Messy and Masterful

We are off to Colombia for this episode. Aldo has the great privilege to speak to Ms. Vicky Colbert who changed the education system in her country with her groundbreaking program and organisation Escuela Nueva.

More information about Vicky's journey and organisation can be found here: https://escuelanueva.org

Guest Introduction:

Ms Vicky Colbert is founder & director of Fundación Escuela Nueva, an NGO committed to improving the quality, relevance, and efficiency of education by rethinking the way we learn.

The best way to describe the Escuela Nueva model is as an innovative way of looking at students and offering them customised support at scale regardless of the circumstances and environments they grow up in.

Ms Colbert is a Sociologist from Javeriana University in Colombia. She pursued her graduate studies in Sociology of Education and Comparative International Education at Stanford University and has pioneered, expanded and sustained educational innovation from many organizational spheres, previously as Vice minister of Education of Colombia, UNICEF ́s Education Adviser for the Latin American Countries.

She has been recognized with several awards and distinctions in the fields of leadership and social entrepreneurship, such as the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, 2013 WISE Prize for Education, the Clinton Global Citizenship Award and the Kravis Prize. She has also been recognized as Outstanding Social Entrepreneur by the Schwab Foundation, Ashoka and the World Technology Network.

The Escuela Nueva approach to date has been implemented in thousands of schools in Colombia and is being exported to many other countries as we speak.

In 2017, Vicky was also awarded with the Yildan Prize for Education and for very good reasons. The jury was full or praise to Escuela Nueva and its unique approach stating that:

"Ms Colbert's work demonstrates that high quality schooling can be cost-effective in the harshest environments. Her model excels in developing both intellectual and social-emotional capacities of its students – an inspiring testament to the fact that well-rounded progressive education is not a privilege reserved for students in developed economies."

Vicky Colbert describes her own journey as one similar to that of the fairy tale 'Cinderella' stating: 'We started with the most invisible and remote schools and they ended up looking like the school of the future'

For us: 'Necessity is the Mother of Innovation'

Vicky a very warm welcome to you!

The unbelievable story of Dr. Ismail Serageldin - without a doubt the most intelligent guest of the TeachPitch Podcast (no offense to previous and/or future interviewees). Aldo speaks to Ismail about his profound challenges in making the Ancient Library of Alexandria the renowned institute of knowledge it is today.

Visit Dr. Serageldin's personal site here: http://www.serageldin.com/

More on the Library of Alexandria can be found here: https://www.bibalex.org

Guest Introduction:

I know this is only our very first season and that it is still very early days as this episode will drop as number 8 in our series but I am quite confident that my next guest is one of the smartest people that I will ever have the privilege of interviewing for the TeachPitch Podcast.

Dr. Ismail Serageldin has written over 100 books and monographs and well over 500 papers on any notable topic varying from literature, to biotechnology to the value of science in our world.

Next to his own PhD from Harvard University he holds over 40 honorary doctorate degrees.

And on top of that he has been awarded many national medals and titles that will make your head spin. Awards from Chile, Azerbaijan, Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Montenegro and most particularly; a Gold and Silver Star from the Order of the Rising Sun from the Emperor of Japan, a Commander of the Order of Arts & Letters by the government of France and The Public Welfare Medal from the US National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Serageldin was the first Vice-President of Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development at the World Bank and after leaving this position became Founding Director of the Library of Alexandria where he served until 2017. Currently Ismail is Emeritus Librarian of the same renowned institution.

Our guest has also hosted a cultural program on Egyptian Television and developed a TV Science series in Arabic and English.

His message to the world is one that advocates hope & peace or as he says himself:

"The world is my home. Humanity is my family. Non-violence is my creed. Peace, justice, equality and dignity for all - is my purpose. Engagement, rationality, tolerance, dialogue, learning and understanding are my means. With outstretched hands we welcome all those who share these beliefs …"

Ismail - a very warm welcome to you!

Yes, yes! We as well are going to explore space. Aldo speaks to Prof. Frans von der Dunk, an eminent authority in Space Law about what the effects are when more humans make their move out of our atmosphere. What is next for us in Space? Can SpaceX enforce its own legal system on Mars? And what happens when someone is killed in Space? Loads of questions to which our guest has fascinating answers.

