our global garden of joy Hi 👋 I’m Jasmine, founder of The Bloom. We have a phenomenal selection of social impact resources this week for you to bloom & forward to your friends!
"supported with love by Algbra" "supported with love by Algbra" supported with love by Algbra
Welcome bloomers, Here is your our summary of our newsletter this week: 🌱 Career interview with feminist geography lecturer 🌱 Mentorship session from lawyer turned environmentalist on Jan 24 🌱 Global leadership program from Obama Foundation with love & light, Jasmine PS. The photo above is a Purple Jade Vine, one of the rarest endangered flowers found only in the thriving forests of the Philippines 🇵🇭 A species that was discovered in 2015, and transforms its hues into lilac, purple, and blue with the passing of its short age. A rare magical bloom. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up to get your own copy of The Bloom to your inbox with top social impact jobs, uplifting stories, and global resources. Sponsor a newsletter! We're looking forimpactful organizations to sponsor The Bloom to bring even more connections, resources, and opportunities to our global community.
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fresh soil
Currently, I am a research associate and lecturer at the Department of Geography at the University of Hamburg, Germany. I teach feminist geography and political ecology and I am researching green capitalism and the intricate connections between the knowledge economy, the green transition, and extractivism, particularly in the Global South. What if your unofficial role and field?
My "unofficial" and "official" roles often intertwine. I am a writer, reader, educator, knowledge holder, podcast maker, film photographer, and activist. When not immersed in research, my mind gravitates towards creative writing. When I am not writing, my creative energy finds solace in other outlets, like film photography, pottery, or journaling. Beyond delving into the intricacies of extractivism and the green economy, I channel my focus into exploring topics like memory, Indigenous knowledge, environmental justice, and land-body relations. Being Amazigh, my connection to our land deeply influences both my knowledge and practice. I am particularly intrigued by the subjective nature of what is deemed as science and knowledge and by whom. In 2021, I created a podcast called In Praise of the Margin, where I engaged with inspiring scholars and practitioners on topics ranging from knowledge production to the politics of space, marginality, and pedagogy. It was an effort to introduce scholarship that needs to be heard in the Global South but is still trapped within the Global North. I wanted to break the Euro-centric barrier but outside the academy.
As a scholar from the Global South in Europe, I am confronted with the geopolitics of knowledge production that organize academic institutions in the Euro-Western world all the time, along with the enduring colonial structures that continue to shape our present world. So I write and practice creativity beyond academia. To me, writing is a vocation. It extends beyond institutional walls and it’s a way to exist and to preserve traces of my kin, our knowledge, language, memory, and worldmaking. How did you get to where you are today in your career?
I would say through dedication, purpose, a lot of sacrifices, and many challenges. Academia is a site of struggle, especially for people of color. I am the first woman in my family to pursue a university degree, let alone a doctorate in Europe. While my family members haven’t obtained university degrees, they remain knowledge holders, and I appreciate their wisdom that remains deeply rooted in our place.
I studied political science and pursued a master's in public policy. Upon obtaining my degree, and even during my time as a master's student, I was perplexed by the way public policy was taught. Specializing in international political economy and development, much of the recommended material was Euro-centric. Seminars on development policy never addressed colonialism or critiqued Western imperial economic institutions. Similarly, discussions on global energy policy and the green transition ignored the colonial history of extractivism or the true causes of climate change. I found public policy to be complicit. Left with numerous questions, I sought answers through research and connected with a community of critical scholars engaging with marginalized epistemologies and knowledge.
I created my podcast as a means to initiate a different conversation on knowledge, and it has opened many doors for me. This project has been a profound learning experience, shaping who I am as a scholar. Now in academia, I am pleased to facilitate these discussions in the classroom with students.
What kind of support are you most excited to receive at this point in your career?
I find fulfillment in collaborating with individuals who share similar interests. Currently, I am seeking connections with researchers, writers, scholars, or practitioners who are engaged in topics such as extractivism, ecofeminism, environmental justice, Indigenous epistemologies, green futurities, and post-growth. Academia can feel alienating for scholars of color. It’s important to have a community that supports and nurtures your ideas. Additionally, offering visibility and good mentorship are great ways to support early-career scholars, as much of our work lingers in the shadows. I love it when I receive thoughtful messages or comments on a project or a written piece. Mutual aid truly empowers, especially when you are building a community or visibility for your work from scratch.
Your relationship to “social impact”: has it evolved since you began your career?
Certainly! I believe much of it is related to navigating the intersection of policy and academia. Having experienced both realms, my understanding of "social impact" has evolved into various forms. Currently, I perceive social impact through the lens of practicing critical pedagogy and engaging in classroom teaching. Within this setting, we explore our shared commitments and cultivate a mutual desire to learn and unlearn. Echoing the words of bell hooks, 'the classroom remains the most radical space of possibility in the academy.'
