Hey Changemaker!

Neha Mankani: Midwifery and the Climate Crisis

Neha Mankani is a community midwife and global health practitioner from Pakistan with a strong focus on reproductive health and rights in crisis situations, emergency response and climate-affected communities. 
Neha is the Humanitarian and Climate Engagement Advisor at the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and the founder of the Mama Baby Fund; a financial emergency fund for maternal and neonatal healthcare in Pakistan. She has extensive experience in SRHR and maternal and neonatal health clinical practice, programming, and midwifery advocacy both at the local and global levels.
In this episode, Neha shares stories from her work with the coastal communities outside of Karachi, Pakistan and why she stared Mama Baby Fund. As a midwife with the ICM, Julia and Neha talk about how to build resilience in communities affected by the climate crisis and the critical role that midwives have.
Julia’s first job after university was to support emergency maternal health response after the floods in Pakistan in 2010, and as a child she lived a while in Lahore, so this was an episode of particular connection for her.
Learn more: 
Mama Baby Fund website and Instagram
International Confederation of Midwives website and Instagram 
Other links mentioned in the episode: 
Subscribe to Julia's email notes at juliawiklander.com/notes
 

Nisha Pahuja: To Kill a Tiger & the #StandWithHer Campaign

Nisha Pahuja is the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind the film To Kill a Tiger.
Her latest film, TO KILL A TIGER, had its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the Amplify Voices Award for Best Canadian Feature Film. Since then, it’s garnered 29 awards including the Best Documentary Feature, Palm Springs International Film Festival, three Canadian Screen awards and the DGC Allan King Award for Best Documentary Feature, 2023. The film is available on Netflix, and is such a beautiful and vulnerable documentary feature.
"To Kill a Tiger” is a story about Ranjit, a farmer in Jharkhand, who takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, Kiran, the survivor of sexual assault. It is a story of resilience, hope, bravery and a father’s unwavering love for his daughter. 
For Nisha, the film grew out of a long career of addressing various human rights issues, notably violence against women in India. In 2015, she won the Amnesty International media award for Canadian journalism after making a short film about the Delhi bus gang rape for Global News. Her previous films have also won several awards from Tribeca Film Festival and many many more - and in 2024, Pahuja was invited to be a Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In this episode, Julia speaks with Nisha about To Kill a Tiger and the global #StandWithHer campaign. Nisha shares her own story and journey of determination and resilience as a filmmaker and gives us insight into the process of making this film. She also shares what's come next for Kiran and Ranjit. 
Learn more: 
To Kill A Tiger: https://tokillatigerfilm.com/
The #StandWithHer Campaign: https://tokillatigerfilm.com/campaign/ 
The film on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81766865 
Julia Wiklander is the host of Hey Changemaker!, the founder of the global feminist media platform, Girls' Globe, and a communications strategist for changemakers and organizations. 
Subscribe to her emails with support here: https://juliawiklander.com/notes 
Get the free Storytelling Guide here: https://juliawiklander.com/25 
 

Why I'm Leaving Social Media

In this episode, Julia Wiklander shares the 21 reasons why she is leaving social media. From surveillance capitalism to her creative process - she speaks about all the issues that she's had with these platforms and what made her make the decision to leave. 
After years of being in a bad relationship with social media, Julia Wiklander, founder of Girls' Globe, has decided that she's leaving. For some, this may be an easy decision, but as someone working with digital communications and media, it’s not as straightforward. Social media has been an important part of her work with digital commmunications for over a decade.
It’s through social media that Julia was able to begin building Girls’ Globe – making connections that wouldn’t have been possible without it. And she has tried to please the algorithm, with everything from cringey lipsync videos to the 5-second Reels. Still, over the past 8 years, social media has become a bigger headache than it’s provided value in her life and work. 
You can also read through her reasons and dive deeper into the links and resources she talks about here.
Links mentioned in the episode: 
juliawiklander.com/blog
juliawiklander.com/notes
 
 

Asad Dhunna: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in 2025

What are the impacts of the Trump administration's attack on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion)? And can consumers really make a difference through boycotts? Is DEI the new woke? Is solidarity political? These are just some of the questions that are discussed in this episode of the Hey Changemaker! Podcast. 
Asad Dhunna is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of The Unmistakables, an award-winning and B Corp certified consultancy that builds cultural confidence and relevance for some of the world’s most well known brands and businesses.
Asad and Julia speak about diversity, equity and inclusion and its status and role in 2025. They discuss what Trump's attack on DEI means for organizations, companies and individuals - not only in the US, but also in Europe and the rest of the world. Asad shares how The Unmistakables do their work and how their Inside Out Inclusion model works. Asad shares his insights and opinions on the boycott and on citizens ability to keep pushing for policies that are grounded in diversity, equity and inclusion.
This episode also digs into the language we use when talking about diversity, equity and inclusion. Asad and Julia discuss things like “economic growth” as an indicator for success, and about the connotations of the word "solidarity". 
Asad Dhunna shares his own story that brought him to working with DEI and founding The Unmistakables. 
Mentioned in this episode: 
The Unmistakables: https://www.theunmistakables.com/
The Hope Gap: https://www.theunmistakables.com/the-hope-gap
Diversity and Confusion: https://www.theunmistakables.com/diversity-and-confusion-2023
 

