From youth leadership in Nepal to women's workers in Argentina: a recap on Emergent Agency

After our succesful launch of the series 'Emergent Agency in a Time of Covid' with Kenyan widow's rights organizer Roseline Orwa, we had three other inspiring episodes. Here's your recap!

In our first ever Spanish episode we spoke with Dina Sánchez (see Spanish description below*), a powerful workers' movement builder and feminist in Argentina. We heard how social movements in Argentina saved lives during the pandemic and how women from poor neighbourhoods are organizing for their rights.  From the personal to the political – we talk about how women and informal workers were particularly affected and what life in poor neighbourhoods looks like during a pandemic. We discuss important lessons on solidarity, addressing urgent needs and working for long-term structural change, and perseverance. But also what the pandemic meant for unpaid carework and the political agenda of movements who have the streets as their centre stage.

Dina Sánchez is Deputy Secretary of the Unión de Trabajadores de la Economía Popular (UTEP) and national spokesperson for the Frente Popular Darío Santillán. She is a feminist activist passionate about getting all women’s paid and unpaid work, as well as the informal economy more generally, recognized and protected.

For our English speaking listeners, we did a short reflection episode with Dina's friend and scholar Francisco Longa, who said: “Without the work of these women many more would have died”.

Next up was Narayan Adhikari in the episode 'We the people: youth-led accountability in times of covid'. Narayan is passionate about getting citizens voices heard. We hear how this young organization, and their civic action teams, were able to adapt and respond effectively during the pandemic; how they supported stranded migrants and communities that lacked information and basic services in a time of lockdown. We find out how young people found new and engaging ways to tackle misinformation and got governments to open up and respond to people’s needs. We hear about the biggest lessons from the pandemic and what that means for making accountability truly responsive to communities – in all their diversity.

Last, but definitely not least, we heard from Ditsi Carolino in 'Veggies for Good: A chance encounter sustains lives in a Time of Covid'. 

“Sometimes you just need to take a leap of faith," she said in this story of a family-initiated spontaneous response to the hardships the pandemic and lockdowns brought upon urban-poor mothers. Veggies for Good is a social enterprise that started from a basketball court sale, then moved online, directly linking farmers to urban consumers and providing livelihoods to urban-poor women. Ditsi is a filmmaker turned social entrepreneur that was driven to action when she met Dorina, who would walk six hours a day to get food to feed her family during the lockdown. We hear how together they managed to create a thriving ethical business, learned as they went and adapted to fast-changing circumstances. A human story about solidarity, entrepreneurship and making a real difference in the lives of people.

Lots to learn from all these stories for anyone wanting to make a difference, so check out the episodes and watch this space for more reflections!


*En un momento histórico de crisis y cambios rápidos, este podcast es un espacio para reflexionar y aprender con los agentes de cambio, sobre cómo abordar la desigualdad y la injusticia. Este es el primer episodio en español, y forma parte de una serie especial llamada ‘agencia emergente en tiempo de Covid’. Después de dos años de pandemia queremos entender como los movimientos sociales, comunidades y otros actores han respondido a circunstancias cambiantes y difíciles. En este episodio tenemos alguien que ha hecho un trabajo impactante con los movimientos sociales en Argentina. Nos lleva a los barrios y nos cuenta sobre los impactos de la pandemia, como respondieron y qué podemos aprender de estas vivencias y experiencias de solidaridad.

Dina Sánchez es la Secretaria general adjunta de la Unión de Trabajadores de la Economía Popular (UTEP) y vocera nacional del Frente Popular Darío Santillán. Son dos importantes organizaciones que luchan a diario para elevar las voces y los derechos de los trabajadores informales, particularmente las mujeres. Le preguntamos cómo ha logrado apoyar a la gente en una época de necesidad urgente y al mismo tiempo continuar el trabajo político para cambios más estructurales. Además le preguntamos cómo respondieron sobre todo las mujeres, quienes ya se encargaban de la mayor parte del trabajo de cuidado, lo cual aumento durante el confinamiento. Descubrimos lecciones importantes y cómo ve los próximos pasos a dar en la lucha.

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