We speak with Shota-san about his two years in Ethiopia as a volunteer for JICA, the Japan International Cooperation Agency. 

Shota was based in Ethiopia's second largest city, Bahir Dar. 

Click the links to learn more about delicious injera, and the Blue Nile. 

In this episode, we interview two Japanese women working for organizations involved in issues related to SDGs. 

First we speak to Noriko Shindo, co-founder of Ekolocal, who are on "a mission to empower everyone to make the right decisions for their health, their local community and the environment". Find out more by clicking here. And check out their TV appearance here!

Then, we talk to Asuka Kaneko, one of the students behind the "SDGs Diary Project", which managed to raise almost 2 Million Yen for their project. Click HERE to learn more.

We speak with a researcher inside Myanmar, Mr Sai Tun Aung Lwin, and with Victor Maung, a journalist from Myanmar based in Washington DC. 

Learn about current events in Myanmar, how the generals are reacting to the popular uprising, and whether Myanmar will see a resolution to the conflict or become another Syria. 

This is our second episode covering developments in Myanmar. To hear the first episode, which included a discussion on the history of Myanmar and the root causes for the coup and the protest movement, click here.

Join us for a conversation with university students from Lebanon who persevered through great obstacles and won the Best Delegation Prize at Harvard World Model United Nations competition - which was supposed to be held in Tokyo this year. 

Find out how they prepared, what exceptional challenges they faced due to conditions in Lebanon, and how they overcame each obstacle, worked hard and won this global prize!!!

We spoke with the team's President Mounia El-Khawand, Vice-President Stephanie Nassar, and Sarah El-Abd, Mark Nourallah, Nour Mouaness and Maurice Haddad. 

In this episode, we speak with Carolina Zeledon, of Tamarindo Coffee Roasters in Costa Rica.  

Fun Fact: Japan is the 5th coffee consumer per person in the world. 

Carolina is a native Costa Rican who is a Certified Culinarian, Certified Health & Life Coach, business administrator, consultant and fully bilingual in both Spanish and English. She understands the multicultural experience of living abroad very well as she has spent time living in Costa Rica, Italy, Hawaii, Colorado and New York City. Places that not only gave her an 20 year long career in Culinary Arts and other different types of business, but also invaluable personal insight on how the world works from different perspectives.

She is an avid cook, fitness enthusiast, nature lover, lifelong learner enjoys all things nerdy in wellness, travel, film and reading. When she isn’t passionately working on her professional projects, she enjoys cooking for and being with her friends and family. Her cooking style gravitates towards wholesome, fresh, real food with strong Mediterranean accents.

Find out more about Tamarindo Coffee Roasters on Instagram

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Zed Alrefai, "The Godfather of Arab Mountaineers". Zed is one of the leading figures and role models for Arabs in the climbing community. He has personally mentored and motivated many Middle Eastern athletes and adventurers in many expeditions across Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. He is a man of many talents but his main passion has always been mountain climbing.

His journey to the top was not an easy one. A near death experience on Everest in 2001 didn’t deter him and his triumphant return in 2003 resulted in him making history as the First Arab man to climb Everest. His determination didn’t end there. He continued to acquire titles for the first Arab to climb the seven summits - the highest mountain on each of the seven continents.

Zed’s favorite quote is ”Push yourself beyond what you believe your limit is”. His long list of achievements are a reflection of this.

In 2012, Zed was chosen to be one of the nine regional Olympic torchbearers and experienced the once in a lifetime opportunity to carry the Olympic flame in the London 2012 Olympic torch relay in the UK.

He was also a part of the First Gulf Extreme team that completed the Marathon Des Sables and he is the founder of AMAC (Arabian Mountaineering and Alpine Climbing Club). Zed is an honorary member of the Pakistan Alpine Club due to his climbing and humanitarian work in Pakistan.

And lastly, Zed is also a published author. His book, Summit Glory, is a personal account of his climbing journey and his story is now taught in schools across Kuwait.

Join us a for a conversation on Myanmar with Victor Maung and Peter Morris. 

Victor Maung is a Burmese journalist and scholar with dedicated knowledge on press freedom, Burma and LGBT rights. 

Peter Morris began his career as a writer/editor for Asia Times and other news media organizations. In 2011, Myanmar opened up after decades of military rule, so in 2012 Peter went back to Thailand and Myanmar to assist with Myanmar's development. Currently Peter is working as a lawyer in LA, but he hopes to go back to Myanmar some day. 

Join us for a conversation with Samia Alduaij, a senior environmental specialist from Kuwait with almost 20 years experience in international development, environmental management, policy analysis and in scientific/ research institutions. 

Samia has worked for the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, as well as the Scientific Center in Kuwait. Her work focuses on the sustainable management of natural resources, pollution control, environmental legislation, marine conservation and sustainable development in Kuwait and across the Middle East. She recently launched an initiative to promote sustainable and ethical consumption in the region which highlights some of the negative impacts of certain consumer choices while offering more sustainable alternatives.

Follow her and her work on Instagram @sustainablelivingkw and online www.randb-kw.com

Martin Tilman is a nationally recognized author, thought leader and expert on the linkage of education abroad to student career development and employability. He is President of Global Career Compass, an international consulting practice and an Affiliate to the Gateway International Group.  Previously, he retired as Associate Director of Career Services at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. In his distinguished career over a forty year period as an international educator, he has held senior leadership positions with pioneering international education programs in the U.S.  He is the recipient of a prestigious Fulbright Award to Japan for international education administrators.

Learn more at globalcareercompass.blog

Join us for an informative discussion with entrepreneur Teresa Ha, founder of Basis Nuts. 

Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, Basis Nuts sources and imports unique varieties of nuts - like almonds and pine nuts -  that have been carefully cultivated for centuries in Central Asia. Find out why Teresa chose to work with farmers in Afghanistan and how her business helps them export their unique products to Europe. 

Follow her work and get more information at basisnuts.com