Podcasts about Harvard Humanitarian Initiative

In our 10th podcast series, “Intersections in Health Care and Human Trafficking”, NAPNAP uses a multidisciplinary lens to explore the impact of human trafficking on children and adolescents. Human trafficking is a complex and pervasive issue which is best addressed by tapping into the skills and expertise across many disciplines and people. Forensics, police, legal, social work, research and survivors of human trafficking all have a place in addressing human trafficking. Our host for this series is Jason Spees, MSN, MaOM, APRN, L.Ac., FNP-C, Dipl. Ac. & C.H. Jason is a human trafficking educator and the chair of NAPNAP Partners Alliance for Children in Trafficking (ACT). This week's episode will examine the intersection of human trafficking and health care with our guest, Hanni Stoklosa, MD, MPH, chief medical officer and co-founder of HEAL Trafficking. Dr. Stoklosa is an emergency physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) with appointments at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. She is an internationally recognized expert, advocate, researcher and speaker on the well-being of trafficking survivors in the U.S. and internationally through a public health lens. She has advised the United Nations, International Organization for Migration and testified as an expert witness multiple times before the U.S. Congress. Moreover, she has conducted research on trafficking and people facing the most significant social, economic and health challenges in a diversity of settings.

In today's episode on National Rural Health Day, I speak with two physicians with extensive experience providing patient care in rural environments. We talk about human trafficking, the opioid epidemic, rural healthcare access, and more. Hanni Stoklosa, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of HEAL Trafficking, is an emergency physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) with appointments at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. She is an internationally-recognized expert, advocate, researcher, and speaker on the wellbeing of trafficking survivors in the U.S. and internationally through a public health lens. She has advised the United Nations, International Organization for Migration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of State, and the National Academy of Medicine on issues of human trafficking and testified as an expert witness multiple times before the U.S. Congress.  Eileen D. Barrett, M.D., MPH, SFHM, MACP, is Chair of the Board of Regents of the American College of Physicians (ACP), representing internal medicine physicians, related sub specialists, and medical students. She is a rural internal medicine hospitalist and Faculty with IHI. Dr Barrett She completed a Rural Faculty Development Fellowship through the University of Arizona in 2009 and a Medical Justice and Advocacy Fellowship through Morehouse School of Medicine and the American Medical Association in 2022.

War has been in our headlines again recently. What do we know about the effects of war on subsequent violence between family members and neighbors? On this episode, we talk with Jocelyn Kelly, Director of the Program on Gender, Rights, and Resilience at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.

Today, I speak with Emmy-nominated filmmaker and social scientist, Lindsay Branham. The Founder of Novo, an incubator for art that inspires human connection in imaginative ways, Lindsay leverages media and technology to end violence and human rights abuses. Lindsay has given specific focus over the last ten years to documenting and responding to the issue of children in armed conflict in central Africa but has an overall commitment to entering into complex, conflict or disaster areas and using visual storytelling to highlight the human experience. The interventions she has designed have focused on peacefully dismantling the Lord's Resistance Army from within, facilitating the reintegration of former child soldiers, preventing recruitment into violent extremist groups, reducing psychological distress and challenging the root causes of bonded labour. Her partners in these media-based interventions include Search for Common Ground, The Freedom Fund and Google. With an MPhil in Social Psychology from the University of Cambridge, Lindsay has studied trauma and mental health at Harvard Medical School and journalism at the University of Southern California. Her current focus is exploring the efficacy of Virtual Reality to reduce prejudice in the Central African Republic, and her Virtual Reality documentary, Behind The Fence, was nominated for an Emmy and won the Grand Jury Award for best 360 film at SXSW. A Kathryn Davis Fellow for Peace, Lindsay was named the inaugural Envision social good fellow by the Independent Film Project and the United Nations, and she has been published by CNN, the BBC and The New York Times. Her research investigating the link between media and behaviour change has been published by Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and in academic journals. Recorded on 14th Oct 2022.

