Podcast Episode 1 The Humanitarian

Kilian Kleinschmidt is an international networker and humanitarian expert with over 25 years of experience in a wide range of countries, emergencies, and refugee camps as a United Nations official, Aid worker, and Diplomat. He is the best-known and most published aid worker in the world.

He most recently became known as the “Mayor of Zatari” when he managed the refugee camp of Za’atari in Northern Jordan on behalf of UNHCR from 2013 to 2014. Za’atari has become a symbol for new and innovative refugee and humanitarian management approaches under his leadership. As the founder and President of the Startup “Innovation and Planning Agency” (IPA) Kilian Kleinschmidt now aims at connecting the millions of poor and dispossessed with the idle and under-utilised resources and modern technologies of the 21st century. He is part of a number of arts projects and various initiatives which aim at global connectivity through better use of globalisation. He is challenging the Humanitarian Aid Sector through a range of new and unorthodox partnerships, technologies, and financing. His work on emerging cities and urbanisation is widely recognised. Team building and leadership in Crisis situations are a focus of his work.

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Episode 2

Afghanistan's Impact on me, as a war correspondent

Heidi Kingstone has written for some of the world’s leading publications, covering stories on human rights issues, conflict, and politics, reporting from places as diverse as Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq, Bangladesh, Mali, Darfur, and the Middle East. Along the way, they interviewed some key international figures, including Benjamin Netanyahu, Princess Anne, Zaha Hadid, and Daniel Liebeskind.

"Genocide - Personal Stories, Big Questions" published (2024) covers 20th and 21st-century genocide, from the Namo and Herero in 1904 Southwest Africa to the Uighurs and Yazidis, examining the 1915 Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, Rwanda, Cambodia, Srebrenica, and Indonesia. She has spoken with survivors and scholars to highlight the parallels shared by each atrocity. She emphasize that genocide is widespread and that better methods of prevention are urgently needed.

Heidi's first book, "Dispatches from the Kabul Café," was published by Advance Editions in 2014. It is a collection of true stories gathered while reporting from Afghanistan between 2007 and 2011.

Episode 3

Liberation through Education

Noëlla was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo to a Cypriot father and a Congolese mother. At five years old, her life changed when her father suddenly died. Noëlla's mother could no longer support her so she was sent to live with relatives in Europe.

Throughout her difficult childhood, Noëlla had little or no contact with home. Over the course of 13 years she exchanged a few letters with her mother and had two or three phone calls. Christmas and birthdays were hardly celebrated. Whilst living with relatives she was allowed to pursue her education and Noëlla's determination as she progressed through school and then onto higher education led to her receiving a degree in Business Management.

Episode 4

War Peace Humanitarian Demining

A discussion with Halo Trust CEO and founder, James Cowan

James Cowan was a soldier. He joined The Black Watch from Oxford in 1986, serving in Berlin, Northern Ireland, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Hong Kong. He helped plan the Kosovo operation in 1999. He commanded in Iraq in 2004 and 2006. He planned the military Olympic security operation of 2012. In 2015 he become HALO’s CEO.