learning how to ‘handle Gen Z’ but to design systems that recognise how people’s priorities evolve across a working life. Links Generational Attitudes Study (LSB Voices): https://luxsb.lu/lsb-voices/ Office Hours with Adam Petersen (RTL Play): https://play.rtl.lu/shows/en/office-hours/episodes Adam Petersen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-petersen/

LTS celebrates 10 years of educating young minds to create, code and pitch ideas directly to business. Dr. Sergio Coronado is a man with a very busy day job, as CIO of NSPA. Perhaps he is in that position due to the chance he got as a 12 year old to learn to code plus a great mentor. Sergio showed a natural affinity in the after school club, which was noticed by the trainer, who took it upon himself to give Sergio extra time between the youth and adult lessons. Sergio then stayed through the adult lessons and the trainer even drove him home. It is this giving-back mentality and mentorship that Sergio and his team bring to the Luxembourg Tech School. Sergio’s life is an example of constant growth through learning and contribution - giving back to society. Perhaps this is the combination to lead a deeply fulfilling life. Sergio’s continual learning is particularly apt now, in a time when we simply cannot keep pace fully with the speed of change of AI. Nonetheless he encourages us all to keep learn, build the habit of making informed decisions, and accepting that experience comes from making choices and living with consequences. He adds “If you think you can do something, then try. Don’t sit there. Just try.” The Luxembourg Tech School (LTS) started a decade ago with Sergio Coronado alongside Ralph Marschall, Anush Manukyan and Christophe Tréfois. Since then it has grown into a nationwide, after-school, non-profit programme for 12–19-year-olds. Their training model is project driven, tackling some of the most important tech issues of our times, and those most closely connected to the economy of Luxembourg: cybersecurity, AI, fintech, emerging tech, space resources and Game Dev. LTS also flips the traditional classroom model, so that teams work on projects over the term or through weekend hackathons to deliver projects to deadlines, and then pitch their designs to business leaders directly connected to industry. Even when things don’t go perfectly, that becomes part of the lesson. Even when a project isn’t finished, the success is still getting up there and explaining why. In other words: real deadlines, real pressure, real communication, which is really the full 360 of modern life. Over the past decade, LTS has grown to deliver a three year programme, with early years added in addition. There are over 20 partner schools, 18 groups per year, and more than 200 annual students. They also work with refugee communities in societal inclusion programmes, plus students who have special needs through Digital Inclusion programmes, notably the autism community. Sergio and his team have noticed that the confidence of the autistic children grew when they could show what they had built. This whole programme is entirely free for students. This depends on donorship from ministries, institutions and companies, and they’re always happy to receive more! Find out more and get involved: LTS is open to students aged 12–19, and supporters can help as partners, mentors or sponsors. www.techschool.lu | info@techschool.lu

The International School of Luxembourg is amongst the first in the world to offer the new Global Impact Diploma (GID) alongside the IB This interview was done in December before the tragic passing of Amy Lee. You can find a tribute to Amy from the ISL community here: https://www.islux.lu/news/~board/public-update/post/in-memory-of-amy-lee The International School of Luxembourg (ISL) is now amongst the first schools in the world authorised to offer a dual diploma, combining the traditional International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma with the new Global Impact Diploma (GID), taken over three years. The aim is to give students both academic depth and experiential breadth: the “best of both worlds” approach to education. Iain Fish, Director of ISL, explained that while the long-standing IB Diploma remains a "wonderful programme" well-recognised by universities, it can still feel traditional due to its heavy final examination component. Recognising the world's changing needs for young adults emerging from school, ISL is introducing the GID to provide an alternative pathway, allowing students to pursue graduation through diverse methods, including academic work, projects, entrepreneurship, and artistic pursuits, alongside the traditional academic programme. The aim is to create pathways designed to recognise real-world learning, creativity, and the diverse strengths of young people. A global sprint for curriculum design Tanya Irene, Partner Learning and Online Learning Coordinator, provided insight into the development of the GID, revealing that it emerged from a collaborative "design sprint" of international schools who were previously innovating in silos. This global hackathon, involving educators in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas, sought to define what students truly need in the world today,. This process identified three crucial themes: meaningful learning (more hands-on and project-based), agency (allowing students opportunities to decide their path and impact), and