Access to Inspiration

Pierre Heistein talks to Brendan Davis, from episode 58, about the documentary film he made telling the story of Atuel River in Mendoza region, Argentina.

In 2020 there were protests against the overturning of a water protection law that had successfully kept water-intensive mining projects out of the Mendoza province, the largest wine-producing region in Latin America that gets water from the Atuel River.

Pierre and two others decided to trace the route of the river from high up in the Andes to its end in the Cuyo Desert, becoming the first to do so, and recording perspectives of local people who engage with the river in different ways. The resulting documentary received an overwhelmingly positive response from the local community and has caused Pierre to reflect on society’s pace of life, reliance on, and connectedness to nature.

About Pierre Heistein
Pierre believes that we really are capable of creating more harmonious relationships with each other and the natural world that supports us. He contributes to this through photography, entrepreneurship, teaching, and fatherhood.

Find out more at: ATUEL Documentary Spanish version and Instagram
Email: Pierre DOT Heistein @ Gmail.com
Connect with Brendan Davis https://www.crazyinagoodway.com

Key Quotes

• We felt that it was very important to make the river the main subject, the protagonist of this
  film.
• We were forced to move at the river’s pace and we were forced to move at the pace of nature itself.
• It made me reflect on how to work better, how to live better, how to produce better and to do so at a far more natural pace of ebb and flow of passion and rest.
• I think the river just taught me that just how to ebb and flow, how to speed up, slow down, go stop and really integrate that into the rest of my life
• We are a manmade oasis in the middle of the desert, it is impossible to live here without having a deep connection to the river.
• Our little planet earth in this immense of expansive space is the only place we can live. And we depend on it. And if we don’t look after it, we’re probably not gonna be able to live here, at least with not any level of quality of life.
• It has made me really question, what am I working towards and reminded me to, to just always be very conscious of the jobs I seek and understand why.
• We are not here to serve nature. Nature’s not here to serve us. It’s a relationship. and just like any relationship in our lives, it needs to be as healthy as possible.

This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations.

Read the transcription for this episode at our website

Connect with Access to Inspiration on Twitter : Facebook : Instagram : LinkedIn : Read our Impact Report

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him). Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra 

In the first of our series of guest-hosted episodes Racheal Wanjiku Kigame, Country Director, Help a Child Africa, who was a guest on episode 12 talks to her mentor Dr. James Kisia about using mentorship to cultivate leadership in Africa.

They discuss:

• why leaders must listen and be curious
• why mentors should '‘walk their talk’ if they want to encourage others to grow and develop
• why there is a greater focus on localisation of NGO (non-government organisation) support today, to meet the needs of local communities.

About Dr. James Kisia
Dr. James Kisia is Country Director for Catholic Medical Mission Board Kenya (CMMB), is a medical doctor who worked within the public, private, and NGO sectors. He has more than twenty years of combined clinical and humanitarian program work. He has led large, multi-county implementation of projects in reproductive and maternal health in areas of low resource settings and difficult-to-access services in Kenya. James has been involved in setting up emergency and health services in some of the largest refugee camps in the world in Dadaab and Kakuma.

James loves the outdoors and has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya several times. He is passionate about the environment and has planted and cared for over three thousand trees within the last four years, most of them indigenous.

Connect with Dr Kisia at LinkedIn and at the Catholic Medical Mission Board
Connect with guest host Racheal Wanjiku Kigame on LinkedIn.

Key Quotes

• I realised that I had actually put aside my dream and so I rekindled it, and moved from my clinical practice to work for Kenya Red Cross. And I never looked back.
• My father was a mathematics teacher in the fifties, and my mother was an English teacher. And what they imparted in me was the importance of education.
• I derive great pleasure at seeing people just develop.
• Context is very important for leadership, and the way in which we respond to the world is largely influenced by our own perception of the world.
• I've always admired those kind of leaders that have clarity of thought, and clarity of action.
• Sometimes it's feast or famine. You have too much money within a short time when disasters occur. And then once the disasters disappear, you don't have any money.
• If I do my part and leave somebody feeling that it was useful for me to be in their lives then I think that's good enough.

This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations.

Read the transcription for this episode at our website

Connect with Access to Inspiration on Twitter : Facebook : Instagram : LinkedIn : Read our Impact Report

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him). Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra 

Sue Stockdale previews the guest-hosted episodes that will be featured in Series 12. They are:

• Dr. James Kisia talks to guest host Racheal Wanjiku Kigame from episode 12 about using mentorship to cultivate leadership in Africa
• Pierre Heistein talks to guest host Brendan Davis from episode 58 about recording the story of the Atuel River
• Cori Myka talks to guest host Rob Lawrence from episode 42 about helping non-swimmers overcome fear of deep water
• Andrew Freear talks to guest host Josh Wasserman from episode 44 about how Rural Studio creates sustainable impact

This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations.

