Amelia Hruby is a feminist writer, podcaster and producer with a PhD in philosophy. She's the founder of Softer Sounds, a feminist podcast studio for entrepreneurs and creatives. And she’s the host of Off the Grid, a podcast about leaving social media without losing all your clients. Amelia’s work and podcast has been a help and an inspiration for Julia, who made her own decision to leave social media earlier this year. In this episode, Amelia Hruby shares her own story of wanting to drive change, challenging structures of power and why she took the decision to leave social media. Julia and Amelia discuss big tech, surveillance capitalism and how to navigate the digital world as a changemaker, who cares deeply about people and planet. They talk about shadowbans and persecution of human rights defenders, and how to organize off of social media. Amelia leaves us with great advice and support and encourages us to make conscious decisions about how we use digital tools. Learn more:  Find Amelia Hruby's podcast, free toolkit and more resources at offthegrid.fun.   Julia Wiklander is the host of Hey Changemaker!, the founder of the global feminist media platform, Girls’ Globe, and a communications strategist for changemakers and organizations.  Subscribe to her emails with support here: juliawiklander.com/notes  Find Julia's free resources on strategic communications and storytelling here: juliawiklander.com/free 

Francisca Sequeira is the the founder and president of SOMA (Sufers Proud of African Women), the first surf therapy organization in Africa dedicated exclusively to girls. Francisca, from Portugal, embarked on a new journey in 2020 during the pandemic. She was experiencing anxiety and panic attacks after losing her job as a flight attendant, and discovered surf therapy—a combination of surfing, mental well-being, and empowerment. What started as a solo trip of self-discovery turned into a larger movement to support women and girls in the islands of São Tomé and Principe. SOMA's mission is to reduce the social exclusion of young women in Africa by strengthening their physical and mental well-being and promoting gender equity through surf therapy. The organization’s vision is to create the next generation of independent and self-sustainable women, surfing infinite waves of well-being, opportunities, and equity across Africa. Over the past four years, SOMA has impacted more than 100 young women, empowering them through surf therapy, academic support, and psychosocial development. With models adaptable to local conditions, SOMA has been expanding into new communities, creating job opportunities and capacity building for local women. In this episode, Francisca Sequeira shares her story and the remarkable work that SOMA does, grounded in the community it serves. Julia and Francisca talks about social entrepreneurship, creativity and hope - and about what SOMA means for the women, girls and families in São Tomé and Principe. Learn more:  www.somasurf.org @somasurf   Julia Wiklander is the host of Hey Changemaker!, the founder of the global feminist media platform, Girls’ Globe, and a communications strategist for changemakers and organizations.  Subscribe to her emails with support here: juliawiklander.com/notes  Find her free resources on strategic communications and storytelling here: juliawiklander.com/free   

Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent OBE is the Chief Midwife of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM).  Jacqueline has a tremendous career in midwifery clinical practice and leadership. Prior to joining ICM, Jacqueline served as the first Chief Midwifery Officer for the NHS in England and was one of two National Maternity Safety Champions appointed by the Department for Health and Social Care. She was recognised as one of the Health Service Journal’s most influential people in health in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024, she was also celebrated as one of the NHS’s 75 most significant nurses and midwives in 2023 and is included in the Nursing Times’ Leaders 2015 list for pioneering and inspirational professionals. She is a registered nurse and midwife and holds honorary doctorates from Worcester and Winchester Universities in the UK and a visiting Professorship in Midwifery at Kings College London and London South Bank University. She chairs the maternity advisory group for the Health and Race Observatory in England, serves on the Women of the Year management committee, acts as Midwifery Ambassador for the ‘Saying Goodbye’ charity, and holds key roles as Patron for Baby Lifeline and the Caribbean & African Health Network UK. In this episode, Jacqueline shares some incredible stories from her career in midwifery, including leading national midwifery initiatives during COVID. Julia and Jacqueline talk about the needs of midwives and the status of maternal health worldwide. They discuss inequality and inequity of care and outcomes for women and mothers between regions and within countries - and the need for data in combination with the stories of women’s lived realities. Jacqueline speaks about her work with ICM and the importance of midwifery leadership through the crises we are witnessing in the world today. Learn more:  International Confederation of Midwives Julia Wiklander is the host of Hey Changemaker!, the founder of the global feminist media platform, Girls’ Globe, and a communications strategist for changemakers and organizations.  Subscribe to her emails with support here: juliawiklander.com/notes  Get the free Storytelling Guide here: juliawiklander.com/25 

