Good Politics Radio

At the height of the second wave of feminism the world saw Magda Pollard emerge as the face of Guyana and the Caribbean in the struggle to end all forms of discrimination against women, for which, it can be agreed, she has left a lasting legacy.

Despite the prevailing mindsets believing that the world operates on the psyche of men, Magda Pollard believes, some progress has been achieved in influencing this mindset, though women are yet to hit the glass ceiling as they should.

In 1993, it was the recognition of her work to create a liberating and sustaining environment for women that earned her the Caribbean Community’s Triennial Award for Women, which she shares with other Guyanese greats such as Justice Desiree Bernard and the late President Janet Jagan. (more…)

“When I see that list (of goals), at all times I am thinking of ways that the methods, tools and sheer power of the scientific enterprise can resolve those problems”, Tyson, July 2010.

Listen to Dr. Tyson as he speaks on HIV/Aids and Cultural Attitudes; the Possibility of Asteroids colliding with earth in the Indian Ocean – where does the responsibility for action lay; children as natural creators, investigators, scientists; the importance of science literacy……

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson is the first occupant of the Frederick P. Rose Directorship of the Hayden Planetarium.

Tyson was born and raised in New York City where he was educated in the public schools clear through his graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. Tyson went on to earn his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia. (more…)

Professor Diran Makinde is the Director, NEPAD Agency (A Program of African Union) African Biosafety Network of Expertise (ABNE) based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. He is the immediate past Director of the NEPAD West African Biosciences Network in Dakar, Senegal. He earned the degrees of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1976, and a PhD in Veterinary Physiology from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria in 1986. Prior to his current appointment, he was in academia from 1978-2007 with teaching experience from the universities of Ibadan (Nigeria) and Zimbabwe. (more…)

After a sterling 20 years of service to UNICEF, working in India, Ethiopia, and New York, Dr. Padmini retired from UNICEF in 1994.

The positions she filled ranged from Program/Planning Officer and Representative, to Chief, Middle East and North African section and Senior Adviser and Chief , Urban and Children in Difficult Circumstances section. This varied experience reverberates in the interview and gives the listener an idea of the flexibility of Dr. Padmini as she undertook different tasks, always keeping a focus on the rights of the child. She was one of the technical contributors to the discussions involved in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

Listen to Part One

Listen to Part Two

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Fouad Kronfol took early retirement from UNICEF in 1995, having served in the Organization from March 1959. His career started in Beirut, Lebanon where, as one of the earliest National Officers he learned programming skills dealing with activities supported by UNICEF in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia.

His international experience began in 1970 with an assignment to Cairo, Egypt, where he was responsible for the Sudan and Libya.As the activites he developed in Sudan grew in size and complexity, UNICEF decided to open an independent office for that country and Fouad was appointed the first UNICEF Representative in Khartoum. In 1976 he was transferred to New York where he was in charge of the MIddle East, North Africa and Europe section, thus giving him a wider perspective on UNICEF activities in these three regions.

From 1980 to the middle of 1983 Fouad was UNICEF Representative directing the post-war programme of reconstruction and rehabilitation in Hanoi, Viet Nam, and revamping it towards long term development.. When UNICEF was looking to strengthen its work in Africa at the time of serious drought and other emergencies affecting more than 20 countries, Fouad was again transferred to New York and given charge of developing an expanded and more vigorous approach to enabling UNICEF programmes to meet the special challenges of the 45 sub-Saharan countries in Africa. Five years later he was asked to direct a special new programme launched in cooperation with WHO to strengthen primary health care in Africa, the” Bamako Initiative”. (more…)

Part 2 with Ms. Sham Poo retired from UNICEF in December 2004 as Deputy Executive Director having been appointed to this position in 1987 after joining the organization in 1985 as Comptroller. Ms. Sham Poo served as UNICEF Special Envoy to the Caribbean on a part-time basis residing in Trinidad and Tobago from 2004-2009. In the fall of 2005 she served as Interim Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict at the Under Secretary General level. After retiring she has also been keynote speaker at a number of international conferences on child rights issues and on children affected by armed conflicts. (more…)