Connect with Bouchra and inspiring social impact leaders in directly in our global social impact community! And make sure to check out the upcoming incredible mentorship and networking events this month 🥰
water your soul
Today's soul-watering links were curated by writer and poet, Virginia Vigliar, who curates sensorial essays on feminism, art, ecology, and social justice through her newsletter, Waves.
🔥 Tenderness in times of fire. 🎨 Inner landscape of beauty.
community garden
Diversifying the social impact organizations you follow has never been more joyful 😉 Bloomers lead incredible social impact projects around the world, here's one to support this week 🌍 🇮🇳Online course on feminist foreign policy: "When Sweden adopted its FFP in 2014, I was intrigued. But in the window of time after, as more states adopted FFPs and a few civil society organizations began analyzing and critiquing policies, and pushing for their countries to adopt similar ones, I found a lot of conversations missing around three key questions: Whose feminism counts in defining an FFP? Is the term "feminist" being used to import the fully transformative potential of the movement that feminism is? What are the current policies saying that differ from what states have already done before? When I went looking, I realized that FFPs were being adopted without much room for decolonial, intersectional, and multidimensional feminism. I couldn't find a soapbox to stand on that would let me speak about these things.
So I started The Gender Security Project. Over time, a critical mass of resources and learnings had come to be, and I didn't want to trap it in an ivory tower. I wanted to take it to people. That's when the course began. I'd like to imagine that this course is for anyone who wants to learn about Feminist Foreign Policies, about decolonial approaches to international relations, and about shifting away from normalizing systemic violence to imagining new realities for the future. It is for foreign policy practitioners and students, it is for artists and dreamers, it is for people who want the world to be a better place in the future."
Amplify your social impact project in our newsletter! Head over to "Asks & Offers" in our community you'll find the form ✨
branch out
🦋 Mentorship
Monthly mentorship from a social impact leader's storytelling on their unconventional journey to an purpose-driven career 🌱 Join us this week in the community for the mentorship session on January 24th!
Rosa is a lawyer, turned environmentalist, turned operations and people manager with a passion for diversity, equity and inclusion in the sustainability sector. She is no stranger to pivoting on her professional journey:
"Every time you challenge the notion that you can only be singular in your profession," she says, "it gets easier to let your values lead your next step."
Now, 10 years out of law school Rosa is professionally (and physically!) in a place she never could have imagined. Join us for a Fireside Chat in which Rosa will share with us some of the moments she considers to be instrumental in her non-traditional career path and how she navigated doubt from those around her - including herself.
💸Grants
SRHR advocacy at a local level grant: Up to GBP 75,000 total grant amount for 1.5 - 2 years to support civil society organisations in Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights.
IKI Small Grants for NGOs: Serves to support small, local organizations in the implementation of their climate and biodiversity projects.
🌳 Fellowships
Mozilla Tech + Society Fellowship: This program seeks to address challenges at the intersection of social issues and technology in the Global South by strengthening civil society, in partnership with key organizations and public interest technologists.
Obama Foundation’s Leaders Program: aims to inspire, empower, and connect regional cohorts of changemakers to accelerate positive and lasting change in their communities and throughout their region. The Leaders program offers practical skill building for social change, leadership coaching, discussion of critical issues, and small group support.
2024 Women's Leadership Program: A fellowship open to outstanding candidates from every country in the EF global network, inviting a group of 20-25 dynamic women leaders from all professional fields working to strengthen civic participation and good governance to go to the United States for a unique six-week program. Kofi Annan Global Health Leadership Program: A program hosted by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention focusing on supporting aspirational public health leaders from Africa in acquiring advanced skills and competencies to strategize, manage and lead public health programmes that will transform public health in Africa.
grow new roots
🌟 Employer Partner Spotlight
Vitala Global is a Canadian non-profit started by two Canadian Obstetrician Gynecologists, Roopan and Genevieve, who became instant friends through their shared passion to address health inequities impacting women and adolescent girls. This week they're hiring for a part-time remote global role, check it out in our job board and join this incredible team!
Email team@readtobloom.com to feature your organization and job openings to 40,000 diverse and talented bloomers around the world. Warning: spicy sidenote comments might appear when we want to *extra* express how much we love these job openings 🌶️ ASIA + OCEANIA 🇮🇳 Intern, digital health - PATH Project officer - Heifer International
Before you go and continue being the extraordinary social impact leader you are, support our work and help others bloom by sharing this newsletter with a friend (or two!) via WhatsAppor forward this email! See you next Sunday🌻
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