In March, a group of developed countries including the UK, EU nations and the USA voted to block a waiver on trade regulations to copyright, petitioned by more than 100 developing countries in order to speed up COVID19 vaccine productions. This move has left a lingering scar that could prove to be a permeant shift in diplomacy going forward. This episode analyses the latest development and its implication for years to come.
Episode 64: Global Priorities for Women's Empowerment and Health
COVID-19 has forced many policy makers to have key issues on gender equality and women’s health take a backseat. But just because there is a pandemic, does not mean that these issues will be on hold. What are the key global priorities for 2021 for gender equality and women’s health? And what can both policymakers and businesses do to progress them further? On this episode, we speak with Susan Markham of Smash Strategies and former USAID Women’s Empowerment Coordinator and Matt Jackson, UNFPA UK Director to discuss further.
Episode 62: Why compassionate leadership is needed for the public sector during the pandemic
The COVID-19 outbreak has put a strain on those working in the third and public sector and they struggle to keep aid programs afloat while their lives remain suspended. Yet at the same time, aid workers, humanitarians, charity workers and development professionals are expected work overtime and go above and beyond under straining conditions of lockdown and COVID-19. For this, leadership needs to step up and be more compassionate. On this episode, we speak to Lemonada Media CEO Jessica Cordova Kramer, Sustainability expert Richard Smith and TEDx Speaker Amel Murphy on the importance of compassionate leadership in the public sector. WARNING: Explicit language used during conversation.
Episode 59: The Impact of COVID 19 on Humanitarian Efforts Globally
With consistent discussion on the impact of COVID 19 on the global economy and geopolitics, we forget about the impact of those who work with the most vulnerable. On this episode, we speak with Katie Rickard of Impact Initiatives to discuss the situation on the ground, the gravity of the pandemic and the affect it is having on an already fragile humanitarian situation globally.
Episode 56: Lebanon on fire - the effect of COVID19 on economy and the vulnerable
Lebanon is on the verge of bursting. With an ineffective government, high inflation, overwhelming numbers of refugees from both Syria and Palestine, as weak as dwindling opportunities for its youth, the Lebanese people have been protesting since late last year for change. But with COVID19 now added to the mix, Lebanon is now on the verge of complete collapse and burst, taking a toll on its most vulnerable populations. We are joined by Halim Shebaya, Interim Executive Director of the Arab Association of Constitutional Law and Christophe Martin, the Head of Delegation at the International Community of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Lebanon to discuss more about both the political and economic explosion in the country and the effect it is having on the most vulnerable of the Lebanese community.
Episode 55: Greece and Italy, post-COVID19 - an outlook
Italy and Greece both have relatively weak economies prior to being hit by the COVID-19 health pandemic. News coverage of the virus plaguing Italy was rampid, but while Italy struggled to keep it at bay, Greece managed to contain the virus relatively swiftly. But with shutdowns and low tourism this summer, what will Italy and Greece look like post-COVID19? We speak to former Milan Correspondent for The Economist Alexandra Fattal and Nick Malkoutzis of MarcoPolis to discuss this further.
Episode 54: Developing economies in a post-corona world - business as usual?
The COVID-19 virus has plunged the world into a high level of uncertainty and without a doubt, many developing countries are feeling that brunt. With The Economist having hailed this the African decade and many looking to the promises of Frontier Markets as “the next big thing”, what are their outlooks in a post-coronavirus world now that a deep recession is likely? Joining us to discuss more are Gavin Serkins (Managing Editor of New Markets Media and Intelligence), Andres Alma (Congressional Candidate and Professor of Law at Universidad APEC in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) and Michael Nderitu (Chief Risk Officer at AZA in Kenya) to discuss the African, Latin American and Frontier Market perspective.
Episode 53: COVID-19 and unsustainable jobs in America
In February of 2020, the USA had 3.5% unemployment in the entire country - a 50 year low. But then came COVID-19 and 20.6 million job losses. This has left many wondering - what happened to the plentiful jobs of Trump? Truth be told, they were plentiful - just not sustainable. On this episode, we explore how COVID-19 revealed a critical in sustainable jobs in the USA and what this could mean for its economic future.
Episode 52: COVID-19 and the developing world - the real story
While COVID 19 has been primarily ravaging Western and Developed Nations such as China, Italy and the USA, the developing world has not been immune to the coronavirus - or COVID 19 - either In fact, many experts fear it will be worst in Africa, Asia and Latin America due to the poor medical infrastructure and general social dynamics. But as the weeks progress, the reality has been different than what the media is portraying. But what are the repercussions of COVID 19 in this part of the world? Whether on its economy and socio cultural dynamics that will cause it to suffer more than what the virus can do? We speak with Dr Theodora Pepera (a British-Ghanaian OBGYN based in Accra), Dr Ryan Lloyd of Centre College in the USA who specialised in Latin American affairs, and Lauren Anders Brown (award winning humanitarian film maker) to discuss COVID 19 in Africa, Latin America and the vulnerable communities in the refugee camps around the world to discuss the reality on the ground.
Episode 50: Coronavirus and diplomacy - why it matters now more than ever
The coronavirus pandemic has caused not only social isolation and global panic but sudden rupture in global relations and business which can lead to long term damage. During this era of panic and fear, diplomacy is needed now more than ever by businesses and government in order to keep partnerships for social impact during this time of crisis.
