Episode 3 – Facilitating Catalytic Collaborations
Episode 3, Part 1
In this episode, released in two parts, we highlight four stories of people around the world engaged in shifting systems in agriculture, housing, employment, finance, and place-based ecosystem regeneration. We hear about what these practitioners are learning and how their work is unfolding in real time. You won’t hear our hosts, only the voice of the person sharing their story.
In part one, we begin with the African Food Fellowship, a dynamic network of leaders working to radically change food systems for better health, sustainability, and inclusivity on the African Continent. The fellowship is an ambitious initiative co-created by Wasafiri and Wageningen University. The fellowship is supported by Ikea Foundation and Small Foundation. Sharing this story is Claudia Piacenza, Food System lead at Wasafiri Consulting.
The second story is about Roof Over Our Heads, an on the ground, do it yourself, initiative that is transforming housing and habitat in many cities in the global south. Roof Over Our Heads is an example of everyday leadership that creates impact through local partnerships. We hear from Sheela Patel the founder of Roof Over Our Heads and SPARC, an NGO based in Mumbai that mobilizes large numbers of the urban poor to enable them to become an important part of their city’s systems.
Listen to full episode of Part 1:
Episode 3, Part 2
In part two, our third story is about The Social Employment Fund based in South Africa. This government initiative creates part-time jobs that build people’s skills while benefiting communities. An essential part of their successful model is The Social Employment Network, that convenes community partners to promote collaboration, learning, and shared commitment to creating and filling community-based jobs that directly contribute to community welfare. Our guests are Margo Paterson and Sivu Siwisa.
Our last story is about making place-based systems change a reality. We explore with Regen Melbourne what it takes to work across silos to support collaboration. They are a platform working with 200 organizations across sectors to restore a river ecosystem. They share how the financial architecture behind this transformative project is being designed, what regenerative finance can look like, and why collaboration should be wildly ambitious. This is a story about how to engage many people in contributing to a community vision, and how money can flow differently to address social issues and bring big visions into reality. Our guests are Kaj Löfgren, CEO of Regen Melbourne, and Ivanna Gazibara from the TransCap Initiative, a project focused on utilizing money as a key lever for systems change.
Listen to full episode of Part 2 - Releasing on Oct. 3rd!
Read full episode transcript of Part 2 - Releasing on Oct. 3rd!
This Episode (Part 1 & 2) Features…
Sheela Patel – Founder/Director of SPARC
Sheela Patel is the founder director of SPARC, an NGO based in Mumbai that aims to mobilize large numbers of the urban poor and to support and strengthen their organizations to enable them to become an important part of the city system. Since 2022 Sheela has been spearheading the Campaign for Roof Over Our Heads (ROOH) that is now part of the UN Race to Resilience (RtR) campaign.
Patel is widely recognised, nationally and internationally, for seeking urgent attention to the issues of urban poverty, housing, and infrastructure onto the radar of governments, bilateral and international agencies, foundations and other organizations.
Claudia Piacenza – Regional Manager of African Food Fellowship
Claudia Piacenza has always been passionate about promoting long lasting change and advance justice. During her adult life, she channelled this passion in her professional life, working in the food, agriculture, and social protection sectors. Claudia lived in over 10 countries and worked with small grassroots cooperatives, national governments, and international organisations. Her view of the world is shaped by an education in international relations and sociology. The interdisciplinary nature of her background and experience has brought her to appreciate the complexity of the most pressing problems our societies are struggling with, and to focus her contribution on how we can navigate complexity. It’s on this journey that Claudia discovered the power of networks. Currently, she dedicates her passion and experience to curate the African Food Fellowship, supporting the growth of this wonderful network of food system leaders.
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Margo Paterson – Project Lead of Western Cape Economic Development Partnership
Margo Paterson is a Project Lead at the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership (EDP) focusing on employment and economy. Her projects include the Social Employment Network, a learning and support network designed to support recipients of the national Social Employment Fund, and the EDP’s convening role of the City’s Growth Coalition platforms.
Margo has a Master’s in Sustainable Development and Management (Stellenbosch University) and a background in ecology. She has a passion for the natural environment with a particular interest in how ecosystems can be sustained whilst meeting human development needs.
Sivu Onesipho Siwisa – Social Employment Network Campaign Manager of Western Cape Economic Development Partnership
Sivu is a seasoned communications and campaign management specialist with over 8 years in the non-profits, human rights, and development sectors. She has worked for organisations across Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, where she has delivered innovative communications strategies, led resilient advocacy campaigns, and cultivated sustainable partnerships with communities and stakeholders.
She is deeply passionate about the transformative impact of storytelling and narrative design in Africa as strategic tools for driving social and behavioural change, while also empowering communities to effect change collectively from grassroots levels.
Sivu is the recipient of the United States State Department International Leadership Program for Global LGBTIAQ+ Leaders Award. She is also the Mail & Guardian 200 Young South African Recipient in the Civil Society category. Sivu is also a member of ‘40 Under 40 South Africans To Look Out For’ by southafricanpeople.com
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Kaj Löfgren – CEO of Regen Melbourne
Kaj (pronounced Kai) is the CEO of Regen Melbourne, an engine for ambitious collaboration, in service of Melbourne. Powered by an alliance of more than 200 organisations, Regen Melbourne is the catalyst and host of a portfolio of bold projects that are moving Melbourne towards a regenerative future.
Kaj is also the Director of the Small Giants Academy Labs, where he leads the incubation and development of new initiatives. He is a guide on a number of the SGA leadership programs, including Impact Safari Scandinavia: the Future of Cities.
A Civil Engineer by training, Kaj also holds a Masters of Economic History from Lund University.
Ivanna Gazibara – Director of Prototyping of the TransCap Initiative
A futures and systems change expert with more than 15 years of experience in sustainability strategy and innovation, Ivana oversees prototyping at the TransCap Initiative. She has previously led Forum for the Future’s futures practice, overseeing thought leadership projects, strategic foresight work with partners, and internal and external horizon scanning networks. Ivana has also incubated and led The Futures Centre, the only open, participatory futures platform focused on tracking and making sense of change with the purpose of advancing a sustainable future. Prior to that, she was part of SustainAbility’s emerging economies team, working to build the organisation’s practice in India and Brazil. Ivana has an MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics and a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Toronto.
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And your co-hosts, Elsa Henderson & Carri Munn.