In a tech-driven world, are we overlooking the skills that truly build the future?

This episode features master craftsperson Paddy Finnegan, who’s proving that traditional hand skills aren’t outdated—they’re essential. From empowering young people to creating real-world solutions through the Wheels of Change programme, this conversation is all about dignity, resilience, and opportunity.

Because the future isn’t just digital—it’s still in our hands.

Read the article here

In this episode, Izy Boyd speaks with Tim Magowan, Director of the 174 Trust in Belfast, about social impact, community development, and nonprofit leadership.

From tackling structural inequality to empowering local communities, Tim shares powerful insights on creating sustainable change, coaching-led leadership, and building resilience in underserved communities.

Find out more

https://www.theduncairn.com/

What does it really take to create change when systems are complex and progress is hard?
In this episode, Matthew Barrington Packer shares why good ideas aren’t enough — and how clear decisions, real trade‑offs, and the VAULTS method help teams move from stuck work to shipped outcomes.

Read more about this episode.

In this episode of Conversations with Agents of Change, host Izy Boyd speaks with peacebuilder and community leader Charmain Jones about growing up during the Troubles, the power of relationships, and why real change happens through human connection. From rural women’s leadership to trauma‑informed peacebuilding, this conversation explores the quiet ripples that transform communities — one relationship at a time.

Find more about this episode here.

What happens when silence at work costs women their confidence — and organisations their best talent?
Izchel Boyd speaks with menopause workplace advocate Siobhan Kearney about lived experience, leadership responsibility, and why menopause belongs in the strategic business conversation.

Honest, hopeful, and long overdue.

Read more about this episode here.

Confidence coach Margaret Kelly joins Izy Boyd to share her journey of reclaiming her voice, redefining self‑worth, and becoming an agent of change.

A powerful conversation about mindset, boundaries, and living a life that truly aligns.Read the article here

How do you build the future of batteries outside Asia?
In this episode of Conversations with Agents of Change, Izy Boyd sits down with Kieren Hall, CEO of Avocet Battery Materials, to explore the unseen world behind battery manufacturing, precision materials, and local supply chains. From ultra‑thin copper foil to deep‑tech innovation, this conversation reveals what it really takes to turn material science into impact.

Contemporary and Mexican folk dancer Mayte Segura joins Izy Boyd to tell the story of a late-blooming dance career that became a mission: teaching, choreographing and building Mexican Dance Belfast to bring culture, wellbeing and community to Northern Ireland.

Mayte reflects on starting dance at 23, training and touring, teaching babies to adults, the realities of funding and fair pay for artists, and the joy of sharing Mexican traditions with diverse performers and audiences.

Highlights:

• How dance transformed Mayte’s life after a science background.

• Building inclusive classes and a company with no prior dance experience required.

• Practical challenges for dancers: pay, professional standards, and performance needs.

• Upcoming shows and community projects across Belfast, Cork and London.

From the episode:

“I started dancing later in life at twenty three… she opened my mind. Open my soul, open my body, everything for me.”

“We don't ask for any dance previous dance training. We provide the training. You provide the beauty of yourselves.”

Listen if you want: inspiration to try something new, a deeper look at how arts build community, or practical insight into what dancers need to thrive.

Subscribe for more Conversations with Agents of Change and check the episode notes for links to Mayte’s classes, performances and social channels.

Read the full article

“So I am a proud and worried father of two. I am an engaged citizen and a longtime academic activist, that tries to use my privilege as an academic.”

In this episode of Conversations with Agents of Change, Izy Boyd speaks with Professor John Barry — a leading voice in green political economy, former co‑chair of the Belfast Climate Commission and a long‑time academic activist. John explains how his working‑class roots, anti‑colonial lens and decades in the academy shaped a radical, evidence‑based case for post‑growth, post‑carbon, post‑capitalist change, and why climate action must be rooted in social justice.

What you’ll hear

• Why teaching is activism: how pedagogy that centres lived experience builds political power.
• Practical climate wins: why insulating homes in Belfast beats flashy tech for cutting emissions and tackling energy poverty.
• A politics for working people: connecting cost‑of‑living concerns to climate policy and building a working‑class green agenda.
• Hope and strategy: impatience, resilience, and the relay‑race view of multi‑generational change.

Tune in for a clear, urgent and humane conversation about how knowledge, courage and collective action can reshape our economy and everyday life.

Read our full article about this episode at https://agentsofchange.io/impatient-for-real-change-john-barry-on-post-growth-politics/

Jacqueline Gibson, director at International Synergies NI, explains how industrial symbiosis turns other people’s waste into local resources—saving money, cutting carbon, and strengthening supply chains. Hear practical stories from workshops that unlocked £14 million in potential savings and learn how simple matchmaking between businesses sparks creativity and resilience.

“We believe that there's no such thing as a waste, but waste is actually just a resource in the wrong place.”
“We've saved over fifty million tonnes of CO2 reduction.” — Jacqueline Gibson

Listen to the full episode on Conversations with Agents of Change to hear the full workshop stories, real business wins, and Jacqueline’s personal journey into sustainability.

Take action

• Learn more about Jacqueline’s work: https://international-synergies.com/
• Connect with Jacqueline on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelinegibson/
• Read about the episode on our website https://agentsofchange.io/jacqueline-gibson-on-industrial-symbiosis/