Prof. von der Dunk's university website at Nebraska-Lincoln can be found here: https://law.unl.edu/frans-von-der-dunk/

Check out Frans' consultancy website here: https://black-holes.eu

Guest Introduction:

In this episode we are going to explore space. More particularly we are going to look at how human intervention will have an effect on Space and I am very happy that I am joined today by an absolute authority on the matter.

Professor Frans von der Dunk is a HARVEY & SUSAN PERLMAN ALUMNI AND OTHMER PROFESSOR OF SPACE LAW at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

and Associate Research Professor at Lazarski University in Warsaw, Poland.

It is safe to say that Frans von der Dunk knows what he is talking about having published over 200 articles on the topic. He was also the author of the first comprehensive Handbook of Space Law and is a Series Editor of Studies in Space Law.

There are way too many accolades, recognitions and acknowledgements to mention when you have a guest like this Professor - so I am not going into detail.

Professor von der Dunk is being called in as an advisor by several government agencies and institutions such as the European Commission, The European Space Agency, the United Nations, OECD and a variety of other national space initiatives such as Japan, Brazil, UAE, Saudi-Arabia, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands.

He is an often seen guest in television programs made about space and if you haven't seen it yet I would highly recommend a TEDX Talk he held in Vienna in 2016 speaking about why we need Space Lawyers.

My guest is particularly proud of his cooperation with the Association of Space Explorers on Near-Earth Object Threat Mitigation as well as his signature, along with many Nobel Prize winners and other luminaries, of the original 100 Times Asteroid Day Declaration.

I am sure I missed a lot in this amazing resume but here goes nothing!

Frans - a very warm welcome!

Dr. Marijn Houwert raised over $10 million to help his colleagues in times of COVID. We talk about his rollercoaster life as a Trauma Surgeon and the publication of his latest book 'Zorg Voor Je Mensen' (Take Care of Your People).

More about ZWIC you can find on this website: https://geefvoorzorgverleners.nl

You can order Marijn's book (only available in Dutch) here: https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/f/zorg-voor-je-mensen/9300000045609387/

Guest Introduction:

The story of my next guest is as incredible as it is urgent. To me personally it is a story about hard work, skill, resilience, tact and strategic thinking in unprecedented times - but if you were to ask my guest, he would say, it is just about being lucky.

Dr. Marijn Houwert is a Trauma Surgeon at the Utrecht Medical Centre, a Research Hospital located in the middle of the Netherlands - in (as its name reveals) the city of Utrecht.

Trauma Surgery is all about Critical Care and requires extensive knowledge of surgical procedures and how to manage different types of injuries. A trauma surgeon can help you pull through a critical injury or an acute illness. Being a Surgeon at A&E is not for the weak of heart - it is a job that comes with long, unpredictable hours as well as with a proper gut to accept that the death of your patients can be imminent.

Marijn comes across as someone who is devoted to his profession, patients and colleagues and has taken it upon himself to write about them in his recently published book 'Zorg Voor Je Mensen' or 'Take Care of Your People' an excellent read on what goes on in the daily life of a Trauma Surgeon. The book has been quite a success in the Netherlands which shows that Marijn is not only skilled with a scalpel but also with a pen.

And if writing and very long hours at the hospital were not enough, Marijn also took the initiative to start the Foundation, Zorg na Werk in Corona Tijd - freely translated 'Care for those who care for you in times of Corona' which seeks to support healthcare workers and their families should something happen to them.

Marijn shared his concerns around the lack of protection for healthcare workers in his country and made an appeal for his initiative in a recurring column that he writes for 'Medisch Contact' the biggest Professional Medical Website in the Netherlands. And to say that his readers responded, would be a bit of understatement.

Dr. Marijn Houwert's idea led his foundation to raise over Euro 9 million (I repeat Euro 9 million) to help his colleagues all over the Netherlands. Quite an amount, quite a book, quite a job and what a guy!

Marijn welcome!!!

Aldo speaks to John J Wood, Founder of Room to Read; a global charity organisation that has helped over 23 million people in 15 countries and raised over $615 million to date.

John describes the challenges he needed to overcome to get the organisation where it is today.

Do visit John's website to find out more about his writing and book recommendations: https://www.johnjwood.com

Guest Introduction:

I believe my next guest to be the absolute personification of 'getting things done'.

His own personal mantra 'GSD - Getting Shit Done' has also become my go-to especially when I am stuck in between 2 half-finished actionable items on my never-ending to-do list. But that as an aside.

Twenty-two years ago John Wood decided to quit his lucrative job as a Senior Executive at Microsoft in China to ensure that every child would have access to a quality education.

Or better put: The World Starts with Educated Children - Room to Read's tagline.

To say that John delivered on his idealistic aspiration would be a rude understatement:

To date, Room to Read has brought the lifelong gift of education to over 23 million children in over 15 countries.

The organisation has raised over $600 million since its inception and has delivered impact beyond measure.

Just to share a few numbers with you:

• Over 14.3 million children benefited from RTR's Literacy Program.
• 85,313 cumulative girls registered in the organisation's vital Girl's Education Program.
• RTR distributed over 26 million books.
• And the organisation manages to train over 15,000 teachers each year.

This is all very impressive John, a very warm welcome to you!

Fred Matser is the Founder of the Fred Foundation and has been professionally helping others for over 40 years. We look back at his work and talk about his documentary 'Beyond Me'.

You can watch Fred's documentary and find out more about his book here: https://www.beyondmedocumentary.org/en/

Guest Introduction:

Fred has made it his life's work to help.

Over the past 40 years he has been involved in helping people grow their projects, organisations, initiatives and social impact companies to change this world for the better.

Healthcare, Education, Environment, Climate Change, Peace Building – there is no subject that Fred and his organisation the Fred Foundation have not touched.

And the list of those he has supported throughout the years is endless

Mentioning all of their names (Red Cross, Jane Goodall Institute, Malaria No More, The Chopra Foundation, Green Cross, WNF and hundreds, hundreds more) would take us a podcast in and of itself.

So we won't do that.

What I find more fascinating is how Fred helps .

Because when you take a closer look at all the beautiful things that have come into existence because of Fred Matser, I see one thing clearly come to the forefront: Personal Ignition.

Fred's support (financial, advisory and operational) allows great social entrepreneurs not only to start building on their ideas but also ensures that they will thrive and become sustainable.

The Fred Foundation does not only look at the ideas but also clearly at the person who has them and how he/she should be assisted to thrive.

Understanding the person is core to Fred's approach and philosophy.

Even though you will always discover elements of Fred's business background, running one of the biggest commercial real estate development companies in the Netherlands, he will make it a priority to genuinely get to know the person.

It is almost like that through helping, Fred is on a quest to understand us human beings in the most profound sense of the word.

And I am so happy that after 40 years of practical research he has now made it a priority to share many of his observations to ensure that any support, assistance or aid will have genuine long lasting effects.

"Let's try to compare with care in order to share with care" - he says in the beautifully made documentaryBeyond Me that was launched just last May.

I have the great privilege of knowing Fred already for more than a decade and have to say that engaging and debating with him is an exceptional experience and a beautiful journey.

Many have praised Fred but I think the former Soviet leader Mihail Gorbachev says it the best and the simplest when saying that:

"Fred is a man with a big and open heart. He is making the world better"

Fred welcome!

Edna Adan is the founder of The Edna Adan Hospital and Edna Adan University. Previously she was Minister of Foreign Affairs for her country and a First Lady, being married to the President of Somalia. We speak about her amazing path and her latest book 'A Woman of Firsts'.

Do visit the website of the Edna Adan Hospital here to find out more about the great work Edna is doing in Somaliland: https://ednahospitalfoundation.org

Edna's book 'A Woman of Firsts' is available on Amazon, click on this link if you would like to know more: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07S31MCJS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_EC27X1TEBZ4BBE09M65S

Guest Introduction:

"Who's Edna Adan? The short answer: she's a nurse-midwife, founder of a hospital bearing her name, who's saving and changing the lives of tens of thousands of people in Somaliland — a place not even recognized as a country. She's also a Muslim.

Edna is as tough as General Petraeus, as compassionate as the Pope, as tireless as Michael Phelps, as beautiful at 75 as Tina Turner, and has a 'get-it-done-no-excuses" work ethic to rival Bill Gates. I would not want to be on Edna's bad side."