Neha Mankani is a community midwife and global health practitioner from Pakistan with a strong focus on reproductive health and rights in crisis situations, emergency response and climate-affected communities.  Neha is the Humanitarian and Climate Engagement Advisor at the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and the founder of the Mama Baby Fund; a financial emergency fund for maternal and neonatal healthcare in Pakistan. She has extensive experience in SRHR and maternal and neonatal health clinical practice, programming, and midwifery advocacy both at the local and global levels. In this episode, Neha shares stories from her work with the coastal communities outside of Karachi, Pakistan and why she stared Mama Baby Fund. As a midwife with the ICM, Julia and Neha talk about how to build resilience in communities affected by the climate crisis and the critical role that midwives have. Julia’s first job after university was to support emergency maternal health response after the floods in Pakistan in 2010, and as a child she lived a while in Lahore, so this was an episode of particular connection for her. Learn more:  Mama Baby Fund website and Instagram International Confederation of Midwives website and Instagram  Other links mentioned in the episode:  Subscribe to Julia's email notes at juliawiklander.com/notes  

Nisha Pahuja is the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind the film To Kill a Tiger. Her latest film, TO KILL A TIGER, had its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the Amplify Voices Award for Best Canadian Feature Film. Since then, it’s garnered 29 awards including the Best Documentary Feature, Palm Springs International Film Festival, three Canadian Screen awards and the DGC Allan King Award for Best Documentary Feature, 2023. The film is available on Netflix, and is such a beautiful and vulnerable documentary feature. "To Kill a Tiger” is a story about Ranjit, a farmer in Jharkhand, who takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, Kiran, the survivor of sexual assault. It is a story of resilience, hope, bravery and a father’s unwavering love for his daughter.  For Nisha, the film grew out of a long career of addressing various human rights issues, notably violence against women in India. In 2015, she won the Amnesty International media award for Canadian journalism after making a short film about the Delhi bus gang rape for Global News. Her previous films have also won several awards from Tribeca Film Festival and many many more - and in 2024, Pahuja was invited to be a Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In this episode, Julia speaks with Nisha about To Kill a Tiger and the global #StandWithHer campaign. Nisha shares her own story and journey of determination and resilience as a filmmaker and gives us insight into the process of making this film. She also shares what's come next for Kiran and Ranjit.  Learn more:  To Kill A Tiger: https://tokillatigerfilm.com/ The #StandWithHer Campaign: https://tokillatigerfilm.com/campaign/  The film on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81766865  Julia Wiklander is the host of Hey Changemaker!, the founder of the global feminist media platform, Girls' Globe, and a communications strategist for changemakers and organizations.  Subscribe to her emails with support here: https://juliawiklander.com/notes  Get the free Storytelling Guide here: https://juliawiklander.com/25   

In this episode, Julia Wiklander shares the 21 reasons why she is leaving social media. From surveillance capitalism to her creative process - she speaks about all the issues that she's had with these platforms and what made her make the decision to leave.  After years of being in a bad relationship with social media, Julia Wiklander, founder of Girls' Globe, has decided that she's leaving. For some, this may be an easy decision, but as someone working with digital communications and media, it’s not as straightforward. Social media has been an important part of her work with digital commmunications for over a decade. It’s through social media that Julia was able to begin building Girls’ Globe – making connections that wouldn’t have been possible without it. And she has tried to please the algorithm, with everything from cringey lipsync videos to the 5-second Reels. Still, over the past 8 years, social media has become a bigger headache than it’s provided value in her life and work.  You can also read through her reasons and dive deeper into the links and resources she talks about here. Links mentioned in the episode:  juliawiklander.com/blog juliawiklander.com/notes    

What are the impacts of the Trump administration's attack on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion)? And can consumers really make a difference through boycotts? Is DEI the new woke? Is solidarity political? These are just some of the questions that are discussed in this episode of the Hey Changemaker! Podcast.  Asad Dhunna is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of The Unmistakables, an award-winning and B Corp certified consultancy that builds cultural confidence and relevance for some of the world’s most well known brands and businesses. Asad and Julia speak about diversity, equity and inclusion and its status and role in 2025. They discuss what Trump's attack on DEI means for organizations, companies and individuals - not only in the US, but also in Europe and the rest of the world. Asad shares how The Unmistakables do their work and how their Inside Out Inclusion model works. Asad shares his insights and opinions on the boycott and on citizens ability to keep pushing for policies that are grounded in diversity, equity and inclusion. This episode also digs into the language we use when talking about diversity, equity and inclusion. Asad and Julia discuss things like “economic growth” as an indicator for success, and about the connotations of the word "solidarity".  Asad Dhunna shares his own story that brought him to working with DEI and founding The Unmistakables.  Mentioned in this episode:  The Unmistakables: https://www.theunmistakables.com/ The Hope Gap: https://www.theunmistakables.com/the-hope-gap Diversity and Confusion: https://www.theunmistakables.com/diversity-and-confusion-2023  

