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Meridian - #20 - "The Invisible Work of Women: Gender, Labor and Sustainability in Ghana and Worldwide" – with Prof. Angela Dziedzom Akorsu

17.11.2025•34:07

Around the world, women perform the essential labor that sustains societies — yet this work is too often undervalued or made invisible. From unpaid care work to precarious jobs in the informal economy and emerging roles shaped by digital platforms, women’s experiences are frequently marginalized, even in systems that rely on their contributions. In Ghana and across Africa, these dynamics are deeply rooted in colonial histories and shaped by global capitalism. While the Sustainable Development Goals claim to advance gender equality, they often overlook the structural power imbalances that uphold gendered divisions of labor.In this episode, journalist Kevin Caners speaks with Professor Angela Dziedzom Akorsu, an associate professor of labor and gender studies at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, and 2025 DiGENet Audre Lorde Visiting Professor at the Berlin University Alliance.Together, they explore urgent questions: How does the global division of labor shape gendered work structures in Ghana? What parallels or contrasts emerge when compared to Europe — and what might Berlin learn from them? How can African feminist perspectives challenge and reshape global debates on development, sustainability, and knowledge production? What does fair and equitable research collaboration between Africa and Europe truly require?Professor Akorsu’s career spans international academic work and interdisciplinary inquiry. She earned her BA in Education from the University of Cape Coast (1998), a Master’s in Development Studies from the Institute of Social Studies in the Netherlands (2001), and a PhD from the University of Manchester, UK (2010). Since 2022, she has served as Dean of the School for Development Studies at the University of Cape Coast. Her DiGENet Audre Lorde Visiting Professorship at the Berlin University Alliance, hosted by Freie Universität Berlin, is grounded in a commitment to amplifying the perspectives of those often excluded from mainstream development narratives. The Audre Lorde Visiting Professorship was established by the Diversity and Gender Equality Network (DiGENet) of the Berlin University Alliance. If you would like to learn more about the Africa Charter, listen to Meridian Episode 17: The Africa Charta: A roadmap for universities towards equitable research partnerships – with Isabella Aboderin.Angela Dziedzom Akorsu is an associate professor of labor and gender studies at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. She is the DiGENet Audre Lorde visiting professor 2025 at the Berlin University Alliance, hosted by Freie Universität Berlin.

Meridian - #19 - „The Democratization of Knowledge. Open Science from Latin America to the World“ - with Prof. Fernanda Beigel

18.06.2025•38:52

Open Science is a movement focused on how knowledge is produced and shared, aiming to dismantle the long-standing barriers that have kept academic research behind paywalls and limited to institutional elites. It calls for greater transparency, inclusivity, and accessibility in order to diversify global knowledge systems. Few countries have embraced Open Science as strongly as Latin America. What is the current state of the Open Science movement in this region and what risks of Open Science can be observed? How can Open Science contribute to adressing global challenges? And why is it essential to diversify how knowledge is created and shared?In this episode, journalist Kevin Caners explores these questions and more with Professor Fernanda Beigel. Fernanda Beigel is a Principal Researcher at Argentina’s National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), a Head Professor at the National University of Cuyo (UNCuyo), and the Director of the Research Center on the Circulation of Knowledge (CECIC). She chaired Argentina’s National Committee for Open Science from 2020 to 2023 and led UNESCO’s Advisory Committee for Open Science from 2020 to 2021. She is Principal Investigator of the project Open Science in the Social Sciences and Humanities in Argentina and Germany: Opportunities, Challenges, and Contestations, in collaboration with the Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut and the Berlin University Alliance. Currently, she is a Fellow for Open Science at the Berlin University Alliance, in the Einstein Center for Digital Future. “Projects that are funded publicly should be open to future generations or other people not to collect the same thing. The circulation of knowledge is going to be reduced and concentrated and more asymmetrical, more unequal,” states Fernanda Beigel. Professor Fernanda Beigel is a sociologist based at CONICET and the National University of Cuyo, in Mendoza-Argentina and former chair of the UNESCO Advisory Committee for Open Science.

Meridian - #18 - Giving Birth in Brazil: Gender and Politics in Global Health - with Prof. Simone Diniz

02.04.2025•52:01

Across the world, health care systems are shaped by inequalities—both in access and in how gender, race, and social class influence medical treatment. Nowhere is this more evident than in maternal health care. From childcare practices to reproductive rights, women's experiences in health care are determined by structures, policies, and interests that often fail to prioritize their needs. “Medicine often starts out from the incorrection of the female body and the belief that women bodies are inferior to technology”, states Simon Diniz. What determines the structures of health care systems? How have gender, race, and class shaped their development? What changes are necessary to better address the needs of women and societies? And what is the role of scientists in this context? Brazil provides a particularly compelling case to explore these questions, as its history of health care system development—situated at the intersection of activism, research, and politics—is well-documented.Professor Simone Diniz is a distinguished public health expert and advocate for women's health, gender equality, and social justice. A medical doctor by training and a full professor at the University of São Paulo (Brazil), she specializes in preventive medicine, maternal health, sexual and reproductive rights, data science, and equity in healthcare systems. Her extensive work bridges academia, policy-making and activism, including two decades with the São Paulo Feminist Collective on Health and Sexuality. „Evidence is not enough to change reality,“ states Simone Diniz. Professor Simone Diniz is a medical doctor and professor at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. She is Audre Lorde visiting professor 2024/25 at the Berlin University Alliance.

Meridian - #17 - The Africa Charta: A roadmap for universities towards equitable research partnerships - with Isabella Aboderin

05.02.2025•37:15

The Africa Charter for Transformative Research Collaboration, launched in July 2023 in Windhoek, Namibia, is an Africa-centred framework for establishing a transformative mode of research collaborations. Co-created by Africa’s major Higher Education constituencies, the Charter is a major collective effort to address the power imbalances in the global science system and its major effects on international politics and economics. End of 2024 the Berlin University Alliance signed the Africa Charta, starting a new chapter of cooperation with the "Global South."In this episode, the journalist Kevin Caners discusses with Professor Isabella Aboderin, initiator of the Africa Charta, the reasons and effects of the global power imbalances in knowledge production, how the Africa Charta came into being and how universities and research institutions can develop a road map to put equitable research partnerships step by step into practice. “The Berlin University Alliance has the potential to play a pioneering role in fostering the discourse and work around the transformative collaborations with Africa in the German space”, she states.Professor Isabella Aboderin is Chair in Africa Research and Partnerships and Director of the Perivoli Africa Research Institute (PARC), Professor of Gerontology in the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol, and Speaker of the Advisory Board of the Berlin Center for Global Engagement at the BUA. Her research and engagement focus on the nature and need for transformation in Africa-global North research relations, issues of ageing, and intergenerational relations and care in African contexts. Prof. Isabella Aboderin, Chair in Africa Research and Partnerships and Director of the Perivoli Africa Research Institute (PARC), Professor of Gerontology in the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol

Meridian - #16 - Calculate with Africa: Transforming the world through mathematics - with Dr. Dominic Bunnett and Marwa Zainelabdeen

02.09.2024•42:08

Mathematics serves as an engine for innovation across a broad spectrum of applications – from sustainable energy and mobility to health to artificial intelligence. Mathematicians provide the foundations for the use of the ever-growing amounts of data in other disciplines, seeking solutions for future challenges. But how can cooperation with the Global South in mathematics contribute to finding solutions for global challenges? How does international cooperation, for instance with Africa, look like? What do mathematicians do and is maths really a universal language? In this episode, Kevin Caners discusses how mathematics can transform the world with Dr Dominic Bunnett and Marwa Zainelabdeen, both members of the Cluster of Excellence MATH+, a collaboration of FU, HU, and TU Berlin, the Weierstrass Institute for Applied Analysis and Stochastics (WIAS) and the Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB). MATH+ has ties with African institutions, such as the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS).„International cooperation is the absolute most important and most enjoyable part of one’s research. You cannot get as far by yourself. You are limited by your own mind,“ states Dominic Bunnett. Dominic Bunnett is a postdoc at TU Berlin working in algebraic geometry and member of the program committee for the Young African Mathematicians program of the Cluster of Excellence MATH+.Marwa Zainelabdeen is a MATH+ doctoral student at the Weierstrass Institute for Applied Analysis and Stochastics and Freie Universität Berlin and lecturer at the University of Khartoum, Sudan.

Meridian - #15 - Weltweit kooperieren für das postfossile Zeitalter - mit Alexandra Krumm

12.06.2024•34:01

Die Folgen des Klimawandels sind weltweit spürbar und fallen zunehmend drastisch aus. Trotz des immensen sozialen und politischen Drucks fällt es vielen Regierungen und Ländern schwer, den Ausstieg aus fossilen Energien, wie Kohle, zu planen und zu gestalten. Die Komplexität und internationalen Abhängigkeiten im fossilen Energiebereich sind oft so groß, dass die Gestaltung eines partizipativen und gerechten Wandels unmöglich scheint. Wie sehen diese internationalen Abhängigkeiten aus? Wie kann der Energiewandel gestaltet werden, damit der Ausstieg aus fossilen Energien auch weltweit gelingt? Wie wurde beispielweise der Kohleausstieg in Deutschland organisiert und wie können andere Länder von dem Wissen darüber profitieren? Wie diskutiert man fossile Energien in anderen Kontexten und was kann man in Deutschland davon lernen? In dieser Episode diskutiert Philipp Eins mit Alexandra Krumm über neue Formen der wissenschaftlichen Zusammenarbeit, um die globale Energiewende gerecht und nachhaltig zu gestalten. Das kollaborative deutsch-kolumbianisch-südafrikanische Forschungsprojekt TRAJECTS bringt Universitäten und rund 40 weitere Akteur*innen aus Zivilgesellschaft, Forschung und Privatwirtschaft zusammen. Im Mittelpunkt stehen Maßnahmen für den Klimaschutz wie der Ausstieg aus fossilen Brennstoffen sowie Änderungen in der Landwirtschaft und im Ökosystemschutz.Alexandra Krumm ist akademische Co-Koordinatorin von TRAJECTS an der TU Berlin und wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin an der Europa-Universität Flensburg. In ihrer Promotion beschäftigt sie sich mit der Energiewende und dem Kohleausstieg in Deutschland und Indien mit einem Schwerpunkt auf Partizipationsmöglichkeiten von Akteur*innen und der Integration von sozialen Aspekten in die Energiemodellierung.