Conversations in Development

As We continue to speak with Deborah about cultural values in development, we discuss the impact caused by Australian Aid programs.

The Development sector often forgets about the importance of cultural values and how these can make a difference for NGOs. In this episode, we speak with Deborah Rhodes about her journey to include cultural contexts in development programs.

Before the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, our host Peter Mason speaks with Cory Steinhauer, an expert in areas of conflict about his experiences in Afghanistan and South Sudan.

Before the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, our host Peter Mason speaks with Cory Steinhauer, an expert in areas of conflict about his experiences in Afghanistan and South Sudan.

As this year has taken a heavy toll on global migration due to the pandemic, development has also come to a stall. In this series finale, we speak with Loksan Harley about the many aspects of migration, as well as its effects in the development sector.

Laos, unlike many of its neighbouring countries, remains one of the more challenging places for NGOs. In this episode, Colette McInerney, former director of World Education in Laos, shares her experience working in the country and the challenges she faced during her time in Laos.

As companies are being driven towards equality, board meetings and leadership roles still represent a challenge for females and indigenous people who wish to raise their concerns. We speak with Amanda Young, former CEO of First Nations Foundation, and Chris Franks, Chair of Women in Aid and Development about their experiences in leadership roles and the importance of gender and cultural representation.

Cambodia is a developing country with a growing economy, whose newest generations have the opportunity to thrive. We speak with Rithy Thul about his personal growth and experiences to become a successful entrepreneur, and his ambition to encourage young Cambodians to advance through the use of technology and reforestation.

As one of our closest neighbours, Indonesia has often been seen as a holiday destination rather than a strong economic partner. We speak with former DFAT Officer Jeff Bost about DFAT’s long-term investment in Indonesia and how Australia must adapt its economy to new trade opportunities with its neighbours.

Since the 1960s , Colombia has been the victim of armed conflict, taking the lives of thousands and internally displacing millions. In this episode, we speak with Manuel Renteria about his experience working in the Magdalena Medio region and the impacts in his country.

Developing countries often struggle to provide basic health and education. As they now focus their efforts to contain the pandemic, funding for other sectors are at risk, undermining years of efforts to tackle poverty through education. In this episode, former CEO of Child fund Nigel Spence discusses some of the consequences of maintaining schools closed in the long-term, particularly in developing countries.

As Covid keeps on devastating all countries around the globe, its impact can be felt in all economic sectors including education. In this episode we speak with Dr. Michael Spann, lecturer at the University of Queensland and founding director of Square Circle about the impacts of Covid in universities, as well as the abrupt political and economic changes occurring in the Asia-Pacific.

On the 12th of march, when the covid-19 disease was detected in almost all states around the globe, the disease was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This rushed many countries, including Australia to shut its borders from the world. We spoke with Nicole Stanmore, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Australia about the greater impact this pandemic has left in developing countries, as well as the perception of local governments in response to funding areas of development.

The regions surrounding Somalia and Lebanon have some of the lowest rates of gender equality in the world. We speak with Clare Brown, an international human rights lawyer and currently the Legal Program Manager at Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), about her experiences working in the region. We discuss the lived experience, many of the issues that women face and triggers of sexual based violence, as well as exploring the current climate for legal advocacy work and progress that has been made in these countries.Clare Brown is an international human rights lawyer and currently works as the Legal Program Manager at Legal Action Worldwide (LAW). Clare has been in this position for almost six years after working as a legal intern at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Her work sees her based between Kenya and Somalia with travel to South Sudan and Lebanon developing and implementing creative legal interventions to address human rights violations with a focus on sexual violence and violations committed by security forces.This podcast is brought to you by Cufa, an international development agency alleviating poverty across the Asia Pacific .

Advocacy has the capacity to have an impact on a massive scale and in the field of health it can save millions of lives. We speak with Amelia Christie, CEO of RESULTS, an advocacy organisation about the power of a grassroots approach and dealing with everyone from volunteers to politicians. We also delve into foreign aid and the growing focus on the Pacific and Amelia teaches a thing or two about tuberculosis and its growing prevalence in our closest neighbour Papua New Guinea.Amelia Christie is the CEO of RESULTS, an advocacy organisation that informs political decisions by empowering everyday voices to bring an end to poverty. RESULTS trains, supports and inspires volunteers to become skilled advocates and is a partner of ACTION, a global partnership of advocacy organisations working to influence policy and mobilise resources to fight diseases of poverty and achieve equitable access to health. Amelia has also worked with Ministers of Parliament and for both small and large NGOs. She is passionate about human rights and using people power to bring about positive change.This podcast is brought to you by Cufa, an international development agency alleviating poverty across the Asia Pacific .

