Episodes

  • Episode 233: Talent + City = Itana with Victor Ndukwe

    Episode 233: Talent + City = Itana with Victor Ndukwe
    Jul 30 2024
    Greetings Glocal Citizens! Increasingly, I am thinking thoughts about places of being that better reflect citizen-centered social, economic and built enviroments. In recent conversation with Paul Damalie (https://glocalcitizens.fireside.fm/guests/paul-kwesi-damalie) and following the works of another fellow GC, Chinedu Echeruo (https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/beloved-ecosystem-6923267349097680896/) (which happens to be how I came across this week’s guest), those thoughts are beginning to rise into a mental framework for manifesting that new world. Born and raised in Nigeria, Victor Ndukwe is an Architect that has evolved over the years straddle tech and design. He is currently a founding team member of Itana (formerly Talent City) (https://www.itana.africa) and is positioned to change the environmental and economic landscape in Africa. Victor developed a keen mind for technical things in his formative years and honed his creativity in architecture school. He is a T-shaped individual (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-shaped_skills) with strong skills in Architecture and environmental planning and secondary skills in programming - a hardcore java developer once upon a time. He has worked in architecture firms, software development firms, real estate development firms, and now city developers. He has his eyes set on developing the infrastructure in Africa by unlocking capital for development as well as solving the critical problem of energy in Africa. Victor’s optimism and committment are clear as you’ll come to understand in our conversation, and with this blueprint, his vision is looking like a present many on the Continent have been anticipating. Where to find Victor? Find out more about the Donacare Foundation (http://www.donacarefoundation.org) On LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/victorndukwe/) On X (https://twitter.com/vndukwe) What’s Victor listening to? Johann Sebastian Bach (lin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGA1v6gZj1s) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (https://www.classicfm.com/composers/mozart/music/) George Frideric Handel (https://www.classicfm.com/composers/handel/) Other topics of interest: Umahia or Ama Ahia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umuahia) in Abia State (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abia_State), Nigeria About Governor Alex Otti (https://www.alexotti.com) Discovery Channel (https://www.discovery.com) Charter Cities Institute (https://chartercitiesinstitute.org/intro/#whycc) Computer Village. Ikeja Lagos (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Village) The Echelon Conspiracy Film](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echelon_Conspiracy) NIIT Nigeria (https://www.niit.com/nigeria) Free Trade Zones in Nigeria (https://nepza.gov.ng/free-zones/) What is Industry 3.0? (https://tech-labs.com/blog/evolution-industry-10-40-and-beyond) Special Guest: Victor Ndukwe.
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    56 mins
  • Episode 1: Coming Soon: Glocal Citizens

    Episode 1: Coming Soon: Glocal Citizens
    Nov 22 2019
    Greetings Glocal Citizens! Let me introduce myself, I'm your host Florence Amerley Adu. I'm CEO and co-founder of LEAP Transmedia. Our vision is to seeds and sows a fertile ground for improving education and economic outcomes for Ghanaians and Africans across the diaspora. Do you dream about “doing something” abroad? Then consider Glocal Citizens required listening in the due diligence, trusted advisor and inspiration department. In each episode, I visit with dynamic diasporans making local and global impact designing and applying their craft. We explore how their passions have rooted them throughout their lives, while at the same time feeding the branches compelling them to keep reaching “beyond.” We also discuss the personal and professional dimensions of glocal citizenship. Then we round out the discussion with a deep dive into to the business of their business, covering the technical and operational components of the work of “doing something.”
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    2 mins
  • Episode 232: The Art of Administering Grassroots Services for Children and Families with Vimbo Watson

    Episode 232: The Art of Administering Grassroots Services for Children and Families with Vimbo Watson
    Jul 22 2024
    Greetings Glocal Citizens! This week we’re going full circle with Zimbabwean-American, Vimbo Watson. Born in Zimbabwe, Vimbo’s family relocated to the US before she spoke her first words. Nonethless, her mother tongue has remained in her heart and has been a foundational part of fullfilling a life-long passion to uplift people and especially those in need back home. After a career in education as a teacher and principal, she’s now applying her administrative talents as the Director of Development for Kuda Vana Partnership (https://www.kudavana.org) an American-Zimbabwean non-profit operating a children's home and school in Zimbabwe. A passionate speaker and professional development provider she often translates her enthusiasm for learning and education into teaching others how to make time for wellness and self-care in their daily lives. Where to find Vimbo? vimbowatson.com (link https://vimbowatson.com/) On LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/vimbo/) On Instragram (https://www.instagram.com/vimbowatson/) On Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/vimbowatson) On Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@VimboVivien/featured) What’s Vimbo reading? Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make--and Keep--Friends (https://a.co/d/3M4FuOe) by Marisa G. Franco PhD Atomic Habits (lin https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits) by James Clear Drowning (https://a.co/d/a9sRbeu) and other books by T.J. Newman (https://tjnewmanauthor.com) Books by Brené Brown (https://brenebrown.com) The Art of Gathering (https://www.priyaparker.com/book-art-of-gathering) by Priya Parker The Lazy Genius Way (https://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com) by Kendra Adachi Other topics of interest: Mutare, Zimbabwe (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutare) Clans and Totems in Zimbabwean Culture (https://beingafrican.com/clans-totems-in-shona-culture/#:~:text=Referred to as Mutupo in,believed to be your totem.) On Trauma-focused Therapy (https://www.verywellmind.com/trauma-therapy-definition-types-techniques-and-efficacy-5191413) Special Guest: Vimbo Watson.
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Episode 231: Putting STEM Girls Education in Practice with Doreen Kessy