Read the transcription for this episode and connect with us on
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
Sign up for our newsletter | Read our Impact Report

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra 

During this month we are republishing some of our most popular episodes.

Dr. John-David F. Bartoe is a retired astronaut and former Research Manager of the International Space Station. He has travelled over 2.8 million miles and logged over 190 hours in space.

In this episode Dr Bartoe talks to Sue Stockdale about his experience as an astronaut, what it’s like to travel into space on the Space Shuttle to get into orbit, and some of the research developments that are happening on the International Space Station.

It was first broadcast on 11th March 2020 as episode 9.

This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations. Find out more at squadcast.fm

Read the transcription for this episode on www.accesstoinspiration.org and connect with us:

Twitter : Facebook : Instagram : LinkedIn
Sign up for our newsletter
Read our Impact Report

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra 

During December we are republishing a few of our most popular episodes. This week it's Jennifer Wilde & Dan McClure talking about Systems innovation. It was first broadcast on 26th Jan 2022 as episode 59.

Jen and Dan explain how to reimagine systems when addressing big challenges, such as organisational change or the aftermath of a humanitarian disaster. They explain how to avoid overwhelm, why pictures or drawings can help bring clarity, and the four keys that can help people understand system innovation.

Jennifer (Jen) Wilde draws on over 15 years of hands-on experience as a senior manager in humanitarian response. She has developed strategies for fostering innovation during emergency response, in challenging, volatile contexts. Jen is Managing Director at Innovation Ecosystem, an organisation that offers practical tools and support to deliver a step change in innovation effectiveness. She met her business partner, Dan McClure, when she was invited by the UN to speak at University of California (UC) Berkeley about the innovation lab that she set up in the middle of the earthquake response in Nepal.

Dan McClure is a specialist in disruption. Throughout his 40-year career, he has been a choreographer of ambitious messy change, reimagining complex systems in business, government, international aid, and society. His work spans multiple sectors and engages leaders in both sprawling global firms and fast-moving start-ups. Dan is a thought leader that has helped pioneer practical approaches to system innovation, drawing on insights from a wide variety of past roles such as the global innovation lead at the international consultancy ThoughtWorks, and the Chair of the Advisory Board for the UK based Humanitarian Innovation Fund.

Find out more about Jennifer Wilde and Dan McClure at Innovation Ecosystem:

Website: https://www.innovationecosystem.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovation-ecosystem
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Innovation-Ecosystem-110228147543789/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/inno_ecosystem


This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations. Find out more at squadcast.fm

Read the transcription for this episode on www.accesstoinspiration.org and connect with us:
Twitter : Facebook : Instagram : LinkedIn

Sign up for our newsletter Read our Impact Report

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him) Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra 

During December we are republishing a few of our most popular episodes. This week Sue Stockdale talks to Palwasha Siddiqi, whose early childhood experiences as a refugee shaped her interest in helping others to maximise their potential.

Palwasha was born and raised between Afghanistan and Pakistan. When she was seven her family fled the civil war in Afghanistan and became refugees in Pakistan where they lived for over a decade. They moved back to Afghanistan after the American invasion in 2003 and it was then that she was introduced to a non-profit organization that helped her secure a full-time scholarship to attend university in the United States.

The force behind making this move to the US was her passion for education and desire to live a life guided by her own values and wishes. After obtaining her bachelor's and MBA degrees Palwasha went on to join American Express in New York. Seven years later she transferred to London where she now works.

This episode was first broadcast on 16th June 2021 as episode 48.

Connect with Palwasha Siddiqi on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/palwashasiddiqi

This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations. https://squadcast.fm

Read the transcription for this episode on www.accesstoinspiration.org and connect with us:
Twitter www.twitter.com/accessinspirat1
Facebook www.facebook.com/accesstoinspiration
Instagram www.instagram.com/accesstoinspiration
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/access-to-inspiration/

Sign up for our newsletter http://eepurl.com/hguX2b
Read our Impact Report https://bit.ly/3hElalv

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra 

Sue Stockdale talks to Alex van den Heever, a wildlife tracker and author who worked for many years at the famous Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa. He served in numerous roles, as a safari guide, tracker and ultimately had full responsibility for the reserve’s environment.

Alex describes the ancient skill of tracking and how it relates to modern day decision-making. He shares the five interrelated activities involved in the tracking process: finding the right track, following, anticipation, losing the track and the encounter.