Understanding the drivers behind development issues is imperative to organisations engaging in the field of work. In this episode we speak with Veronica Nou, a migrant entrepreneur and refugee advocate who came to Australia after her family fled the Cambodian Genocide and following Vietnamese occupation. Veronica shares her experiences fleeing the country and arriving in Australia, living in abject poverty through her childhood and becoming a business owner. Now in her spare time Veronica has set her sights on advocacy work and is a National Convener of the group Mums 4 Refugees, fighting for humane treatment of refugees and asylum seekers.Veronica Nou is a pharmacist and proprietor of two pharmacies in Western Sydney. Veronica was born in Cambodia during the time of the Khmer Rouge and her family fled the country, arriving in Australia in 1991 by way of refugee camps. After earning a scholarship at a private girl’s school, Veronica overcame a tough start in Australia to complete a Bachelor of Pharmacy at the University of Sydney. She now dedicates her spare time to speaking out about refugee advocacy as a national convener for the group Mums 4 Refugees.This podcast is brought to you by Cufa, an international development agency alleviating poverty across the Asia Pacific .

Urbanisation refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the gradual increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas and the ways in which society adapts to this change. We speak with Dr Paul Jones who has over 30 years of professional experience working in urban development in places like Kiribati in the Pacific to Bandung in Indonesia. Paul delves into our understanding of the contemporary city, how our education system can adapt to teach the minds of tomorrow and what we can learn from our region in building Australian cities.Paul Jones is an associate professor at the University of Sydney. Paul has 30 years of professional experience in developing sustainable urban management, development and planning solutions in Australia and overseas. Within this experience, he has worked across Asia and the Pacific and spent over 8 years living in Kiribati as their first urban development planner. Along with his position at the University of Sydney where he teaches a range of subjects he also runs overseas workshops, providing field experience and works with development agencies such as UN Habitat, ADB, UNESCAP and formerly AusAID.This podcast is brought to you by Cufa, an international development agency alleviating poverty across the Asia Pacific .

‘Sport and development’ refers to the use of sport as a tool for development and peace. It is now being increasingly used throughout the Pacific as a method to drive outcomes in areas such as health, social cohesion, gender equality and disability inclusion. We speak with Aaron Kearney, ABC journalist, broadcaster and member of the International Development team about the programs he has worked on throughout the Pacific and how they are delivering social change.Aaron Kearney is a multi-award winning broadcaster, journalist and sports commentator with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. As a member of the ABC’s International Development team, he has led the communications support for the Pacific Sports Partnership, an Australian Aid program that promotes gender equality, disability inclusion and a variety of health benefits. Aaron has also worked as a commentary lead, training and mentoring female journalists across the Pacific in the Women In News and Sport (WINS) initiative.This podcast is brought to you by Cufa, an international development agency alleviating poverty across the Asia Pacific .

This episode is a departure from the Conversations in Development schedule to discuss the life of Guy Winship, a man who dedicated his life to the development sector.Guy Winship was the founder and CEO of Good Return, an organisation that provides microfinance across the Asia-Pacific region. Good Return delivers programs to those who are financially and socially excluded, empowering through financial inclusion. Guy is a development expert who has worked in Africa, Asia and the Pacific for 30 years. He has consulted and advised governments and NGOs on microfinance, public policy and vocational training. This podcast is brought to you by Cufa, an international development agency alleviating poverty across the Asia Pacific.

Redundancy is a word with negative connotations, but not according to Weh Yeoh who says all charities should be aiming to make themselves redundant. If charities focused more on solving problems rather than addressing symptoms, they would create a space for local people to create solutions to their own problems. Weh and Dr Peter Mason, CEO Cufa, discuss whether it is practical to have a clear exit plan from the outset of a charitable enterprise in a country, and whether it is always possible to completely solve a problem and move on.Weh Yeoh is the founder of OIC Cambodia, established for the 600,000 Cambodians with communication and swallowing disabilities. According to Weh, OIC is one of a handful of charities in the world working towards its own exit. OIC will exit Cambodia in 2030, when there are 100 Cambodian speech therapists integrated into the public sector.Weh is also the co-founder of Umbo, an initiative to improve access to services for children in rural and remote communities. He has been featured on TEDx, The Huffington Post and The Sydney Morning Herald. Find out more about Weh’s work at wehyeoh.com.