    Episode 231: Putting STEM Girls Education in Practice with Doreen Kessy
    Jul 16 2024
    Greetings Glocal Citizens! The beautiful thing about life is that with care and attention time refines and gives rise to the amazement that is our daily experience. I met this week's guest nearly a decade ago, in the country she currently calls home, as we were both starting our work in the African edutainment industry and as she was making her way back home to Tanzania to do what she prepared for when getting her MBA and BS in International Business and Economics from Overton School of Business in the US--making a difference for African children. Tanzanian born and raised, Doreen Kessy is a Co-founder at STEM Girls Education (SGE), a social enterprise with a mission to help more girls in Africa become innovators. An education and women's champion at heart, Doreen holds the belief that empowering women and girls to drive change is essential in fostering a more sustainable and kinder world for all. Previously Chief Business Officer at Ubongo Learning, she was instrumental in growing the organisation as she led its expansion to 41 countries in Africa reaching over 30 million kids. She was named “Entrepreneur of the Year in Education” by Women In Africa Initiative (WIA), Winner of Next Billion EdTech Prize 2019, is also an Acumen Fellow, Future Elect Fellow, Global Shaper, an initiative of the World Economic Forum and Tedx speaker. Not only is the future bright, our present is brighter with social entreperneurs like Doreen making their mark in markets across Africa! Where to find Doreen? On Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doreen_Kessy) On LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/doreen-kessy-1b887439/) On Twitter (https://twitter.com/doreenkessy?lang=en) What’s Doreen listening to? Brook Castillo’s The LIfe Coach School Podcast (https://thelifecoachschool.com/podcast/) How I Built This Podcast (https://wondery.com/shows/how-i-built-this/) Huberman Lab Podcast (https://www.hubermanlab.com/all-episodes) The Mel Robbins Podcast (https://www.melrobbins.com/podcast) This American Life Podcast (https://www.thisamericanlife.org) The Tim Ferriss Show (https://tim.blog/podcast/) The Dairy Of A CEO Podcast (https://stevenbartlett.com/doac/) Other topics of interest: About Njombe’s Iringa Region, Tanzania (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iringa_Region) Things to do in Rosebank, Gauteng (https://www.inyourpocket.com/johannesburg/things-to-do-in-rosebank-a-neighbourhood-guide-to_78589f) About Smile 4 Africa (https://www.smileforafrica.co.zw/index.html) Yo! (https://dsae.co.za/entry/yo/e07976) Haibo! (https://www.news24.com/you/news/local/how-well-do-you-know-your-local-lingo-ten-sa-words-you-need-to-know-this-heritage-day-20230922), Sawubona - Sikhona (https://youtu.be/azFzlDNxhHY?si=Iy9yoISlNaLWj6lm) and other South African Expressions The Life Coach School (https://thelifecoachschool.com/) What’s Doreen riding? (https://suzukicycles.com/scooter) Microschools in action in Africa (https://michaelbhorn.substack.com/p/brave-learners-in-emerging-microschools)
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    51 mins
  • Episode 230: Sustainable Finance and Social Progress with Farhan Guled Part 2

