Our guest in this episode is Dr. Richard Harris (Ph.D.), who, born in London (UK), is a tenured professor in the School of Management at Chukyo University, Japan, where he has lived for 42 years. He speaks of the difference between cultural relativism and relativity, but most of all he shares his passion for the discovery of different cultures and advocates for friendship as the best entry into a new culture. 

Dr. Harris teaches Intercultural Communication and Intercultural Management (in Japanese) at undergraduate and graduate levels and travels extensively out of personal and professional curiosity. Richard’s eclectic research interests range from the influence of physical and psychological space on intercultural encounters to the representation of ourselves and the other in media, museums, tourism and interpersonal interaction. He has presented at dozens of conferences around the world, and written many papers on the cultural impact of space, on the representation of cultures in Southeast Asian museums, and is the author of Paradise: A Cultural Guide, a study of cross-cultural concepts of the ideal.

Richard Harris – Making Friends (26 min)

Marco Blankenburgh is a true international citizen. Originally from the Netherlands, his fascination with global work and culture has led him to work in over 70 countries. As International Director of KnowledgeWorkx, Marco created the Inter-Cultural Intelligence methodology for people development. 

In a world that needs more human connection, he is passionate about equipping people and organizations with the tools they need to enhance relational success with people around them. Marco lives with his family in the UAE. He is interculturally married and has the privilege of raising four 'Third Culture Kids'.

Read more about the topics discussed in the podcast:

• Three Colors of Worldview: https://protect-de.mimecast.com/s/r3BgCw0o4YFK4RncV_dgQ?domain=urldefense.com
• Culture Made Practical - Self-Cultural Analysis: https://protect-de.mimecast.com/s/AaMGCx6p4ZIkgQjIv1fHD?domain=urldefense.com
• The Four Pillars of Successful International Negotiations: Best Practices: https://protect-de.mimecast.com/s/yBQ-Cywqg1TZQy3IQ5rsZ?domain=urldefense.com
• Better Conversations, Smarter Questions, and More Listening: https://protect-de.mimecast.com/s/uVguCz6rj2I6ymzIKRRUz?domain=urldefense.com

Marco Blankenburgh – Intercultural Intelligence (37 min)

In this episode, Media4Democracy talks to Maria Ressa about how she set up Rappler - the successful digital news platform in the Philippines - and then became subjected to a coordinated campaign of online abuse on social media, and the target of legal and political intimidation by the government of the Philippines. She talks about her work as an international advocate in the fight for media freedom and the need to reign in the power of digital authoritarians and the tech companies in order to protect freedom of expression and independent journalism, which led to her being awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize along with her co-laureat, Dmitri Muratov.

Topics

- Independent journanlism
- Rappler.com
- Digital News Platforms
- Newsroom innovation
- Facebook
- Disinformation
- Media freedom
- Lawfare

Links mentioned in this episode:

https://www.rappler.com
https://informationdemocracy.org/working-groups/concrete-solutions-against-the-infodemic/ * https://www.ifpim.org

The Media4Democracy podcast - Season 1 - Episode 1 - Maria Ressa

Media4Democracy talks to Marius Dragomir, Director of the Center for Media, Data and Society at the Central European University to understand the growing phenomenon of media capture in the 21st century. He explains why and how governments capture media to gain political power and win elections. Marius highlights the important role the international community – including the EU – can play at this critical moment in addressing media capture to protect media independence, and the role of global tech companies in protecting spaces for independent, public interest journalism.

Topics:
• Media Capture
• Elections
• Regulatory Capture
• Public media capture
• Private media capture
• Control of state advertising budgets
• Oligarchs
• Independent Media

Links mentioned in this episode:
• Centre of Media Data and Society: https://cmds.ceu.edu/

The Media4Democracy podcast - Season 1 - Episode 5 - Marius Dragomir

In episode 3 of the Capacity4dev Podcast Series, we interview Sara Jazaeri, who has been working with different UN agencies in conflict and post-conflict contexts for almost nine years. Sara shares tips on how to implement projects whose impact is sustainable in the long run and really address local needs in a flexible and adaptable way.

Sustainable impact in project implementation: collaboration, adaptability and stakeholder engagement

In episode 4 of the Capacity4dev Podcast Series, we interview Franco Conzato, Senior Expert Sustainable Development Policy and Coordination at the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Partnerships. Franco gives us insights into the Financing Not Linked to Costs approach (also known as FNLC), according to which cost is not a key determinant of EU funding as, sometimes, it can be challenging to quantify how much money will be needed for a specific project action. The approach strongly incentivises a shift towards thinking about what needs to be achieved rather than how much will be spent.

