In today’s discussion, we continue the theme of inclusion with our next guest Emmanuelle Werner Gillioz, the founder and director of Yojoa. Yojoa is a nonprofit organisation that empowers young people with a migrant background to become autonomous and productive members of society. The mission is to bridge the gap between organisations and talented young people from diverse backgrounds in order to provide more opportunities and strengthen the company.

Listen to our conversation to hear the benefits of a diverse workforce from both angles.

Show Notes:

Emmanuelle shared that one of her favourite music artists is Stromae. An artist that she always listens to is Ibrahim Maalouf, the trumpet player and her favourite song is True Sorry. She also highly recommends the book, 40 Rules Of Love by Elif Shafak.

To connect with Emmanuelle, you can find her on LinkedIn and you can also find out more about the Yojoa organisation on their website, or follow them on LinkedIn.

Be sure to visit our podcast website for the full episode transcript.

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Impact Founders Listen Up!

You're building an impact-driven business that matters. But you're drowning in decisions, stuck in the weeds, and thinking: this is harder than it needs to be.

This Is Harder Than I Want It to Be with Linda van Egmond

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Join me in today’s conversation with Eleni Janis, she is the managing partner and CIO of Equivico which is a female owned investment firm in New York. In our discussion, Eleni shares her thoughts and experiences around inequality and how the power of our curiosity and questions can make a difference in how systems are implemented over time.

She has a personal passion for big change and believes that the best way to create equality is to increase access to capital, improve education and health care outcomes. Through the mission of Equivico Eleni and the organisation have helped to create a bridge between investors and small businesses who are in need of financial capital without bias.

Eleni shared that one of her favourite books is Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari and she loves to read poems by Octavio Paz who is a philosopher and poet. One of her favourite poems is Ithaca by Constantine Cavafy as it has helped her to enjoy the journey and not only the destination. One of her favourite songs is Lean On Me by Bill Withers.

To get in touch with Eleni, you can connect with her on LinkedIn and read her article feature on Family Office Insights. You can also find Equivico on LinkedIn  and their website.

Be sure to visit our podcast website  for the full episode transcript.

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Join me for my discussion with Piera Marongiu as we switch gears from education, and shine a light on our new episode theme of inclusion. Piera is the founder of Integrate Include Engage which focuses on supporting organisations to identify where their blind spots are when it comes to inclusivity.

Piera has both a personal and professional understanding of the value and importance of inclusivity, especially in the healthcare industry and is an advocate for change in this area.

Tune into this episode to hear how our biases can actually help us to better understand where change needs to be made.

Piera shared that she cannot stop listening to music by the Italian rock band, Måneskin. She also expresses that the book "The Only Black Person In The Room'' by Nadeesha Uyangoda carries a powerful message and perspective, and is a book that gave her an even deeper understanding of the significance of inclusivity within Italian culture. The film Sliding Doors is one of her recommendations due to the powerful and thought-provoking message. A song that she recommends is a Sardinian song called  "Non Riesco a Riposare" which was based on a poem.

To connect with Piera, you can find her on LinkedIn and find out more about where she lectures at Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz.

Be sure to visit our podcast website  for the full episode transcript.

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In this episode, I talk with Ismail Eleburuike about the importance of bringing technology to schools across the African continent to better connect students, teachers and parents using his educational platform, School Try.

He shares the impact that this innovative platform has had, and the vision for the future when we lean into utilising technology to better support those moving through the educational system.

Listen to this episode to find out how Ismail sees the future of education and technology merging together across Africa and beyond.

Ismail shared that he is a big fan of music by Akon  and Asa, and one of his all time favourite books is Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. He also recommends Millionaire Success Habits by Dean Graziosi and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Some of his favourite people to listen to being interviewed are Steve Jobs, and also Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos.

To connect with Ismail, you can find him on LinkedIn. To find out more about School Try, please check out their website. You can also find them on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Be sure to visit our podcast website  for the full episode transcript.

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Join me for the first episode of April and my discussion with Gunjan Aggarwal, co-founder of Learn With Leaders. Learn With Leaders is an educational platform designed to bring quality education to high school students around the world through networking and A La Carte education styles.

Gunjan is an advocate for Artificial Intelligence and the benefits of using AI to improve the quality and diversity of learning. In this episode we talk about how Learn With Leaders is challenging the boundaries of traditional education with the support of a number of prestigious institutions around the world.

Gunjan shared that she is a big fan of Ed Sheeran’s music and also likes to  listen to the song "Something Just Like This" by Chainsmokers on repeat. She also recommended two books by Kai-Fu Lee; AI Superpowers and AI 2041.  As well  as a book by Thich Nhat Hanh on Buddhist teachings.

"A Million Dreams" from The Greatest Showman  is a very special song to her and believes it’s the song that gave her the courage to start Learn With Leaders.

