Join humanitarian professional, researcher and activist Carla Vitantonio on a journey exploring how coloniality is being challenged throughout the aid and development 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 explored the notion of decoloniality through three different lenses: knowledge and extractivism, nature, and gender.
In the latest season, Carla offers even more conversations with practitioners, activists and consultants who share their stories about efforts to decolonialise the aid and development sector.
CHL is proud to support Living Decoloniality.
S3 E1: Welcome Back
In this opening episode of Season 3, we’re reconnecting with the essence of Living Decoloniality and diving into reflections from our journey so far. Join Carla as she unpacks key lessons from the first two seasons, revisits the fundamentals of coloniality, and sets the stage for the conversations to come. Whether you’re a long-time listener or tuning in for the first time, this episode is your gateway to understanding the ongoing impacts of coloniality and our paths toward decolonial futures.
Sources:
- Frantz Fanon’s Enduring Legacy By Pankaj Mishra
- Black Skin, White Masks by Frantz Fanon
- Positionality Statements as a Function of Coloniality: Interrogating Reflexive Methodologies by Jasmine K Gani, Rabea M Khan
Episode 2: Dawit
In this episode of Living Decoloniality, Carla interviews Dawit Taddele Dessie, a changemaker with over 15 years of experience driving transformative impact across diverse sectors. Dawit shares insights on how he is engaging in reshaping philanthropy in East Africa. The episode takes a deep dive into Dawit’s work at Project Tech for Development, the role of tech-enabled solutions in nonprofit work, and his vision for decolonising philanthropy through long-term sustainability, data-driven insights, and strategic partnerships . He emphasises that true decolonisation must begin with a shift in mindset, transforming the way we think before we can reshape systems and institutions.
Sources:
● 3 ways to decolonize philanthropy right now, Geoffrey Thige, Jailan Adly
Episode 3 | Safieh
In this insightful episode, Carla is joined by Safieh, a trailblazer in decolonising global health. With over 15 years of experience in the humanitarian sector, Safieh shares practical tools to dismantle the coloniality of knowledge and being within international public health projects. From her work as a medical doctor to establishing the first open-access, multi-country Ebola data repository, Safieh’s journey is a testament to the power of intersectional feminism, open science, and decolonial approaches.
Sources
- Transforming global health: decoloniality and the human condition, Raphael Lencucha
- Towards a bidirectional decoloniality in academic global health: insights from settler colonialism and racial capitalism, Bram Wispelwey, Chidinma Osuagwu, David Mills, Tinashe Goronga, Michelle Morse
- Shifting Power in Global Health: Creating partnerships to put decoloniality into practice, United Nations Univeristy
- Why and for whom are we decolonising global health?, Ong’era F Mogakaa, Jenell Stewart, Elizabeth Bukusi
Episode 4 | Michelle
In this episode Carla welcomes Michelle Lokot, an esteemed researcher and practitioner, to explore the coloniality of gender and how it intersects with monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in humanitarian contexts. Michelle shares practical tools for fostering decolonial approaches to M&E, drawing on her extensive experience in feminist research, GBV, and qualitative methods. As Co-Director of the Health in Humanitarian Crises Centre at LSHTM, Michelle brings unique insights into the power hierarchies shaping gender, forced migration, and humanitarian aid. With years of frontline experience in Jordan, Nigeria, and Burundi, and collaborations with agencies like UNICEF and IRC, Michelle’s expertise will challenge and inspire your perspective on humanitarian work.
Sources
- Gani, J.K & Khan, R.M, Positionality Statements as a Function of Coloniality: Interrogating Reflexive Methodologies
- Lokot, M., Pichon, M., Kalichman, B., Nardella, S., Falconer, J., Kyegombe, N., & Buller, A. M., Decolonising the field of violence against women and girls: A scoping review and recommendations for research and programming.
- Lokot, M., Reflecting on Race, Gender and Age in Humanitarian-Led Research: Going Beyond Institutional to Individual Positionality.
- Lokot, M., Whose Voices? Whose Knowledge? A Feminist Analysis of the Value of Key Informant Interviews.
- Meger, S, The Fetishization of Sexual Violence in International Security.
- Zreik, T., El Masri, R., Chaar, S., Ali, R., Meksassi, B., Elias, J., & Lokot, M., Collaborative Coding in Multi-National Teams: Benefits, Challenges and Experiences Promoting Equitable Research.
Episode 5 | Ayelén
In this episode, Ayelén Amigo joins Carla to explore the colonisation of childhood and share practical tools for decolonisation projects with children. Applying her extensive academic training and years of participatory work with children and adolescents in Argentina and Mexico, Ayelén shares how adult-centrism and patriarchy shape childhood experiences. Focusing on the integration of feminist perspectives, Ayelén offers valuable insights into creating more inclusive and equitable approaches to youth work.
Sources:
- Linde, R., The globalization of childhood: The international diffusion of norms and law against the child death penalty.
- Nxumalo, F., & Cedillo, S., Decolonizing place in early childhood studies: Thinking with Indigenous onto-epistemologies and Black feminist geographies.
- Elizabeth A. Faulkner and Conrad Nyamutata, The Decolonisation of Children’s Rights and the Colonial Contours of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Episode 6 | Ammaarah
Carla interviews Sri Lankan social reasearcher Ammaarah Nilafdeen about the colonisation of language and the concept of the ‘local’. With a strong critique of colonial frameworks and the politicisation of religion in Sri Lanka and India, Ammaarah’s ideas aim to challenge entrenched narratives.
● Spoken Tamil Dialects Of The Muslims Of Sri Lanka: Language As Identity-Classifier, M. M. M. Mahroof
● How a unique Tamil dialect survived among a fishing community in Sri Lanka, Ajay Kamalakaran
● Coloniality and the ‘aid bubble’: Can language be a driver for change?, Carla Vitantonio
● Deconstructing Decolonization: The Case of Language, Ammaarah Nilafdeen
Episode 7 | Salmah
Dr Salmah Eva-Lina Lawrence joins Carla to discuss the intersection among coloniality of gender, knowledge and race. Drawing on her matrilineal heritage from Papua New Guinea and her extensive experience of decolonising international development, Salmah links theory and practice with insights from ethics, epistemology and feminism. From her role in governance and civil society to her academic contributions, Salmah offers a nuanced perspective on the dismantling of colonial frameworks in development.
- Jean Louis Rallu, The Impact of Colonization and Christianization on Gender Violence in the Pacific Islands
- Seema Khan, Gender Issues in the Pacific Islands
- Pacific Women: Ending discrimination on the basis of sexuality, gender identity and expression
- Dr Salmah’s website and training opportunities
Episode 8 | Bethlehem and Susan
This episode takes a different approach, as it talks about coloniality and decolonial practices in the framework of a big international initiative: the WASH Agenda for Change. Listen to Bethlehem Mengistu and Susan Davis as they discuss with Carla the coloniality of power and what it means to decolonise governance, using the WASH Agenda for Change as a case study. With decades of leadership in international development, Bethlehem and Susan share insights on fostering collaborative systems, strengthening efforts, and challenging traditional power dynamics in global water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) initiatives.
Episode 9 | Until next time
In this final episode, Carla and Matilde Dani recall the themes that resonated during season 3: co-creation, language, intersectionality, and pervasivity of coloniality are some of them.
They explore the structure of Living Decoloniality and how this podcast is both drawing attention to decolonial practices and also transforming itself into one of them.
They hope the examples given by the many interview guests will inspire and give strength to others during this time of uncertainty.
