WEBINARS

The FREIA project highly values openness and sharing of information. We organise webinars to address the issue of hormone disruption and female reproductive health from various angles, addressing a wide audience.

You can find more FREIA output, like publications and lecture recordings under Publications.


20 November 2024

This webinar will showcase the main achievements of the FREIA project. In addition, it will feature the FREIA health promotion report with the outcomes of the survey on awareness and perceptions among the general public and recommendations to reduce exposure to chemicals and protect health.

This webinar is organised by the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) in collaboration with the FREIA consortium, and will be moderated by Julianna Angelova (HEAL).

SPEAKERS

  • Professor Majorie van Duursen, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and coordinator of the FREIA project.
  • Dr. Virissa Lenters, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and author of the FREIA health promotion report.

15 May – 4 June 2024

This webinar series is organised on the occasion of the finalisation of the EU-funded project FREIA. It specifically addresses the scientific findings of the partners after five years of research on the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on female reproduction. More information can be found here.


15 March 2021

MEET THE AUTHOR – Count Down: How Our Modern World is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Fertility.

This special webinar was organised by the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), on the occasion of the release of renowned epidemiologist Dr. Shanna Swan’s new book, “Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race”.

Building on more than 25 years of research on the associations between exposure to environmental pollutants and health effects, Dr. Swan’s new book paints a bleak but important picture about how chemicals in our environment and unhealthy lifestyle practices are disrupting our hormonal balance and causing varying degrees of reproductive havoc. These trends are contributing to the current decline in sperm count, harm fertility, and are leading to long-term and cross-generational health problems even after one has left the reproductive years. It is a clarion call for more protective public policies and changes in our modern way or living. During this webinar, Dr. Swan will present the main findings of her book as well as her recommendations for more protective public policies.

Dr. Swan presented the main findings of her book as well as her recommendations for more protective public policies. The presentation was followed by a moderated discussion featuring Professor Dr. Majorie van Duursen (FREIA coordinator) and Dr. Lola Gómez Roig, Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department at the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, University of Barcelona and a member of the International Federation of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (FIGO).

The recording of this webinar is available here.
More background on this webinar and book can be found here.


EDC IDENTIFICATION: HOW DOES IT WORK?
a pragmatic approach to EDC identification

27 October 2020

In 2018, the European Commission adopted criteria to assess whether a biocide or pesticide is an endocrine disruptor. A guidance document was written on how to do this in practice. First, FREIA coordinator Majorie van Duursen gives brief overview of the process of EDC identification. FREIA partner Julie Boberg (Technical University of Denmark) then explains the process of EDC identification in practice, using butylparaben as an example. 

Butylparaben is often used in cosmetics to prevent microbial growth. It is on the candidate list of substances of very high concern of the European Chemicals Agency for its endocrine disrupting properties.

Dr Boberg shows that butylparaben is a great example that current criteria and EDC identification tools may also be suitable for other chemical regulations.

This webinar was organised by the FREIA project together with the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL). 

The recording of this webinar is available here.
The slides can be downloaded here.


INTRODUCING FREIA

17 February 2020

This webinar was co-organised by the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), and the International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS). The webinar was moderated by Genon K. Jensen (Health and Environment Alliance)

SPEAKERS

  • Professor Majorie van Duursen, from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and coordinator of the FREIA project, provides a short presentation to introduce the FREIA project and consortium. 
  • Dr. Pauliina Damdimopoulou, senior researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, presents FREIA project data about exposure of human oocytes and babies to EDC compounds, discuss the implications, and provide an illustration of the project development. 
  • Dr Jeanne Conry, president-elect of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), provides an overview on FIGO’s commitment to improved EDC regulation as an important prevention tool.

The recording of this webinar and the presentation slides are now available for download.