wellbeing. The dual diploma combines the conceptual focus of the rigorous IB Diploma with the competency-focused, experiential nature of the GID. This hybrid programme encourages students to claim their education rather than simply receive it. The GID coursework intentionally develops six core competencies: Drive Designing for impact Empathy for impact Collaboration for impact Reflection Communication As Tanya noted, these competencies are critical not just for academic success but for articulating one's motivation to future universities or employers. For example, the foundational course, The Imperfect Art of Living, which is loosely based on Yale’s popular well-being course by Dr. Laurie Santos, teaches students how to explore purpose and belonging. Prioritising the unique child The conversation underscored a crucial shift away from highly competitive environments and traditional summative assessments toward holistic development, skills assessment, and personalised learning. Catherine Cooke, Upper School Principal, emphasised that at ISL, there is a firm commitment to ensuring every student is treated as unique. She highlighted the school’s philosophy on evaluation, noting: "We do not do any comparison, we don't have any lists and rankings in the class, we don't compare children with each other, we compare them with where they were last month, where they were last week..." Amy Lee, Head of Teaching and Learning, supported this stance, calling classroom rankings a "hard no" and stating that significant research demonstrates students thrive best in a non-competitive environment. This focus on student well-being is vital, according to Mr. Fish, because being innovative, a key requirement for future employers, requires students to be willing to make mistakes and put themselves out there. This readiness only happens within a culture that fosters psychological safety and support. Preparing for futures we don’t yet know The school is also moving toward integrating more cross-disciplinary learning, with new IB courses like Environmental Systems and Societies (blending social sciences with science) and Language and Culture (examining the intersection of origin, life, and communication). This innovative approach, including the capacity for more authentic digital assessment, is part of the broader effort to meet the needs of today's children, who are different from those of 20 years ago due to technological shifts and increased access to information. With artificial intelligence reshaping industries and career paths becoming less linear, the panel agreed that education can no longer promise certainty. “We’re preparing students for futures that don’t yet exist,” said Catherine Cooke. “That means helping them understand who they are, not forcing them into predefined moulds.” In that sense, the dual diploma is not about replacing the IB, but expanding what success can mean: academically, personally and socially. As ISL begins rolling out the programme, the school hopes it will not only benefit its own students, but also contribute to a wider rethinking of education; one that values growth over ranking, agency over pressure, and impact over imitation. My guests are: Iain Fish, Director of the International School of Luxembourg Tanya Irene, Partner Learning & Online Learning Coordinator Catherine Cooke, Upper School Principal Amy Lee, Head of Teaching and Learning & IBDP Coordinator All of these teachers and educators have a vast experience in living around the world and knowing how to adapt to different cultures and needs of society. They are perfectly placed to recalibrate and redirect a new educational programme to fit the vast needs of our young adults (and older adults!) today. To listen to the full discussion, or enjoy another episode of the Lisa Burke Show, explore RTL Play below.

Ambassador Karpetova links the Czech Republic to Luxembourg through the life of the beloved Charles IV Ambassador Barbara Karpetová, the Czech Republic Ambassador to Luxembourg, is a Doctor of Social Anthropology. As such, she is fascinated by the way in which our world is shaped by humans and their choices or actions. Charles IV, a man so omnipresent in the lives of Czech people still today, is a man worth the study of a social anthropologist, as his life is far from ordinary. And indeed, his father was from Luxembourg.  Few historical figures embody Europe’s interconnected identity as vividly as Emperor Charles IV. Born in 1316 to a Luxembourgish father and a Czech mother, Charles would become one of the most enlightened rulers of the Middle Ages: the greatest Czech of all time according to so many Czech polls, and arguably the most influential Luxembourger in European history. Yet many in Luxembourg remain unaware that this remarkable visionary, whose reign transformed Central Europe, was one of their own. Charles IV’s early life was shaped by trauma and displacement. Taken from his mother at the age of three amid political turmoil, he spent his formative years at the French court, where he absorbed languages, diplomacy, and intellectual rigour. His father, John the Blind of Luxembourg, a charismatic but restless knight-king, embodied glory and instability in equal measure. His mother, Elizabeth of Bohemia, offered emotional depth, cultural identity, and spiritual grounding, although her own tragic life imprinted upon him a lifelong empathy and introspection. These tensions forged a ruler who sought