In this episode, Julia Wiklander walks you through all the things she is committing to this year to support changemakers.  With over a decade of experience working with digital communications and strategic storytelling, Julia is offering personalized and group support to activists, advocates, entrepreneurs, communicators and teams.  Coaching & workshops Online course: Strategic Storytelling for Changemakers E-book: Big Change Starts with Small Stories Free Resources: Workshops, webinars, guides and emails Subscribe to Julia's weekly email notes here. Julia is also dedicated to amplify changemakers through the growing Girls' Globe community. The global feminist media platform reaches hundreds and thousands of readers from every single country of the world.  In these times, when big tech is increasingly hostile environments, independent platforms like Girls' Globe matter more than ever. Learn more about our membership opportunities here.  As the host of the Hey Changemaker! Podcast, Julia is dedicated to continue to bring you inspiring conversations and informative episodes to guide you to make a greater impact with your work, build resilience and keep showing up for the impact you want to create in the world.   

Giovanna Lauro is the Deputy CEO of Equimundo. She has over two decades of experience working to advance gender equality and prevent gender-based violence. Her work centers on reshaping gender norms, particularly by challenging harmful notions of masculinity. Before joining Equimundo, Giovanna served as Associate Director of the Women and Population Programme at the United Nations Foundation, where she coordinated efforts and investments to advance the rights of adolescent girls worldwide. Her career also includes research on diversity, race, and ethnicity at the London School of Economics, alongside a doctorate in Political Science from the University of Oxford. At Oxford, she explored policies aimed at the prevention of harmful traditional practices across several European countries. In this episode, Giovanna shares her own journey as a feminist activist, coming from quite a conservative and patriarchal society in Italy. Julia speaks to her about how much the world has changed since she began her career and about the important work of reframing masculinity and gender norms. Giovanna shares her insights into what a Trump Presidency will mean for gender equality and we discuss the impact on young men. We talk about big tech and the macho-broligarchs - and what we can all do to help shift the narratives around masculinity. Giovanna shares her advice for young activists and seasoned ones too.  This is an episode to help make sense of what we're witnessing in the world today, and the power structures at play.  Learn more about Equimundo here.   Julia mentions free resources on digital communications and strategic storytelling in the episode. Get them here.

Episode 66. Julia Wiklander dives into the struggle of maintaining confidence in uncertain times - something she has been working on herself. With global setbacks in gender equality, human rights, and activism, many changemakers feel drained and question their impact. Julia shares her personal experiences and practical ways to bounce back when self-doubt creeps in. Prioritize yourself. Build community, celebrate small wins, and do what fuels you. Confidence will take hits, and resilience is necessary if we want to build a better world. 

At the very beginning of social media, we saw that it could be used for so much good - create connections between people, challenge hierarchies and structures of power. However, we now know that social media, owned by tech billionaires, puts profit over people and planet every day. So, how do we make an impact in this difficult online landscape?  In this episode, Julia Wiklander speaks about how to navigate online communications in 2025. She shares the five IN's and the five OUT's of digital communications for changemakers this year.  Julia is the founder of Girls' Globe, and has worked in the intersection of digital media and social impact for the past 13 years. She's a tech enthusiast, entrepreneur, activist and empath - and encourages strategy and care for your own time and energy as you navigate your communications priorities.  She will also be hosting a free webinar on how to navigate digital communications in 2025 as a changemaker - you can sign up here.     

Episode 64. The Hey Changemaker! Podcast is back!  So far, the podcast has reached listeners in over 70 countries, with more than 50 guests speaking on a range of issues related to human rights, equality, politics, peace and justice.  In this episode Julia talks about:  navigating the heavy energy of this world and how she wants to support changemakers in this challenging time why she's "relaunching" the podcast and how she's planning to be more  What her hopes are for this podcast and how you can be a part of it Why stories will continue to be one of the most powerful tools we have for change - especially with the rise of AI How she's going from doing it yourself to doing it together this year The Hey Changemaker! Podcast is for activists, advocates, entrepreneurs, communicators and people who care deeply about our shared world. It will continue to be a space to share stories, insights, tools and inspiration.  Contribute with your comments or guest suggestions here: juliawiklander.com/podcast Subscribe to Julia's emails here: juliawiklander.com/notes   

This is a different episode of the podcast with host Julia Wiklander speaking about the global feminist solidarity movement, building resilience in the midst of deep pain, and why she started the podcast. This is an episode to remind us of why we’re doing this work. She talks about what feminist solidarity really means - and what inspired her to start Girls’ Globe to amplify the voices of so many people who go unrecognized or unheard. Julia encourages us that our voices matter and how important it is to reflect on our values and to let them lead in all aspects of our work - including our communications. Her new course Strategic Storytelling for Changemakers is an opportunity to create a powerful communications strategy that is aligned with our values and purpose, defined by our powerful stories and the people we want to reach.