Ms. Sham Poo retired from UNICEF in December 2004 as Deputy Executive Director having been appointed to this position in 1987 after joining the organization in 1985 as Comptroller. Ms. Sham Poo served as UNICEF Special Envoy to the Caribbean on a part-time basis residing in Trinidad and Tobago from 2004-2009. In the fall of 2005 she served as Interim Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict at the Under Secretary General level. After retiring she has also been keynote speaker at a number of international conferences on child rights issues and on children affected by armed conflicts.

Before joining UNICEF, she served as General Manager, Marketing Division and Senior Vice President of the Christiania Bank in Oslo from 1982 to 1985 after holding several other managerial positions with the bank, which she joined in 1962. She has also held managerial posts with Bergens Kreditbank and A/S Kjobmandsbanken in Oslo. (more…)

Mr. Moncef Bouhafa is a former UNICEF strategic communication expert with more than three decades of experience in the field of communication; he is currently director and founder of the Center for Development Communication, www.cendevcom.org. Combining strategic planning and training skills, Mr. Bouhafa has worked with international agencies, civil society and governments to advocate on a range of public issues related to governance and civil society, economic reform, violence against women and children’s rights among others.  He has special skills in training senior officials to develop communication outreach especially through the media. He has designed and implemented training courses in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Mr. Bouhafa has special expertise working with the Private Sector through social marketing and communication interventions.

Mr. Bouhafa is the lead facilitator for many of CDC’s learning events and is also a senior coach to executives including heads of UN agencies, heads of state & government, and resident coordinators of the UN System. He designs and implements learning programs in the field of communication and development and has worked to design learning events with the United Nations System Staff College including pioneering the “Communication as a reform tool for the UN” series of workshops for senior UN staff. Mr. Bouhafa also developed ground-breaking programmes for the UN in the field of rapid public information response in peace keeping, humanitarian programmes, and reputation management for the UN in the Middle East and in Africa. He also has extensive experience in designing and developing learning packages. While a Middle East and Africa specialist, Mr. Bouhafa has worked in more than 30 countries worldwide in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Prior to the founding of CDC, he was a long-serving UN official in UNICEF and a senior specialist with The Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Communication Programmes (CCP) – one of the leading institutions in social marketing and communication for behavior change. While at UNICEF he helped the organization define the concept of Social Mobilization, which has been extensively used as a means of generating support and interest through stakeholders for UNICEF’s programmes, and serving as spokesperson for the organization in many situations including emergencies in West Africa. Mr. Bouhafa is fluent in French, English and Arabic. (more…)

PATRICIA A. CUMMINGS was born and grew up in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana).

Before becoming an attorney, Patricia was the Administrative Director of the Nuclear Medicine/Ultrasound Department at Parklane Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri. She was board certified in Nuclear Medicine, Radiology and Diagnostic Medical Sonography Technology. Patricia graduated from Ottawa University in 1983 (B.A.) and Syracuse University Law School in 1987 (J.D.) at where she was the recipient of the Best Advocate Award, Edmund H. Lewis Appellate Advocacy competition, The Order of the Barristers Honor, and the winner of the Grossman Trial Competition award. She was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1988.

Patricia is admitted to practice in all of the trial and appellate courts of New York State; the Federal Courts for the Southern, Eastern and Northern District Courts. Website is www.lclawoffice.com She served pro bono as Of Counsel to The Bleeding Disorder Association of the Southern Tier and the Girl Scouts Indian Hills Council, Inc. She is admitted to practice in all of the trial and appellate courts of New York State; the Federal Courts for the Southern, Eastern and Northern District Courts.

