catalystas' podcast

What does corporate investment have to do with feminism and climate change? How can we create a future where feminist organizations and climate action can align to access critical funding? How can governments develop better regulations to protect their citizens while encouraging economic growth and foreign investment? We're tackling these questions - and more - in this episode of Catalystas: Unfol...

How has civil activism in Syria evolved over the years, and what role will it play in shaping the country's future? In this episode, we explore the resilience and impact of Syrian civil society, from the early days of grassroots activism to today's ongoing efforts in governance, peacebuilding, and reconstruction. Join us in a conversation between Syrian Civil Society Leaders,  our very own Rami To...

Catalystas Co-Founders Aviva and Beatrice sit down to discuss Gender Mainstreaming and how organizations can put their money where their mouths are to realize truly transformative change towards gender equality, instead of just ticking a box and maintaining the status quo.

On behalf of our client Start Network, we sat down with Jessica Novia of Yakkum Emergency Unit (YEU) in Indonesia, Mayfourth Luneta of the Center for Disaster Preparedness (CDP) in the Philippines, and Takeshi Komino of the Asia Disaster Reduction and Response Network in Japan, three members of the Community-Led Innovation Partnership (CLIP) program to talk about innovation, community, and disaste...

If the thought of having to go through an external evaluation fills your organization with dread, this is the podcast episode for you! Listen in as our founders pull back the curtain on the external evaluation process as senior lead evaluators themselves. We discuss how to prepare your teams and your projects for evaluations from the evaluator perspective; what will make the process go as smoothly...

In this episode, Catalystas founders Beatrice Maneshi and Aviva Stein share the audio of their presentation on Breaking the Cycle: Donor Involvement, Evaluation, Accountability at the Online IDEAS Conference 2022 on the Power Of Evaluation: Influencing Decision Making for a Better and More Equal World. As expert evaluators, we've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to both programmi...

In this Episode we sit down with Dr. Aneil Tripathy, PhD,  to talk green, blue, and other social sustainable bonds and their potential impacts on development and climate financing - especially in the global south. Dr. Tripathy is a cultural anthropologist working in the field of climate bonds. Listen with us as he breaks down colonialism and debt, the impact of ESG bonds on SMEs and NGOs, and disc...

Catalystas Judith and Ambika sit down with Priscilla Philips, founder of the independent African queer lifestyle magazine LGBT Africa, and explore the experiences of being a queer woman in Africa, starting a platform for activism, creativity, and community, and challenging heteronormative narratives in hopes of a better, safer future. 

Catalystas sits down with Simon van Melick (SPARK), Peter Knoope (CVE/PVE Expert and former Dutch Diplomat), and Brandon Oelofse (Media Development Collective) to discuss lessons learned from their ongoing prevention and countering violent extremism programming. The program, "Networks of Change", focuses on youth empowerment, media, lobbying, and political and community engagement in Iraqi Kurdist...

Catalystas Judith and Beatrice sat down with Ms. Anne Kwakkenbos CORDAID Netherlands Expert on Gender, Peace & Security to learn more about the impacts of COVID-19 on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, especially in conflict-affected settings. In this episode, we discuss the challenges COVID has also posed to Global South advocate's ability to access international advocacy platforms and how Anne an...

Catalysta Sofía Cossar sits down with Alessandra Sollberger, the founder of Top Tier Impact and author of Blockchain Mavericks, on a small island in Thailand to discuss innovation and the effects of COVID-19 on the stability of international financial systems and democratic governance structures. What does the pandemic mean for decentralized finance and cryptocurrency? How do we balance the effect...

Catalysta Aviva Stein sat down with Ms. Safia Youssouf, a major influencer in the Chadian entrepreneurship scene, while on mission in Chad's capital, N'Djamena. Catalystas spoke with Safia about her experiences working in the private sector, the NGO sphere, and the Chadian government, and discussed where her new projects on women, agriculture, technology, and business are headed. 

In October, Catalystas Beatrice Maneshi was in Iraq and had a chance to sit down with our clients at the Center for Gender Development Studies (CDGS) at the American University of Iraq in Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan. Although CDGS is an academic institution they are vested in the community and local development and empowerment. We got a chance to talk about their work in Iraq supporting gender...

17 days into the 2019 revolution in Lebanon and one-months since the devastating forest fires that swept through the country the world wait to see what happens to "Paris of the Middle East". Catalystas has had a chance to sit down with Mr. Sammy Kayed of the Nature Conservation Center (NCC) at the American University of Beirut to talk about the impact of the forest fires that burned over 3000 hect...

Catalystas Aviva and Sofia sat down with Gijs Verbossen and Grace Ellis from HiiL (The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law) for a   gripping legal-tech talk. HiiL is a social enterprise devoted to user-friendly justice. That means justice that is easy to access, easy to understand, and effective. How far are we today from this ideal? And how to we get there? Listen to our podcast to find the ans...

An in-depth interview with Ms. Fatou Baldeh, Founder and CEO of Women In Liberation and Leadership. WILL aims to address violence against women and girls in The Gambia, with a particular focus on combating female genital mutilation (FGM). Catalysta Sofia sat down with Ms. Baldeh to discuss her journey, the effects of culture, tradition, and religion on women's rights, and the ongoing work of WILL....

Catalystas had the opportunity to interview Dr. Nirmala Nair, Founder of the child health, human trafficking and women's empowerment organisation Ekjut, that operates out of Panwar Jarkan Province. Ekjut has won countless awards on raising child mortality improvement of maternal, newborn, child health and nutrition of partnering underserved, marginalised communities, through their empowerment, com...

Catalystas Aviva and Sofia sit down with Arjan Hehenkamp,  current Deputy Director of the Dutch organization Stichting Vluchteling (Refugee Foundation) and former operational director and general manager of the Dutch Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Office in Amsterdam, to discuss past experiences, lessons learned, and new approaches to humanitarian aid. 

UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Ms. Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, joins Catalysta Aviva to discuss the roles of the UN, the state, and NGOs when it comes to supporting the needs of IDPs. 

An interview with John Jal Dak and Matthew Lam Joar, two youth leaders from South Sudan, on conflict, community building, and youth empowerment at the One Young World Forum, presented by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs

What is Feminism? Catalystas defines what feminism means to us and why we believe it is the key to a more inclusive and effective development agenda.

Introducing Catalystas Consulting and our experience in development, security and policy practice and implementations. Often in our field, we operate in male and patriarchal dominated spaces, what does this mean for the world of economic, political and social improvement? In this episode, we will discuss why is there s need to women-centered program design a shed some from the far reaches of the w...