Communities First podcast

In this episode, we spoke with Florence Riako Anam, the Co-Executive Director at The Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+). We delve into feminist leadership and how GNP+ is using participatory grantmaking to support People Living with HIV globally. Tune in! Music credit: Optimistic minimalistic media background at Hooksounds.com Illustration credit: Menah Wellen, https://www.menah.nl/

In this episode, we are talking with Stella Kawira and Paul-Gilbert Colletaz from the Red Umbrella Fund. We learn more about why the funding landscape needs to have the communities they serve leading on funding decisions and priorities, and what funders need to ask themselves before they can truly implement “participatory grantmaking” for key populations. Tune in!   Music credit: Optimistic minimalistic media background at Hooksounds.com Illustration credit: Menah Wellen, https://www.menah.nl/

In this episode, we sat together with Yuri Yoursky, the Programs Lead at ECOM -a regional community-led network. We are discussing the importance of networks to empower communities, and how donors can become more participatory. Tune in!  Music credit: Optimistic minimalistic media background at Hooksounds.com Illustration credit: Menah Wellen, https://www.menah.nl/

In this episode, we are joined by Samuel Matsikure, a prominent LGBTQI+ rights advocate from Zimbabwe who now works as the Team Lead Key Populations at Aidsfonds. Samuel shares his insights in southern leadership, and how his journey from being a beneficiary to joining the funding organisation has changed his own thinking about participatory grantmaking, whether funders are changing how they view their own role in this, and whether this shift has influenced activism and our communities. Tune in! Music credit: Optimistic minimalistic media background at Hooksounds.com Illustration credit: Menah Wellen, https://www.menah.nl/

We hear it over and over again: communities should be at the heart of change. Everywhere you go, at conferences and meetings, you hear the buzzwords ‘shifting the power’. But what does this mean when in reality many affected communities barely have any power and control over funds and decision-making, and continue to be tokenised? And how do we change that? With the Communities First podcast, Aidsfonds and the Robert Carr Fund take a deep dive into how we can put communities in the driver’s seat of change. In this episode, we are joined by Maria Phelan, Director of the Robert Carr Fund, and Mark Vermeulen, Director of Aidsfonds, to look at our own organisations to reflect on what it means to be a participatory and involved funder that put communities first. The talk dives into the concept of participatory grantmaking, lessons learnt and preparing your organization for the necessary changes to become more participatory. Tune in! Music credit: Optimistic minimalistic media background at Hooksounds.com Illustration credit: Menah Wellen, https://www.menah.nl/