The power of stories in global development cannot be under-estimated.  Chronicling experiences, encounters and adventures can inspire others to journey, engage and do the same.  Rich stories can build relations and understanding in rich and dynamic ways.  Telling stories comes with great power and responsibility.  Stereotypes can be forged, speaking on behalf of others leads to patriarchy, and sensationalism can create harmful representations of the land and life of peoples and cultures.  These issues matter to Nancy Edwards.  Having established an impressive career in global health and nursing, Dr. Edwards is now taking the time to explore the power and purpose of memoirs.  Check out this episode of GDP to hear her thoughts and the advice she offers others hoping to chronicle their journeys. Nancy Edwards is a Distinguished Professor and Professor Emeritus, School of Nursing, University of Ottawa.  Dr. Edwards obtained her undergraduate nursing degree from the University of Windsor and completed graduate studies in epidemiology at McMaster University and McGill University. She is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Dr. Edwards’ professional interests are in the fields of public and population health. She has worked in global health for most of her career focusing on capacity building, the delivery of maternal and child health programs, reducing health inequities, and implementation research.  She has mentored many colleagues, led global health program delivery and research initiatives on four continents, and shaped strategic directions for global health during her tenure as a Scientific Director with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. In both Canada and abroad, Nancy has drawn on her foundational global health learning roots in Sierra Leone, West Africa, where she worked as a community health nurse and program evaluator for five years.  Nancy captures these experiences in her book Not One, Not Even One: A Memoir of Life-altering Experiences in Sierra Leone, West Africa.  Her book was released by FriesenPress earlier this year (www.nancyedwards.ca). Follow Dr. Bob on Twitter: @ProfessorHuish

When a World Bank Development project gets rolling, people's lives will be impacted. Sometimes for the better?  Sometimes for the worse.  If you are a person living in a project impacted community, and you feel that your life will worsen, what can you do?  Protest? Standby and watch?  Leave your home?  These are all options, but another key option is to take your concerns to the highest levels of the World Bank.  Sometimes forgotten in many international development studies courses, the World Bank's Inspection Panel is an arm's length body that will hear complaints, look over the details, and take it to the top brass in the World Bank.  How do negatively impacted peoples get a hold of the panel?  Is there accountability?  Can the panel put the brakes on a potentially harmful project?  Listen to this episode of GDP where Ramanie Kunanayagam, the Panel Chair of the World Bank Inspection Panel, takes us through the details.   Ramanie Kunanayagam, is a Sri Lankan-born Australian citizen, was appointed to the Inspection Panel on December 16, 2018, and became Panel Chair on January 1, 2022. She brings to the Panel three decades of experience across diverse geopolitical and multicultural environments in the private and public sectors. Ms. Kunanayagam spent more than 10 years doing fieldwork in a remote part of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. She has held leadership positions in sustainability in both the private sector (working for two FTSE 10 companies) and the nonprofit sector. Most recently before joining the Panel she was the Global Head for Social Performance and Human Rights for BG Group. She has been a member of the boards of two international non-profit development organizations—RESOLVE and the Institute of Human Rights and Business. Follow Dr. Bob on Twitter:  @ ProfessorHuish

Frederico Fellini films are a mix of "memory, dreams, fantasy and desire" that create idiosyncratic interpretations of society.  If you're have any ties to, or interests in, Cuba, it might feel like you're in a Fellini script.  Cuba entered the pandemic on the front foot.  Sending its own health care workers around the world to assist with COVID-19 care, and then exporting its domestically engineered vaccines abroad, it seemed like Cuba was THE GLOBAL HEALTH POWER.  Now at the beginning of 2023, roughly 300,000 people have left the island (many between the ages of 26 - 42).  The domestic supply chain is in chaos, with everything from foods to medicines in short supply.  And COVID-19 made its way into the island claiming thousands of lives, while the country continues to wrestle with the challenges of one of the longest embargoes in history.  Protests have been common in Cuba during the pandemic, and more recently Cuba has reaffirmed its loyalty to Vladimir Putin. What in the world is going on in Cuba?  Helping us look into the cloudy crystal ball is Joseph Scarpaci, a seasoned scholar and analyst of Cuban politics, culture and society.  In this season premiere episode, we take a deep dive into Cuba's current turmoil. Dr. Joseph L. Scarpaci, Executive Director, Center for the Study of Cuban Culture and Economy, has been involved with cultural and educational travel to Cuba since 1991. Since then, he introduced more than 500 students, faculty, alumni, and interested travelers to the island. He aims to show travelers the many nuances of Cuban culture and economy. He is the author of three books and dozens of articles about Cuba. These include Cuban Landscapes: Heritage, Memory and Place (with Cuban geographer Dr. Armando Portela, New York: Guilford, 2009); Plazas & Barrios: Heritage Tourism and Globalization in the Latin American Centro Histórico(University of Arizona Press, 2005) Follow Dr. Bob on Twitter:  @ProfessorHuish

