En este episodio conversamos con Isabel García y Miguel Bello de Pluriversa, una comunidad de pensadoras y pensadores críticos que impulsan las transiciones ecosociales en el Sur Global a través del diseño y la tecnología.
Inspirados por el pensamiento pluriversal de Arturo Escobar, Isabel y Miguel nos invitan a imaginar alternativas al desarrollo, basadas en la regeneración, la interdependencia y la autonomía.
Juntas exploramos cómo el diseño decolonial puede desafiar los modelos extractivistas y lineales del desarrollo occidental, abriendo caminos hacia el bienestar colectivo, la diversidad y la reconexión con la Madre Tierra.
Escucha este episodio para descubrir cómo el diseño puede convertirse en un acto político y relacional, capaz de cultivar nuevos mundos posibles.

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In this episode, we talk with Isabel García and Miguel Bello from Pluriversa, a community of critical thinkers accelerating ecosocial transitions in the Global South through design and technology.
From their work inspired by Arturo Escobar’s pluriversal thinking, Isabel and Miguel invite us to imagine alternatives to development. What are other ways of designing which are rooted in regeneration, interdependence, and autonomy?
Together, we explore how decolonial design can challenge the extractivist, linear models of Western development and open paths toward collective well-being, diversity, and reconnection with Mother Earth.
Tune in to discover how design can become a political and relational act — one that nurtures new worlds in the making.

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Recursos/Resources

• Libros y publicaciones
  • Arturo Escobar: Autonomía y Diseño
  • Anthony Dunne, Fiona Raby: Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming
  • Donella Meadows: Thinking In Systems
  • Fritjof Capra: The Systems View of Life

 

• Multimedia
  • Anab Jain: TED Talk: Why We Need To Imagine Different Futures
  • Transition Design Institute: 10 years of transition design
  • Los derechos de la Naturaleza. Un movimiento global: https://youtu.be/RupkZM8dV14?si=bgSJammuNFCoUqzS
  • Terry Irwin: Designing for Systems-Level Change and Transitions Toward More Sustainable Futures

 

• Herramientas// Tools
  • Pluriversa: Guía de pensamiento sistémico para la innovación pública
  • Design Council: Systemic Design Framework
  • UNDP: Foresight Playbook
  • UK Government Office for Science: Futures toolkit for policymakers and analysts

TRANSCRIPT

En este episodio, hablamos con Romel González Díaz, activista maya y defensor de los derechos humanos, sobre sus más de tres décadas de trabajo protegiendo los recursos naturales, el desarrollo comunitario y la vivienda en comunidades indígenas de México.Romel es miembro del Consejo Regional Indígena y Popular de Xpujil y colabora con la Cooperativa Chac Lol, promoviendo la organización comunitaria, la educación en derechos humanos colectivos y prácticas de desarrollo sostenible, como la agricultura, el turismo biocultural y la gestión de recursos naturales.En esta conversación, Romel comparte su enfoque para empoderar a las comunidades a conocer y defender sus derechos, cambiar las actitudes de empresas y gobiernos, y garantizar la participación activa en las decisiones que afectan su entorno y su futuro. Su mensaje al mundo es claro: necesitamos mecanismos internacionales y espacios judiciales que responsabilicen a los gobiernos y protejan efectivamente los derechos de los pueblos indígenas, creando un futuro sostenible y equitativo para todos.Conéctate a este episodio para descubrir cómo los movimientos indígenas están transformando la cooperación y defendiendo la tierra, la vida y los derechos de sus comunidades.

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In this episode, we speak with Romel González Díaz, a Maya activist and human rights defender, about his more than three decades of work protecting natural resources, community development, and housing in Indigenous communities across Mexico.Romel is a member of the Regional Indigenous and Popular Council of Xpujil and collaborates with the Chac Lol Cooperative, promoting community organization, education on collective human rights, and sustainable development practices such as agriculture, biocultural tourism, and natural resource management.In this conversation, Romel shares his approach to empowering communities to know and assert their rights, change the attitudes of businesses and governments, and ensure active participation in decisions that affect their environment and future. His message to the world is clear: we need international mechanisms and judicial spaces to hold governments accountable and effectively protect Indigenous rights, creating a sustainable and equitable future for all.Tune in to this episode to discover how Indigenous movements are reshaping cooperation and defending land, life, and the rights of their communities.