(from 'The Muslim mother Theresa' written by Kate Grant, CEO of the Fistula Foundation in The Huffington Post in 2012)

Dr. Timo Hannay is a 'technologist' and founder of SchoolDash. We speak about his great career in (co-)building a variety of technology tools advancing science and education and what it is like to be an introvert in a seemingly extraverted world.

Do have a look at SchoolDash to find out more about the great work Timo is doing interpreting data: https://www.schooldash.com

Guest Introduction:

Dr Timo Hannay is founder of SchoolDash, an educational data analytics company that seeks to empower parents, enlighten policymakers and inform the public debate on schools.

He previously founded Digital Science, a research software company, and before that ran the online business of Nature Publishing Group. He has also worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Co. and as a correspondent for The Economist, among other publications.

He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in neurophysiology from the University of Oxford and an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Imperial College London.

But just reading Timo's bio would not do justice to the great man that he is. "There is something about Timo" that makes you want to understand him better and find out more even if Science, Education or Data is not your cup of tea.

"He is a mixture of boyish enthusiasm, inventiveness, and is mildly self-deprecating." writes Robert Harrington in an interview with Timo for the Scholarly Kitchen in 2014.

I tend to agree that Timo's entrepreneurial spirit and can-do mentality made him a unique contender in the massive corporate environments he successfully operated in and am certain that his brain goes at a 100 miles an hour - even if it does not always show.

Timo is the personification of versatility and, seemingly, never appears to be tired or fed-up of listening to new entrepreneurial ideas - a quality which undoubtedly has helped him in making a successful venture out of SchoolDash whose data analytics and reports - have been used and interpreted by many renown organisations and media in the UK.

Timo successfully managed to realise his vision in getting vocal about data so all those involved could better understand what is going on in the UK educational landscape and beyond.

SchoolDash is a success, contrary to Timo's expectation when he started the organisation in 2015.

In a goodbye post as Managing Director of Digital Science he modestly wrote:

"I want to help schools make better use of the reams of data that flow out of our education system. If that sounds idealistic, it is. It's also a risk and most likely will fail. But that's what people said when we set up Digital Science. As this experience has taught me, taking risks can occasionally reap great rewards in terms of achievement and satisfaction."

Achievement and satisfaction accomplished - I'd say!

Timo Hannay - welcome!

Rosalia Arteaga Serrano is the first female Vice-President and President of the Republic of Ecuador. We speak about the profound personal challenges she encountered throughout her career and how writing helped her to move on.

More about the great work Rosalia is doing for Education in her country can be found here: https://en.fidal-amlat.org

Guest Introduction:

I feel so blessed and honoured to have as our very first guest for this Podcast Series, Rosalia Arteaga Serrano.

Rosalia is a former politician, current author, broadcaster and founder of the Fidal Foundation, an organisation that strives to provide access to high quality education for all in Latin America.

Rosalia is a former Cabinet Minister of Culture and Education and the very first female President and Vice-President of the Republic of Ecuador, a well-deserved position that unfortunately was not be held by Rosalia for too long. But the end of her reign as her country's Head of State was most certainly not the end of Rosalia's tireless successful efforts to make a long-lasting, sustainable difference in her country, Latin America and this world.

Rosalia founded and chaired several other organisations and even served as Secretary General of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation from 2004 until 2007.

Most recently Rosalia was in the news as she was nominated by the youth-led, global political movement Forward as a candidate for the position of the Secretary General of the United Nations - not a light nomination or task - but most certainly one that Rosalia would be able execute with the utmost rigour, patience, balance & flair.

What I admire most about Rosalia is her resilience! I don't think I know anyone else who has worked as hard as she did and who has the capacity to properly dust herself off when she falls over in the personal as well as in the professional spheres.

Rosalia's achievements are text-book beyond excellence but I can assure you that the set-backs and adversities she encountered are beyond deep as well.

I feel blessed to call Rosalia a friend and am genuinely honoured that she could make some time available to join us in this interview to talk about her Life Skills.

Rosalia welcome!

TeachPitch Founder Aldo de Pape interviews people from a variety of professional circles and from all over the world how they overcame deep personal challenges and managed to achieve great professional success.