The Lids4Kids grass roots movement has stepped in to solve the small plastic problem in Australia. Lids4Kids Australia was founded as a grass-roots 100% volunteer project in May 2019 by Tim Miller, a Canberra-based full-time house Dad with three boys under ten. Today Lids4Kids is a registered charity committed to rescuing every plastic bottle lid from going into landfill to protect our environment and benefit kids. Highlights from this episode include why Tim started the organisation, the overwh...
Mar 22, 2022•23 min•Season 4Ep. 20
Play spaces for all abilities should exist at the heart of neighbourhoods. The Touched by Olivia Foundation was founded by Justine and John Perkins after they tragically lost their baby daughter, Olivia to a rare illness when she was just eight months old. Following this devastating event, John and Justine devoted themselves to positively enhancing the lives of children and their families. Highlights from this episode include the three principles of inclusive play, the power of communities and d...
Mar 15, 2022•33 min•Season 4Ep. 19
The time we live in presents an excellent opportunity for the future of co-operatives. COVID-19 has laid bare the failures of the current globalised capitalist system, which the co-operative model is well suited to address. Molly Kendall oversees Communications and Business Development at The Co-op Federation. The Co-op Federation advocates for the co-operative sector; raises public awareness; provides education, resources and networking opportunities; assists in forming co-operatives and like e...
Mar 08, 2022•27 min•Season 4Ep. 18
Outdoor recreation has been a welcome respite for many, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, however more needs to be done to make these spaces inclusive. Mathew Townsend founded Nature Freedom in 2017, a social enterprise that gives people from all walks of life and all abilities the opportunity to connect with nature and each other. This was motivated by Mathew's own lived experience of living with autism and hearing impairment, and being often excluded from environmental groups and sustai...
Mar 02, 2022•22 min•Season 4Ep. 17
Australian Seniors are learning to use technology in safe and conducive environments through the help of community run computer clubs, supported by Australian Seniors Computer Club Association. Nan Bosler AM is the founder of this peak body that was set up in 1998. In this episode, Nan talks about the history of ASCCA, how it helps seniors, the best way to support seniors in their technology journey, and how the NBN delivered her grandsons to her. Nan Bosler AM is an Australian community activis...
Feb 22, 2022•24 min•Season 4Ep. 16
Sahera Sumar is the Founder and Director of Worldwide Sheroes , a social enterprise that brings together a community of mentors and leaders to foster the next generation of female leaders. Sahera is a facilitator, coach, mentor, and keynote speaker. She has worked with leaders in over 25 countries in World Bank, WHO, and AKDN international development projects. In this episode, Sahera speaks about the lack of access to women leaders in a number of countries, her own experiences trying to fit in ...
Feb 15, 2022•29 min•Season 4Ep. 15
The North Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka have lower digital literacy levels, compared to the rest of Sri Lanka, and its neighbours. Sujan Selven is the Founder & CEO of Upcycled Tech , a not-for-profit that provides sustainable IT solutions for remote villages in the North Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. A Tamil refugee, Sujan is a social impact entrepreneur and human rights advocate. In this episode, Sujan talks about how Upcycled Tech started, the opportunities created for communities in th...
Feb 08, 2022•28 min•Season 4Ep. 14
In 2021, Poonkulali Govintharajah formed Thadam to build mental health literacy within the Sri Lankan Tamil Australian community. Poonkulali Govintharajah is a Sri Lankan Tamil psychologist, a member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and holds her Master’s degree in Social Health. Poonkulali has a strong commitment to improving the mental health of our community with a strong focus on child protection and working with families. In this episode, Poonkulali shares discussing mental hea...
Feb 01, 2022•30 min•Season 4Ep. 13
As the waiting lists for social housing grows in Australia, many who are reliant on the system cannot navigate themselves out of it. Stephen Woodlands is the Founder and Managing Director of Head Start Homes , which harnesses innovation and collaboration to reduce homelessness and poverty by providing equal access to home ownership for single mums, First Nations Peoples and other families living in social housing. In this episode, Stephen shares his lived experience growing up in social housing,...
Jan 26, 2022•30 min•Season 4Ep. 12
Gloria Tabi is an Author and the CEO of Everyday Inclusion . Gloria’s research specialises in Social Analysis on Race, Social Inequalities and Anti-Racism. As a Black African-Australian woman, Gloria brings well-grounded knowledge and experience of the impacts presented in race and gender identities. In this episode, Gloria talks about the critical misunderstandings about racism, the impact on racialised people and about her new book Inclusive Teams & Workplaces: Everyone Wins. What Can We D...