To connect with Gunjan, you can find her on LinkedIn. To find out more about the Learn With Leaders platform, you can connect with them on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and their website . They have also been featured in two Forbes articles, The Learning Leader Entrepreneur You Should Know and A Borderless and Boredom-less Educational P latform Inspires Teens When They Need It The Most.

Be sure to visit our podcast website for the full episode transcript.

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In today’s discussion I speak with Mamobo Ogoro, who is a Social psychologist, Social Entrepreneur and Founder & CEO of Gorm Media - an impact focused digital media company based in Ireland.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mamobo identified that the subject she heavily researched in her studies was rising to the surface in media on a scale that she had never experienced before. Seeing a clear need for conversations and cultural exchanges around social issues with diverse perspectives, she started on this journey to shine a light on individuals with stories of their experiences to tell. Tune in to hear more about how this has evolved since the very beginning.

Mamobo shared the book that she is currently reading which significantly aligns with the mission of Gorm Media, Beyond Your Bubble by Tania Israel. She also told us that she cannot stop listening to the music from the Disney movie, Encanto as it has many messages that children of migrants are likely to relate to. One of her favourite artists and songs is “I Am Light” by India Arie. An audiobook that she highly recommends is The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt - Why good people are divided by politics and religion.

To find out more about Gorm Media, be sure to check them out on LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter and their website. To connect with Mamobo, you can find her on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Be sure to visit our podcast website for the full episode transcript.

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This Is Harder Than I Want It to Be - a new podcast from the SwissCast Network

If you're building something that matters, and it's harder than you thought it would be, you're going to want to hear this.

Check out This Is Harder Than I Want It to Be

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In this episode, I speak with Till Kraemer, who is a mathematician turned social entrepreneur, and is the co-founder general manager of the organisation ICE (Inter Cultural Education) based in Hong Kong. Till has a fascinating love of the world and intercultural exchanges, and he approaches all aspects of life with a curious eye. This approach is embedded in the foundation of the ICE organisation and in our discussion, Till shares a number of stories of the impact that these kinds of exchanges have not only had on him, but also the students and members of the community.

Till shared with us his favourite podcast Dear Hank and John which addresses a variety of topics through two lenses: science and philosophy. He also recommended their YouTube channel, Vlogbrothers. A book that particularly made an impact in Till’s life as a teenager was Roger Penroses's The Emperor's New Mind. A YouTube channel that he absolutely recommends is Geography Now which offers bite-sized engaging history and geography lessons about each country in the alphabet.

To find out more about ICE you can check out their website, find them on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and an excellent Ted Talk on YouTube. To connect with Till, you can find him on LinkedIn.

Visit our podcast website for the full episode transcript

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Welcome to season three of the podcast. Throughout this series, we will continue to shine a light on the changemakers who are having an incredible impact on the world whilst finding innovative ways to build a better future. In this first episode of the season, my guest is Akim Tejan Cole, founder of Maayee Fashion and advocate for fashion activism.

In this discussion Akim talks about his personal experience seeking asylum from Sierra Leone and facing a culture shock in Switzerland as he adjusted to his new life, and how that inspired him to create a way to bridge the gap between individuals from different backgrounds.Tune into his story here.

At the end of each show, I ask my guests for their top recommendations. Akim shared that he enjoys listening to 80’s rap music, particularly Biggie Small. Books that he absolutely recommends are Immortal Self by Aaravindha Himadra and Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. And at the moment he is reading Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah.

To find out more about Maayee Fashion and the impact being made through this movement, be sure to check out their website and follow on Instagram and LinkdedIn. To connect with Akim, you can find him on LinkedIn.

Visit our podcast website for the full episode transcript.

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Introducing the third season of the Narratives of Purpose podcast. In this new season, I continue to share unique stories of global changemakers and trailblazers, passionate people who are making a meaningful impact in the world. My journey in the next episodes will bring me from Hong Kong to New York via India, Sweden, Ireland and Switzerland. The conversations with my guests will be centered around education, dialogue and understanding, inclusion and equity, but also empowerment.

Welcome to season three of the podcast! Glad that you tuned in, and you are following the Narratives of Purpose in amplifying social impact.

Visit our podcast website for the full episode transcript.

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It is the Season two finale of our show. This last episode features Geneva-based, comic artist and painter Jean-Philippe (JP) Kalonji. JP is also an editorial illustrator for the Swiss newspaper Le Temps. In this discussion, he shares the role artists and culture play in social change, plus the importance for him to use his twenty years experience to be part of change makers creating social impact. Likewise, JP talks about his role as artistic director with the NGO Civitas Maxima, an organisation that seeks to empower victims of war crimes in their quest for justice, and the way his drawings contribute to people's stories of healing. Listen to his story.

Jean-Philippe’s website: http://www.kalonjiart.com/

Civitas Maxima’s website: https://civitas-maxima.org/

Additional links available on the podcast website: https://narratives-of-purpose.podcastpage.io/episode/on-creating-illustrations-for-social-awareness-a-conversation-with-jean-philippe-kalonji 

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