How I'm supporting changemakers this year

In this episode, Julia Wiklander walks you through all the things she is committing to this year to support changemakers. 
With over a decade of experience working with digital communications and strategic storytelling, Julia is offering personalized and group support to activists, advocates, entrepreneurs, communicators and teams. 
Coaching & workshops
Online course: Strategic Storytelling for Changemakers
E-book: Big Change Starts with Small Stories
Free Resources: Workshops, webinars, guides and emails
Subscribe to Julia's weekly email notes here.
Julia is also dedicated to amplify changemakers through the growing Girls' Globe community. The global feminist media platform reaches hundreds and thousands of readers from every single country of the world. 
In these times, when big tech is increasingly hostile environments, independent platforms like Girls' Globe matter more than ever. Learn more about our membership opportunities here. 
As the host of the Hey Changemaker! Podcast, Julia is dedicated to continue to bring you inspiring conversations and informative episodes to guide you to make a greater impact with your work, build resilience and keep showing up for the impact you want to create in the world. 
 

Giovanna Lauro - Masculinity, Power and Equality

Giovanna Lauro is the Deputy CEO of Equimundo. She has over two decades of experience working to advance gender equality and prevent gender-based violence. Her work centers on reshaping gender norms, particularly by challenging harmful notions of masculinity.
Before joining Equimundo, Giovanna served as Associate Director of the Women and Population Programme at the United Nations Foundation, where she coordinated efforts and investments to advance the rights of adolescent girls worldwide. Her career also includes research on diversity, race, and ethnicity at the London School of Economics, alongside a doctorate in Political Science from the University of Oxford. At Oxford, she explored policies aimed at the prevention of harmful traditional practices across several European countries.
In this episode, Giovanna shares her own journey as a feminist activist, coming from quite a conservative and patriarchal society in Italy. Julia speaks to her about how much the world has changed since she began her career and about the important work of reframing masculinity and gender norms.
Giovanna shares her insights into what a Trump Presidency will mean for gender equality and we discuss the impact on young men. We talk about big tech and the macho-broligarchs - and what we can all do to help shift the narratives around masculinity.
Giovanna shares her advice for young activists and seasoned ones too. 
This is an episode to help make sense of what we're witnessing in the world today, and the power structures at play. 
Learn more about Equimundo here.
 
Julia mentions free resources on digital communications and strategic storytelling in the episode. Get them here.

When confidence takes a hit

Episode 66. Julia Wiklander dives into the struggle of maintaining confidence in uncertain times - something she has been working on herself. With global setbacks in gender equality, human rights, and activism, many changemakers feel drained and question their impact.
Julia shares her personal experiences and practical ways to bounce back when self-doubt creeps in. Prioritize yourself. Build community, celebrate small wins, and do what fuels you.
Confidence will take hits, and resilience is necessary if we want to build a better world. 

In's & Out's of Digital Communications in 2025 - for Changemakers

At the very beginning of social media, we saw that it could be used for so much good - create connections between people, challenge hierarchies and structures of power. However, we now know that social media, owned by tech billionaires, puts profit over people and planet every day. So, how do we make an impact in this difficult online landscape? 
In this episode, Julia Wiklander speaks about how to navigate online communications in 2025. She shares the five IN's and the five OUT's of digital communications for changemakers this year. 
Julia is the founder of Girls' Globe, and has worked in the intersection of digital media and social impact for the past 13 years. She's a tech enthusiast, entrepreneur, activist and empath - and encourages strategy and care for your own time and energy as you navigate your communications priorities. 
She will also be hosting a free webinar on how to navigate digital communications in 2025 as a changemaker - you can sign up here. 
 
 

Reboost, rebrand, relaunch of the Hey Changemaker! Podcast

Episode 64. The Hey Changemaker! Podcast is back! 
So far, the podcast has reached listeners in over 70 countries, with more than 50 guests speaking on a range of issues related to human rights, equality, politics, peace and justice. 
In this episode Julia talks about: 
navigating the heavy energy of this world and how she wants to support changemakers in this challenging time
why she's "relaunching" the podcast and how she's planning to be more 
What her hopes are for this podcast and how you can be a part of it
Why stories will continue to be one of the most powerful tools we have for change - especially with the rise of AI
How she's going from doing it yourself to doing it together this year
The Hey Changemaker! Podcast is for activists, advocates, entrepreneurs, communicators and people who care deeply about our shared world. It will continue to be a space to share stories, insights, tools and inspiration. 
Contribute with your comments or guest suggestions here: juliawiklander.com/podcast
Subscribe to Julia's emails here: juliawiklander.com/notes 
 

Trailer for the Relaunch of the Podcast