From cost-based input to result-based output: the Financing Not Linked to Costs approach

In episode 7 of the Capacity4dev Podcast Series, we hear from Lionel Dieu, Fund Manager at EDFI AgriFI. He discusses EU Agriculture Financing Initiatives, which aim to invest in small-scale farming, particularly in fragile contexts, specifically in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Mr Dieu highlights the challenges associated with agri-finance and discusses the effective measures taken to address them.

Impact investment in sustainable agriculture

In episode 8 of the Capacity4dev Podcast Series, we meet João Maldos, Analyst at the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) in Brazil. He shares the work his civil society organisation has been doing since 1994 to support indigenous, quilombola and extractive communities (meaning communities involved in the traditional extraction of fruits, nuts, seeds, oils, flours of the native ecosystems) in the protection of their territories and much more.

Strengthening biodiverse productive systems for the restoration of the Amazon: tips from the field

In episode 9 of the Capacity4dev Podcast Series, we hear from Raquel Lagunas, Global Director of Gender Equality at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Ms Lagunas discusses what UNDP calls “Equanomics,” a flagship initiative with the objective of dismantling economic structures that, unfortunately, still generate and perpetrate gender inequality.

Understanding Equanomics and the importance of gender equality in development

In this podcast episode, we interview Mr Gaetano Vivo, Deputy Head of Unit for Prevention and Preparedness Capacity Building at the European Commission’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department (DG ECHO). Mr Vivo highlights the importance of prevention and preparedness when dealing with emergency situations, regardless of where they occur.

An emergency is an emergency: strengthening Europe’s preparedness

In this podcast episode, we interview Ana Coimbra, former Head of Finance & Contracts at the EU Delegation to Malawi and now Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to El Salvador, and with Michele Crimella, Team Leader for Social Sector and Infrastructure in the Cooperation section, also at the EU Delegation to Malawi. Ms Coimbra and Mr Crimella share some very interesting insights on the FNLC (Financing Not Linked to Costs) pilot project in Malawi which is being implemented with the Ministry of Education. 

Financing Not Linked to Costs: piloting the approach in Malawi

In this podcast episode, Thierry Dudermel, Team Leader for Biodiversity in the European Commission’s Directorate General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA), discusses his career in EU external cooperation, the Global Biodiversity Framework, and the Global Gateway initiative. He highlights the five "P’s" as a foundation for development, the importance of nature-based solutions, and the role of knowledge sharing through platforms like Capacity4dev.

Reflecting on the evolution of international partnerships: adaptability and knowledge-sharing

In this podcast episode, we interview Michele Bianchi, an international consultant and practitioner in the sport for development field. Michele is also the co-founder of We Football, a non-profit organisation using football as a tool for social change. Michele explains that sport for development is about intentionally using sport to address broader social goals like education, gender equality, and community cohesion, provided it is applied with structure, purpose, and ethical care. He also shares powerful insights from his grassroots work, demonstrating how sport - when paired with mentorship and safe spaces - can transform individual lives and entire communities.

Sport for social change: lessons from the field

In this podcast episode, we interview Thomas Eekhout, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist at the Center for Evaluation and Development (C4ED). Thomas explains how rigorous data collection and analysis help improve interventions. He highlights the distinction between standard monitoring evaluations and impact evaluations and outlines the primary challenges evaluators encounter. Thomas concludes by urging international development professionals to embrace digital data and foster early, ongoing collaboration between researchers, evaluators, and implementers.

Beyond result-oriented monitoring evaluations: the case for impact evaluations

This episode explores how the impact of EU external action is assessed and evaluated. Through interviews with Monitoring and Evaluation Focal Points from DG INTPA, DG ENEST, DG MENA and FPI, the Capacity4dev team sheds some light on roles and responsibilities, common challenges, and practical tips for improving results reporting. 

Learn more on Capacity4dev.europa.eu. 

From Logframes to OPSYS: Inside EU Results Reporting

In this podcast episode, Evaluations Expert Rob van den Berg reflects on his 35-year career and tells our audience about the importance of using evaluation evidence to tackle today's sustainability challenges. Rob encourages international cooperation professionals to listen to the real needs of communities so that local initiatives driving real, impactful change can be supported.

Evidence for Hope: Reflections on evaluation and sustainability

In this episode, our team interviews Giorgia Linardi, Project Lead Coordinator of TACKLE, and digital campaigner Hajar Drissi. TACKLE is an EU-funded initiative under the Directorate-General for International Partnerships' DEAR Programme, and it promotes youth activism against discrimination and structural racism across Europe and the Euro-Mediterranean region. Both Giorgia and Hajar share their experiences about the project, from two different but very insightful perspectives.

Empowering youth activism against racism and discrimination: the TACKLE project

The European Commission’s online platform for international cooperation professionals. Discuss, share and collaborate globally!

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