“I have a passion for growth – one of the things that is critical for the growth of a nation is education”
Barriers to education, Right to education, Sarah Brown
In the latest episode of her Better Angels podcast, 鶹APP President Sarah Brown talks about creating change to former Tanzania president Jakaya Kikwete, American journalist Nicholas Kristof, British comedian Nish Kumar and Dutch anti-trafficking campaigner Toos Heemskerk-Schep.
How do you create change? Do you lead, watch, take part or just shout loudly?
All of these activities have their place in campaigning for change and shifting the status quo or addressing a wrong.
鶹APP President Sarah Brown brings the second series of her Better Angels podcast to a close by talking to the former president of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete; New York Times columnist and author Nicholas Kristof; British comedian Nish Kumar; ԻToos Heemskerk-Schep, an anti-trafficking activist from the Netherlands.
Sarah says everyone can be an activist. She adds: 鶹APPPeople from all walks of life, all countries, all professions can get involved.鶹APP
Jakaya Kikwete was Tanzania鶹APPs president from 2005 to 2015 and was also president of the African Union in 2008-09. He had to oversee massive change in the East African country 鶹APP and is particularly proud of the progress on education.
He tells Sarah: 鶹APPI have a passion for growth. One of the things that is critical for the growth of a nation is education.鶹APP
When he became leader, only 6% of children were going on from primary to secondary school.
鶹APPSo we had to catch up,鶹APP he says. 鶹APPIf you want to create a middle class you have got to go beyond primary school.
鶹APPWell, it worked. It was amazing. The student population increased in secondary school from 524,000 to 1.9 million.鶹APP
Kikwete says Tanzania is now 鶹APPdoing justice to our children and our young people.鶹APP
has written a lot about human and women鶹APPs rights 鶹APP Իwon two Pulitzer Prizes for his journalism.
Sarah asks him about the balance between being an independent observer Իwanting to bring about change.
鶹APPI write about issues that bother me and where I think it can make a difference,鶹APP he says.
鶹APPI think that it鶹APPs about being transparent and disclosing. I also think that it is about recognising where your comparative advantage lies.
鶹APPI do think that where I add value is in writing about problems, not in helping individuals here and there.
鶹APPBut I also think that if I come across a child who is dying of malaria I鶹APPm not going to sit back and pull out my pad and camera and chronicle the child鶹APPs death when I can take that child to the local hospital.鶹APP
How does laughter help when you鶹APPre discussing the need for change? That鶹APPs the question Sarah puts to when she catches up with him in Edinburgh during his latest comedy tour.
He confesses that he is wrestling with how to give his audience what they want to hear about today鶹APPs issues but also to more personally as an activist 鶹APP particularly on the issue of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union.
鶹APPI鶹APPll continue writing and performing comedy but the next step for me is to actually start putting my money where my mouth is and start turning up to demonstrations,鶹APP he says.
鶹APPWe are at a tipping point politically 鶹APP it鶹APPs starting to come to a point where we could end up on the wrong side of history if we don鶹APPt pull our finger out.鶹APP
Sarah has some very interesting tips for Nish on how he can focus his activism.
Toos Heemskerk-Schep is country director of . Sarah speaks to her in a noisy Amsterdam cafe where the charity provides culinary training for victims of trafficking.
She asks Toos how the wider community can become engaged in projects like this.
鶹APPSo often we think that those type of activities needs to be done by social workers,鶹APP says Toos.
鶹APPBut we are so grateful in the Netherlands now that we have so many businesses wanting to have a social corporate responsibility. They give time to us.
鶹APPWe have law firms who give their time in order to help us with all kinds of different papers and documents. We have bookkeepers who give us time in helping us with the bookkeeping. We have companies who open up their doors for internships for the women 鶹APP and this is huge.
鶹APPWe can train, we can educate a woman 鶹APP but they need to go out there and they need to get back that confidence in normal businesses. That鶹APPs really what it鶹APPs all about. We should really join all those forces together.鶹APP
Don鶹APPt miss an episode 鶹APP subscribe now
To subscribe via iTunes from this page, hit the iTunes icon above.
If you are on a desktop, you鶹APPll need to select 鶹APPView in iTunes鶹APP and once the iTunes programme is open, you鶹APPll be able to switch on a subscription.
Alternatively, if you have a podcast player that subscribes via RSS, you can click the RSS icon on any episode or use this link to get a full feed of all the episodes.
To subscribe via iTunes from this page, hit the iTunes icon above.
If you are on a desktop, you鶹APPll need to select 鶹APPView in iTunes鶹APP and once the iTunes programme is open, you鶹APPll be able to switch on a subscription.
Alternatively, if you have a podcast player that subscribes via RSS, you can click the RSS icon on any episode or use this link to get a full feed of all the episodes.
More news