Alex was born in Knysna, South Africa in 1975. At age 19, he began working at the world-famous Londolozi Game Reserve. During this time, Alex was paired with Renias Mhlongo, a local Shangaan tracker who grew up as a hunter-gatherer in the greater Kruger National Park.

For 27 years the two have worked together tracking wild animals in Peru, Chile, Brazil, North America, Australia, China, and all over Africa. In 2003, Alex became the youngest person ever to be certified as a Senior Wildlife Tracker in South Africa. He is a director and shareholder of EcoTraining, South Africa’s leading guide and environmental training company.

In 2009, Alex and Mrs Gaynor Rupert founded the Tracker Academy, an award-winning non-profit NGO that trains indigenous wildlife trackers. Alex also co-founded Wild Signs, a company that developed the Tracking Success virtual adventure which uses the ancient practice of animal tracking to solve modern-day business problems.

He holds a NQF4 Lead Tracker and Professional Trails Guide qualifications, and a Diploma in Marketing and Business Management from Damelin Business School. Alex has published two books: the bestselling Tracker Manual field guide and Changing a Leopard’s Spots, a book about his working relationship and tracking adventures with Renias Mhlongo. In public engagements Alex speak alongside his friend and colleague of 27 years, Renias Mhlongo, in his language Shangaan, which he translates for the audience.

Key Quotes:

• 'There are very few animal trackers left in the world. Southern Africa is one of the last places that people still track wild animals'.
• 'As long as I remember, I've just wanted to be close to nature'.
• 'I'd done a year of a marketing degree and I was supposed to go back. I was gonna take a year off - that was 27 years ago. I never went back'.
• 'Renius was old enough to get me outta trouble, but young enough to get me into it'.
• 'Tracking is for the most part seen by the west as a very mystical, magical skill'.
• 'The top, most elite trackers in the world have the ability to balance detail analytical thought with creative holistic thinking'.
• 'Nature operates on relationships. The relationship between the rocks, the soil, the trees, the plants, the birds, the animals, everything is in. They are so intricately linked, and there are relationships there that are ancient and that are fundamental to the success of the system as a whole'.
• 'If man makes changes to the environment, nature doesn't complain. It simply adapts'.
• 'Nature is just wordless. Because the animals that these trackers pursue are wild and cannot be controlled. And because the environment in which they operate is vast, there are no signposts. There are no algorithms. There are no consultants to talk to. They have to become aligned with the signs that nature is giving them in order to make good decisions'.
• 'To track, well, you must put the animal in your heart'.
• 'Trackers give themselves time. They go slower rather than faster'.
• '94% of those 220 trained in the Tracker Academy are now in permanent conservation jobs. All of whom were unemployed, many without hope'.

Find out more about Alex van den Heever:

Website https://alexandren.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/alex_vandenheever/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexkeynotespeaker
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/alex.vandenheever.1

Tracking Success website https://trackingsuccess.tv
Tracker Academy website https://www.trackeracademy.co.za
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/trackeracademy/

This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations. https://squadcast.fm

Read the transcription for this episode on www.accesstoinspiration.org and connect with us:
Twitter www.twitter.com/accessinspirat1
Facebook www.facebook.com/accesstoinspiration
Instagram www.instagram.com/accesstoinspiration
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/access-to-inspiration/

Sign up for our newsletter http://eepurl.com/hguX2b
Read our Impact Report https://bit.ly/3hElalv

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra 

Global CEO of Designit, Nic Parmaksizian talks to Sue Stockdale about why he is passionate about creativity and innovation. Nic outlines how leaders can create environments that encourage innovation, and why ambidexterity is needed to be able to focus on both profitability today and tomorrow.

An accomplished global business executive, Nic is known for his strategic, visionary thinking. His contagious entrepreneurial approach and humanity-centred work methodology have contributed to an impressive track record of industry-leading transformational change in the areas of technology innovation and human behaviour.

In 2022, Nic joined Designit as CEO and was previously Head of Digital practice at the global technology and management consultancy Capco, a Wipro company. During the eight years that he headed the digital department, Nic built a renowned digital innovation team that challenged the norms to deliver highly successful digital transformation strategies for financial services around the world.

Key Quotes:

'I have a very associated mind. So I connect things and I try to find patterns'.

'I still try to make sure that I can still tap into that little voice, that intuition to help guide me when I come to make decisions'.

'There needs to be a clear mandate from the top of a business that this is a priority and that leadership will create an environment where people, have the time, the opportunity and the safety net that they need to be able to innovate'.

'Innovation is not just about coming up with ideas. It's also about following up on those ideas and making sure that's they land and there is execution behind them'.

'Do your day job, but also think about tomorrow'.

'As a leader, what I try to do is lead from the front, lead by example, and role model the behaviours that I would want to see from everybody else'.

