Jiyan Foundation Podcast

Jiyan Foundation US

We talk with human rights workers, mental health experts, survivors, and activists about their experiences in the fight to realize a more peaceful and democratic world. Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights US is a charitable organization supporting survivors of human rights violations, defending fundamental freedoms, and promoting democratic values worldwide. Our programs provide mental health, medical treatment and other support services to survivors of trauma, terror, domestic violence, and human rights violations. Support Jiyan Foundation by making a donation to www.jiyan.org/donate

Épisodes

  1. 06/04/2023

    Addressing climate change & mental health (together) with Sarah Newman and Cindy Pace from Climate Mental Health Network

    Does the Earth's changing climate fill you with feelings of anxiety, stress, fear, and overwhelming emotions? In this episode, we speak with friends of Jiyan Foundation, Sarah Newman and Cindy Pace from Climate Mental Health Network (CMHN), on the impact climate change has on the mental health of adults and young people from around the world. In their latest short film, young activists, including a member of Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights' Youth Network for Peace and Dialogue, express their growing concern for the environment and discuss how it impacts their decisions about the future. CMHN recognizes climate change and mental health as intersectional issues that are inseparable from environmental justice, women's rights, disability justice, indigenous justice, decolonization, and anti-oppression efforts underway across the world. Sarah Newman founded the Climate Mental Health Network in the spring of 2021, after her own struggles with climate anxiety and other emotions. She has worked for many years in the film-social impact space. Previously Ms. Newman was the first Outreach Director at California Interfaith Power and Light and worked as a community organizer. Cindy Pace is a Climate Communicator & Storyteller with Climate Mental Health Network. She also serves on CMHN's Gen Z Advisory Board. Cindy works to increase awareness about the mental health consequences of climate change through education and community engagement. Climate Mental Health Resources Attend or host a screening event of the CMHN Gen Z film: https://www.climatementalhealth.net/genzfilmResources for self-care: https://www.climatementalhealth.net/resources Creative Arts Therapy: https://www.climatementalhealth.net/artstherapyResources for parents & caregivers: https://www.climatementalhealth.net/parents _____________ Donate to Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights US at www.jiyan.org/donate

    40 min
  2. 07/03/2023

    Former President Dr. Barham Salih on shaping the Yazidi Female Survivors' Law in Iraq | Never Again Another ISIS

    On March 8 2021, International Women’s Day, President Barham Salih ratified the Yazidi Female Survivors Law, law enacted in the Iraqi Council of Representatives. This groundbreaking law mandates several critical reparations for survivors of ISIL crimes from Yazidi, Christian Turkmen and Shabak communities. The Yazidi Survivors Law referred to as the YSL, includes compensation, rehabilitation, land, housing, continued education, employment, recognition of the genocide, criminal prosecutions of perpetrators, the search for those who remain missing, protection of witnesses and survivors and the establishment of a national day of remembrance on August 3. Two years before the Yazidi Female Survivors Law was passed, on March 28 2019, President Barham Salih´s office submitted a Yazidi Female Survivors bill to the Iraqi parliament for review and approval. This initial bill was of great importance in two ways. First, it was already quite advanced and included various reparative measures. And second, it managed to mobilize a wide movement, including the involvement of Iraqi civil society and survivors, to push for modifications in passing this draft law in the Iraqi parliament. Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights hosted the following conversation on behalf of the Coalition for Just Reparations (C4JR). Read the episode transcript: https://jiyan.org/former-president-dr-barham-salih-on-shaping-the-yazidi-female-survivors-law-in-iraq/ Learn more about the Coalition for Just Reparations at www.c4jr.org _____________ Donate to Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights US at www.jiyan.org/donate

