Activism, important causes and outspoken changemakers - welcome to the Activism Academy podcasts where Khalifa Ihler Institute researchers Miriam Fanin and Hella Grichi invite activists and changemakers to discuss burning topics: politics, human rights and so many more issues that need to be addressed. Join us for exciting episodes with guests who will help you widen your horizon and get you thinking about what matters and why.
If you have a topic or a guest suggestion, the activism academy would love to hear about it. Head to activismacademy.com and send us YOUR burning topic.
#12 Filter for Facts: How to spot conspiracy theories in news from Russia and Ukraine with Jacopo Di Miceli
Jacopo Di Miceli is the man behind Osservatorio Complottismo (Conspiracy theories observer), a blog/podcast and instagram account that has been getting a lot of attention in Italy during the worst part of the pandemic. He started working on conspiracy theories during his master thesis and has since decided to go more into depth and try to understand why people fall for conspiracy theories, how they are developed and why they spread so quickly.
https://osservatoriocomplottismo.substack.com/about
11 Feb 2022
#11 Listen to the Other Side: Trina Talukdar & Jahnavi Jayanth on rebuilding dialogues
Today we are joined by the founders of Bolti Bandh, Trina Talukdar and Jahnavi Jayanth. Bolti Bandh is an organization that aims at building a new type of dialogue, through which we can really listen to the side that is "unlike" us.
"Dialogues with people 'unlike us' invariably turn into uncomfortable, hateful and aggressively alienating debates; where each person is trying to prove they are right and the other is wrong. Regardless of what side we stand on, we are getting weary of the polarisation of political opinions and extreme reactions towards those who are different or believe differently from us."
"We think the answer is to have a new kind of conversation that is not only about making oneself heard, but making the 'other' feel heard, and not about what you or they believe in, but 'why'. The human ability to do this isn't new or unnatural; we are merely reactivating what has been educated out of us to become a long-forgotten lost tendency. the inherent curiosity in human stories that we are born with, the inherent craving we have for making human connections.
So, in trying to build this new kind of dialogue with you, Bolti Bandh is a tiny team of writers, illustrators and dialogue enthusiasts bringing to you vivid stories and candid conversations that all explore one thing. Listening to the other side."
Visit Bolti Bandh here: http://boltibandh.org
Disclaimer: The opinions, views and statements expressed in this podcast belong to the invited guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Activism Academy or the Khalifa Ihler Institute.
12 Jan 2022
#10 Millions Missing: Scott Simpson on the uphill battle of myalgic encephalomyelitis patients
Welcome to another episode of the Activism Academy.
Our guest today is Scott Simpson.
This episode is about myalgic encephalomyelitis, a chronic, multi-system condition characterized by post-exertional malaise, an exacerbation of symptoms following ordinary physical or cognitive activity with prolonged recovery that may result in a permanent decrease in functioning. The effects of ME are devastating enough to leave 25% of patients housebound or bedbound and an estimated 75% unable to work. ME affects 15 to 30 million women, men and children around the world. (https://www.meaction.net/about/what-is-me/)
Scott Simpson is a Canadian patient living with HIV since 1998 but "suffering a lot with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) since August 9, 2012."Scott is on the core team of Millions Missing Canada. Millions Missing is a global campaign for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) health equality. They demonstrate around the world for equitable research funding, clinical trials, medical education and public awareness for ME.
Scott is a medal-winning triathlete who is a three-time member of the national triathlon team in his age group. But now, on good days, he says he can walk for 10 minutes on flat ground. He says he can accept his ME diagnosis with its bleak prognosis, but not the harms the Canadian health care system perpetuates on its citizens suffering with ME. He has experienced the very best research and treatment of HIV to non-existent research funding and either no or harmful treatments with ME.
In addition to our conversation with Scott, we will also feature two testimonies by Nevra Elis Ahmed from Pakistan and Gigi Joseph Garrison from the UK who suffer from ME and will share with us their experience as ME patients, as well as their worries but also their hopes.
Definition and statement sources: Millions Missing website
Disclaimer: The opinions, views and statements expressed in this podcast belong to the invited guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Activism Academy or the Khalifa Ihler Institute.
Trigger warning: this episode may contain sensitive language.
8 Dec 2021
#9 Permission to Hate: a conversation with Dr. Barbara Perry and Phil Gurski
Co-hosts Miriam Fanin and Ava Callanan dive into the intricacies of far right extremism, hate crime and terrorism with a focus on the Canadian extremism landscape, joined by experts Dr. Barbara Perry and President of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Phil Gurski who help them navigate the terminologies, definitions and implications all around extremist threats and hate crimes.
Disclaimer: The opinions, views and statements expressed in this podcast belong to the invited guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Activism Academy or the Khalifa Ihler Institute.
19 Nov 2021
#8 Turning Hope into Action: Tom Johnstone on Environmental Activism
Tom Johnstone is an environmental activist with quite a long history of participation. He is based in North Wales where he cooperates with Greenpeace, Amnesty International and FishAct. He also carries out various educational programs. Tom will tell us about his journey, what activism tools he relies on and what activism itself mean to him.
8 Sept 2021
#7 Social Media, Body Image & Mental Health: a conversation with Agata Borghesan
On today's episode, we have our very first in-studio guest, Agata Borghesan aka Solitude Skinny Scars. Agata is an Italian alternative model and performer who moved to Norway about a year ago. Today she will discuss with us the issue of conscious and responsible use of social media, both as a user and a creator and about the role of its algorithms in shaping our body image and affecting our mental health.
Agata Borghesan, aka Solitude Skinny Scars, is an Italian alternative model and performer who works worldwide to try to create different, dark and deep art. She has been internationally published in magazines (previously also on DBM) and books, and her pictures have been part of exhibitions europewide, either organized by herself or by photographers she worked with. One of her major topics is mental health awareness, a theme on which she also published e-books of poetry and a novel, both in her native language Italian and in English.
18 Aug 2021
#6 LGBTQ activism in Tunisia: a conversation with queer activist Weema Yahyaoui Askri
Multiple organizations and event organizers in Tunisia are trying to create a healthy discussion around sexuality and gender. Mawjoudin, Damj, Chouf and Falgatna as well as many Tunisian activists and human rights defenders are fighting for the rights of the LGBTQ community that is still being discriminated against, not only by an archaic penal law but also vague morality legislations in addition to social stigma and intolerance. We had the honor to speak to non-binary queer activist Weema Yahyaoui Askri to get an idea about queer rights in Tunisia, how far the fight has come and what is being done to protect members of the LGBTQ community.
6 Aug 2021
#5 Understanding July 25th and Kais Saied's Measures through a Tunisian Lens
On July 25th, Republic Day in Tunisia, non-partisan protests erupted in various cities, calling for the dismissal of the government and corrupt political parties that have been stalling progress in parliament and failed to address the COVID-19 crisis adequately. That night, president Kais Saied invoked Article 80 of the Tunisian constitution that allows him to implement exceptional measures “in the event of imminent danger threatening the nation’s institutions or the security or independence of the country, and hampering the normal functioning of the state” quoting the constitution. These exceptional measures included the dismissal of the Head of Government, Hichem Mechichi, the suspension of parliament and lifting immunity off all parliamentary representatives. Many Tunisians took to the streets and celebrated the announcement with song and dance, while others were rather skeptical. We have invited three Tunisians to discuss what happened and how they perceive the events: Belkiss Anane, Heythem Guesmi and Habib Sayah.
Belkiss Anane is a Washington, DC- based Tunisian consultant. Mathematician by training, she holds a minor in MENA studies from Northwestern University and has pursued African Studies at the African Leadership Academy. Belkis has been active with several NGOs in the U.S. and Tunisia, largely focusing on the Arab region and specifically on women empowerment and Palestinian affairs.
Heythem Guesmi is a 30-year-old researcher in rural politics and peasants struggles. He belongs to the "Youth of the Revolution", is interested in the history of transitions and the establishment of cultural hegemony.
Habib Sayah is a Tunisia-based consultant and researcher. His recent work has focused on security sector reform as well as the effects of disinformation and propaganda on social cohesion, community resilience, and polarisation. He holds a Master’s degree from the War Studies department at King’s College London.
21 Jul 2021
#4 Remembering the Utøya attack and understanding right-wing extremism
Ten years ago, on the 22nd of July 2011 Norwegians experienced the deadliest lone actor
terrorist attacks in Europe's history. Ten years later, the Internet has enabled people to use
online technologies for terrorist means, and individual attackers and their ideologies are widely
spread and readily available among ever-growing online communities. Many are also the
institutions and organizations working to counter online radicalization and hate.
On today's episode we discuss all of this with Khalifa-Ihler co-founder and director Bjørn Ihler
and Dr. Matthew Feldman, director of the Center for Analysis on Radical Right and professorial
fellow at the University of York. Both of our guests are dedicating their lives to counter far-right
ideologies and prevent such events from ever happening again.
7 Jul 2021
#3 Human rights violations and the erosion of the rule of law in Poland
Poland’s erosion of the rule of law has set an alarming precedent in
Europe. A democratically elected government turning against the
foundations of democracy itself and stripping its citizens of basic human
rights is indeed a shocking scenario, happening right in front of our eyes.
We have invited Eliza Rutynowska, lawyer
at the Civil Development Forum in Poland and a PhD candidate at the
Faculty of Criminal Law at Warsaw University, to talk about the crumbling
of the rule of law and the increasing human rights violations in Poland as
well as being a “lawyer in a lawless state” as she says in her own words.
1 Jul 2021
#2 Tbilisi Pride amid threats from ultranationalists and far-right groups
On 4 June 2021, the organisation Tbilisi Pride announced that Pride Week in Georgia would be held in the first week of July. Pride Week is comprised of three events, the final of which is the March for Dignity. The March for Dignity is the gathering of the LGBT+ community and their allies on Rustaveli Avenue in central Tbilisi. Far right groups have threatened the organizers and protesters. Now even members of the government expressed that they prefer the Pride events to not take place. We have invited Aia Beraia, Georgian queer-feminist and researcher at Tbilisi Pride to understand the situation more.
22 Jun 2021
#1 Will Italy's anti-discrimination law be approved and protect the LGBTQ+ community?
Coinciding with Pride Month, we launch our podcast with a conversation about the LGBTQ+ struggle in
Italy with professor Angelo Schillaci. Although part of the EU, Italy is severely lacking in
protecting the LGBTQ+ community. The far-right parties are now endangering it even more by
purposely delaying the approval of the new “Zan Law against hate crimes towards women,
disabled and LGBTQ+ people”. With homophobic aggressions being recorded every day, we analyse the struggle for civil rights in one of the oldest countries in the world.
13 Jun 2021
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