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Recursos/Resources

• The Chac Lol Cooperative, by Elizabeth A. Bowman
• Los pueblos indígenas de América Latina – Abya Yala y la Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible, CEPAL
• DECOLONIALIDAD E INTERCULTURALIDAD CRITICA, Dr. Luis Pincheira Muñoz Dr. Germán López Noreña 
• Thirty years of community forest management in the maya biosphere reserve: A review of its successes and challenges for conservation and governance of tropical forest socio-ecological systems, Silvia Ximena Ureta Cifuentes, Fabián Marcelo Zamora Mejía, Pedro Arnulfo Pineda Cotzojay, Marie Ange Ngo Bieng, 

Transcript 

En este episodio conversamos con María Arteaga Villamil, antropóloga mexicana y activista feminista radicada en Estados Unidos, sobre las mujeres, las migraciones y el poder de la organización colectiva. Desde su trabajo en The Women’s Building en San Francisco, María explora cómo las perspectivas feministas y decoloniales pueden transformar nuestra comprensión sobre la migración, el cuidado y la solidaridad.María es doctora en Antropología y cuenta con una amplia experiencia en metodologías cualitativas basadas en marcos teóricos feministas. Inspirada en la ética del cuidado feminista, su trabajo promueve prácticas de comunicación generativas que fomentan el impacto, la colaboración y la expansión de redes de solidaridad.Su investigación académica se centra en cómo las mujeres navegan la autoridad y la identidad en entornos laborales altamente masculinizados, utilizando la investigación narrativa feminista para visibilizar las barreras estructurales que limitan el acceso de las mujeres a la justicia y la igualdad.Conéctate a este episodio para descubrir cómo las mujeres migrantes están transformando las narrativas de resistencia y pertenencia, y cómo la solidaridad feminista puede abrir nuevos caminos hacia el empoderamiento y la transformación colectiva.

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In this episode, we talk with María Arteaga Villamil, a Mexican anthropologist and feminist activist based in the United States, about women, migration, and the power of collective organization. From her work at The Women’s Building in San Francisco, María explores how feminist and decolonial perspectives can transform our understanding of migration, care, and solidarity.María holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology and has extensive experience in qualitative methodologies grounded in feminist theoretical frameworks. Inspired by the feminist ethics of care, her work promotes generative communication practices that build impact, collaboration, and solidarity networks.Her academic research focuses on how women navigate authority and identity in highly masculine work environments, using feminist narrative research to expose the structural barriers that limit women’s access to justice and equality. Tune in to this episode to discover how migrant women are reshaping narratives of resistance and belonging, and how feminist solidarity can create new paths for collective empowerment and transformation.

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Recursos/Resources

• Decolonial and intersectional feminist psychology for the future of (forced) migration and refugee resettlement, Özge Savaş and Anjali Dutt 
• Women's building story
• "Women are Everywhere": Celebrating The Women's Building, Donna Graves
• Storied San Francisco “Women’s Building” Episode 
• From ‘unbelonging’ to ‘radical connection’ among migrant women, Cathy McIlwaine and Renata Peppl and Carolina Cal
•  Instagram de la Organización: https://www.instagram.com/thewomensbuilding/
• Página de Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Women%27s_Building_(San_Francisco) 
• Historia de la Organización: https://www.womensbuilding.org/who-we-are/our-history 
• Historia de la Organización en SF Digitial Archives: https://www.foundsf.org/THE_WOMEN%27S_BUILDING & https://www.foundsf.org/How_the_Women%27s_Building_Came_To_Be 
• Another podcast that covers our history and the current programs we have: https://www.storiedsf.com/episodes/the-womens-building-s5e16 
• Women are Everywhere’: Celebrating The Women’s Building.” Forum Journal 2019. https://www.academia.edu/38170197/_Women_are_Everywhere_Celebrating_The_Womens_Building 

TRANSCRIPT

En este episodio conversamos con Gabriela Villacís Izquierdo, investigadora feminista ecuatoriana radicada en los Países Bajos, sobre cómo opera la colonialidad en la academia y en la acción humanitaria, y cómo la ética feminista del cuidado puede ofrecer alternativas decoloniales.Gabriela comparte sus reflexiones sobre la posicionalidad, las violencias epistémicas y la importancia del acompañamiento, la reciprocidad y el cuidado colectivo como prácticas políticas y transformadoras.Escucha este episodio para descubrir cómo poner el cuidado en el centro desafía los modelos extractivistas, patriarcales y neoliberales tanto en la investigación como en la acción humanitaria.