Health and human needs only intensify during a conflict.  Persons relying on disability-inclusive spaces and services face enormous challenges when attempting to flee their homes because of the threat of invasion or attack.  Moldova continues to receive refugees from Ukraine, many of whom are in great need of disability inclusive care.  But Who Cares?  Where does the responsibility to provide care and services lie in such crises?  One organization is stepping in to answer the call. Based on in its long-term work in Moldova, Keystone Human Services made a Commitment to Action at the Clinton Global Initiative to provide spaces of care for those fleeing the war in Ukraine.  Recorded live at the Clinton Global Initiative in Manhattan, we are joined with Charlie Hooker, Charles Sweeder, and Nicolae Ciocan to talk about the important work that they are doing in Moldova today. Keystone Human Services (KHS) announced a new Commitment to Action at this year’s Clinton Global Initiative in New York. Through this Commitment, entitled “Inclusive Crisis Response and Recovery – Rebuilding Forward – Moldova/Ukraine,” KHS will coordinate a national-level disability-inclusive relief and response effort within Moldova to support refugees from Ukraine, as well as Moldovan communities providing support, addressing both immediate basic and longer-term targeted needs. Learn more about Keystone Human Services Here. Follow Dr. Bob on Twitter:  @ProfessorHuish

The Guatemalan genocide was the systematic murder of Maya civilians during the government rule in the 1970s and 1980s.  Some 200,000 lives were taken by military and paramilitary operations during this era, all the while the government denied it was occurring. Governments are notoriously lousy at hiding secrets forever, and the military dictatorship in Guatemala was no exception.  In 2005 an abandoned room was discovered by Guatemala's human rights office.  In it was a vast collection of police records, reports and other documents that revealed the systemic implementation of murder and violence against Maya people by the government. A "staggering discovery" of records that proudly documented abuse and murder, this collection of documents was one of the most revealing collections of documents from Guatemala's dirty war.   The police archive revealed that not only was genocide carefully planned and systemically executed, but it was proudly recorded!  Dr. Catherine Nolin's research and teaching focuses on learning from the afterlife of those who were targeted during the genocide.  Her research digs into the deeper significance of the genocide and how it was recorded.  And, she even takes her students and colleagues on field trips to Guatemala to engage in this historic landscape of violence first hand.  In this conversation, she outlines her work. Catherine Nolin is a Professor of Geography and Chair of the Department of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at UNBC (newly re-named in April 2021). In July 2020, she was honoured to Chair the Conference of Latin American Geography (CLAG)organization. CLAG is the premier organization for geographers engaging in research in Latin America and the Caribbean and works to foster research, education, and service related to Latin American geographical studies. She considers herself a long-time insurgent researcher and social justice advocate, including more than 25 years grappling with the afterlives of the Guatemalan genocides. Follow Dr. Bob on Twitter:  @ProfessorHuish

Child exploitation.  Any is too much.  No government in the world would openly advocate for child exploitation.  Yet, it occurs with impunity.  The Out of the Shadows Index is a tool that can help get governments get on track to prevent vulnerabilities for child exploitation. Check out this episode with Rute Caldeira from Ignite Philanthropy, who is overseeing the strategic direction of the Out of the Shadows Index. Rute Caldeira has almost two decades of experience in the development and the good governance sectors, where she has built considerable expertise in evaluating the impact of evidence-based advocacy initiatives that aim to enable policy changes, and in developing effective and sustainable strategies for these initiatives. Currently she works as Ignite Philanthropy’s senior strategy advisor responsible, among other things, for the strategic direction and impact of the Out of the Shadows index. Follow Dr. Bob on Twitter @ProfessorHuish

