Aluel Atem: Building Feminist Peace in South Sudan

Aluel Atem: Building Feminist Peace in South Sudan

Aluel Atem is a feminist peacebuilder and strategic advisor with over a decade of experience advancing gender equality, peacebuilding, and conflict transformation in complex humanitarian and post-conflict settings. She has led multi-stakeholder initiatives across Africa, partnering with governments, civil society, multilateral agencies, and grassroots movements to deliver systemic, justice-centered change. Aluel has co-founded two feminist organizations in South Sudan, facilitated over 80 trainings across continents, and shaped national and international policy through high-level advocacy. In this episode, Aluel and Julia speak about resilience and working for change in the midst of war, conflict and displacement. Aluel tells stories from her own life and we speak about Ma'Mara Sakit Village, a feminist community she is part of building in South Sudan.  Julia and Aluel discuss global power dynamics and resilience in the face of backlash to gender equality, human rights and the climate. This an honest conversation in a moment with a lot of hurt.  Learn more:  * Ma'Mara Sakit Village – https://mamarasakitvillage.org/ [https://mamarasakitvillage.org/]

Purity Kemei: The New Tool for Measuring Girls' Agency

Purity Kemei is a passionate communication for development specialist with over 6 years in the development sector. Purity is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Communication for Development at the United States International University-Africa and holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. For over 4 years now, Purity has served at AMPLIFY Girls as a communications officer, applying her expertise in strategic communications and digital storytelling to amplify the voices, work, and impact of community-driven organizations developing girls' agency in communities across Africa. Purity is passionate about storytelling for social change and leveraging it to communicate the need for empowerment among adolescent girls and young women while highlighting the inequalities they face in rural and marginalized communities in Africa. In this episode, Julia and Purity speak about the new Adolescent Girls Agency Portal - a groundbreaking tool that gives community and civil society organizations the opportunity to measure the impact of their programs. The launch of the tool has already reached hundreds of organizations, and is available online. Purity also talks about her own agency and journey towards working with AMPLIFY Girls.  Learn more about the Adolescent Girls Agency Portal here: https://girlsagencyportal.org/

Amelia Hruby: Social Media, Big Tech and Feminist Organizing

Amelia Hruby is a feminist writer, podcaster and producer with a PhD in philosophy. She's the founder of Softer Sounds [https://www.softersounds.studio/], a feminist podcast studio for entrepreneurs and creatives. And she’s the host of Off the Grid [https://offthegrid.fun/podcast], a podcast about leaving social media without losing all your clients. Amelia’s work and podcast has been a help and an inspiration for Julia, who made her own decision to leave social media earlier this year. In this episode, Amelia Hruby shares her own story of wanting to drive change, challenging structures of power and why she took the decision to leave social media. Julia and Amelia discuss big tech, surveillance capitalism and how to navigate the digital world as a changemaker, who cares deeply about people and planet. They talk about shadowbans and persecution of human rights defenders, and how to organize off of social media. Amelia leaves us with great advice and support and encourages us to make conscious decisions about how we use digital tools. Learn more:  * Find Amelia Hruby's podcast, free toolkit and more resources at offthegrid.fun [https://offthegrid.fun/].   Julia Wiklander is the host of Hey Changemaker!, the founder of the global feminist media platform, Girls’ Globe, and a communications strategist for changemakers and organizations.  * Subscribe to her emails with support here: juliawiklander.com/notes [https://juliawiklander.com/notes]  * Find Julia's free resources on strategic communications and storytelling here: juliawiklander.com/free [https://juliawiklander.com/free]

Francisca Sequeira: Surf Therapy and Girls' Mental Wellbeing

Francisca Sequeira is the the founder and president of SOMA (Sufers Proud of African Women), the first surf therapy organization in Africa dedicated exclusively to girls. Francisca, from Portugal, embarked on a new journey in 2020 during the pandemic. She was experiencing anxiety and panic attacks after losing her job as a flight attendant, and discovered surf therapy—a combination of surfing, mental well-being, and empowerment. What started as a solo trip of self-discovery turned into a larger movement to support women and girls in the islands of São Tomé and Principe. SOMA's mission is to reduce the social exclusion of young women in Africa by strengthening their physical and mental well-being and promoting gender equity through surf therapy. The organization’s vision is to create the next generation of independent and self-sustainable women, surfing infinite waves of well-being, opportunities, and equity across Africa. Over the past four years, SOMA has impacted more than 100 young women, empowering them through surf therapy, academic support, and psychosocial development. With models adaptable to local conditions, SOMA has been expanding into new communities, creating job opportunities and capacity building for local women. In this episode, Francisca Sequeira shares her story and the remarkable work that SOMA does, grounded in the community it serves. Julia and Francisca talks about social entrepreneurship, creativity and hope - and about what SOMA means for the women, girls and families in São Tomé and Principe. Learn more:  * www.somasurf.org [http://www.somasurf.org] * @somasurf [https://instagram.com/somasurf]   Julia Wiklander is the host of Hey Changemaker!, the founder of the global feminist media platform, Girls’ Globe, and a communications strategist for changemakers and organizations.  * Subscribe to her emails with support here: juliawiklander.com/notes [https://juliawiklander.com/notes]  * Find her free resources on strategic communications and storytelling here: juliawiklander.com/free [https://juliawiklander.com/free]

Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent: Midwifery, Maternal Health and Inequality

Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent OBE is the Chief Midwife of the International Confederation of Midwives [https://internationalmidwives.org/] (ICM).  Jacqueline has a tremendous career in midwifery clinical practice and leadership. Prior to joining ICM, Jacqueline served as the first Chief Midwifery Officer for the NHS in England and was one of two National Maternity Safety Champions appointed by the Department for Health and Social Care. She was recognised as one of the Health Service Journal’s most influential people in health in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024, she was also celebrated as one of the NHS’s 75 most significant nurses and midwives in 2023 and is included in the Nursing Times’ Leaders 2015 list for pioneering and inspirational professionals. She is a registered nurse and midwife and holds honorary doctorates from Worcester and Winchester Universities in the UK and a visiting Professorship in Midwifery at Kings College London and London South Bank University. She chairs the maternity advisory group for the Health and Race Observatory in England, serves on the Women of the Year management committee, acts as Midwifery Ambassador for the ‘Saying Goodbye’ charity, and holds key roles as Patron for Baby Lifeline and the Caribbean & African Health Network UK. In this episode, Jacqueline shares some incredible stories from her career in midwifery, including leading national midwifery initiatives during COVID. Julia and Jacqueline talk about the needs of midwives and the status of maternal health worldwide. They discuss inequality and inequity of care and outcomes for women and mothers between regions and within countries - and the need for data in combination with the stories of women’s lived realities. Jacqueline speaks about her work with ICM and the importance of midwifery leadership through the crises we are witnessing in the world today. Learn more:  * International Confederation of Midwives [https://www.internationalmidwives.org/] Julia Wiklander is the host of Hey Changemaker!, the founder of the global feminist media platform, Girls’ Globe, and a communications strategist for changemakers and organizations.  * Subscribe to her emails with support here: juliawiklander.com/notes [https://juliawiklander.com/notes]  * Get the free Storytelling Guide here: juliawiklander.com/25 [https://juliawiklander.com/25]