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In this episode, we talk with Gabriela Villacís Izquierdo, an Ecuadorian feminist researcher based in the Netherlands, about how coloniality operates within academia and humanitarian work, and how feminist ethics of care can offer decolonial alternatives.Gabriela shares her reflections on positionality, epistemic violence, and the importance of accompaniment, reciprocity, and collective care as political and transformative practices.Tune in to explore how centering care challenges extractivist, patriarchal, and neoliberal models in both research and humanitarian action.

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Recursos/Resources:

• Contra la colonialidad de la cooperación y solidaridad internacionales, Mounia Chadi 
• The importance of practices of collective care: Exploring directions for an alternative productive paradigm fitting our times’ social, economic and ecological requirements, Ioannis Rigkos-Zitthen and Nikos Kapitsinis
• Feminismos del sur: recorridos, itinerarios, junturas, Mariana Alvarado 

TRANSCRIPT

Estamos encantados de comenzar la cuarta temporada de nuestro podcast con Asier Hernando Malax-Echevarria, en conversación con Carla Vitantonio. En este episodio inaugural, exploramos la matriz colonial del poder y sus manifestaciones perdurables, la labor transformadora de ACAPACA y el papel de la solidaridad en la remodelación del desarrollo y la cooperación desde la perspectiva del Sur Global.
Asier lleva más de 20 años dedicado a la cooperación internacional, centrándose en la defensa y las campañas en favor de los derechos indígenas, los derechos humanos, los derechos de las mujeres y otros. Un punto de inflexión en su carrera le llevó a replantearse los modelos de desarrollo tradicionales y a trabajar para transformar la cooperación internacional. Actualmente es codirector de ACAPACA, donde colabora con movimientos sociales y asesora a organizaciones de todo el mundo sobre estrategias de desarrollo y cooperación. También colabora a tiempo parcial con la Fundación Europea del Clima, apoyando a 700 organizaciones asociadas con estrategias de defensa y comunicación para una Europa descarbonizada. Colaborador habitual de El País, Asier escribe para cuestionar las narrativas dominantes y fomentar nuevos debates en el panorama del desarrollo y la ayuda. Conéctate para explorar cómo persisten las estructuras de poder coloniales y cómo la solidaridad y los enfoques de desarrollo alternativos pueden remodelar nuestro mundo.

La transcripción se encuentra aqui


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We are thrilled to kick off the 4th season of our podcast with Asier Hernando Malax-Echevarria, in conversation with Carla Vitantonio. In this opening episode, we explore the colonial matrix of power and its enduring manifestations, the transformative work of ACAPACA, and the role of solidarity in reshaping development and cooperation from a Global South perspective.
Asier has spent over 20 years in international cooperation, focusing on advocacy and campaigns defending Indigenous rights, human rights, women’s rights, and more. A turning point in his career led him to rethink traditional development models and work toward transforming international cooperation. He is now Co-Director of ACAPACA, partnering with social movements and advising organizations worldwide on development and cooperation strategies. He also contributes part-time at the European Climate Foundation, supporting 700 partner organizations with advocacy and communication strategies for a decarbonised Europe. A regular contributor to El País, Asier writes to challenge dominant narratives and foster new debates in the development and aid landscape.Tune in to explore how colonial power structures persist and how solidarity and alternative development approaches can reshape our world.

