We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.With all 12 of Gaza’s higher education institutions destroyed by Israeli bombs, what next for students, faculty, and the future of Palestinian learning? In this episode of The Impact Room, host Maysa Jalbout, explores the impact of the war on higher education in Gaza, on both students and teaching staff, as well as the institutions themselves.We feature interviews with academics trying to keep university teaching g...

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah is no stranger to conflict zones, having spent decades volunteering for medical charities in Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq. But the plastic and reconstructive surgeon says his latest experience in Gaza has no parallel. The scale of the current suffering in Gaza, “the intensity, the ferocity, the viciousness, and the deliberate targeting of the hospitals”, he says, was like "a...

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.Water scarcity is a growing problem around the world, especially in the Middle East, but climate change is only half the story.In this episode of The Impact Room, we look at the social, economic, and geopolitical importance of water. We explore how its co-option, commodification, and unequal distribution is creating shortages affecting health and livelihoods and fuelling local and regional conflicts.Join host...

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.The Rockefeller Foundation is one of the world’s oldest and largest philanthropies. It was launched in 1910 with funds from oil, but in 2020, unveiled a plan to divest its US$5bn endowment from existing fossil fuel interests and refrain from future investments in the sector. The foundation has also committed to invest US$1bn of programme resources into collaborations and partnerships in the areas of energy, food, he...

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.Close to 800 million people were classed as food insecure in 2022 due to a mix of conflict, rises to cost of living, Covid-19, and climate change, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).As needs rise and budgets shrink, aid agencies are unable to keep up with demand and shrinking budgets are leading to ration cuts resulting in yet more hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and insecurity.In this episode o...

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.Wanjira Mathai is the managing director of the World Resources Institute (WRI), the chief Africa adviser to the Bezos Earth Fund and the former chair of the Green Belt Movement in her native Kenya. Speaking to Maysa Jalbout on The Impact Room ahead of COP28, Mathai, describes the moment we’re in as “the decisive decade” and warns that “the science is getting shaper”, “the challenge is deep”, and “we have a lot of wo...

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.We were due to kick off Season Four with a series of interviews about climate philanthropy, ahead of the UAE hosting COP28, but we felt we could not ignore the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza. In solidarity with the people of Palestine, we have recorded some special episodes about the impact this latest war is having on innocent people. We want to both highlight the current emergency, and also explor...

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.Climate change, food security, funding collaboratives, and design for development. These are just some of the topics we’ll be discussing in Season Four of The Impact Room.Join Maysa Jalbout in conversation with a diverse line-up of global philanthropists, development leaders, industry experts, and frontline organisations as they share insights and inspiration.With the UAE due to host COP28 at the end of the year, we’ll b...

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.This is a special episode dedicated to President Carter, who aged 98 has recently entered a hospice, and the extraordinary impact he has had around the world in the decades since leaving the White House.From resolving conflicts and building homes for the poor, to eradicating disease and championing human rights, President Carter’s impact has been felt far and wide and in 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. We hea...

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.Mosun Layode, Bheki Moyo, and Degan Ali discuss development funding and philanthropy in Africa.Just 14 percent of large gifts by international donors get to local NGOs in Africa, and only 9 percent of large gifts by African funders are channelled to proximate organisations, according to Bridgespan research. The rest of the money goes to governments and international NGOs.Why this happens – and what it means for on-the-gr...

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.Ninety percent of children's brains are developed by the age of five - yet around the world, millions of young people are missing out on adequate nutrition, care, and stimulating play, causing them to fall behind, even more they have started school.In this episode of The Impact Room, host Maysa Jalbout discusses the global crisis in early years care and asks what philanthropy and governments can - and should be - doing t...

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.Elizabeth Tanya Masiyiwa and Neera Nundy join host Maysa Jalbout in The Impact Room to discuss gender equality and what philanthropy can do to advance its progress.The Sustainable Development Goals were launched in 2015 to eliminate extreme poverty and support sustainable and resilient development. But eight years and a global pandemic later, many of the SDGs are hanging in the balance, none more so than goal number 5, w...

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.Globally celebrated conservationist Dr Jane Goodall steps into The Impact Room to discuss her long career and explains why, despite being nearly 90, she still spends a large part of her time travelling the world meeting young people.Speaking to host Maysa Jalbout during a recent visit to the UAE, Dr Goodall reflects on some of the challenges she has faced during her life, why good news matters, and what gives her hope. D...

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.Jacqueline Novogratz, founder and CEO of Acumen, and Myrna Atalla, executive director of Alfanar, the Middle East's first venture philanthropy organisation, join host Maysa Jalbout in The Impact Room to discuss what businesses, philanthropists, and impact investors can do to support social enterprises.A new generation of entrepreneurs are setting up mission-driven businesses to solve social problems in a sustainable way....

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.Season three is on its way. Stand by to hear Maysa Jalbout back in conversation with philanthropists, development leaders, industry experts, and frontline organisations from around the world. Forthcoming episodes will tackle a range of topics including: social entrepreneurship and impact investing; giving with a gender lens; funding for early years education; African philanthropy; and the decolonisation of aid. Subscribe...

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.In this final episode of the current series of The Impact Room, Asif Saleh, executive director of BRAC, the world’s largest NGO, joins Maysa Jalbout to discuss community-led solution systems, microfinance, and climate accountability.BRAC began in 1972 as a relief organisation to support displaced people in the newly-independent Bangladesh, but in the five decades since, it has grown to become the largest – and arguably –...

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, joins Maysa Jalbout in The Impact Room to discuss new pathways to respond to the global displacement crisis as he number of forcibly displaced people around the world surpasses 100 million.Ukraine alone has generated more than six million refugee movements since the Russian invasion in February, and the knock-on effect that this has had on grain exports has t...

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.Sesame Street has been entertaining children around the world for generations. First launched in 1969, the show was an experiment to see if television – then just an emerging technology – could be used to educate young children. Today, this unique style of education and social messaging continues to be delivered by a diverse cast of muppets – and humans – to children and caregivers across seven continents in more th...

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.Every year, tens of thousands of migrants risk their lives attempting to cross the Mediterranean. Fleeing failed or fragile states and packed into overfilled boats, they seek a better life in Europe.Many don’t make it, either drowning en-route or being turned back by coast guards under strict orders not to assist them. In 2021 alone, more than 3,000 people drowned or were lost at sea, compared to 1,776 the previous...

We'd love your feedback. Let us know what you thought about this episode.Rukmini Banerji is CEO of India’s Pratham Education Foundation.Founded 25 years ago to teach out-of-school youngsters in the slums of Mumbai, Pratham has grown to become one of the country's largest NGOs, delivering high quality but low-cost interventions to millions of Indian children.It works directly with children and youth as well as through large-scale collaborations with government systems using mapping and d...