Transparency Talks

Open Up Operations Manager Lailah Ryklief talks about how her diverse background has influenced her professional direction, what being a woman in the field of civic tech has meant to her, and how seriously she takes the responsibility with which she has been entrusted.

La cineasta y fotógrafa mexicana independiente Sara Escobar habla sobre su trayectoria profesional, su compromiso por contar historias que muestren la "normalidad" y anormalidad simultáneas del país, cómo ha trabajo por hacer frente al sexismo arraigado y sobre dos colectivos en los que se colabora con otros documentalistas.

Independent Mexican filmmaker and photographer Sara Escobar talks about her professional journey, her commitment to tell stories that show the country's simultaneous "normality" and abnormality, how she has persisted in the face of entrenched sexism and two collectives in which she is involved with other documentarians.

Zimbabwean journalist, columnist and editor Breznhev Malaba talks about the origins of his journalistic passions, the reasons behind his pointed language in his columns, how he is operating after being labeled a "subversive" journalist by the country's government, and a new investigative venture he is embarking on with several colleagues.

Winston Mwale is a lecturer in journalism, the founder of Africa Brief and the host of the CCIJ podcast “Waterless.” Winston describes his career in journalism as a “dream” and talks about his work on Africa Brief.

This week's guest is CCIJ member and Namibian journalist Sonja Smith. She discusses why she became a journalist, how her career as a columnist at a local newspaper transformed into investigating some of Namibia's most pressing issues and how her passion for changing the world drives her work. 

Read more from Sonja: 

https://ccij.io/article/dying-for-a-drop/

https://ccij.io/my-ccij-journey/

On today's episode, Jeff talks with Khaled Sulaiman, an Iraqi journalist with an expertise in water and climate change in Iraq. Sulaiman talks about why he tries to humanize his stories and how he draws on his experiences to do so. 

Read Khaled's work from CCIJ: 

#thewaterless: We are born guardians of water

Follow Khaled on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ksulaiman 

Today Jeff chats with Neha Hirve. She is a long-term project photographer. Usually based in Sweden, she has moved back to her home country of India because of the pandemic. Herve produces fascinating work around man's relationship to the natural environment, has a degree in filmmaking and brings that cinematic influence into the photography world. 

We're very excited to have Vanessa Offiong, a highly accomplished journalist and CCIJ member, here with us today. With host Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, she chats about her unexpected journey into journalism 11 years ago and why she focuses on women and children in her work. 

In the first episode of Transparency Talks, host and Executive Director Jeff Kelly Lowenstein speaks with CCIJ's South African Hub Director Raymond Joseph discusses his career in journalism, which spans over 45 years.