We want affordable housing!  And we want housing to be the greatest appreciating asset!  How can it be both?   This antipodal relationship is not only impossible to fulfill, its consequences are falling on renters.  In the United States the average renter has a few thousand dollars of net wealth, while home owners boast hundreds of thousands.    Michael Barnes sees this problem not as a wealth management problem, but as an issue of racial and gender discrimination.  The renter wealth equity gap is aimed at single mothers, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and newcomers.  His firm, Viva Equity Fund, has a plan to get more wealth into the pockets of renters, while costing landlords nothing in the process.  How?  Tune in to this Episode of GDP, recorded live at the Clinton Global Initiative 2022, to find out. #CGI2022 Follow Dr. Bob on Twitter:  @ProfessorHuish Follow Viva Equity on Twitter:  @VivaEquity

A 17-year old student from Ukraine who may be able to put the land mine business out of business.  A video game that connects players to solving pressing climate change challenges.  And a robotic habitat for bees.  These are 3 stories of innovations that are unfolding not just so people can thrive, but so they can thrive.  In this episode of GDP, broadcast live from the CGI 2022 meeting in New York City alongside the UNGA, we meet 3 innovators who's ideas put into action may make a world of difference.  Praise aside, these innovators show how a commitment to be present to a problem can lead into an executable action.  It's a lesson for students, teachers, and policy makers alike on how to beat "development anxiety" and put it into commitments to action. Igor Klymenko studies Physical and Mathematical sciences at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. Igor is passionate about raising awareness of, and solving, the global landmine problem. Sankari Studies is  a team of game developers, ecopreneurs, creatives, dreamers, technologists, solutionists, visionaries, storytellers, rebels, disruptors, and environmentalists, who have rallied to take a stand to fight the demise of our planet and pull it back from the brink of destruction. Saar Safra is a tech-geek, a serial entrepreneur, and CEO of Beewise Learn more about Igor Klymenko's Anti-mine quad copter here:   Learn more about Katoa the Game here from Sankari Studios. Learn more about Beewise here. Follow Dr. Bob on Twitter:  @ProfessorHuish #CGI2022

Not since 2016 has the Clinton Global Initiative met in person to make commitments for action against pressing global challenges.  Climate change, health care, inclusive economic growth, gender inequalities, even the health and well being of bees.  It's all on the table.  For this episode of GDP, Dr. Bob heads to New York to catch the conversations of world leaders in government, business, or the non-profit sector to better understand "The business of how".  How are these leaders approaching these problems, and what will they do about it? In this episode we hear from Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, and José Andrés founder of world central kitchen about getting ideas "unstuck" and what needs to happen going forward when it comes to climate change and the emergencies that follow climate-related disasters. Learn more about the Clinton Global Initiative Here. Follow Dr. Bob on Twitter:  @ProfessorHuish

Imagine this.  A Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) founded in a post-conflict country in Western Africa that offers assistance to the Global North.  And what if that same NGO refuses funds from those who disagree with its feminist mandate, and yet continues to thrive?  And what if this organization, Purposeful - based in Sierra Leone, is a leading example of how to turn the development industry right around.  In Sierra Leone Chernor Bah the Co-CEO of Purposeful joins GDP this week to explain exactly how a commitment to values, respect of morals, and belief in the goal of empowering girls is an approach to development that is so sorely needed.  For any development practitioner, student, or scholar, you will not want to miss this conversation.   Chernor Bah is a feminist leader, activist, and champion who works in Sierra Leone and around the world to empower girls and young people. As the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Purposeful- the first Africa-rooted global feminist hub for girls activism - he dedicates his time to building power and amplifying  the voices of girls and young women while promoting distribution of  unrestricted funds to girls and feminist activists in Sierra Leone and over 150 countries around the world. He’s a leading voice of reform and decolonisation of the global development industry.  A lifelong champion for human rights, at age 15, Chernor founded and led the the Children’s Forum Network  -a mass movement of children who mobilized to demand their voices be included in peace and reconciliation efforts after Sierra Leone’s civil war. Globally recognized for his activism and expertise on girls, global education and youth rights, he has been appointed numerous times by the United Nations Secretary-General and is a frequent speaker and advisor at high-level platforms including the United Nations, The European Union, the World Bank, and at major universities around the world. His writings have appeared in the Lancet, the New York Times, the Guardian, Africa is a Country, DEVEX, and several other influential platforms. Learn more about Purposeful here. Follow Dr. Bob on Twitter:  @ProfessorHuish