    30 min
  3. 02/02/2023

    Change and Continuity in the U.S.-Kurdish Relationship with Ozum Yesiltas PhD

    In this episode, we provide some context to the U.S.-Kurdish relationship, exploring the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East and its impact on Jiyan Foundation’s mission to provide mental health treatment and humanitarian assistance to people in the region. Our guest, Ozum Yesiltas, received her Ph.D. in International Relations from Florida International University in 2014. She also holds a B.A. in Sociology and an M.S. in International Relations from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. Her dissertation titled “Rethinking the National Question: Anti-Statist Discourses within the Kurdish National Movement” is a comparative study of the impact of the Kurdish movement on the internal policy debates on human rights and democratization in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Dr. Yesiltas joined the faculty at Texas A&M University-Commerce in 2017, where she teaches International Relations and Comparative Politics courses with a regional focus on the Middle East. Dr. Yesiltas’ research interests involve ethnic conflict and democratization in the Middle East, particularly focusing on the Kurdish Question. Her recent work focuses on the Syrian Refugee Crisis and the Feminist Revolution in Syrian Kurdistan. She is currently working on a project investigating the U.S. Foreign Policy toward the Kurds in post-ISIS Iraq and Syria funded by the American Political Science Association. Her most recent book Rethinking State-Non-State Alliances: Change and Continuity in the U.S.-Kurdish Relationship, explores the growing influence of Middle Eastern non-state actors as agents of foreign policy through an analysis of the U.S.-Kurdish relationship. The views and opinions expressed in this interview do not reflect those of Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights. Get the book: Rethinking State-Non-State Alliances: Change and Continuity in the U.S.-Kurdish Relationship (rowman.com) _____________ Donate to Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights US at www.jiyan.org/donate

    33 min
  4. 12/01/2023

    A Christian, a Muslim, and a Kaka'i walk into a podcast interview... with the Youth Network for Peace and Dialogue in Kurdistan-Iraq.

    Kurdistan-Iraq is a diverse place, rich with different cultures and religions that are too often isolated from one another. In this episode, we talk with Larsa Imad, a coordinator working with Jiyan Foundation's Youth Network for Peace and Dialogue. We are also accompanied by two program participants, Arez and Banu. Despite growing up relatively close geographically, each person was raised in a different religious group and without exposure to people outside of their faith. The group shares their thoughts on their first time being exposed to people from other religions, media bias, how they develop projects with the Youth Network, and what it's like to communicate with a multilingual team.  Established in November 2018, the Youth Network for Peace and Dialogue provides young activists in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq with practical support to develop civil society projects which promote coexistence and cooperation in the region. Each year the Youth Network hosts equally female and male participants from diverse ethnic and religious groups to carry out civil society initiatives, workshops, and community events. This one is a lot of fun. We hope our discussion gives listeners more perspective on the attitudes and activism of youth in Kurdistan-Iraq. _____________ Donate to Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights US at www.jiyan.org/donate

    52 min
  5. Lessons Learned from a Life of Public Service with Deeman Pirdawood

    29/12/2022

    Lessons Learned from a Life of Public Service with Deeman Pirdawood

    Originally from the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, Deeman Pirdawood started her career working for the United Nations (UN) at UNDP and UNHCR agencies supporting immigration and refugee programs. She also worked as a coordinator between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the United Nations in Northern Iraq. Ms. Pirdawood has lived in the Virginia area for the past 15 years and has worked with the Fairfax County Government, Department of Family Services (DFS). She is currently a Benefit Programs Supervisor with the Loudoun County Government. Before her work in public service in the United States, Ms. Pirdawood had the privilege of working in the private sector with COMCYS, L3, McNeil Technologies, and DynCorp International. In addition to her work in the private sector and public services, Ms. Pirdawood is a Language Specialist Contractor with the US Department of State. She is a co-founder and board member of the nonprofit Women Rehabilitation Organization (WRO) as well as a co-founder and board member at the Kurdish Community in the Greater Washington DC (KCDC). She is married and a proud mother of two amazing daughters. In this discussion we talk about lessons she learned in public service, her experience migrating to the United States, and recount her own life growing up in northern Iraq. This episode covers a lot of ground and is well worth a listen. _____________ Donate to Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights US at www.jiyan.org/donate

    52 min

À propos

We talk with human rights workers, mental health experts, survivors, and activists about their experiences in the fight to realize a more peaceful and democratic world. Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights US is a charitable organization supporting survivors of human rights violations, defending fundamental freedoms, and promoting democratic values worldwide. Our programs provide mental health, medical treatment and other support services to survivors of trauma, terror, domestic violence, and human rights violations. Support Jiyan Foundation by making a donation to www.jiyan.org/donate