Beth Woroniuk is currently a Senior Fellow with the Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative. Until earlier this year, she was the Vice-President, Policy at the Equality Fund. Beth has worked to advance gender justice and feminist approaches to policymaking for over 35 years. She has advised and worked with bilateral aid agencies, women’s funds, UN entities, international NGOs and feminist organizations, strengthening their work on gender equality and women’s rights in numerous contexts and countries. Beth has developed analytical tools, supported policy development, carried out research, blogged, conducted evaluations, organized, lobbied and testified before the Canadian Parliament. She is particularly interested in analyzing resource investments in gender equality and feminist movements, feminist foreign policies and women, peace and security. In this episode Beth shares her own stories, perspectives and reasons for hope.  Julia and Beth talk about resilience as feminist changemakers and the multiple crises that we’re facing in the world. Beth gives us insights into the challenges, and the wins that we’re seeing as a global feminist movement. She shares amazing advice for young women who are moving into the feminist advocacy space today.  

Hassina Sherjan is the Founder and CEO of Aid Afghanistan For Education. She has over 30 years of experience in education, business, communication, and journalism. Hassina is a co-author of “Toughing It Out in Afghanistan,” published in February 2011, and has published various op-eds in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, USA Today, and more. She is a member of the Board of Advisors at Samuel Hall, and a Global Ambassador for The International Alliance for Women (TIAW). She is also a 2023 GlobalGiving Community Voices fellow. In this conversation, Hassina Sherjan shares her own story of coming back to Afghanistan 19 years after leaving the country at the age of 19. Julia and Hassina talk about her work to strengthen efforts for education and girls’ education in particular, throughout the many years she was active working in Afghanistan. Hassina speaks about the shock and aftermath of the Taliban takeover in 2021 and how her work for education in Afghanistan continues in a different form.

Elizabeth Dartnall is the Executive Director of the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI). She has 25+ years of expertise in health systems, mental health, and addressing violence against women and children. Liz is an experienced global health specialist. Her career encompasses roles in both government and research in a range of countries across the world. Since 2006, she has overseen the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) and successfully transitioned it into an independent NGO with the backing of multiple partners. Committed to feminist, ethical, and equitable approaches, Liz continues to lead research and policy initiatives that play a key role in building a violence-free world for women. Liz sits on a number of international advisory groups, including the Global Women’s Institute leadership council, and serves on the board of the MenEngage Alliance. She is committed to redressing the deep inequity in the investment in research on violence against women and violence and children between the high income and low and middle income countries (LMICs) and supporting researchers and practitioners in LMICs to undertake priority driven, impactful, rigorous, feminist, and ethical research. In this conversation Liz shares her personal story of childhood experiences that what brought her to this work working with addressing violence against women and children. We talk about funding for the gender equality and women’s rights movement and about collective care. Liz talks about the vicarious trauma that people working in this field experience and how SVRI is implementing collective care in all parts of their work. Learn more about SVRI and the SVRI Forum. 

Laura Somoggi, Co-CEO at Womanity, is an international development expert with a focus on gender equity, social impact, and trust-based philanthropy. A feminist and strong advocate for devolution of power through equitable partnerships, she has overseen programmes with a presence in 15 countries. Coming from a colonised country and a family of refugees, the decolonisation of knowledge and development is especially personal to her. Laura joined Womanity in 2017 to lead their efforts to prevent violence against women and girls. Her diverse career includes a decade in journalism in Brazil and another decade managing global partnerships in the corporate sector with international NGOs and UN agencies. Laura also serves on the board of Right to Be (formerly Hollaback!). In this episode, Julia and Laura speak about hope and resilience in the face of backlash, the status of gender equality around the world and about decolonizing development. Laura shares her own stories - including about her career move - and talks about the work of Womanity at large and in Afghanistan specifically.  Learn more about Womanity here.

Amé Atsu David is the Regional Co-Director for Africa at the Global Fund for Children.  Global Fund for Children partners with local organizations around the world to help children and youth reach their full potential and advance their rights. Amé is a human rights activist and an advocate for adolescent girls. She joins us in the Girls' Globe Solidarity Studio and shares her call to action and her thoughts on feminist solidarity.  Global Fund for Children is a member of Girls' Globe, read more about their work here.   

Neha Gurung is a human rights lawyer from Nepal. Neha is the Co-founder and Head of Legal Aid and Advocacy at the Citizenship Affected People's Network, Nepal. She is also currently the Co-Lead at the Global Movement Against Statelessness. In the Girls' Globe Solidarity Studio, Neha shares parts of her story. She speaks about how she was affected by statelessness and her calls to action for others. Neha shares what feminist solidarity looks like to her.