stability, reflection, and humane governance rather than the cycle of destruction so common in his era. Unlike many medieval monarchs who fashioned their legacy through conquest, Charles IV built his through construction and culture. In Prague, he imagined and executed a city worthy of an imperial capital: Charles Bridge, St Vitus Cathedral, the New Town of Prague, and the glittering fortress of Karlštejn, his sanctuary for meditation and prayer. These were not monuments of vanity but investments in civic life, education, and international exchange. Above all, his founding of Charles University in 1348, the first in Central Europe, signalled a radical belief: that a prosperous society begins with knowledge, openness, and shared intellectual endeavour. Charles IV was also a political architect. His Golden Bull of 1356 established clear rules for imperial elections and gave the Holy Roman Empire centuries of stability. This was an achievement so visionary that historians still marvel at its durability today. His reign was defined by diplomacy, multilingual engagement, and the kind of pragmatic cooperation that Luxembourg cherishes today. A fluent speaker of five languages, he travelled extensively, preferring personal dialogue over emissaries. His political style, rooted in listening and persuasion rather than coercion, made him a quietly transformative figure in a turbulent century. Though he carried Luxembourgish blood and Czech devotion in equal measure, Charles IV saw Europe as a unified web long before the concept existed. He moved between courts, cultures, and identities with the ease of a modern European statesman. His values of multilingualism, education, peaceful leadership, and cultural openness mirror those of Luxembourg today, a nation where diversity is not a challenge but a strength. In many ways, Charles IV was Europe before Europe: a bridge between peoples whose life story reminds us that one person, or small countries, can shape the continent in profound ways. This Advent season, his legacy carries a particularly resonant message. In an age of fast decisions and constant noise, Charles IV was a ruler who stopped, reflected, prayed, and reshaped his world with intention. He believed deeply in service, in building rather than breaking, and in leading through wisdom rather than force. His life encourages us to pause, to examine our direction, and to choose the kind of leadership—personal or political—that uplifts rather than divides. For Luxembourg and the Czech Republic, Charles IV is not just shared history; he is shared inspiration. A child of two nations, a builder of cities, a scholar-king, a European long before the invention of the term. He is a reminder that greatness can arise from unlikely circumstances, and that values rooted in openness, stability, and compassion endure across centuries. And in the heart of Prague, where his bridges cross the Vltava and his university still thrives, Charles IV continues to welcome the world, just as he did in life.

Kenneth Lasoen joins Lisa Burke to expose modern espionage, from cyberattacks to insider threats and the hidden power struggles shaping our world today. I wonder if John Le Carré's protagonist spy, George Smiley, could recognise the world of tradecraft today. Dr Kenneth Lasoen is one of Europe’s foremost intelligence and security scholars. He serves as Associate Professor of Intelligence & Security at the University of Antwerp, Senior Lecturer at the KSI Institute, and is an advisor to governments, institutions and major corporations on national security, counterintelligence, and risk mitigation. His academic background includes degrees from Ghent, Leuven, Brunel and Cambridge; and the Belgian Royal Military Academy. Kenneth’s research focuses on espionage, insider threats, economic and industrial spying, and how intelligence agencies shape geopolitics and corporate competition. He also briefs senior industry leaders on cybersecurity, supply-chain vulnerabilities, and foreign influence operations. Espionage has slipped out of the shadows and into everyday life. It’s no longer a distant Cold War memory of trench coats, microfilm and whispered exchanges in European capitals. In the 2025 world, the spy wars are being fought through our smartphones, coded supply chains, university labs, satellites, corporate R&D hubs, and even the unlocked devices on our desks. Every industry is a target. Every citizen, a potential data point. Every corporation, hackable banks of information. Kenneth reveals the uncomfortable truth:
 • Allies spy on allies, because they can • Insider threats (it just takes one) can bankrupt global companies
 • Cyber incidents can cripple supply chains instantly
 • The Internet of Things is, in reality, the Internet of Hacked Things • Some of the most devastating breaches begin with the simplest human error (or human intent) Russia, China, North Korea and Iran might operate aggressively in the intelligence space, but Western governments, corporations and academia are deeply enmeshed in their own networks of surveillance, information-gathering and counter-espionage. Kenneth also brings the story closer to home: into research labs, corporate headquarters, scientific centres, and even vineyards. He explains why security failures often start from the inside, why organisations underestimate their risk, and how a single breach, digital or human, can destroy decades of innovation. There are vulnerabilities across all parts of our society that touch every citizen and business. https://ksi.institute/en/

