SOAS Radio

Live recording of Soas Concert Series' first performance of the academic year: Wiyaala 19th Oct 2018.

Produced by Sophie Darling

Wiyaala, which means “the doer” in her local Sissala dialect, is from Funsi, a village in the upper West region of Ghana, close to the borders of Burkina Faso and Cote D’Ivoire. Her music is a potent fusion of West African folk songs and stadium Afro-pop, informed by her personal interpretation of traditional West African mythology and storytelling.

Despite growing up in a patriarchal society that can be hostile to artistic growth, Wiyaala has emerged as one of Ghana’s leading international touring artists, performing at events and festivals all over the world, including at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia and WOMAD (UK).

Here is our next episode in the Global Sport Conversations Podcast Series. We interviewed Keir Radnedge, who has been covering football worldwide for more than 50 years, writing 36 books, from tournament guides to comprehensive encyclopedias, aimed at all ages. His journalism career has included reporting at 14 World Cups as well as many Olympic Games and European Championships. Radnedge speaks to SOAS academic Dr J Simon Rofe about: his own experiences of technology change in global sports media, the issues of gender and diversity in the world of journalism and sport, then some reflections on the 2018 Russia FIFA World Cup, and the future of sport mega events and journalistic spaces.

More information on Keir Radnedge:

https://twitter.com/KeirRadnedge

http://keirradnedge.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/mynetwork/invite-sent/keir-radnedge-a527008/?isSendInvite=true

About the series:

Global Sport Conversations Podcast Series is a collaborative project between: the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy, the Japan Research Centre, the Centre for Media and Film Studies and SOAS Radio. All proudly funded by the Research and Enterprise Office Seedcorn Initiative. The purpose of this podcast series is to explore, with industry and academic experts, the role sport has played in their lives and professional practices. It is an exciting opportunity for a variety of voices and multiple interpretations of the leading question: where does sport fit in global diplomacy?

In her new book, Women and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Dr. Rebecca Adami highlights the contributions made by Latin American female delegates and other prominent non-Western female representatives who took part in the drafting of the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Intrigued by the history of gender equality in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Dr. Adami dedicated her research to uncover the hidden figures who pushed for more inclusive language in the texts, such as the clause " ...faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small", where the first draft did not mention the word “women”.

Fatima Sator, a research associate at SOAS will also present her research findings on the origins of Gender Equality in the UN charter, as well as the advocacy project she led with her research partner to promote and give greater visibility to the Latin American women who fought for the inclusion of gender equality in the UN Charter. Their advocacy work has been featured in the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Associated Press, among others. Following the success of the project, a documentary about their journey and the story of Bertha Lutz has been produced by HBO.

"We have to be able to recognize that we have discrimination in our society, that there is prejudice and that we are going to have to do some concrete things to deal with it. But if we are not even prepared to admit that its there, we are not going to make any progress." Valerie Amos (2017)

Director of SOAS since September 2015, Baroness Valerie Amos has already become a formidable presence on the campus. As the first black woman to be the Director of any UK university, what better person to profile during Black History Month to highlight issues around both gender and racial discrimination, whilst simultaneously demonstrating how accomplished black women like her are navigating their careers and breaking the glass ceiling in the process.

This interview has come out of a collaboration between the Women's Empowerment Group and New Beings:

The Women’s Empowerment Group is a progressive, forward-thinking initiative set up by Joelle Moeckli and Motsabi Rooper at the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy. The group aimed to promote women’s voices and work towards equality in the international relations and diplomacy field.

New Beings is a platform that facilitates monthly conversations at SOAS on race, religion, gender and how these, and other social identities, intersect together in the hope of gaining a better understanding and dissolving negative narratives. The aim is to add Black, Asian and Minority voices to the discourse on the British experience. The corporate arm of New Beings addresses how public and private sector organisations can become more diverse and inclusive, having delivered workshops for Aviva, the Ministry of Defence and partnered with Afropunk and RockCorp.

The interview is conducted by Karim Perrineau, an MA graduate in International Studies and Diplomacy from SOAS University and founder/director of New Beings.

Dr Simon Rofe discusses his recently published book: 'Sport and Diplomacy: Games within Games', (Manchester: Manchester University Press / USA Oxford University Press 2018) as the culmination of the first phase of research in Sport and Diplomacy spanning the years 2012-2018. The book critically enhances the appreciation of sport and diplomacy in global affairs from the perspective of both practitioners and scholars. It draws on a range of scholarship across the fields of history, politics, sociology and international relations, exploring linkages across these fields in relation to soft power and public diplomacy.

Bruce Jentleson is a professor of public policy and political science at Duke University, and is the recipient of the 2018 Joseph J. Kruzel Memorial Award for Distinguished Public Service from the American Political Science Association International Security Section. He is a leading scholar of American foreign policy and has served in a number of U.S. policy and political positions.

From 2009 to 2011, Mr. Jentleson was a senior advisor to the U.S. State Department Policy Planning Director. He was a member of the National Security Advisory Steering Committee for President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. He served as a senior foreign policy advisor to Vice President Al Gore during his 2000 presidential campaign.

Here is our next episode in the Global Sport Conversations Podcast Series. We interviewed Susan Brownell, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. Most recently she has co-authored (with Niko Besnier and Thomas F. Carter) The Anthropology of Sport: Bodies, Borders, Biopolitics (University of California Press). She also wrote Beijing’s Games: What the Olympics Mean to China (Rowman & Littlefield, 2008) and edited The 1904 Anthropology Days and Olympic Games: Sport, Race, and American imperialism (University of Nebraska Press, 2008).

More information on Professor Susan Brownell:

https://www.umsl.edu/divisions/artscience/anthro/Faculty%20and%20Staff/susanbrownell.html

About the series:

Global Sport Conversations Podcast Series is a collaborative project between: the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy, the Japan Research Centre, the Centre for Media and Film Studies and SOAS Radio. All proudly funded by the Research and Enterprise Office Seedcorn Initiative. The purpose of this podcast series is to explore, with industry and academic experts, the role sport has played in their lives and professional practices. It is an exciting opportunity for a variety of voices and multiple interpretations of the leading question: where does sport fit in global diplomacy?

Neneh Cherry dropped by the SOAS Radio Studio the night before the release of her 5th album "Broken Politics", after her "In Conversation with Reni Eddo-Lodge" at SOAS as a part of the Black History Month events put on by the SOAS Students Union.

Isuru talks to Professor Almut Hintze and Author Farrukh Dhondy on Zoroastrianism

CARLENE The ORIGINAL DANCEHALL QUEEN talks to ISURU about her career and influences!