She is a member of the Board of Directors for the United Way of Binghamton, NY, the Advisory Council to the School of Education and Human Development, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York, the Broome Community College Foundation, Inc., the Binghamton University Athletic Club, the Tri-Cities Opera, and the Binghamton Local Development Corporation; she also volunteered for the New York Metropolitan UNICEF Committee; and is a member of the Binghamton Rotary Club #64, the Broome County Bar Association, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, and the New York State Bar Association, the New York State Bar House of Delegates and is a Fellow of the New York State Bar Foundation.

Patricia’s practice area is civil litigation, primarily medical malpractice. Her most significant reported case is Fahey v. Canino, 2 N.Y.3d 148, 809 N.E.2d 645, 777 NYS2d 416 (2005).
Her recent accomplishment was as recipient of the Woman of Distinction Award from the Girl Scouts as can be seen by clicking on this video . (more…)

Majed was born and grew up in Jerusalem-Palestine. He has a Bachelor Degree in Archaeology and History from Birzeit University in Palestine and currently he is a graduate student in Archaeology and Anthropology at Hunter College in New York City. Also, he is a visual artist who is specialized in Islamic Art- Arabic calligraphy, Arabesque and Islamic Decorations, Ceramics, and Photography. He has participated in several art exhibitions and workshops in Palestine and the United States. Currently He is teaching Arabic Calligraphy at the United Nations. (more…)

Fazle Hasan Abed is the Founder and Chairperson of BRAC, the Bangladesh- based international development organization dedicated to poverty alleviation and empowerment of the poor. Abed, an accountant by training, founded BRAC in 1972 after Bangladesh’s war of independence initially to provide relief and rehabilitation to returning war refugees. Under Abed’s leadership, BRAC grew to become the largest development organization in the world in terms of the scale and diversity of its interventions operating in 9 countries across Asia and Africa. Fazle Abed has been honoured with numerous international awards for his achievements within BRAC, among which: the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership (1980); Unicef’s Maurice Pate Award (1992); Olof Palme Award (2001); Gates Award for Global Health (2004); Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership (2007); Clinton Global Citizenship Award (2007) as well as several honorary degrees from renowned universities including Columbia, Yale and Oxford. Abed is to be knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for services in tackling poverty and empowering the poor in Bangladesh and more globally. He is to be appointed Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George (KCMG). (more…)

David Rudder is one of the top calypsonians of all time. In 1977, he joined Charlie’s Roots, one of the top bands in Trinidad and Tobago. He spent many years as one of the vocalists with the band. In 1986 he burst into prominence with his album The Hammer which produced two big hits, The Hammer (a tribute to the late pannist Rudolph Charles) and Bahia Girl. This was followed in 1987 with Calypso Music, a brilliant encapsulation of the history of calypso. In 1988 Rudder released Haiti which included the title track, ( Mr. Rudder thanks for giving us permission to play “Haiti” at the end of the podcast) a tribute to the glory and suffering of Haiti; Engine Room, which captured the energy of the steel band; and “Rally ‘Round the West Indies,” which became the anthem of West Indies cricket.

In 2008, David Rudder did a Soca collaboration with fellow Trinidadian Machel Montano, Oil and Music on Machel’s 2008 album Flame on. (source Wikipedia)

Mr. Rudder served as UNDP goodwill ambassador for the caribbean and has also done music for a Major Hollywood movie (Wild 0rchid) and released over 24 albums. He continues to tour extensively and record.
His music can be downloaded from here or click the album picture.
He has a face book and my space page; Read more about David Rudder on his My Space Page here.

We would like to thank our podcast sponsors who make this free podcast possible:

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Berny Dohrmann chairman of CEOspace.net inventor of a new classroom technology for public schools SuperTeaching.uah.edu. Licensee partner with the University Alabama Huntsville in developing the world’s first and leading Entrepreneur Degree program for higher education worldwide.  Bestselling author. Radio show host. Movie writer, producer. Berny Dohrmann is entering a third decade of offering education and training systems to private
industry and government.

Presently Mr. Dohrmann is working with leading celebrity trainers including Anthony Robbins, Dr. Jeff Magee publisher of THE PERFORMANCE MAGAZINE, Ed Bogle, contract adviser to Conoco Oil, and many more, on CEO Space’s 2009 SOVEREIGN NATION PROGRAM.
The SOVEREIGN NATION PROGRAM complements the five WORLD TRADE SHOWS Mr. Dohrmann produces each year for industrial CEOs and their management, with “in nation” training for economic development of participating host countries. Mr. Dohrmann’s next book the COOPERATION REVOLUTION – REDEMPTION defines the death of the first generation of competitive capitalism with all of its abuses and the birth of the future of cooperative, collaborative capitalism, the next generation of capitalism.

Mr. Dohrmann is a world change agent, advising CEOs of the largest industries, as well as heads of state. Mr. Dohrmann is known as the coach of the coaches, advising celebrity thought leaders with past relationships that include Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup, Bob Proctor and Lisa Nichols stars of THE SECRET, John Gray of MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS fame, Jill Lublin bestselling author of NETWORKING MAGIC and many other celebrities and adviser coaches. Mr. Dohrmann also works with William Shatner and his Entrepreneur television series www.heartbeatofamerica, frequently appearing as a guest on the show.

Mr. Dohrmann makes his home in Florida with his September and their children Daniel and Preston, complementing Mr. Dohrmann’s raised kids Tony, Jennifer, Jason, Lora, Ryan, Justin and Dylan. One of nine himself, Mr. Dohrmann remains puzzled how he “became his father” with the same nine in his family that he himself was raised in, Berny states “I love my career as Dad more than any other.” Berny’s father, Alan Dohrmann, was a leader in corporate training coaching such figures as Napoleon Hill, Bucky Fuller, Walt Disney, Earl Nightingale, President Jack Kennedy, and many others creating the world stage Berny Dohrmann grew up within.

With Super Teaching rapidly reforming public education (now Title I qualified technology in the USA), Mr. Dohrmann is expanding his family legacy with the 2009 release of the CEO SPACE Sovereign Nation Program for rapid Entrepreneurial Development helping nations to prosper during the developing recession. Jack Canfield writes “if you ever get the chance to see Berny Dohrmann live, cancel every other plan and reset your compass to do so.” Many of the most important world change thought leaders in both industry and government seek out Berny Dohrmann’s counsel for their new plans.

Prior to forming www.ceospace.net Mr. Dohrmann operated for many years as Chairman of publically traded investment banking firms conducting billions of dollars of business in over fourteen countries. Mr. Dohrmann’s financial-forecasting newsletters provide GPS direction to apply when making forward fiscal plans for a growing list of the world elite. Mr. Dohrmann recent publication releases include LIVING LIFE AS A SUPER ACHIEVER and PERFECT “CAN” BE HAD.
200 Lime Quarry Road * Madison * AL * 35758* 256.850.4710 (more…)

Berny Dohrmann chairman of CEOspace.net inventor of a new classroom technology for public
schools SuperTeaching.uah.edu. Licensee partner with the University of Alabama Huntsville in developing the world’s first and leading Entrepreneur Degree program for higher education worldwide.

Bestselling author. Radio show host. Movie writer producer. Berny Dohrmann is entering a third decade of offering education and training systems to private industry and government. Presently Mr. Dohrmann is working with leading celebrity trainers including Anthony Robbins, Dr. Jeff Magee publisher of THE PERFORMANCE MAGAZINE, Ed Bogle, contract adviser to Conoco Oil, and many more, on CEO Space’s 2009 SOVEREIGN NATION PROGRAM.

The SOVEREIGN NATION PROGRAM complements the five WORLD TRADE SHOWS Mr. Dohrmann produces each year for industrial CEOs and their management, with “in nation” training for economic development of participating host countries. Mr. Dohrmann’s next book the COOPERATION REVOLUTION – REDEMPTION defines the death of the first generation of competitive capitalism with all of its abuses and the birth of the future of cooperative, collaborative capitalism, the next generation of capitalism.

Mr. Dohrmann is a world change agent, advising CEOs of the largest industries, as well as heads of state. Mr. Dohrmann is known as the coach of the coaches, advising celebrity thought leaders with past relationships that include Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup, Bob Proctor and Lisa Nichols stars of THE SECRET, John Gray of MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS fame, Jill Lublin bestselling author of NETWORKING MAGIC and many other celebrities and adviser coaches. Mr. Dohrmann also works with William Shatner and his Entrepreneur television series www.heartbeatofamerica, frequently appearing as a guest on the show.
Mr. Dohrmann makes his home in Florida with his September and their children Daniel and Preston, complementing Mr. Dohrmann’s raised kids Tony, Jennifer, Jason, Lora, Ryan, Justin and Dylan. One of nine himself, Mr. Dohrmann remains puzzled how he “became his father” with the same nine in his family that he himself was raised in, Berny states “I love my career as Dad more than any other.” Berny’s father, Alan Dohrmann, was a leader in corporate training coaching such figures as Napoleon Hill, Bucky Fuller, Walt Disney, Earl Nightingale, President Jack Kennedy, and many others creating the world stage Berny Dohrmann grew up within. (more…)

Dr. Swaminathan is sending this Special Message of Hope and Encouragement for the New Year and the new decade to farmers everywhere. Given the challenges they are facing with climate change, the fuel and energy crisis, shaky economies, globalization and its effects on trade and agriculture, as well as their entry into the digital age, the impact of the internet and technology on productivity, all the while grappling with other social entanglements regarding their children and families. Given this sea of challenges, Dr. Swaminathan brings words of hope and encouragement to this group on whom our food security rests and whose role in assuring this food security is threatened. To read the full text of Dr. Swaminathan’s message to the farmers CLICK HERE.

Professor M. S. Swaminathan has been acclaimed by TIME magazine as one of the twenty most influential Asians of the 20th century and one of the only three from India, the other two being Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. He has been described by the United Nations Environment Program as “the Father of Economic Ecology” and by Javier Perez de Cuellar, past Secretary General of the United Nations, as “a living legend who will go into the annals of history as a world scientist of rare distinction”.
A plant geneticist by training, Professor Swaminathan’s contributions to the agricultural renaissance of India have led to his being widely referred to as the scientific leader of the green revolution movement. His advocacy of sustainable agriculture leading to an ever-green revolution makes him an acknowledged world leader in the field of sustainable food security. The International Association of Women and Development conferred on him the first international award for significant contributions to promoting the knowledge, skill, and technological empowerment of women in agriculture and for his pioneering role in mainstreaming gender considerations in agriculture and rural development. Professor Swaminathan was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1971, the Albert Einstein World Science Award in 1986, and the first World Food Prize in 1987.
Professor Swaminathan is a Fellow of many of the leading scientific academies of India and the world, including the Royal Society of London and the U S National Academy of Sciences. He has received 58 honorary doctorate degrees from universities around the world. He currently holds the UNESCO Chair in Ecotechnology at the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai (Madras), India. (more…)

Special New Year Message from United Nations Under Secretary General Cheick Sidi Diarra with words of encouragement for Haiti.

For those who want to know more about contributing to Haiti, please go to this website:
http://www.unfoundation.org/donate/cerf.html
This is the UN-approved public donation site for emergency response.

Many of the countries under his responsibility are confronting different and varying degrees of challenges; the most dramatic and recent being the devastation caused by the earthquake in Haiti.

Ambassador Cheick Sidi Diarra of Mali is Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs and Small Island Developing States (SIDs).

“As a Small Island Developing State and a Least Developed Country, Haiti embodies the struggles for survival and economic development of the more than 800 million people in these groups of countries. It is a struggle against many odds, ranging from the natural hazards such as we have just witnessed, to man-made crises which are not of their own making, such as climate change and the global financial and economic crisis” said Ambassador Diarra.

He has over 25 years of professional experience in international relations, law and development. He has been an active advocate for the cause of Africa, the least developed countries and landlocked developing countries as his country uniquely represents two of these three groups of countries. Mr. Diarra obtained masters degrees in international public law and international relations from Dakar University in Senegal.
Ambassador Diarra explains the challenges affecting these three groups of countries the hardest – the food, fuel and financial crises…In addition, SIDS are extremely vulnerable to sudden sea rise which also affects availability of potable water. Learn more about the work of the Office of the Under-Secretary-General and High Representative on the website www.un.org/ohrlls

For those who want to know more about contributing to Haiti, please go to this website:
http://www.unfoundation.org/donate/cerf.html
This is the UN-approved public donation site for emergency response. (more…)

Ms. Mary Racelis, of the Philippines, is a social anthropologist and academic-activist whose research and publications at the Ateneo de Manila University’s Institute of Philippine Culture have focused on urbanization, urban poverty, community organization, informal settlers, people’s empowerment, gender, children and youth, and broader development issues. A strong proponent of community organizing, she carries out action-research with urban poor groups and NGOs to strengthen community planning , implementation and monitoring .Her international service began with UNICEF in New York as Senior Policy Specialist, Family/Child Welfare, Women’s Development and Community Participation, followed by 9 years as Regional Director, UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa, Nairobi.

Upon retiring from UNICEF, she returned to the Philippines as the Ford Foundation Country Representative, and subsequently rejoined the Institute of Philippine Culture as its Director. She continues to serve as a consultant to several international development agencies, including UNICEF, the Asian Development Bank, and the World Bank, and is a member of several NGO boards, most recently Childwatch International Research Network.. In 2003-04 she was invited by Kofi Annan to serve on the UN Secretary General’s Panel of Eminent Persons on United Nations – Civil Society Relations. Among her sources of joy and pride are her five children and 13 grandchildren.
We would like to thank our podcast sponsors who make this free podcast possible: (more…)

Mr. Lowell Fuglie, an American citizen, worked for 17 years based in Dakar, Senegal, as West Africa Regional Representative for the American relief and development agency Church World Service. His mandate during that time was to identify local African partners in West Africa (non-government agencies, church development offices, village associations) and work with them to implement development projects to assist the neediest. He did his own research to discover ways to assist partners. One result was the publication of a book, supported by The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), entitled “Producing Food Without Pesticides: Local solutions to crop pest control in West Africa,” a collection of organic approaches to food production using locally-available resources. His research also led to an interest in the Moringa tree which he read about in a monthly newsletter prepared by ECHO: Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization, which referred to the edible leaves of the fast-growing Moringa tree as the most nutritious of all tropical vegetables. When he learned that Moringa was already present in countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa and that its leaves were already a part of the diets of some groups, he wondered why, with such a valuable source of nutrition readily available, there still exists high rates of malnutrition. (more…)

Mr. Lowell Fuglie, an American citizen, worked for 17 years based in Dakar, Senegal, as West Africa Regional Representative for the American relief and development agency Church World Service. His mandate during that time was to identify local African partners in West Africa (non-government agencies, church development offices, village associations) and work with them to implement development projects to assist the neediest.

He did his own research to discover ways to assist partners. One result was the publication of a book, supported by The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), entitled “Producing Food Without Pesticides: Local solutions to crop pest control in West Africa,” a collection of organic approaches to food production using locally-available resources.

His research also led to an interest in the Moringa tree which he read about in a monthly newsletter prepared by ECHO: Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization, which referred to the edible leaves of the fast-growing Moringa tree as the most nutritious of all tropical vegetables. When he learned that Moringa was already present in countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa and that its leaves were already a part of the diets of some groups, he wondered why, with such a valuable source of nutrition readily available, there still exists high rates of malnutrition. (more…)

Jacqueline Novogratz is the founder and CEO of Acumen Fund, a non-profit global venture fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty. Acumen Fund invests patient capital to strengthen and scale business models that effectively serve the poor and champions this approach as an effective complement to traditional aid. Acumen Fund currently manages nearly $40 million in investments in South Asia and East Africa, all focused on delivering affordable healthcare, water, housing and energy to the poor. (more…)