Jan 18, 2022•31 min•Season 4Ep. 11
Tinai Colawai is the Founder & Director of knext Career Design – a social impact company with a mission to enable people of colour achieve long-term career success. Before launching her business in early 2021, she spent over 15 years working across the Pacific, Asia and Australia in HR leadership, strategic and specialist roles. In the first episode of 2022, Tinai talks about the common barriers culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) individuals and people of colour (POC) face when wor...
Jan 11, 2022•30 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Zahra Bayani is has done a lot for her community, since she arrived in Adelaide in 2017. Zahra is currently studying Bachelor of Physiotherapy Honours at University of South Australia and hopes that one day her studies will empower her to work with disadvantaged youth and women to support them in overcoming adversity to reaching their full potential as integral members of the community. In this episode, Zahra talks about how she got involved in volunteering, her political aspirations for the fut...
Dec 14, 2021•15 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Priyanka Kaur is a visual and resin artist who recently founded Mahala, a social enterprise. Mahala is Australia’s first gift box service that features products from South Asian women, pursuing side hustles, passion projects or small businesses. A percentage of Mahala's profits goes to the Australian South Asian Centre, a not for profit organisation. In this episode, Priyanka talks about why she started Mahala, the underrepresentation of South Asian creatives and artists here in Australia, and h...
Dec 08, 2021•17 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Rough Edges is a community centre for people experiencing homelessness and other forms of marginalisation in Darlinghurst. This drop-in centre is operated by St John's Anglican Church and supervised by Team Leader, Ryan Naoum. As a service, Rough Edges aims to create a safe space where community is fostered and individuals can move from crisis to flourish. In this episode, Ryan talks about the issues facing Darlinghurst's communities, how Rough Edges has found new ways to create impact owing to ...
Dec 01, 2021•22 min•Season 4Ep. 7
The Commonwealth Bank currently estimate that 16% of women will experience financial abuse in Australia during their lifetime. Tasnia Alam co-founded ARISE Foundation to reveal the impact of financial abuse and provide financial freedom for women traditionally considered 'unbankable'. Tasnia has a background in Applied Finance and Law and was most recently an Associate Director at NSW Treasury. She has a decade of public and private sector experience across various industries, including audit, l...
Nov 24, 2021•20 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Merciful Servants has delivered over 150,000 packets of food over the last 7 years, supporting Brisbane's homeless and vulnerable populations. Managing Director, Ansary Muhammed, started this organisation with the aim to end hunger, in a city where approximately 1 in 200 people experience homelessness. In this episode, Ansary talks about what drives him, the challenge Brisbane's communities are now facing and how he's nurturing the next generation of community leaders. What Can We Do is produced...
Nov 10, 2021•17 min•Season 4Ep. 5
A growing number of women leaders are emerging in Australia. Charishma Kaliyanda was elected to the Liverpool City Council in 2016. Charishma was born in Bangalore, India, and moved to Liverpool when she was four years old. Starting her journey in student politics, Charishma has become an important voice for Liverpool City communities. In this episode, Charishma talks about the hurdles women leaders of colour need to clear for elected office in Australia, how the recent strict lockdowns affected...
Nov 03, 2021•24 min•Season 4Ep. 4
COOK4CALD started providing food to people in the City of Casey community when the pandemic hit in 2020. The organisation was founded by Ashvina De Zoysa. Today it has grown into a 50 member strong volunteer organisation that has become a vital source of support for CALD individuals and families who live in the City of Casey and surrounding areas. In this episode, I speak to Olivia Acciarito, COOK4CALD's Treasurer. Olivia joined as a volunteer during the first summer food relief program in 2020....
Oct 27, 2021•23 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Tessa Deak is a Mount Gambier based disability advocate who has led and been involved in several chronic illness, mental health, and disability-related initiatives in the Limestone Coast. Tessa is passionate about making a change in her community and tries to use her lived experience of chronic illness/disability to educate others and spread awareness. Tessa has been recognised for her work and won the 7News SA Young Achiever Rural Doctors Workforce Agency Rural Health Award in 2021, among other...
Oct 20, 2021•20 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Paige Krystal Wilcox (she/her) uses Intentional Storytelling to create compelling stories that counter mainstream media's unhealthy or unhelpful bias, tropes, and stereotypes. In this episode, Paige shares why she got started in Intentional Storytelling, the challenges she initially faced, and what she has learnt through her journey so far. What Can We Do is produced by Samuham Media , and hosted by Prema Menon. Prema works in a project and operations capacity in the not for profit sector. Check...
Oct 10, 2021•29 min•Season 4Ep. 1
6th Sense, a charity based in Singapore, recognises the growing inequalities in the country. They work with children and mothers who live in public rental scheme neighbourhoods, home to low income families whose total income is below 1500 Singapore dollars a month 6th Sense and its volunteers conduct activity based workshops with the children, to help with expression, personal and community development. They go a step further and befriend the mothers, and guide them through daily issues they mig...
Nov 22, 2020•24 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Mental health and emotional well-being, two things that are on many people's minds these days. In this episode, I speak to Singapore born Usha Raman , a trainer and life coach based in Perth, Western Australia. Usha's focus is mindfulness and emotional intelligence. Usha will give us a basic understanding of what mindfulness is, how it can help in difficult times and simple ways we can introduce the practice in our lives. Website (for show notes and transcripts) www.whatcanwedopodcast.com Social...
Oct 26, 2020•28 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Environmental activism is growing steadily, as more of us are getting educated on the perils of climate change. While there is a lot of discussion on how changing human activities and behaviours can help in the fight against environmental threats, the actual solutions for some communities are not this simple. Sofiah Jamil realised this as an environmental activist. In Central Lombok, she witnessed that communities could not be focused on saving trees, when they were struggling for basic access t...
Aug 19, 2020•19 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Singaporean and Singapore based artistes operate in a unique arts and culture environment - censorship, government funded grants and mainstream media channels that are mostly operated by state owned subsidiaries. This combination limits the scope of works that are produced. Rishi Budhrani has been navigating this industry for over a decade now as an actor, performer, entertainer and comedian. Rishi talks about how this distinctive landscape has shaped his craft, his latest project The Rishi Repo...
Jun 23, 2020•31 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Homelessness is Singapore is a topic that is not widely discussed in the country. In recent years, there have been books published about inequalities in Singapore society, as well as academic articles. Liyana Dhamirah's book "Homeless - The Untold Story of a Mother's Struggle in Crazy Rich Singapore" is the first of its kind, told from a first person encounter. Liyana experienced homelessness over a decade ago, and she wrote this book to raise awareness. Today, she is a Befriender for those who ...
Jun 14, 2020•33 min•Season 3Ep. 1
There are a range of support services available across Australia to help people fleeing danger or at risk of being vulnerable. However, a lot of the times the burden of rebuilding their lives with essential household items falls on the vulnerable person. The Generous and The Grateful partners with available support services, by connecting household donations with the people that need them for a home. CEO and Co-Founder Carmen Platt talks about why she started this service, the difference it make...
Apr 19, 2020•21 min•Season 2Ep. 10
The world around us is becoming increasingly uncertain. Some people turn to faith at times like these. This special episode is a recording of my conversation with Pravrajika Gayatriprana, President of the Vedanta Society of NSW. A senior Nun of the Sri Sarada Math of the Ramakrishna Order, Pravrajika Gayatriprana talks about how faith and spirituality can help us through chaos. Website (for show notes and transcripts) www.whatcanwedopodcast.com Socials Facebook Instagram Hosted on Acast. See aca...
Mar 25, 2020•31 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Online fundraising is a major source of funds for not for profits and charities. These organizations have faced criticism over the years about how a portion of donations do not go towards those in need. Benojo, led by Pascal Adolphe, is a fundraising platform that's trying to simplify the act of giving for donors and organizations. Website (for show notes and transcripts) www.whatcanwedopodcast.com Socials Facebook Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 17, 2020•17 min•Season 2Ep. 8
About 7 million tonnes of waste goes into landfills each year in Australia. Guido Verbist and his team at The Bower Reuse and Repair Centre want that to stop. To date, the organization has diverted over 2 tonnes of waste from the landfill, and continue their efforts through repair cafes, education, their stores and by leading campaigns to hold manufacturers responsible. Website (for show notes and transcripts) www.whatcanwedopodcast.com Socials Facebook Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/p...
Mar 08, 2020•21 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Australian content still has a long way to go in terms of representing diverse and inclusive voices, despite years of dialogue and debate. Vonne Patiag is a Filipino Australian filmmaker who has worked in the industry for over a decade. In this episode, Vonne talks about how he found his authentic voice, what it lends to his art, the inclusive practices he used in the making of his web series "Halal Gurls", and how POC content creators are finding their own platforms outside of traditional media...
Mar 01, 2020•22 min•Season 2Ep. 6