The transcript of the interview is available here


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Recursos/Resources

• Coloniality of Power, Eurocentrism, and Latin America  by Anibal Quijano
• Modernidad, Colonialismo y Emancipación En América Latina by Rueda, Eduardo, and Susana Villavicencio 
• Solidarity Platform Cooperativism in Latin America Report, María Belén Albornoz, Daniel Vizuete Sandoval, Alexandra Belén Gualavisí, Rafael Grohmann, Alessio Bertolini, Jonas Valente
• Introduction, Feminist Solidarity and Collective Action, Caroline Sweetman
• En torno a lo poscolonial y lo decolonial en los feminismos del Sur Global, Érika Calvo Rivera
• Acapaca

In this last episode, we (Matilde and Carla) recollect the themes that touched us the most through the past season: co-creation, language, intersectionality, and pervasitivy of coloniality are some of them.

We also delve on the structure of Living Decoloniality and on how this podcast is, at the same time, bringing attention to decolonial practices and also transforming itself into one of them.

We know and feel that while we are closing this season the world looks uncertain and scary, but we also hope that the example given by the many people we interview will inspire and give strength to others.

Until the next time!

The transcript is here

This episode is a bit of an exception, as it talks about coloniality, and decolonial practices, in the framework of a big international initiative: the WASH Agenda for Change.
Listening to Bethlehem Mengistu and Susan Davis we will dive into the coloniality of power and what it means to decolonize governance, using the WASH Agenda for Change as a case study. With decades of leadership in international development, Bethlehem and Susan share insights on fostering collaborative systems, strengthening efforts, and challenging traditional power dynamics in global water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) initiatives. This conversation offers practical strategies for building more equitable and sustainable governance models in development work, but it also gives interesting insights on inclusion beyond tokenism and on feminist leadership.
 
Sources: 

• Agenda for Change
• From an implementing partnership with local NGOs to partnering with local government, Bethlehem Mengistu
• Implementing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

The link to the transcript is here

Dr Salmah Eva-Lina Lawrence joins us to bring back the discussion on the intersection among coloniality of gender, knowledge and race. And to do so, she shares with us her experience in the Pacific Islands. Drawing on her matrilineal heritage from Papua New Guinea and her extensive experience of decolonising international development, Salmah links theory and practice with insights from ethics, epistemology and feminism. From her role in governance and civil society to her academic contributions, Salmah offers a nuanced perspective on the dismantling of colonial frameworks in development.

Sources: 

• Jean Louis Rallu, The Impact of Colonization and Christianization on Gender Violence in the Pacific Islands
• Seema Khan, Gender Issues in the Pacific Islands
• Pacific Women:  Ending discrimination on the basis of sexuality, gender identity and expression 
• Dr Salmah's website and training opportunities

The transcript is here

In this episode with Ammaarah Nilafdeen, a social researcher from Colombo, Sri Lanka, we critically examine the coloniality of language and the concept of ‘local’ in the process of "localization".
With a strong critique of colonial frameworks and the recognition that language carries meanings that reveal power differentials, Ammaarah's ideas aim to challenge entrenched narratives. 

The transcript is here.

Sources:

• SPOKEN TAMIL DIALECTS OF THE MUSLIMS OF SRI LANKA: LANGUAGE AS IDENTITY-CLASSIFIER, M. M. M. MAHROOF
• How a unique Tamil dialect survived among a fishing community in Sri Lanka, Ajay Kamalakaran
• Coloniality and the ‘aid bubble’: Can language be a driver for change?, Carla Vitantonio
• Deconstructing Decolonization: The Case of Language, Ammaarah Nilafdeen
• The relationship between Language and Neocolonialism - Carla Vitantonio

In this episode, Ayelén Amigo joins us to explore coloniality of age, a concept that she created during her studies and shares practical tools for decolonisation projects with children. Applying her extensive academic training and years of participatory work with children and adolescents in Argentina and Mexico, Ayelén shares how adult-centrism and patriarchy shape childhood experiences. Focusing on the integration of feminist perspectives and on the use of the "pedagogy of tenderness", Ayelén offers valuable insights into creating more inclusive and equitable approaches to youth work. 

The transcript is here.

Sources: 

• Linde, R., The globalization of childhood: The international diffusion of norms and law against the child death penalty. 
• Nxumalo, F., & Cedillo, S.,  Decolonizing place in early childhood studies: Thinking with Indigenous onto-epistemologies and Black feminist geographies. 
• Elizabeth A. Faulkner and Conrad Nyamutata, The Decolonisation of Children’s Rights and the Colonial Contours of the Convention on the Rights of the Child