Conversations from the Leading Edge

AC4 - Columbia
Conversations from the Leading Edge

Conversations from the Leading Edge is a radio show and podcast centered on Peace, Conflict, and Sustainability produced by the Advanced Consortium at the Earth Institute (AC4), a research center from the Earth Institute, Columbia University.

Episodes

  1. EP 64 - Student Voices: What's Happening in Myanmar? — with Thu Thu May Oo & Erina Iwasaki

    07/27/2021

    EP 64 - Student Voices: What's Happening in Myanmar? — with Thu Thu May Oo & Erina Iwasaki

    We are excited to announce our first episode featuring student voices! Thu Thu May Oo and Erina Iwasaki are current graduate students of Teachers College, Columbia University. They discuss their perspectives on the current situation in Myanmar and their involvement with the Myanmar Association at Columbia University (MAC). **This episode was recorded in May 2021. The producer of this episode acknowledges that the situation in Myanmar is continuously changing and there may have been some updates since the time of this recording. ** Bio(s): Thu Thu May Oo is originally from Myanmar and she is a graduate student, pursuing MS in Nutrition Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Previously, she worked as a New Roots Food and Health Intern and a community liaison at International Rescue Committee for the Burmese refugee and immigrant communities in Seattle, Washington. She is also a freelance social and food justice writer. With her new career in nutrition education and dietetics, she hopes to work with community leaders to rebuild a healthcare system that is inclusive and more representative of Myanmar's existing diverse communities and individuals, and promote community empowerment, food and social justice, and ecological sustainability. Erina Iwasaki is a PhD candidate in Comparative and International Education at Teachers College Columbia University, and a curriculum advisor to the Khayay International School in Yangon, Myanmar. Having lived in both the Republic of Congo, Myanmar, and France for an extensive period of her childhood, her research focuses on multilingual education in West African and Southeast Asian countries. Her dissertation examines bi-multilingual education advocacy in Senegal. She is also a peace education trainer and a regular consultant for multilingual education development in Myanmar, a place she calls home. Erina holds a Master’s in Political and Moral Philosophy from the University of Paris-Sorbonne and a Diploma in American Studies at Smith College. She speaks French, Japanese, English, Burmese, and Spanish. Contacts: Email - myanmarassociation@columbia.edu Facebook Account - https://www.facebook.com/mac.columbiauni For donations: https://www.mutualaidmyanmar.org/ www.zigway.co/donate This is specifically for food donations https://startsomegood.com/the-civil-disobedience-movement-cdm-in-myanmar?fbclid=IwAR1XW5A3z2LiDxaZifDbYw7DSq8xGOJ48n3kf8-uu2NVKkRr-ipH-Z70dsQ#updates Music/Sound Credits： Opening - Flashback by Monplaisir Kabar Ma Kyay Bu by Naing Myanmar Audio Clips of Protesters - Harry Tao

    27 min
  2. EP 63 - Marissa Gutiérrez-Vicario on Art and Social Change

    04/01/2021

    EP 63 - Marissa Gutiérrez-Vicario on Art and Social Change

    During the difficult times we’ve been living, facing the pandemic, racism, and socioeconomic distress, art rises as a breath of fresh air, at times translating what we have difficulty putting into words, at times, magnifying social and racial issues that can no longer remain overlooked, but always a powerful tool to process reality. In this episode we talk to Marissa Gutiérrez-Vicario, the Founder and Executive Director of Art and Resistance Through Education (ARTE), an organization that helps young people amplify their voices and organize for human rights change in their communities through the arts. We explore the role of art as an educational process, as a social struggle tool, and we talk about how you can begin to explore the creation of art yourself. Learn about their work at https://www.artejustice.org/ On Instagram and Twitter: @artejustice

    27 min
  3. EP 62 - Colonialism and COVID-19: Stories that don't get to be in the headlines

    12/17/2020

    EP 62 - Colonialism and COVID-19: Stories that don't get to be in the headlines

    In the international Covid coverage there’s a tendency for uplifting Global North countries in their efforts of control and solution creation while undermining Global South countries, as places bound to be the scenario of the worst calamities, incapable of responding efficiently to the crisis or where good covid response numbers are something surprising. Narratives are yet another aspect of the Covid-19 crisis that has been shaped by colonialism. In the final episode of this series, we talk about the harm that hegemonic distorted narratives present and dive into the stories that do not get to be in the headlines. Our guests are Bianca Santana, a journalist and writer from Brazil, a participant of Uneafro and the Black Coalition for Rights; and Alpha Daffae Senkpeni, a multimedia journalist from Liberia and the Executive Director and Editor of the Local Voices Liberia Media network. ****** GREAT NEWS ****** Why Rwanda Is Doing Better Than Ohio When It Comes To Controlling COVID-19: NPR https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/07/15/889802561/a-covid-19-success-story-in-rwanda-free-testing-robot-caregivers How Mongolia has kept the coronavirus at bay: MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/08/18/1007135/mongolia-coronavirus/ Not waiting for a savior: The African response to the coronavirus pandemic displays innovation and ingenuity: Africa is A Country https://africasacountry.com/2020/10/not-waiting-for-a-savior ****** LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS’ INITIATIVES ****** Video explaining Uneafro’s initiative of Public Health Agents: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6H1CNJbgf8 The Black Coalition for Rights Manifest “As long as there is Racism there will be no democracy”: https://comracismonaohademocracia.org.br/as-long-as-there-is-racism-there-will-be-no-democracy/ The Local Voices Liberia Media network website: https://localvoicesliberia.com/ Links to some of their stories: https://localvoicesliberia.com/2020/09/01/man-who-refused-health-facility-recounts-near-death-experience/ https://localvoicesliberia.com/2020/08/02/three-covid-19-survivors-recount-experience-in-gbarpolu-county/ https://localvoicesliberia.com/2020/07/29/new-developments-allay-covid-19-fears-among-residents-of-bomi-county/ Music for this episode: Lumber Down and Raskt Landsby by Blue Dot Sessions

    45 min
  4. Ep 61 - Colonialism and COVID-19: A Global Pandemic in Need of a Local Response

    09/17/2020

    Ep 61 - Colonialism and COVID-19: A Global Pandemic in Need of a Local Response

    Humanitarian efforts were and still are dominated by donors and organizations based in the United States and Europe. However, these efforts are frequently targeted at low and middle-income countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, often without taking into account the perspectives and expertise of affected persons. This system replicates colonial structures and power dynamics and is reflected in the Covid-19 response as well. In this episode, we will tackle the intersection of colonialism, COVID-19, and the need for greater support for localized responses, with an example from the city of Mogadishu in Somalia. We talk to Dr. Hodan Ali, Director of the Durable Solutions Unit, a local government body that responds to humanitarian needs. She is also the co-founder of the Refuge Hamilton Centre for Newcomer Health in Ontario Canada. For more information on the DSU: - This is their website: https://dsu.so/ - Follow them on twitter: https://twitter.com/DSUBenadir - Take a look at their strategical plan: "Moving forward: Finding lasting solutions for urban displacement" - https://dsu.so/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/DSU_strategy_report_2020_v11.pdf - Take a look at their Forced Evictions Committee report -https://dsu.so/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/idp_report-1.pdf The song you hear in this episode is "Uur Hooyo", by Hudeidi, featuring Aar Maanta, that you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxbh6a3o8bA&ab_channel=AarMaanta

    41 min
  • 4 Episodes

About

Conversations from the Leading Edge is a radio show and podcast centered on Peace, Conflict, and Sustainability produced by the Advanced Consortium at the Earth Institute (AC4), a research center from the Earth Institute, Columbia University.

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