In this episode, my co-host Sami Ferwati and I chat with Salma Elbasty from CLUSTER (Cairo Lab for Urban Studies, Training and Environmental Research). CLUSTER undertakes a number of research, architecture, and arts-based urban initiatives with a special focus on analyzing urban informality and highlighting its role in our cities. During our discussion, we explore the impact of two of CLUSTER's major projects—the CAUL (Critical Arab Urban Lexicon) and their Creativity in Action toolkit—and how through their diverse programming they work with artists, artisans, academics, businesses, communities, and everyone else in between to bring their projects to life.

In this episode, you'll learn about:

• urban informality and its role in creative cities,
• the process CLUSTER follows to undertake their various creative, community-based activities,
• the Critical Arab Urban Lexicon (CAUL) and the importance of translating urban terms into different languages, 
• ALFABRIKA, CLUSTER's maker space and community hub,
• and much more!

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In this episode, my co-host Jane O'Brien Davis and I chat with Marion Anvango at Book Bunk. Book Bunk is "working to restore some of Nairobi's most iconic public libraries into sites of heritage, public art, collective memory, knowledge production, shared experiences, cultural leadership and information exchange." During our discussion, we explore the diverse series of programming that they offer in their public library branches. We also chat about Book Bunk's approach to restoring libraries to make them more inclusive and accessible and cultivate a sense of belonging for the local community. 

In this episode, you'll learn about:

• how they involve the community in the restoration of public libraries,
• their experiential, digital, architectural, and social approach to restoring public libraries,
• their efforts to make library services more accessible for those living with disabilities,
• why public libraries are so important for cities to have,
• and much more!

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In this episode, I chat with Adwoa Afful, the founder of Black Futures Now Toronto (BFN TO). BFN TO is a collective that uses a mixture of storytelling, radical mapping, and a whole lot of creative talent, to develop a number of interactive ways of archiving, experiencing, and celebrating overlooked Black histories and building community both online and offline. During our talk, we explore their innovative Mapping Black Futures (MBF) story mapping project, and how in collaboration with Black nonbinary youth and women from across the Greater Toronto Area, they built a virtual community centre that highlights Black histories and geographies. 

In this episode, you'll learn about:

• why it's important to map Black histories and Black geographies,
• what is counter/radical mapping and how it can be used as a tool for community building,
• how Black Futures Now Toronto developed their virtual community centre,
• the youth responsible for creating the content for the Mapping Black Futures project,
• and much more!

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In this episode, I speak with Tatu Gatere, the co-founder and CEO of Buildher. Buildher is a non-profit based in Nairobi Kenya that is on a mission to promote gender equality within the construction industry through the provision of accredited construction, artisanry, and manufacturing skills to women that participate in their training program. Through their holistic approach to skills training and workforce development, Buildher is working hard to knock down biases and close the gender gap in the construction industry in Kenya and beyond.

In this episode, you'll learn about:

• Buildher's holistic approach to training women in the construction and artisanry,
• why it's important for women to be involved in the construction/urban infrastructure sector, 
• recommendations for integrating more women into the construction sector,
• the exciting projects (i.e. their new product line) that Buildher has in store,
• their upcoming podcast's and programming's focus on youth employability in Kenya,
• and much more!

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In this episode, my co-host Hannah Ahamedi and I chatted with Milly Kakungulu, the Education Department Lead at Justice Defenders Uganda. Through our discussion, we learned more about how the Justice Defenders (formerly known as the African Prisons Project) are defending the defenceless by educating prisoners on how to provide legal services for themselves and others. Thanks to Justice Defenders' various training opportunities and a people-centred approach to justice, prisoners and prison staff can become paralegals and lawyers whose newfound skills help improve access to fair trials and legal services, and ultimately close the ever-growing global justice gap. What started off as a discussion about the non-profit's work, ended up in a deeper discussion about justice, equity, humanity, and community and how important it is to keep those four principles if we hope to transform our legal systems for the better.

In this episode, you'll learn about:

• the importance of a people-centred approach to justice,
• the different challenges that prisoners face with getting access to justice in the current legal system,  
• the Justice Defenders model (education, training, practice) and the various opportunities that Justice Defenders provides participants,
• how prisoners have leveraged the education Justice Defenders' has provided them to transform their own lives and influence policies that improve justice within their communities at various government levels,
• the Reach Alliance and how our research project inspired Hannah and I to create this episode
• and much more!

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