Empatea

This week we talked to the passionate and talented Rajesh PI, a theatre and wellness coach, actor and founder of the playback group ‘The Actors Collective’. Based in Bangalore, this group uses theatre to build teams, develop one’s sense of self and foster peace in the world.

We’ve been left inspired by this insightful conversation filled with anecdotes and a glimpse into the world of an actor! We hope you enjoy listening and get inspired by Rajesh’s stories, self awareness, and compassion...

In this episode of Empatea, we discuss:

✅ Playback theatre and The Actors Collective

✅ The importance of celebrating YOU

✅ Talking playback and theatre acting: Busting the myth of playback perfection

✅ Cinematography and acting in an increasingly virtual world

✅ Compassion, empathy, patience: Relationship management in the acting sphere

✅ Theatre as a tool for bonding, connection

✅ Importance of neutrality to develop individuality

We are super excited to be kicking off this new year with a brand new season! Tune in to catch the preview as we dive a little deeper into who we are as your hosts and reflect on what 2020 and 2021 mean to us and to growing this Empatea community!

Grab a cuppa and join us in conversation with Prab Singh, an educational consultant and coach helping students and families navigate the rite of passage journey in the major turning point from school to university.

Prab’s diverse experiences, having lived in both the US and India and amazing ability to connect, coach and communicate have undoubtedly put him in a unique position to “find the turban in others” and embrace difference.

In this episode of Empatea, we discuss:

✅ The College Source: Inspiration, mission and personal experiences

✅ Navigating ‘rite of passage’ from school to university

✅ College decision making and the “right fit” matrix

✅ Building trust and creating connection

✅ Deeper understanding of self and cultivating authentic interests

✅ Coaching vs Counselling: How to find the balance

✅ Multiculturalism and impact on cultivation of empathy and relationships

✅ Rejection: Dealing with disappointment and not allowing it to affect self worth

Meet James Waters, a Zimbabwean-born British designer, socialpreneur and titan of repurposing waste plastic.

From sustainable manufacturing to constructing houses in Africa, James' projects, Kayfactor® [ revolution ] and

[ project ] WAYSTD® reflect his passion for turning waste into building blocks for an environmental friendly future!

More recently, he is creator of the  Zayed Trail of Tolerance, a joint initiative with the UAE ministry of tolerance and coexistence be presented at Dubai Expo 2021, with the aim of creating unity, celebrating  diversity and promoting inclusion, all while using repurposed plastic.

In this episode of Empatea, we discuss:

✅ Inspiration behind starting creative and environmental initiatives

✅ Viewing repurposed plastic on an organisational and community scale

✅ Zayed Trail of Tolerance

✅ Using technology to scale environmental awareness

✅ Talking tolerance, inclusion and coexistence in society

✅ Environmental impact: Bridging the gap between awareness and action

In July 2019, Maxime Vanhollebeke and Cynthia Cheng, 2 lawyers who met at an international law firm decided to create a social impact storytelling platform and that is how Hong Kong Shifts was born. With a focus on creating meaningful connections, Hong Kong Shifts interviews an often overlooked social group, day and night shift workers, and aims to shift perspectives “one story at a time”.

Grab a cuppa and join us as we speak to the amazing co-founders about the power of storytelling, importance of being inclusive and taking a moment to pause and acknowledge the people around us.

In this episode of Empatea, we discuss:

✅ Vision of Hong Kong Shifts: Casting light on HK’s day and night shift workers

✅ Interviewing strangers: Building trust, storytelling and photography

✅ Social inclusion initiatives and what it means to be inclusive

✅ Bridging the gap between corporate and mainstream HK

✅ Power of acknowledgement and gratitude

✅ Building human connections: Removing hierarchies, releasing judgment and practicing mindfulness

Noha Hefny is a purpose driven, impactful and amazingly authentic force to be reckoned with - her journey is filled with multifaceted experiences ranging from humanitarian work with the UNHCR, UNWomen and UNESCO, to the corporate sector working for PepsiCo and McKinsey and Company, and finally taking the plunge into entrepreneurship with the world’s first speaker platform for Arab women called ‘She is Arab’. Her passion to create social impact has also led her to create her own innovation and consulting company, ‘People of Impact’.

Join us as we hear her story and learn more about the power and importance of finding your purpose, and in the process, be a little more human and connected with the world around.

In this episode of Empatea, we discuss:

✅ Humanitarian, corporate and entrepreneurship experiences

✅ Tackling unpredictability, uncertainty and change

✅ Discovering motivation and purpose

✅ VUCA model in COVID-19 climate

✅ Comparing empathy’s manifestation across different sectors

✅ Ripple effects of kindness to self, acts of compassion and making social impact

This week we are talking to Surinder Punjya, Executive Director of The Nesbitt Centre in Hong Kong, a centre empowering adults with learning disabilities through vocational education and social enterprises.

With multiple advanced academic pursuits in the field of disability and social welfare, Surinder’s passion and drive for his work never fails to shine through his personal and work projects. Join us as he takes us on his personal journey from academia to Nesbitt, his continued interest and love for the field of disability and insights on integration and building awareness for people with disabilities.

In this episode of Empatea, we discuss:

✅Journey with The Nesbitt Centre and interest in the field of disability

✅Finding the appropriate terminology to describe disability

✅The effect of small acts of empowerment

✅Integrating people with disabilities into society via social enterprises

✅Labelling and its impact on self-worth

✅Building social awareness: Community behaviour, normalising disability, and knowing our boundaries when offering help

Grab a drink as we sit down with Johnnie Moore, the Founder of Unhurried, an international facilitator, author of Unhurried at Work and visiting tutor at the Saïd Business School in Oxford University.

Johnnie dives into his reflective journey of understanding human relationships, informed by his wide-ranging experiences in facilitation and inspiration to host Unhurried conversations - a free and safe space for strangers to meet up and talk about whatever they want. In turn, things become unhurried - not necessarily slow - and enough space is created for connection to happen.

In this episode of Empatea, we discuss:

✅ The practice of being Unhurried and what it means

✅ Working with diverse people on an individual and organisational scale

✅ Finding the “sweet spot” between organisational structure and human individuality

✅ Hosting an Unhurried session and dealing with contrasting perspectives

✅ What introspection and empathy mean in the workplace today

Learn more about your co-hosts and the purpose of this podcast. Stay tuned for episodes releasing soon!