Hey Changemaker!

Celina de Sola: Transforming societies by doing what works

This episode is one that really looks into HOW to do socially transformative work in societies that are seen as extremely difficult and violent. My guest is Celina de Sola, co-founder and President of Glasswing International, an organization that addresses the root causes and consequences of poverty and violence in 12 countries across Latin America. They do this through community-based education and health, as well as youth empowerment. 
Celina has 25 years of experience working in international development, as well as in humanitarian settings. 
Our conversation digs into the work of Glasswing International, her journey to being a part of starting the organization, and the impact the organization has had since then. We also talk about focusing on and truly SEEING people when working with social change, about trauma and hope. Celina also shares her best advice to other changemakers and social entrepreneurs. 
I’m so grateful for this meaningful conversation and all the wisdom that Celina shares with us. I hope you find it helpful too! 

Maliha Khan: Women Deliver, Decolonizing Development and Youth Leadership

Dr. Maliha Khan is President and CEO of Women Deliver and has over 25 years of experience in international development and girls’ and women’s empowerment.
 
In this episode, Maliha shares what brought her to work for the rights and health of women and girls in particular. We talk about her new role at Women Deliver and taking over after the organization’s reckoning with racism and white saviorism. Maliha shares her views on international aid and development, a sector in need of decolonization. 
 
We also talk about the upcoming Women Deliver conference in Kigali, Rwanda in July 2023, and why it is an important opportunity to convene and mobilize. 

Marit Törnqvist: Refugees’ Stories and The Big Loss

Marit Törnqvist is an award-winning illustrator and children's book author. She has been involved with children's rights and book projects around the world. In recent years, she has worked to support asylum-seekers in Sweden and the Netherlands. On International Refugee Day 2022, Marit attracted attention with the installation 'The Big Loss' outside the parliament in Stockholm, where she had captured the stories of 502 refugees that individuals and families in Sweden have lost. 
We talk about how Marit uses her work to make a difference, and how she started her journey as a changemaker. She shares her personal story of how she got involved with Afghan refugees in Sweden, and talks about the tremendous pain so many have endured since 2015. We talk about what we can do to make a difference and how artists can use their art for impact. 
Learn more about Marit Törnqvist and her work at www.marittornqvist.nl
If you speak Swedish and want to learn more about the situation for refugees in Sweden, I recommend the book Tjugofemton: till asylrättens försvar, in which I've contributed a chapter. Get it here: https://tjugofemton.se
 

Nasra Ayub: How young people can transform development

What if young people made the decisions on development aid? What if they led funding for the change the world needs? That's the world Nasra Ayub is working to create. 
Nasra Ayub is a multi-award winning women’s rights campaigner, speaker and writer from Bristol in the United Kingdom. Nasra is a part of Global Fund for Children’s work and specifically supports the implementation of the Spark Fund, a global, youth-led participatory fund that we speak more about in this conversation.
Learn more about the Spark Fund here: https://globalfundforchildren.org/initiatives/the-spark-fund/
Follow Nasra on social media at @nasra_ayub on Twitter @nasra.ayub on Instagram.

Amanda Litman: Running for office and other hard things

This episode is all about the importance of engaging in politics to fix our broken societies and create change ourselves, and I have a very special guest to help us navigate this topic! 
Amanda Litman is the co-founder and executive director of Run for Something, which recruits and supports young, diverse progressives running for local office in the United States. Since 2017, they’ve identified more than 120,000 young people across the country who want to run. She's also the author of the book, “Run for Something: A Real Talk Guide to Fixing the System Yourself,” and previously hosted two podcasts, “Run for Something: The Podcast” on Dear Media and “Battleground” from The Recount.
Prior to launching Run for Something, Amanda has worked with several political campaigns, including as email director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, and as an email writer for Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. 
We talk about how Hillary Clinton's loss sparked Amanda to start Run for Something. We talk about her entrepreneurial journey that has led to so much change already.
Learn more about Amanda Litman and her work at runforsomething.net, @amandalitman and @runforsomething on Twitter, @amandalitm and @runforsomethingnow on Instagram 

