Hey Changemaker!

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

Building True Global Feminist Solidarity

This is a different episode of the podcast with host Julia Wiklander speaking about the global feminist solidarity movement, building resilience in the midst of deep pain, and why she started the podcast.
This is an episode to remind us of why we’re doing this work.
She talks about what feminist solidarity really means - and what inspired her to start Girls’ Globe to amplify the voices of so many people who go unrecognized or unheard.
Julia encourages us that our voices matter and how important it is to reflect on our values and to let them lead in all aspects of our work - including our communications. Her new course Strategic Storytelling for Changemakers is an opportunity to create a powerful communications strategy that is aligned with our values and purpose, defined by our powerful stories and the people we want to reach.

Beth Woroniuk: Feminist-led Change in a Turbulent World

Beth Woroniuk is currently a Senior Fellow with the Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative. Until earlier this year, she was the Vice-President, Policy at the Equality Fund.
Beth has worked to advance gender justice and feminist approaches to policymaking for over 35 years. She has advised and worked with bilateral aid agencies, women’s funds, UN entities, international NGOs and feminist organizations, strengthening their work on gender equality and women’s rights in numerous contexts and countries.
Beth has developed analytical tools, supported policy development, carried out research, blogged, conducted evaluations, organized, lobbied and testified before the Canadian Parliament. She is particularly interested in analyzing resource investments in gender equality and feminist movements, feminist foreign policies and women, peace and security.
In this episode Beth shares her own stories, perspectives and reasons for hope. 
Julia and Beth talk about resilience as feminist changemakers and the multiple crises that we’re facing in the world. Beth gives us insights into the challenges, and the wins that we’re seeing as a global feminist movement. She shares amazing advice for young women who are moving into the feminist advocacy space today.
 

Hassina Sherjan: A Legacy for Education in Afghanistan

Hassina Sherjan is the Founder and CEO of Aid Afghanistan For Education. She has over 30 years of experience in education, business, communication, and journalism.
Hassina is a co-author of “Toughing It Out in Afghanistan,” published in February 2011, and has published various op-eds in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, USA Today, and more. She is a member of the Board of Advisors at Samuel Hall, and a Global Ambassador for The International Alliance for Women (TIAW). She is also a 2023 GlobalGiving Community Voices fellow.
In this conversation, Hassina Sherjan shares her own story of coming back to Afghanistan 19 years after leaving the country at the age of 19.
Julia and Hassina talk about her work to strengthen efforts for education and girls’ education in particular, throughout the many years she was active working in Afghanistan.
Hassina speaks about the shock and aftermath of the Taliban takeover in 2021 and how her work for education in Afghanistan continues in a different form.

Elizabeth Dartnall: Resilience, Collective Care and Trauma-informed work

Elizabeth Dartnall is the Executive Director of the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI). She has 25+ years of expertise in health systems, mental health, and addressing violence against women and children.
Liz is an experienced global health specialist. Her career encompasses roles in both government and research in a range of countries across the world. Since 2006, she has overseen the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) and successfully transitioned it into an independent NGO with the backing of multiple partners. Committed to feminist, ethical, and equitable approaches, Liz continues to lead research and policy initiatives that play a key role in building a violence-free world for women.
Liz sits on a number of international advisory groups, including the Global Women’s Institute leadership council, and serves on the board of the MenEngage Alliance. She is committed to redressing the deep inequity in the investment in research on violence against women and violence and children between the high income and low and middle income countries (LMICs) and supporting researchers and practitioners in LMICs to undertake priority driven, impactful, rigorous, feminist, and ethical research.
In this conversation Liz shares her personal story of childhood experiences that what brought her to this work working with addressing violence against women and children.
We talk about funding for the gender equality and women’s rights movement and about collective care. Liz talks about the vicarious trauma that people working in this field experience and how SVRI is implementing collective care in all parts of their work.
Learn more about SVRI and the SVRI Forum.