Her Way - A Project Girls4Girls Podcast

Our guests in this episode are Margrét Pála Ólafsdóttir and Dr. Barbara Ofwono Buyondo.

Margrét Pála Ólafsdóttir is a teacher, educator and the founder of Hjallastefnan schools that runs fourteen preschools and three primary schools in Iceland. She is the creator of the „Hjalli“ method which is the foundation of the schools and entails sex-segregated classes with the aim of breaking gender stereotypes, democracy and creative and natural play methods. Margrét Pála graduated as a preschool teacher, has a M.Ed degree from the Icelandic University of Education and a MBA degree from Reykjavík University. In 2006, she received the Knight’s Cross, Iceland’s order of the Falcon from the President of Iceland, for innovation in education.

Barbara Ofwono Buyondo (PhD) is a multi-award winning educationalist who started with 3 staff members and 30 students. Her passion for early childhood led her to start Victorious Education Services (VES) in 1999. In 22 years, VES has grown to five campuses with over 4000 students from nursery to primary school in both day and boarding across the country. Her vision is to extend her services to all parts of Uganda and neighboring countries. She is also the current Chairperson of UWEAL (Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association Limited).

Our guests in this episode are Esteri Tebandeke and Björg Magnúsdóttir. 

Esteri Tebandeke is a filmmaker, actress, dancer and visual artist. She is a graduate of the Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Art at Makerere University. She has played roles in the films Sins of the Parents (2008), Master on Duty (2009), Queen of Katwe (2016) and Her Broken Shadow (2016), which was her first foray into science fiction. Her latest short film ‘ Little Black Dress’ (2020) is her directorial debut.

Bjorg Magnusdottir is a TV and radio host, a writer of two books and two TV series, a journalist and political scientist. She is currently working on a TV series about Vigdis Finnbogadottir, the former President of Iceland and the world‘s first female democratically elected president. She is also the co-host of Songvakeppnin, Iceland‘s preliminary competition for the Eurovision song contest, and the TV show Kappsmal, a competition show about the Icelandic language. 

This episode has a unique format in that there is an introduction from Uganda about women in politics and one interviewee, Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir from Iceland.

Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir is the current Minister of Science, Higher education, Industry and Innovation in Iceland. At only 28 of age she became Minister of Justice in 2019 and was the youngest female ever to be appointed Minister in Iceland and the second youngest overall. Áslaug has been a member of Althing, Iceland’s parliament, since 2016 and served as the Secretary of the Independence Party from 2015-2019. She holds a master’s degree in law.

Our guests in this episode are hon. Victoria Sekitoleko and Guðbjörg Heiða Guðmundsdóttir.

Hon. Victoria Sekitoleko is the former Minister of Agriculture in the Ugandan government (1986 to 1995). She was a representative for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in China, Mongolia, and South Korea from 2006 to 2011 and has a BSc in Agriculture majoring in Farm Management from Makerere University. She is currently the chairperson of the governing board of Uganda Agribusiness Alliance. 

Guðbjörg Heiða Guðmundsdóttir is a single mother of two daughters and the Executive Vice President of the global manufacturing company Marel. She holds a master’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Iceland. Guðbjörg has been working in the global environment for over a decade and is passionate about equality and creating a workplace culture that enforces it. 

Our guests in this episode are Philippa Ngaju Makobore and Dr. Sandra Mjöll Jónsdóttir-Buch. 

Philippa Ngaju Makobore is an electrical engineer and head of instrumentation division at the Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI). Her team works on health care, agriculture and energy projects. She has built partnerships with Columbia University in New York City, Makerere University in Kampala, Addis Ababa University, and the Mbarara University of Science and Technology. In 2017, Makobore entered the Innovation Prize for Africa with the electronically controlled gravity feed infusion set (ECGF). The ECGF won the second prize 2016: First place Innovation Award at the 2016 World Patient Safety, Science, and Technology Summit.

Dr. Sandra Mjöll Jónsdóttir-Buch is a biomedical scientist and Managing Director of the Icelandic Science Institute. Previously, she was the CEO and founder of Platome Biotechnology - a company that aims to accelerate stem cell-based medicine and is based upon a technology that Sandra took part in developing. In addition, Sandra was VP of Sales and Marketing for the pharmaceutical company Florealis. She was selected as Innovator of the Year in 2017 by the Global Women Inventors and Innovators Network and invited to speak at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in India. Sandra is passionate about science, innovation and women empowerment. Not to mention, she has a Taekwondo black belt! 

Our guests in this episode are Silja Úlfarsdóttir and Charlotte Teresa Mudoola.  

Silja Úlfarsdóttir was an elite sprinter and the fastest woman in Iceland for over a decade. For the last 13 years, she has been coaching Iceland’s top elite athletes and championship league teams. More recently, she has been focusing on training young athletes. She is also currently the PR Manager of the Reykjavík Sports Union. Silja is the mother of two boys, 10 and 12 years old, and was the chairman of Ljonshjarta for two years, an association for young widows and widowers and children who have lost a parent. She has a BS degree from Clemson University and a Master’s degree in Leadership and Management with emphasis on project management from Bifrost University. Her Instagram account is @siljaulfars. 

Ms. Mudoola is a renowned sports personality in Uganda, who started by playing various sports including football, basketball and running. Her biggest inspirations in the world of sports are her big brothers Fred and Timothy. She started playing rugby when she was in Vienna College, where she trained with the boys’ team.  She is currently the Lady Cranes national team captain and the Intellectual Property Ambassador in Uganda with Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB).

In this episode, we will speak to Diana Ninsiima Kibuuka and Sigrún Ingibjörg Gísladóttir about Project Girls4Girls, their roles and their expectations for the podcast. 

Diana Ninsiima Kibuuka is a team leader of Project Girls for Girls in Uganda. She is a corporate, tax and project finance expert with 12 years’ experience in the private legal sector. She is currently a partner with Mukumbya Musoke Advocates, a firm specializing in corporate and project finance, and holds an LLM from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelors of Laws from Makerere University, Kampala and a Diploma in Taxation. Diana is an intrepid adventurer and has summited Mountain Kilimanjaro. She is a wife and mother of two sons.

Sigrún Ingibjörg Gísladóttir is the Co-Director of Project Girls 4 Girls in Iceland. She is an attorney and a partner at Réttur-Adalsteinsson & Partners, the leading Human Rights firm in Iceland. She holds an LL.M degree from Harvard Law School and a law degree from the University of Iceland. Sigrún is a mother of two girls and loves travelling and hiking.