Riya Williams Yuyada: Peacebuilding, feminism and healing

Riya Williams Yuyada is a 31 year old women’s human rights and peace activist from South Sudan. She’s the founder & Executive Director of Crown The Woman-South Sudan, a national grassroots feminist organization that works to foster a future with zero tolerance for inequality, inequity, and injustice. 
Riya is also co-founder of Play for Peace South Sudan, which provides technical support to the South Sudan High Level Revitalization (HLRF) forum peace talks, a peace initiative in South Sudan. Riya advocates for women’s empowerment and peace-building initiatives through a feminist lens, and has done so at many different levels. 
She has been awarded the Amnesty International Ginatta Sagan award that recognizes and assists women who are working to protect the liberty and lives of women and children in areas where human rights violations are widespread. Riya is also the former Miss South Sudan Uganda, and has experience speaking on stages around the world about her work. 
Riya is such a force of nature and in this episode shares several powerful personal stories, as well as stories of women and girls that she has worked with. She speaks about her return to South Sudan, a country she was forced to leave as a young girl. We talk about the situation in South Sudan, about her work with Crown the Woman and how she stays driven and hopeful despite working with people who have endured unspeakable traumas. Riya shares some powerful stories and amazing advice for those dealing with trauma and speaks about her own journey to healing. 
Content warning: Sexual violence is mentioned in this episode. 
You can learn more about Crown the Woman - South Sudan at www.crownthewoman.org and you can connect on social media through @CrownTheWoman and @theonlyriya1. 
 

Beatrice Fihn: Daring to Speak Truth to Power

In this conversation we talk about the current situation with nuclear threats, Putin’s war in Ukraine and why nuclear disarmament is SO important. We talk about how we can all be a part of creating change on an issue that can seem so much bigger than ourselves - and the progress that is being made for a world free from nuclear weapons. We also talk about the stress and anxiety that comes with thinking about war, conflict and the ever present threat of nuclear weapons, and Beatrice shares her best advice with us. 
We talk about Sweden as an example and Beatrice shares why she started working against nuclear weapons in the first place. 
Beatrice Fihn is the Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish nuclear weapons (ICAN). In 2017 she accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the campaign coalition that works to prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons. 
Beatrice has led the campaign since 2014 and has worked to mobilize civil society throughout the development of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons that Entered into Force on January 22nd 2021. She is an expert on weapons law, humanitarian law, civil society engagement in diplomacy and multilateral institutions, as well as the gender perspective on disarmament work. 
Beatrice Fihn holds a master’s degree in law from the University College London and a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Stockholm University. She has been listed as one of the 50 innovators who changed the global landscape in 2017 by Bloomberg Media.  Beatrice Fihn is also the Executive Producer of the film “The Day the World Changed”, the first-ever interactive virtual reality memorial experience to pay tribute to those affected directly by nuclear warfare spanning back to 1945.  
This is an episode that I recommend you listen to in its entirety. Beatrice is full of wisdom and inspiration for us to do more for a peaceful and just world. 
Learn more about ICAN and the work to ban nuclear weapons at www.icanw.org. You can also follow Beatrice and ICAN on social media @beafihn and @nuclearban.

Lina AbiRafeh: Hope is a Choice

In this episode we speak about being an activist at this time when the pushback on women’s rights around the globe is a reality. We talk about dealing with hopelessness, the situation in Iran and Lina shares insights into the next chapter of her life as an activist. 
Lina AbiRafeh is a global women’s rights expert and gender equality advocate with decades of experience worldwide.  Lina is a POWER HOUSE! 
She’s an activist, a writer, an academic, and an aid worker with a 25-year track record in creating positive change for women in over 20 countries around the world. Lina was the Executive Director at the Arab Institute for Women at the Lebanese American University for many years and serves on a range of organizations in a senior advisory capacity. She’s on the international boards of SheDecides, the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, the Global Women’s Institute, and others.
Lina is a writer and a speaker - and her energy is contagious! 

An honest introduction with Julia Wiklander

The Hey Changemaker! Podcast conversations with inspirational changemakers starts next week! Until then, I thought it would be a good idea to tell you a bit more about myself,. In this episode I share:
What brought me to starting Girls' Globe and leave a "dream job" at the UN
The impact that the pandemic had on our organization
An honest share about what Girls' Globe needs right now
Why this podcast is extra important to me right now - and perhaps for you too
Before we dig into the amazing conversations with changemakers from around the world - have a listen to this episode with me, Julia Wiklander. 

Introducing... Hey Changemaker!

The Hey Changemaker! podcast will bring you uplifting conversations to build solidarity and hope - and help you take inspired action by using your gifts, passions, frustrations and uniqueness. It will inspire positive change for gender equality, human rights, social justice and sustainability around the world - by lifting up the people creating that change. 
In the trailer you'll hear the voices of:
anti-nuclear advocate and Nobel Peace Prize recipient - Beatrice Finh (ICAN), 
humanitarian and social entrepreneur transforming communities across Latin America - Celina de Sola. 
gender equality advisor, advocate, writer and speaker - Lina AbiRafeh,
award-winning illustrator, child and refugee advocate - Marit Törnqvist,
renowned peace and gender equality advocate in South Sudan - Riya Williams
and host Julia Wiklander, founder of Girls' Globe - the global feminist media platform for gender equality, human rights, social justice and sustainability.