    Episode 230: Sustainable Finance and Social Progress with Farhan Guled Part 2
    Jul 8 2024
    Greetings Glocal Citizens! This week we're back in East Africa in conversation with Kenyan, Farhan Guled, coming to you in two parts. Farhan takes us with him from his native homeland to Europe and back to East Africa where he is currently Executive Director of Salaam Bank Limited in Kampala, Uganda; he has been instrumental is building the bank's start-up operation in the country. Born and raised in Kenya he began his entreprenuearship journey as founder of Maisha Fitness Center in Nairobi. Wearing many professional hats, Farhan is a "Multipotentialite Creative Thinker" offering an off the shelf business growth consultancy. As a visionary strategist, he helps businesses with the right intuitive and informative strategies that guarantee transformational growth. In his service endeavors, he is a board member of The Young Leaders of Finance (Le Club des Jeunes Dirigeants Financiers), which gathers young and mid-level professionals with various backgrounds who work with or within the financial sector taken in the broad sense. Some highlights of our conversation are Farhan's in depth tutorial on the links between Islamic finance and sustainable development goals as well as his delight with the sites and sounds of Uganda. Like me, I think you'll be ready to book your visit straight away! Where to find Farhan? On LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/farhan-guled-705b2ba9/) On Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/franguled/) On X (https://twitter.com/farhan_guled?lang=en) What’s Farhan Reading? Burn the Boats: Toss Plan B Overboard and Unleash Your Full Potential (https://a.co/d/09eDivm5) by Matt Higgins Other topics of interest: On Islamic Banking and Finance (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_banking_and_finance) Salaam African Bank (https://www.banksalaam.com) Jinja, Uganda (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinja,_Uganda) Fort Portal, Uganda (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Portal) and traditions of the Tooro Kingdom (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tooro_Kingdom) Kabale, Uganda: City of Peace (https://www.internationalcitiesofpeace.org/cities-listing__trashed/kabale-uganda/) About Merck HQ Germany (https://www.emdgroup.com/en) Afrika Kommt (https://afrika-kommt.de) Special Guest: Farhan Guled.
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    1 min
  • Episode 229: Sustainable Finance and Social Progress with Farhan Guled Part 1

    Episode 229: Sustainable Finance and Social Progress with Farhan Guled Part 1
    Jul 2 2024
    Greetings Glocal Citizens! This week we're back in East Africa in conversation with Kenyan, Farhan Guled, coming to you in two parts. Farhan takes us with him from his native homeland to Europe and back to East Africa where he is currently Executive Director of Salaam Bank Limited in Kampala, Uganda; he has been instrumental is building the bank's start-up operation in the country. Born and raised in Kenya he began his entreprenuearship journey as founder of Maisha Fitness Center in Nairobi. Wearing many professional hats, Farhan is a "Multipotentialite Creative Thinker" offering an off the shelf business growth consultancy. As a visionary strategist, he helps businesses with the right intuitive and informative strategies that guarantee transformational growth. In his service endeavors, he is a board member of The Young Leaders of Finance (Le Club des Jeunes Dirigeants Financiers), which gathers young and mid-level professionals with various backgrounds who work with or within the financial sector taken in the broad sense. Some highlights of our conversation are Farhan's in depth tutorial on the links between Islamic finance and sustainable development goals as well as his delight with the sites and sounds of Uganda. Like me, I think you'll be ready to book your visit straight away! Where to find Farhan? On LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/farhan-guled-705b2ba9/) On Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/franguled/) On X (https://twitter.com/farhan_guled?lang=en) What’s Farhan Reading? Burn the Boats: Toss Plan B Overboard and Unleash Your Full Potential (https://a.co/d/09eDivm5) by Matt Higgins Other topics of interest: On Islamic Banking and Finance (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_banking_and_finance) Salaam African Bank (https://www.banksalaam.com) Jinja, Uganda (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinja,_Uganda) Fort Portal, Uganda (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Portal) and traditions of the Tooro Kingdom (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tooro_Kingdom) Kabale, Uganda: City of Peace (https://www.internationalcitiesofpeace.org/cities-listing__trashed/kabale-uganda/) About Merck HQ Germany (https://www.emdgroup.com/en) Afrika Kommt (https://afrika-kommt.de) Special Guest: Farhan Guled.
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    40 mins
  • Episode 228: Local Perspectives on Development Communications with Emilly Okello-Juma

