This episode is an informal roundtable, bringing together key youth activists who contributed to the Gender Transformative Education brief, launched in December 2021, with Plan International, Transform Education, UNGEI and UNICEF Education.

Gender stereotypes have no borders, and globally they are embedded in our classrooms. From a young age, girls and boys, children and youth, including those who identify as LGBTIQ+, are denied a safe, quality education because of prevailing gender stereotypes and expectations that dictate what they can or cannot do. Gender stereotypes perpetuate inequities in education and limit future life pathways for children and youth.

Through this podcast, we want to explore why gender stereotypes in education are so pervasive, and the wide-ranging consequences of failing to address them; raise awareness on the importance of prioritising gender norms in our education policies, plans and budgets; and talk about promising approaches to ensure all learners can enjoy an education free from stereotypes. This podcast is a celebration of diversity, and the transformative power of education to achieve gender and social justice in our world.

Host: Nafesha Richardson

Guests: Jayathma Wickramanayake, United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth and Cristian González Cabrerav, Researcher, LGBT Rights Program, Human Rights Watch

The third episode of the UNGEI podcast will be launched on Thursday 9 September 2021, the International Day to Protect Education from Attack. In conflict and crisis contexts around the world, children’s right to education is under threat. Education needs to be protected, with consideration for the gender-specific challenges faced by boys and girls in humanitarian situations. Gender equality and education must not be sidelined in a crisis - they are fundamental human rights, pathways to resilience and rebuilding, and crucial to more peaceful, equal and just societies.

In this episode, UNICEF Education Specialist Robyn Savage, Generation Equality Global Youth Task Force Member Amani Aruri, and CYGEN member Nafesha Richardson explore the key reasons why gender equality and education must not be sidelined in a crisis. They share promising approaches to ensure girls and boys and continue learning in humanitarian contexts, their take on the recent events in Afghanistan, and ways in which we can all do our part to protect every child’s right to education in situations of conflict and crisis.

Welcome to the UNGEI podcast

Building on the momentum of the UNGEI@20 Forum, this podcast will explore the role of education across the 6 Action Coalition thematic areas. Through interviews with two notable activists/leaders/experts working on the same issue from two different regions/perspectives/angles, each episode will answer one big question on education and its connection with the biggest issues of our time. The overall aim of this podcast is to advocate for, and share learning on, the transformative power of gender equality in and through education, delivered in a new and exciting way. The UNGEI podcast is aimed at those wanting to learn more about the transformative power of education.

Our host is Nafesha Richardson, a young feminist activist based in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and a member of the Commonwealth Youth for Gender Equality Network (CYGEN). The UNGEI podcast pilot episode, Why does education need feminism? was launched on the 8th March 2021, International Women’s Day. Antara Ganguli, a writer and feminist from India, and the Head of the UNGEI Secretariat; and Oseyi Etomi, a founding member of the Feminist Coalition in Nigeria, explored the relationship between feminism and education. The conversation touched on what feminism really means, what a feminist approach to education could look like, gender stereotypes in classrooms and textbooks, and how young feminists are leading the change towards gender equality in and through education.

Episode 2: What does technology have to do with gender equality?

The second episode of the UNGEI podcast will focus on the role of technology in advancing gender equality, especially with regards to learning and education. We want to raise awareness on the important linkages between technology and gender equality (which many folks may not realise!); talk about the challenges girls face in accessing, benefiting from, and creating new technology and exciting opportunities to overcome these barriers; and advocate for the power of technology to truly transform our world for gender equality in and through education.

We’re joined by Selin Ozunaldim and Fatima Alkaabi. Selin is an 18-year-old student and gender equality activist based in Turkey. She is currently the youngest representative for the He for She Initiative coordinated by UN Women, the founder of Girl Up Istanbul, and Girls Who Code Turkey. Fatima is a 19-year-old inventor and engineering student from the United Arab Emirates. Fatima supports girls and young women to enter the STEM field through mentorship and empowerment.

The UNGEI podcast is a tribute to the transformative power of education. Each episode explores the cross-cutting role of education across the 6 Generation Equality Action Coalition thematic areas, through interviews with two notable activists, experts and leaders working on these issues from two different regions and perspectives. Each episode will answer one big question on education and how it connects to some of the biggest issues of our time.

Launching on International Women's Day 2021, our pilot episode, Why does education need feminism? looks at the relationship between feminism and education. On the podcast is Antara Ganguli, a writer and feminist from India, and the new Head of the UNGEI Secretariat; and Oseyi Etomi, a founding member of the Feminist Coalition, a group of young Nigerian feminists who work to promote equality for women in Nigerian society, with a core focus on education, financial freedom and representation in public office.