Vital Voices Podcast Vital Voices Global Partnership

In this special Festival episode of the Vital Voices podcast, you’ll hear an inspiring conversation on how women leaders can take control of dealing with personal trauma, navigating mental health, and finding fulfillment no matter what life throws their way. Founding Partner at West Front Strategies and Vital Voices Board Member ASHLEY DAVIS kicks off the discussion by informing the audience that they all will be gifted a copy of "The Urgent Life," the debut memoir of Vital Voices Board Member and Marketing Hall of Famer BOZOMA SAINT JOHN. The conversation is moderated by HUMA ABEDIN, author and Vital Voices board member, civil servant, and Chief of Staff to Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton.

In this special Festival series episode on the rising tide of disinformation and digital dictatorship, you’ll hear from four thought leaders who offered a cross-cultural analysis on the issue of disinformation with expert commentary from the Honorable NEEMA LUGANGIRA of Tanzania, PAULINA IBARRA of Chile, OMUKA HUB NEYSARA of India and ALENA POPOVA of Russia, in conversation with MANIRA ALVA, Vital Voices’ Vice President of Issue Advocacy.

During the discussion, the panelists explore what is occurring in the world of fact and fiction, what they are experiencing, solutions, and what we can do about it to bring more truth to the surface.

As we approach the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan on August 15, 2023, we revisit a particularly moving panel discussion from the 2nd Annual Vital Voices Festival centered around gender apartheid in Afghanistan and Iran.
Listen as Afghan Women’s Rights Activist METRA MEHRAN and Iranian Actress & Activist SEPIDEH MOAFI sit in conversation with ZAINAB SALBI, founder of Women for Women International, co-founder of Daughters for Earth, and a Vital Voices board member, to discuss the problems and proposed solutions to achieve gender equality in the Middle East. 

Play through to the end to hear a special surprise unveiling of a protest piece created by the ArtLords, a collective of Afghan artists that was founded in Kabul in response to the injustices there. The artwork was created on a blank canvas during the Festival and completed just minutes before it was presented on stage during the panel. It now sits on display near the entrance to the Vital Voices Global Headquarters for Women's Leadership as a sign of solidarity for all the oppressed women and girls of Afghanistan, Iran and around the globe.

In this special Festival series episode of the power of the arts and storytelling to spark social change, you’ll hear from a panel of featured thought leaders from film, TV, fine arts and the stage, including Sesame Workshop President SHERRIE WESTIN, President of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts DEBORAH RUTTER, Filmmaker SAMAR MINALLAH KHAN, and Executive Director of For Freedoms artist collective CLAUDIA PEÑA.

These powerhouse women spoke about their roles as creative executives to positively impact the world, with media entrepreneur and Founder of the Oxygen Network and former President of Nickelodeon GERALDINE LAYBOURNE expertly guiding the discussion.

“The work we do is lonely work,” said KAH WALLA, President of the Cameroon People’s Party and a Vital Voices Board Member. “If we want social justice, if we want inclusion, we cannot count on the people who have built the current status quo to change it. We must embrace power.” And so went the discussion of five powerful women leaders about how they broke the so-called rules of society to start movements and blaze a trail toward gender equality and more.

In this special Festival episode of the Vital Voices podcast, you’ll hear more from Walla, in addition to Senior Policy Advisor for Native Affairs and Domestic Policy Council at The White House ELIZABETH HIDALGO REESE, Founder of Femmes for Freedom SHIRIN MUSA, Environmental and Human Rights Activist HELENA GUALINGA, and Former Secretary of Public Ethics, Transparency and Anti-Corruption of Argentina LAURA ALONSO.

In this special episode, you’ll hear a powerful conversation between Vital Voices Cofounder Secretary HILLARY CLINTON and a panel of women leaders who have been a part of Vital Voices 25-year history of disrupting the status quo. Listen as Northern Irish Peacebuilder Dr. BRONAGH HINDS, Gender Equality Activist OUMIE SISSOKHO of The Gambia, Human Rights Activist & Author RUCHIRA GUPTA of India, and Social Entrepreneur MARIA PACHECO of Guatemala talk about the audacious action they took in their communities to advocate for women, peace, and gender equality.