Frontier Dialogues

This week we talk to Areesha Moosa, who works as the manager at  Business Center Kulhudhuffushi. Areesha touches upon challenges faced by  Maldivians searching for employment, difficulty in becoming financially independent, and skills needed to be developed for the future job market after the COVID-19 pandemic.

On this episode, we talk to  Mizy Musthafa, Communications and  Resource Mobilisation Officer at Maldivian Red Crescent. Mizy touches  upon some of the crucial work of the MRC team, often directly on the  frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis, as seen with initiatives such as the  launch of the Migrant Relief Fund. Mizy highlights how human rights and  inclusion are key to the work of MRC as they assist communities to build  back and recover stronger, and shares some of the significant lessons  learned from the current crisis for future disaster preparedness.

This week on Frontier Dialogues we talk to Ismail Ubaidh, General  Manager of Marketing, Business, and Development at the Waste Management  Corporation Limited (WAMCO). He was part of the team that established the current waste collection system and introduced most of the services provided by WAMCO. Ubaidh talks about the crucial role the WAMCO team plays in continuing to provide sustainable waste management solutions for the people, while prioritizing the safety of staff, especially in the face of major crises such as COVID-19.

This week we talk to Dr. Aminath Riyaz, an information management professional and one of the leading contributors on the Rapid  Livelihoods Assessment on COVID-19, which looked at the impact of the crisis on the Maldives tourism industry in terms of employment and livelihoods and the potential knock-on effects on families and communities.

This week on Frontier Dialogues - we have with us, Fathimath Ibrahim  (Faathun) on behalf of the Thaana Mellow team, winners of Miyaheli social innovation camp 2019. Thaana Mellow is a screen reading application that cothatnverts Thaana (written script of Maldivian language,  Dhivehi) to Latin Dhivehi which then reads the text out loud. The app aims to addresses the gap in access to Dhivehi information sources online. Faathun, known for her volunteer work in multiple NGOs such as the Blind and Visually Impaired Society of Maldives and Maldives Red  Crescent, is a true inspiration to all with her endless efforts to challenge societal expectations and show that Persons with Disabilities too can do anything they set their mind to.

In this episode, we talk to Mariyam Shiba - a passionate advocate for mental well-being and easily accessible mental health services. She is the founder and chairperson of Blue Hearts, which is the first online mental health support and awareness platform in the Maldives. Her academic background is in psychology. Frontier Dialogues is a series of podcasts from UNDP Maldives, bringing you voices from the front lines and in the response to COVID-19 in the country.

In our first talk, we feature Raushan Ali Firaq from UNDP Maldives,  who tells us about the first virtual social innovation camp held in the  Maldives, a part of the 'Miyaheli' series, that connected changemakers to create innovative ideas to fight the pandemic.