The Czech republic is the Pays d’Honneur for this biennial event. De Mains De Maîtres is dedicated to the profound artistry of making things by hand. This, the 5th edition of the biennale, has grown into one of the most prestigious applied Art and Design events in the Greater Region. De Mains de Maîtres was founded in 2016 under the patronage of Their Royal Highnesses, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.  The mission is to honour craftsmanship and give visibility to those who shape our world with their hands. In this conversation we will discuss how craftsmanship connects heritage, identity, sustainability, and emotional well-being across generations. It is linked to the materials around us, the conversations and subversions of the day, the need to slow down and connect with our world through our hands and our heads. Artistry of this level is worth elevating, celebrating, respecting and encouraging through our educational system - another theme of the conversation. This year hosts Czechia as the Pays d’Honneur, bringing centuries of glassmaking, ceramics, puppetry and design heritage to Luxembourg. My guests this week are: - Her Excellency, Ambassador Barbara Karpetová, who has been instrumental in coordinating Czechia’s participation. - Tom Wirion, Director General of the Chambre des Métiers. - Embroidery artist Yanis Miltgen, whose sculptural textile work has gained international acclaim. - Ceramicist Ellen van der Woude, whose work is influenced by nature, harmony and emotional resonance. Ambassador Barbara Karpetová speaks so eloquently about the changing borders and names of her homeland, and how, throughout this, the language of the artists developed its own conversation with people. The humour that can be spotted in artisans’ work through generations of history; the means to remain resilient through periods of political repression. Craft can hold the history and identity of a nation’s people. Her Excellency also highlighted the psychological importance of making: the sense of satisfaction in producing something from beginning to end, and the power of craft to reconnect us with our own creativity which is so easily lost in an era of screens and speed. Ambassador Barbara also spoke about the rich material landscape of ‘Bohemia’ which easily allowed the arts of certain genres to flourish, such as glass-making. On the Luxembourg side, Tom Wirion, Director General of the Chambre des Métiers, underscored how essential the craft sector is to the country’s cultural landscape. Tom noted that one of the greatest challenges remains perception: encouraging young people (and parents) to view skilled trades as a stable, innovative, and rewarding career path. “Buying a crafted object,” he explained, “means investing in a gesture, not just a product.” His vision is to make artisans visible, valued, and actively supported through new pathways, partnerships, and gallery collaborations.  And naturally the educational system has to allow this subject to shine more too. Ceramic artist Ellen van der Woude, formerly a lawyer, turned to ceramics after personal loss and found profound therapeutic power in clay. Her sculptures embrace movement, tension, harmony, and imperfection: an homage to nature’s organic balance. For this edition, she presents three works inspired by the transition from winter to spring, reminding us that renewal follows even the longest winters.  Ellen’s own confidence in realising that she was indeed an artist only settled once she won the Jury Prize in the first edition of De Mains de Maîtres. She went on to win numerous other awards since. Yanis Miltgen, at just 24 years, found embroidery at the age of 15. Like Ellen, he found working with his hands and mind to be therapy as he had panic attacks at school. Yanis has won the most prestigious embroidery prize (just last week in London); the Hand & Lock Prize. He also won “Les de(ux) mains” Prize from the Comité Colbert (which is ‘the voice of luxury in France). Yanis has brought embroidery to an entirely new level of textile sculptural artistry, merging embroidery with metal, silicone, and reclaimed materials. His pieces, often requiring hundreds of hours, push the boundaries of what textile art can be: scientific in process, poetic in effect. We are reminded at the end by Ambassador Karpetová that even we, as customers, continue this line of artisan appreciation, as we observe the flow of an artists hands’ into our homes, or gifting to a loved one. The continuity of time and art, heritage and thought, all combined. These are the things of divine creation which we can contemplate. To stand amongst these curated pieces, visit De Mains De Maîtres 20th to 23rd of November, 10am to 6.30pm, no entrance fee at 19 Avenue de la Liberté. Useful Links https://www.demainsdemaitres.lu/en/ Czech Embassy • Website: https://mzv.gov.cz/luxembourg • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmbassadeTchequeLuxembourg/ Tom Wirion – Chambre des Métiers • https://www.cdm.lu • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-wirion/ Yanis Miltgen • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miltgen_design/?hl=en Ellen van der Woude • Website: http://www.ellenvanderwoude.com • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellenvanderwoude/ • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madebyEF/