'You need ambidexterity between profitability today while thinking about your profit for tomorrow. And I find that sometimes one can compromise the other'.

'I find it very important from a wellbeing point of view to give people access to learning'.

Connect with Nic Parmaksizian:

Designit - https://www.designit.com
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicparmak/

This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations. https://squadcast.fm

Read the transcription for this episode on www.accesstoinspiration.org and connect with us:

Twitter www.twitter.com/accessinspirat1
Facebook www.facebook.com/accesstoinspiration
Instagram www.instagram.com/accesstoinspiration
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/access-to-inspiration/

Sign up for our newsletter http://eepurl.com/hguX2b
Read our Impact Report https://bit.ly/3hElalv

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra 

Sue Stockdale talks to Dr. Sarah Gilchrist about the subject of sleep. With over 60% of the British population reporting that they have poor sleep quality, and an estimated 1 in 3 suffering from insomnia or sleep deprivation, it’s a topic that has a significant impact on our health and wellbeing.

Dr. Sarah Gilchrist FBASES spent over 20 years working in the high-performance sport industry latterly as a Technical Lead for the English Institute of Sport and Senior Physiologist with British Rowing. Her doctorate specialises in sleep and athletic performance, and she now provides consultancy on a range of performance areas, particularly relating to sleep health. She is on the Advisory Board for the Sleep Charity, a fellow of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences and is High Performance Sport Accredited.

Find out more about Dr. Sarah Gilchrist:

Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/gilchristperf/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sarah-gilchrist-ab8773150/
Twitter. https://twitter.com/SarahLGilchrist
Website www.gilchristperformance.co.uk

Key Quotes:

'Your Dracula hormone, melatonin only comes out at night, and it reacts to dim light'.

'Insomnia is the biggest form of sleep deprivation in the UK'.

'Throughout women's life cycle, sleep is affected, so it's normal'.

'Have you got a strategy to get good sleep? Most people say, no, I don't think about it'.

This series is kindly supported by Squadcast –the remote recording platform which empowers podcasters by capturing high-quality audio and video conversations. https://squadcast.fm

Read the transcription for this episode on www.accesstoinspiration.org and connect with us:
Twitter www.twitter.com/accessinspirat1
Facebook www.facebook.com/accesstoinspiration
Instagram www.instagram.com/accesstoinspiration
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/access-to-inspiration/

Sign up for our newsletter http://eepurl.com/hguX2b
Read our Impact Report https://bit.ly/3hElalv

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra 

Tyrone Mathurin talks to host Sue Stockdale about being a racing driver in Team BRIT, which aims to become the first ever all-disabled team to race in the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race – the most iconic endurance sportscar race in the world.

Whilst riding his motorbike in 2005, Tyrone crashed which caused four nerves to be torn from his spinal cord. During surgery to reattach the nerves, doctors were unaware of a hematoma putting pressure onto his spinal cord and a week later he awoke from an induced coma, paralysed. Fast forward to 2022, and Tyrone is behind the wheel at the Silverstone circuit in a specially adapted BMW 118, where previously he had watched Moto GP as a spectator. Tyrone talks about his life growing up, how he endured the challenge of being paralysed, and how he became a racing driver in Team BRIT.

Find out more about Team BRIT:

Website https://teambrit.co.uk/drivers/tyrone-mathurin/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TeamBRIT
Twitter https://twitter.com/teambritracing
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/teambritracing/

Key Quotes:

'My career really started from a negative to a positive, from having a motorcycle accident to getting the chance to race motor cars'.

'I decided to jump on a motorcycle, and then that's when life went the opposite way for me'.

'My nerves detached from my spinal cord, which caused my right arm to not move'.

'It was a long road to the beginning of my recovery and I was in intensive care for three months'.

'There wasn't a support system there to help you through it, I had to do it myself'.

'I met a guy who was in a wheelchair and he gave me the inspiration to not give up- to work hard and you can get through it'.

'I'd never thought I would be actually in the pits at Silverstone doing motor racing'.

'The innovation behind our hand control system puts us on a level playing field. Once we are in a car, the disability goes out of the window'.

'You’ve got to persevere from what you believe in and over time it will happen'.

Read the transcription for this episode on www.accesstoinspiration.org and connect with us:
Twitter www.twitter.com/accessinspirat1
Facebook www.facebook.com/accesstoinspiration
Instagram www.instagram.com/accesstoinspiration
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/access-to-inspiration/

Sign up for our newsletter http://eepurl.com/hguX2b
Read our Impact Report https://bit.ly/3hElalv

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.

Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee


Host: Sue Stockdale 
Producer: Sue Stockdale  
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra