Let's Talk Peace!

This week, we talk peace with Hala Okeili, founder of Sarvam yoga, one of Lebanon’s leading yoga studios.

Once upon a time, before starting Sarvam, Hala was a lawyer. Today she is on a mission to spread yoga and its many benefits in Lebanon and beyond. 

In this episode we talk about how yoga can bring much needed peace to our lives, and Hala tells us all about her journey, and the valuable lessons she’s learned along the way.

note: Those who know me know how much I love yoga. Its a fantastic tool that has helped me IMMENSELY in my life. Practicing at Sarvam really helped me deepen my personal practice and if you find yourself in Beirut, I highly recommend checking it out.

Website link: https://www.sarvamyoga.com/

This week, we talk peace with Manal Makkieh. Manal is the founder of Kayani Project, a non-profit organization supporting women in the Mar Elias Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon.

Manal has a background in social work and she is currently finalizing her master's degree in various European universities under the Erasmus Mundus MA Joint Program.

In this episode, we talk about Kayani Project and what it’s like to be Palestinian in Lebanon.

Today, is November 22, and in many parts of the world it’s just an ordinary day but in Lebanon it is independence day.
For this symbolic occasion marking Lebanon's initiation into statehood, we talk peace with Ramzi Abou-Ismail.

Ramzi is a social and political psychologist. He is currently a PhD researcher and associate lecturer at the University of Kent. Ramzi’s research is focused on collective violence, belief systems, and Intergroup dynamics more generally.

In this podcast we discuss the psychological aspects of Lebanon’s political problems. What better way to celebrate Lebanon’s 79th anniversary? Happy Independence Day!

Since the 16th of September, Iran has been experiencing an ongoing series of protests. Civil unrest was triggered by the death of a 22 year old woman named Mahsa Amini, who according to sources was murdered by the Islamic Republics morality police for violating the country’s mandatory hijab law.

To better understand what is going on, we talk peace with Kamin Mohammadi. Kamin is an Iranian-British author, journalist, and broadcaster. She has written for publications including the Times, Harpers Bazaar, Marie Claire, and the Guardian, and has authored the Lonely Planet Guide to Iran and numerous other guide books. Kamin has also written two books, Bella Figura: How to live, Love and Eat the Italian Way, and the Cypress Tree: a Love Letter to Iran.

If you want to gain an understanding of the current situation, and the political and historical factors that led up to what is happening in Iran, then this episode is for you.

Timestamps: 

1.11-12.00 (What is currently happening in Iran?)

12.00- 22.00 (Has anything like this happened before ?)

22.00- 26.00 (About Irans Political system; is reforming a theocracy possible? Why it is NOT considered a dictatorship?)

26.00- 28.00 (What is Irans biggest problem?)

30.00- 34.00 (Why are Irans leaders hypocrites?)

34.00 - 36.00 (What does Iran need more of?)

37.00-38.00 (Police brutality and the use of foreign mercenaries.)

38.00- 40.00 (What does the world you want to live in look like, what is peace according to you?)

We all intuitively know that Education is powerful. It is one the most powerful tool for creating change that we have as humans.

This week, Let's Talk Peace is introducing you to DNS, an institution in Denmark that is doing education in a really unique way.

DNS is Known as the Necessary Teacher Training College, and it is an intentional community and teachers training college offering students a unique experience based 4 year program that aims at cultivating a global perspective. Thats why the DNS program includes a lot of traveling, including a 4 month bus trip from Denmark across the West of Africa. We are joined in conversation with Svetlana Kosenko who is currently on the DNS board. 

This conversation really got me thinking about the shortcomings in our mainstream education systems, and it brought my awareness to the ways in which we could improve things. What they're doing is really out of the box, and I hope it inspires you like it inspired me.

To learn more about DNS: https://www.dns-tvind.dk/

This week, we talk peace, post-war healing, and change with Josiane Atallah. 

Josiane Atallah is a passionate advocate for community-led, sustainable development and education. She has a Masters in International Relations from Syracuse University, NY, in Development and Humanitarian Assistance, a certificate in Middle East Affairs and a certificate in Conflict and Collaboration. She is the recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship, and serves as the West Asia Caucus Coordinator for the Major Group for Children and Youth. In her previous roles, she has supported youth in over 20 countries in creating solutions that enable their communities to thrive as a mentor and a trainer, and has worked as a consultant and researcher for the International Rescue Committee, Council of Europe and Restless Development. She has spoken on multiple panels on education, global citizenship and developmental reform with the Union for the Mediterranean, OECD, Teach for All and Erasmus.

This week, we talk peace with Lyne Mneimneh and Zeinab Halabi, founders of the Lawyard. 

The Lawyard is an online news page sharing legal and political facts around the clock. In this conversation, we discuss traditional and online media in Lebanon, and prospects for the future. 

This week, we talk peace with Rose Chabot from Montreal. In this conversation we discuss feminism, the gendered approach to public policy making, and what it means to have true equality. 

Rose is a PhD candidate in political science at McGill University and is broadly interested in researching the interactions and tensions between feminist movements and states in the gendered process of public policymaking. Her dissertation focuses on sexual and reproductive health policies and gender-based violence prevention and sanction laws in Argentina, but her interest for comparative research has led her to explore other Latin American contexts as well. Rose holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Université de Montréal (2015). She is currently an active member of the Équipe de recherche sur la gouvernance et l’inclusion en Amérique latine (ÉRIGAL), McGill University’s Institute for the study of international development (ISID), the Latin American Studies Network of Montreal (RELAM), and the Red de Politólogas.

