Open Gov Stories

In celebration of International Women's Day, March 8th 2023, the Open Gov Hub hosted a podcast on the this year's theme: #EmbraceEquity.

Podcast guests:

Jean Scrimgeour (Accountability Lab)

Jahanara Saeed (Open Data Watch)

Blair McQueen (Open Government Partnership)

Podcast host:

Izabela Chmielewska (Global Integrity)

Abigail Bellows (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) and Jessica Lowing (Open Society Foundations)talk about the nexus of passion and power in the context of community organizing and political activism against corruption. They reflect on why uniting people's voices and building institutional change are critical ingredients in overcoming corrupt systems.

No matter where we're from or what language we speak, we want the same basic things, like food and security. By joining together, citizens can advocate for -- and help enact -- the social contract. And freely "exercise what it means to be human" with collective confidence.

NOTE: This session was originally in May 2019, which was long before COVID-19 has disrupted and tested our world. Yet, a lot of what is said here about working together and anti-corruption certainly resonates today.

Listen in to learn more about this and other #opengov stories on our SoundCloud.

Changing perceptions about revolutionary countries, such as Egypt and Venezuela, can be difficult in America because they are often portrayed in negative light. Nevertheless, people who are rooted in these countries' complex cultures see things very differently.

How deep does solidarity go? What about self-care in the context of difficult political situations and wanting to make social change?

Listen to Nada Zohdy(Director of Open Gov Hub)and Andres Marquez-Lara (Founder & CEO of UFacilitate) as they share stories of their cultural identities and how they arrived at who they are today.

In this Open Gov Story, Sarah Orton-Vipond(Development Gateway) and Mor Rubinstein(360Giving)explore the question: What is the biggest challenge for women working in the field of OpenGov? The short answer: time. They talk about the gender inequality at home with chores and at work, including the Israeli military experience.

Sarah and Mor also talk about the Open Gender Monologues as a therapeutic safe space, as well as the Open Heroines initiative that augments the voices of women in opengov, open data, and civic tech. Learn more here: https://openheroines.org/

In this episode of Open Gov Stories, Mavra Zehra and Edith Mecha discuss the challenges of working in non-permissive environments back home -- in Pakistan and Kenya, respectively -- and how their experiences of the past have led them to work on social issues relevant to their country’s context. They then discuss their role as emerging voices in the developing world – promoting peacebuilding projects in the two countries and what they hope the future will hold for the civic space in there.

Mavra Zehra is a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning fellow at the Transparency and Accountability Initiative (TAI).

Edith Mecha is a former Communications Fellow at TAI.

In this episode of Open Gov Stories, Ola talks with his friend Didi about how exposure to different places at an early age helped motivate his commitment to social change in Nigeria, and how his work as a lawyer in the UK and as a researcher in the US all connect back to open government, youth empowerment and social change in his home country of Nigeria. They emphasize the need to invest in young people, how to change international development system, and how corruption is a great barrier to development and progress in Nigeria and beyond.

Olalaken Oshunkoya is founder of eCove in Abuja, Nigeria and is currently completing his PhD investigating corruption and judicial reform in Nigeria.

Didi Littlejohn is a media literacy advocate, social researcher, songwriter, educator and now analyst based in D.C.

In this episode of Open Gov Stories, Joel discusses working on consumer rights in the telecom industry and how fighting one woman's $300,000 phone bill helped pass game-changing protections for consumers in the US. He then discusses his role becoming a leader in the movement to promote open data and what he hopes the future will hold for open government data being a powerful public resource.

Joel Gurin is founder and head of the Center for Open Data Enterprise, and author of Open Data Now.

Nada Zohdy is Director of the Open Gov Hub.

In this episode of Open Gov Stories, local development and open government activist from Pakistan Fayyaz explains the inspiration that led him to setting up Accountability Lab's Pakistan chapter and then the Open Gov Hub/Space in Islamabad. Fayyaz, in conversation with Blair - his mentor, friend and Executive Director of the Accountability Lab global - talks about the journey, personal experience with corruption, and vision for more integrity and accountability in Pakistan.

Fayyaz Yaseen is head of Accountability Lab Pakistan.

Blair Glencorse is founder and head of Accountability Lab global, supporting young people with creative approaches to combat corruption and promote integrity.

In this podcast, Adnen and Asma, co-founder and intern at El Space (Tunisia's first social innovation hub), talk about their motivations as social entrepreneurs and the social impacts of doing business differently, witnesses injustices in society, living through the Tunisian revolution of 2010/2011 that catalyzed the Arab Spring, what inspires and challenges them, and their hopes for the future.

Adnen Ben Haj Yahia is executive director and the co-founder of EL SPACE, Tunisia's first social innovation hub. He launched several businesses and nonprofits after graduating business school and still a board member in some of these organizations. Adnen is also a social entrepreneurship and innovation specialist with demonstrated experience in the corporate, public and social sectors.

Asma Rouabhia is a Tunisian business student and marketing intern at El Space, where she facilitates a program for youth.

In this episode of Open Gov Stories, colleagues Suneeta and Doug talk about their first meeting and influential career moments, like sharing the stage with President Obama. Suneeta discusses believing in the power of one, prudent optimism, and advice for the next generation.

Suneeta Kaimal is the Chief Operating Officer of Natural Resource Governance Institute. She is a Steering Committee member and former civil society chair of the Open Government Partnership.

Doug Rutzen is President and CEO of the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, which has worked in 100 countries to help develop the legal framework for civil society, philanthropy, and public participation. Doug also teaches at Georgetown University Law Center and serves on the Advisory Board of the United Nations Democracy Fund.