Living Decoloniality: Season 2

Join humanitarian professional, researcher and activist Carla Vitantonio on a journey exploring how coloniality is being challenged throughout civil society and the NGO sector.  

Season 1 of Living Decoloniality: Practical experiences of decoloniality throughout the aid sector explored how individuals and groups from around the world are tackling the harmful colonial legacy of the aid and humanitarian sectors.   

In Season 2, Carla further explores the notion of decoloniality through three different lenses: knowledge and extractivism, nature, and gender. 

Each episode features insightful interviews with practitioners, activists and consultants who share their stories about working to decolonialise civil society and the NGO sector.  

CHL is proud to support Living Decoloniality.  

Episode 7: Matilde and Carla

In the final episode of Season 2, Carla and Matilde (podcast production assistant) explore the essence of decolonial practices and reflect on their journey. Together they try to pull the threads of the practices discussed: reconnecting with nature, challenging binaries and imagining a more equitable future.

What does it mean in a world where humanitarian and development actions are more needed than ever? What does it mean for people working in the sector? How can one practice decoloniality and remain relevant?

Note from the host, Carla Vitantonio: This episode needs an introduction: we defend the spontaneity of podcasts and we think that linking professionality to the use of expensive technical means is yet one more attempt to keep power and resources in the hands of those few who can afford them. Nevertheless we are conscious that the sound of this episode is especially disturbing. Thank you for keeping supporting us, your support is our strength!

Click here to view the transcript.

Episode 6: Karishma

In this episode, Carla has a thought-provoking conversation with Karishma Shafi, who is working with One Future Collective (OFC), a feminist organisation dedicated to social justice in India. From challenging colonial legacies to reimagining knowledge systems, Karishma shares invaluable insights that resonate across disciplines, suggesting alternative practices through examples provided by her work at OFC.

Click here to view the transcript.

Listen to “Season 02, Episode 06: Karishma” on Spreaker.

Sources: 

• Colonial legacies, postcolonial ‘selfhood’ and the (un)doing of Africa
• One Future Collective
• Precolonial Intellectuals and the Production of Colonial Knowledge
• The Production of Colonial Knowledge and the Role of Native Intellectuals: The Case of Kavali Borraiah
• How we see the world: use of maps in transnational policies
• Coloniality of Knowledge and the Challenge of Creating African Futures
• Coloniality of power and de-colonial thinking

Episode 5: Mara

In this episode, guest Mara Tissera Luna, a polyglot international consultant with over a decade of expertise in protection and forced migration, delves into the critical intersection of inclusive research and societal engagement. Carla explores how Mara’s unique blend of skills in social anthropology and public administration informs her work in addressing root causes and developing policies for displaced populations across Latin America, the US, and Europe. The episode covers the power of decentering knowledge hierarchies, amplifying marginalised voices, and fostering a more equitable world.

Click here to view the transcript.

Listen to “Season 02, Episode 05: Mara” on Spreaker.

Sources:

• Epistemic decentering in education for responsibility: revisiting the theory and practice of educational integrity
• Decentering academia through critical unlearning in transdisciplinary knowledge production
• Possibilities and complexities of decolonising higher education: critical perspectives on praxis
• Living Decoloniality, S01 E03- Adriana, Kewan and Viola

Episode 4: Patrick and Suhee

In this episode Carla interviews Patrick and Suhee, artists based in Daejeon, South Korea, who speak about their journey to reconnect with nature, challenging societal norms and embracing ecological respectability.

Discover the essence of their creative studio, City as Nature, and their rebellion against coloniality. Tune in for an inspiring conversation breaking free from conventional norms.

Click here to view the transcript.

Listen to “Season 02, Episode 04: Patrick and Suhee” on Spreaker.

Sources:

• Placing diverse knowledge systems at the core of transformative climate research
• Representation of Indigenous peoples in climate change reporting
• El Buen Vivir y los saberes ancestrales frente al neo-extractivismo del siglo XXI
• Implementing ‘Vivir Bien’: Results and Lessons from the Biocultura Programme, Bolivia
• City as Nature
• Staying with the trouble

Episode 3: Feminist Hiking Collective

In this episode, Carla addresses one of the implicit narratives of coloniality: the narrative that  separates humans from nature, giving the first power over the second. Carla delve’s into the concept of ‘coloniality of being’ and its impact on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).

In an insightful interview with two members of the Feminist Hiking Collective, I explore their research triggers, and learn how they rebel against colonial perspectives, and navigate the intersection of nature, humanity, and decoloniality.

Click here to view the transcript.

Listen to “Living Decoloniality S02 Ep 03: Giulia and Ria” on Spreaker.

Feminist Hiking Collective (FHC) is a feminist non-profit organisation formed in January 2020 and registered in Italy.   Their aim is to contribute to transformative system change through feminist popular education, research and resource co-creation; and to build collective feminist leadership and power through hiking.

Sources:

• A decolonial feminism 
• All about power
• Achieving Transformative Feminist Leadership
• Feminist Hiking Collective

Episode 2: Charles 

In this episode of ‘Living Decoloniality,’ Carla engages in a thought-provoking conversation with social justice activist Charles Kojo Vandyck. From challenging colonial mindsets to reshaping narratives in the aid sector, Charles shares his journey and introduces ‘Alternative Convos,’ a podcast aiming to amplify diverse voices in international development.

Join Carla as she delves into the complexities of decolonising minds and practices, redefining leadership, and creating spaces for alternative narratives.

Click here to view the transcript. 

Listen to “Living Decoloniality S02 Ep 02: Charles” on Spreaker.

Sources

• Decolonizing Knowledge: From Development to Dialogue
• Beyond the Master’s Tools?: Decolonizing Knowledge Orders, Research Methods and Teaching
• Epistemic Decolonization: A Critical Investigation into the Anticolonial Politics of Knowledge
• Alternative Convos

Episode 1: Carla

In this episode, Carla reflects on the journey of the Living Decoloniality podcast, drawing inspiration from her sabbatical in Florence to the streets of Havana. She recaps the colonial matrix of power framework from Season 1, and introduces the second season and its themes.

Embracing the concept of extrapolation, Carla moves beyond sector boundaries. No longer limited to replicating practices, she explores diverse contexts, seeking inspiration from unconventional sources.

Click here to view the transcript. 

 Listen to “Episode 01: Carla” on Spreaker.

Sources

• Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective
• Epistemic Disobedience, Independent Thought and De-Colonial Freedom 
• On Decoloniality: Concepts, Analytics, Praxis 
• Colonialidad del poder, eurocentrismo y América Latina 
• The Extrapolation Problem: How Can We Learn from the Experience of Others?

Living Decoloniality is presented in partnership with the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership. The contents are the responsibility of the host, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership.