“The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

On Monday of this week, we celebrated global visionary, activist and minister, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For many, it is a time to reflect on how far the US and the world have progressed concerning civil/human rights for Black and colonized peoples. Dr. King’s work, especially as the Civil Rights Movement began casting a wider net on the levers of social and economic exclusion, was very much focused on supporting workers--dignity in labor. My guest this week has us fully engaged in reflection as he has spent his career focused on labor. Born and raised in Denmark, Tobias Bavnsgaard is an experienced International advisor and development program manager with more than a decade of international experience working and living in developing countries. After living in Mozambique, Tanzania, Bangladesh and a stint back in Denmark, he and his family are currently based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. From early in his career, unions played a key role affording him a strong background in labor organizations and working with development projects and programing in the civic and social sectors on the local, national and international levels.

His international profile began to take shape in 2012, with the production of “The Good Growth,” a documentary making a critical assessment of the social impacts of economic growth by comparing the reality in Brazil, Philippines and Ghana against each other and to the Danish context. The documentary has been translated into English, Spanish, French and Arabic to reach a wide base of international trade union leaders and activists.

With the advent of a more digitized world, the future of work and the evolution of work spaces are very necessary ongoing conversations. I hope this episode provides a foundation of knowledge and framwork for how to consider solutions leading to better long-term outcomes for global workers.

Where to find Tobias?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram

What’s Tobias listening to?
Den Yderste Grænse / The Outer Limits Podcast

Other topics of interest:
Dr. King’s Last Campaign
About the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO)
Tesla Strike in Sweden
About the Toyota HiAce and transporting the masses
On Civil Conflict in Ethiopia

Special Guest: Tobias Bavnsgaard.

This week on the program we're daring to imagine a world where justice prevails and particularly where the aspirations of young athletes in Africa is concerned. My guest, Eddie Mensah, is the Managing Director of Right to Dream Academy in Ghana. Born and raised in Ghana, at 16 he received a scholarship to attend boarding school in Canada where he earned an IB diploma. He later moved to the United States to attend university at Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania where he was a varsity athlete as a member of the soccer/football team. Passionate about education, he has been in various academic positions for the last 25 years. Prior to joining Right to Dream, he was the Head of School at Charlotte Prep School in North Carolina. Eddie holds a masters degree in Education Leadership from the university of Pennsylvania and certificate in School Management and Leadership from Harvard University.

Eddie's work with young people truly shines a light on a the fruits of a purpose-driven career. Listen and learn more about how he sees choosing purpose over profit as a necessary walk in life's journey.

Where to find Eddie?
On LinkedIn
On YouTube

What's Eddie watching?
Abbott Elementary

What's Eddie reading?
The Quran In English

Other topics of interest:
About Nyakrom, Ghana
About Tema, Ghana
United World Colleges
Stepping Stone Scholars
Global Livability Index

Special Guest: Eddie Mensah.

She is the co-creator of “I Am Queen Mary”, the artist-led groundbreaking monument that confronted the Danish colonial amnesia while commemorating the legacies of resistance of the African people who were brought to the former Danish West Indies. The project was featured in over 100 media outlets around the world including the NY Times, Politiken, VICE, the BBC and Le Monde. Belle holds an MFA from the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, Cuba and an MA and BA from Columbia University in NY. She was a finalist for the She Built NYC project to develop a monument to memorialize the legacy of Shirley Chisholm and for the Inequality in Bronze project in Philadelphia to redesign one of the first monuments to an enslaved woman at the Stenton historic house museum. As a 2018-2020 fellow at the Social Justice Institute at the Barnard Research Center for Women at Columbia University she worked on a project about the ‘citizenless’ Virgin Islanders in the Harlem Renaissance.

This two-part conversation bookends the US Indepencence Day holiday, and at a time when so much about identity and nationalism is begging for long overdue examination, these episodes are healthy food for thought. In true #TBT fashion you'll want to come back to these discussion for the learning and insights into the continued work of deconstructing colonialism.

Where to find La Vaughn and her works?
www.lavaughnbelle.com
I Am Queen Mary
On LinkedIn
On Twitter
On Instagram
On Facebook

What's La Vaughn reading?
Just As I Am: A Memoir by Cicely Tyson
A Radical Awakening: Turn Pain into Power, Embrace Your Truth, Live Free by Dr. Shefali Tsabary

Other topics of interest:
Teach for America
Helle Stenum
Salsa Cubano
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney
About the Virgin Islands

Special Guest: La Vaughn Belle.

She is the co-creator of “I Am Queen Mary”, the artist-led groundbreaking monument that confronted the Danish colonial amnesia while commemorating the legacies of resistance of the African people who were brought to the former Danish West Indies. The project was featured in over 100 media outlets around the world including the NY Times, Politiken, VICE, the BBC and Le Monde. Belle holds an MFA from the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, Cuba and an MA and BA from Columbia University in NY. She was a finalist for the She Built NYC project to develop a monument to memorialize the legacy of Shirley Chisholm and for the Inequality in Bronze project in Philadelphia to redesign one of the first monuments to an enslaved woman at the Stenton historic house museum. As a 2018-2020 fellow at the Social Justice Institute at the Barnard Research Center for Women at Columbia University she worked on a project about the ‘citizenless’ Virgin Islanders in the Harlem Renaissance.

This two-part conversation bookends the US Indepencence Day holiday, and at a time when so much about identity and nationalism is begging for long overdue examination, these episodes are healthy food for thought. In true #TBT fashion you'll want to come back to these discussion for the learning and insights into the continued work of deconstructing colonialism.

Where to find La Vaughn and her works?
www.lavaughnbelle.com
I Am Queen Mary
On LinkedIn
On Twitter
On Instagram
On Facebook

What's La Vaughn reading?
Just As I Am: A Memoir by Cicely Tyson
A Radical Awakening: Turn Pain into Power, Embrace Your Truth, Live Free by Dr. Shefali Tsabary

Other topics of interest:
Teach for America
Helle Stenum
Salsa Cubano
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney
About the Virgin Islands

Special Guest: La Vaughn Belle.

This week's guest is my first "World Banker." Born and raised in Denmark and currently based in Nepal, Jonas Ingemann Parby is a Senior Urban Specialist in the South Asia Region with the World Bank. Jonas has led and worked on lending operations and analytical products in more than 20 countries across Latin America, Africa, South East Asia, and South Asia. His expertise focuses on local governance and decentralization, urban resilience, municipal finance, and housing. Before joining the World Bank Group, Jonas served as Adviser at DANIDA (Danish Agency for Development Assistance) and worked for several international NGOs. Prior to relocating to Nepal with his wife and daughter, Jonas lived and worked in the United States, Cambodia, Thailand, Uganda, and Peru. Fluent in five languages, Jonas also has a particular fluency in nature where he finds the best kinds of mindset hacks through his global and local adventures. In this conversation we learn quite a bit about the project development process at the World Bank and some of the solution-scaping activities that Jonas has been involved in implementing.

Press Play @
00:10:17 "Why the Where?"
00:14:24 "Jonas' Glocal Speak"
00:42:57 "Jonas' Mindset Hack"

Where to find Jonas?
On [LinkedIn](linkedin.com/in/jonas-ingemann-parby-24b6042)
On Facebook
On Instagram
On Twitter

Other topics of interest:
Nepal Urban Governance and Infrastructure Project
On Climate Change Mitigation
On Namaste
Danish Children's Songs

Special Guest: Jonas Ingemann Parby.