    Episode 228: Local Perspectives on Development Communications with Emilly Okello-Juma
    Jun 25 2024
    Summer Greetings Glocal Citizens! My guest this week, comes to us via fellow Glocal Citizen, Yana Fleming (https://glocalcitizens.fireside.fm/guests/yana-fleming). Like Yana, Emilly Okello-Juma is a seasoned communications and program management professional. Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, Emilly’s work has taken her to points near and far across around the world. She has 13 years of experience working in communications roles including on-continent support across all regions in Africa on projects funded by international actors such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, Feed the Future and Prosper Africa. She has demonstrated experience in development communications, including report writing, branding, client and stakeholder relationships, visibility growth, policy engagement, and prodding action towards key outcomes for beneficiaries. Emilly has also served as board member in charge of Communications at SlumChild Foundation (http://slumchildfoundation.org). This week’s conversation is a great compliment or prelude to upcoming episodes featuring conversations from our second The Future of Work Solutionscape and Stretch Salon that took place last weekend in London which centered on agriculture. Curious about what these sessions are about? Check out scenes from our May Day Salon in Brooklyn, New York (https://youtu.be/H8AZkJKJiKM) and stay tuned for opportunities to engage with the Glocal Citizens community worldwide. Where to find Emily? On LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilly-o-5847b620/) What’s Emilly listening to? Ginny Clarke’s (https://www.ginnyclarke.com/) Fifth Dimensional Leadership Podcast (https://www.youtube.com/@5-DLeadership) The Moth Podcast (https://themoth.org/podcast) The LINK Cast (https://policylinkglobal.org/linkcast) What’s Emilly reading? Women Who Run with the Wolves (https://a.co/d/0gTQKpyn) by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés Other topics of interest: Economic vs. Commercial Diplomacy (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/unveiling-distinction-economic-diplomacy-vs-commercial-sinisa-pepic/) Prosper Africa (https://www.prosperafrica.gov/resource/investment-and-partnership-opportunities-in-africas-creative-industries/) Vivo Fashion Group (https://vivofashiongroup.com) The Nation Media Group (https://www.nationmedia.com) The Malabo Declaration (https://www.resakss.org/sites/default/files/Malabo Declaration on Agriculture_2014_11 26-.pdf) African Union Agenda 2063 (https://au.int/en/treaties/1165) Rwanda’s former Minister of Agriculture Gérardine Mukeshimana (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9rardine_Mukeshimana) Special Guest: Emilly Okello-Juma.
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    51 mins
  • Episode 227: The Artist and the Designer with Elike Nkansa Part 2

    Episode 227: The Artist and the Designer with Elike Nkansa Part 2
    Jun 18 2024
    Greetings Glocal Citizens! I met Elike Kofi Nkansa, a multifaceted creative with a background in literature and art with a keen interest in fine detailng, one afternoon at a place called the Green Butterfly Market (https://greenbutterflyghana.com/greenbutterflymarket/) in Accra. He was seated in front of a beautiful portrait tapestry which I eventually purchased after visiting his flagship boutique and seeing a sampling of his portfolio. He trained as an architect and is the designer for his fashion brand, Elike Clothing which has become a household name, particularly in Ghana, and he has clothed many eminent personalites. He is currently costumier for three-time Grammy nominated artiste Rocky Dawuni (https://rockydawuni.com). Elike was selected amongst 14 other garment manufacturers in Ghana to spearhead an effort in mass production under AGOA (https://agoa.info/about-agoa.html)--African Growth and Opportunities Act, through which his enterprise gained the requisite training to engage in mass apparel and textile production. His brand is minimalist afrocentric and heavily inclined in technically and functionally artistic design. He mentors young artisans in the fashion industry helping to release fresh creativity into the fashion space. Through his art he hopes to forge closer bonds of peace and kinship between peoples wilst empowering women and youth. Where to find Elike? www.elikeclothing.com On Facebook (https://web.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069978938042) What’s Elike reading? War and Peace (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_and_Peace) by Leo Tolstoy Works by Robert Greene (https://powerseductionandwar.com) What’s Elike watching? Guest Who’s Coming to Dinner (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guess_Who%27s_Coming_to_Dinner) Kramer vs. Kramer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kramer_vs._Kramer) Other topics of interest: Leklebi Dafor (https://mapcarta.com/N7234270840) Coffee and Togo (https://perfectdailygrind.com/2022/12/coffee-production-in-togo/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CMore%20than%2040%2C000%20households%20in,farmers%20who%20also%20produce%20cocoa.) About the game Chaskele (https://www.theghanareport.com/games-that-entertained-children-in-the-90s/) RIBA - Royal Institute of British Architects (https://www.architecture.com) Ghana Institute of Architects (https://gia.com.gh) About technical pens (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_pen) About the Peugot 504 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peugeot_504#:~:text=The%20504%20was%20elected%20European,visibility%2C%20strong%20engine%20and%20refinement.) About Ricci Osei (https://humansofafrica.net/ricci-osei-a-cultural-and-artistic-icon/#google_vignette) and son, Reggie Rockstone (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggie_Rockstone) About UT Bank’s Kofi Amoabeng (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Kofi_Amoabeng) William Blake’s The Chimney Sweeper (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chimney_Sweeper) About Ambassador D.K Osei (https://web.facebook.com/gbcghana/videos/3331626410408171) Special Guest: Elike Nkansa.
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    36 mins