This week's episode features communication and management expert Sally Hammoud. This is a conversation I had with Sally several months ago about self development and various aspects concerning the situation in Lebanon and it still holds relevance today. 

Sally Hammoud has a Ph.D. in Communication and media studies researching artificial intelligence and language in building digital reputation. She has experience in academia, the private sector, and the non-profit sector. Sally has been a speaker for TedX Austria, Cultural Impact Denmark, and Digital Ecosystem in Lebanon among other things. She writes for Annahar newspaper where she regularly publishes controversial pieces tackling socio-political issues

This week, we talk peace with Joel Koutangni. Joel recently graduated from the University of Maastricht, with a master’s degree in Sustainability sciences, policy, and society. He is about to start mandatory military service in Switzerland and in this episode, he tells us all about that and we discuss culture, moving countries, and much more. 

After a 2.5 month hiatus (due in part to Lebanon's electricity crisis & co), Let's Talk Peace is back! 

This episode was recorded last month, and features Parwitz Karimi,  founder of a non-profit called the Afghan Youth Association.

We speak about Afghanistan, its politics, history, what things are like under Taliban rule.

Parwiz is a British Hazara born in Afghanistan. He is a graduate in chemical engineering, reservist at the British Army and currently reads his masters in Engineering Business Management at Warwick University. As the situation unfolds, Parwiz would like to raise awareness of what is happening in Taliban-occupied Afghanistan.

A peculiar new mural graces a now special wall in the bustling Burj Hammoud neighborhood of Beirut. Lebanon might be in the midst of several crises, but one way its youth are challenging the system and expressing their desire for positive change is through art - particularly street art.

This specific story started when Alice from Lebanon, Jade from the Netherlands, and Hanna from Ethiopia somehow all ended up in Beirut together in the right place, at the right time.

This week’s guest is Andrew Clarke.

Andrew currently lives in Belfast where he is studying history at Queen’s University, and he is the force behind an initiative called Tanistry.  Since 2018, he has been working to make Irish history more accessible to people, and especially to those who don't have the time or resources to study it academically. Through Tanistry, Andrew is untangling Ireland's history to encourage a shared heritage and dialogue about the past.

And I just think that’s amazing. The way that a nation’s history is understood and taught can hold enormous peace building potential. History specifically tends to be a very sensitive subject, especially in places that have experienced conflict.  Northern Ireland, much like Lebanon (where I come from) is a place where there is no unified historical narrative. And this lack of a unified narrative says one thing very clearly: it indicated a lack of social unity.

In this episode, we talk peace with Pamela Hindi, the founder of Saudade.

The topic of death and loss is mired in taboo almost anywhere in the world. regardless of this, it is something that we all face by virtue of being human and mortal. The only thing worse than losing a loved one is losing a loved one and having to face the experience alone. this is why we must get better at being there for one another in those darker times. Pamela Hindi is doing this in a unique way through her platform Saudade. In this episode, we discuss how to make peace with loss. 

In this episode, we talk peace with Yousra Mshmsh, an artist and activist from Jordan. Yousra is the regional manager of the global organization Peace First in the MENA region. 

In this episode, we talk peace with Nader Akoum, an architect, activist, and the founder of Studio Madane. 

This week we talk peace with Raeesah Noor Mohammed, a 19 year old activist from South Africa. As a student, Raeesah organized Friday school boycotts for climate justice and performative art protests. Since the, she has worked with Greenpeace, African Climate Alliance, and the Ahmad Kathrada Foundation. She currently studies at the University of Capetown and in this episode we discuss activism, life in South Africa, and visions for a better world. 

This week we talk peace with Charles al Hayek, a historian, consultant and educator. Charles is sharing his passion and historical expertise with the public through his initiative heritage and roots, a platform promoting understanding and appreciation of Lebanese and Middle Eastern history and heritage. In times of crisis, we look for answers. Oftentimes, we happen to look to history for these answers. History when taught as a subject is seldom neutral. The way it is framed and taught influences a population tremendously. Luckily, the way history is taught can hold enormous peace building potential, and Charles is tapping into this powerful possibility. 

This week we talk peace with Callie Chamberlain from the US to discuss race related hate crimes, maternal health, and the meaning of peace. 

amongst many things, Callie is the Director of Social Responsibility at Optum, where she is advancing health equity and leading the effort to revolutionize maternal health. She is co-founder of the Refugee Relief Project, an organization supporting Syrian Refugees in Greece, and she co-produced an award-winning documentary highlighting the role of women in the refugee crisis. She has worked on several projects with various UN agencies and is a practicing brith doula. 

This week, we talk peace with Kimberely Weischel. Kim is a thought leader, a social entrepreneur, non-profit leader, educator, and cultural bridge builder with over 30 years of extensive global experience. Kim has served as CEO of Peace X Peace, an international women's peace building organization, she teaches at American University in Washington DC and is a Rotary Peace fellow. Kim is also a prolific writer. She has written several books and her newest, 'Uncovering New Possibilities: Insights from Our Time', has recently been released.