My guest today is Bessie Schwartz, the Co-founder & CEO of Cloud to Street. Cloud to Street is the leading flood mapping platform designed to protect the world's most climate-vulnerable communities. By harnessing global satellites, advanced science, and community intelligence, they monitor worldwide floods in near real-time and remotely analyze local flood exposure at a click of a button. Their mission is to ensure that all vulnerable governments finally access the high-quality information they need to prepare for and respond to increasing catastrophes. In addition, she is… A Strategist - Yale Program on Climate Change Communication An Echoing Green Climate Fellow Research partner - Data-Pop Alliance - a global coalition on Big Data and development created by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, MIT Media Lab, and the Overseas Development Institute In this episode, we talked about the following: The relevance of her work to the recent flooding in Pakistan, leaving ⅓ of the country underwater How flooding is the #1 climate-related weather impact The history of their company 10 years ago in partnership with Google The difference between information and motivation to make the right decision Their business model of aligning incentives to help insurance companies underwrite more policies that accurately capture flood risk The need to invest in climate adaption – which BoA estimates to be a $2T market in a few years – and not just climate mitigation How they use 17 satellites, stratospheric balloon imaging, and drones to measure every square foot of the earth every day What parametric flood insurance is a breakthrough for climate risk management And lots more Hope you enjoy! And give Bessie and Cloud to Street a shoutout on LinkedIn or Twitter by sharing this podcast with your people. ------- Entrepreneurs for Impact is on a mission to help climate innovators grow faster with new investment capital, share best practices among peers, expand their networks, and reach their full potential. Learn more: Climate CEO Mastermind Peer Groups — Our invite-only cohorts of 12 executives catalyze personal development and business growth via monthly meetings, annual retreats, and 1:1 coaching and strategy calls. Today's highly curated Mastermind members represent over $8B in market cap or assets under management. Newsletter — A 3-minute weekly summary of climate tech, startups, better habits, and deep work. Programs are led by Dr. Chris Wedding — 3x founder, $1B of investment experience, and Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill professor, with 60,000+ professional students taught, 25 years of meditation, an obsession with constant improvement, and far too many mistakes to keep to himself. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/entrepreneurs-for-impact/message

This episode of EMS One-Stop With Rob Lawrence is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com. In this edition of EMS One-Stop, Rob Lawrence welcomes Sean M Kivlehan, MD, MPH; and Kevin Collopy, MHL, FP-C, NRP; to discuss the search for the next big EMS speaker as well as the Harvard initiative to provide mass casualty training to Ukraine. EMS World Expo takes place October 10-14 in Orlando and one of the returning sessions this year is “Stand and Deliver,” a presentational opportunity for speakers to audition for their place on the national stage.  The program was the brainchild of Kivlehan and Collopy, and participants get their chance to present at a national conference as well as receive coaching and constructive feedback on their sessions. The Stand and Deliver winner then gets the opportunity to present their session at the Expo general session at the end of the week. The guests also discuss the Harvard Humanitarian initiative focusing on emergency health systems in conflict and austere environments. When the Ukraine/Russian war escalated, the Harvard group were approached to provide CBRN and mass casualty training throughout Ukraine.  About the guests Sean M Kivlehan, MD, MPH, is the director of the Global Emergency Medicine Fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He is a practicing emergency medicine physician in the level one trauma and burn center, and core faculty for the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency. He is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Harvard Medical School; assistant professor of global health and population at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health; and faculty at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. He has worked as a consultant for the World Health Organization's Emergency, Trauma and Acute Care Program and was a New York City paramedic and instructor coordinator for 10 years. Kevin Collopy, MHL, FP-C, NRP, CMTE, is the clinical outcomes and compliance manager for Novant Health AirLink/VitaLink where he oversees the program's research, education, risk management, quality management and reimbursement programs. He regularly speaks across the United States and has taught emergency and wilderness medicine on three continents. He's an author of over 200 articles and book chapters, including 18 peer-reviewed research abstracts and papers. In addition, he serves on several national and international advisory boards, teaches the paramedic program at Cape Fear Community College and is currently overseeing multiple clinical trials. He also maintains his LEAN Healthcare Blackbelt certification, has a master's in healthcare leadership, and is known for developing and innovating quality management solutions in prehospital care systems.

In this episode of ACM ByteCast, Rashmi Mohan hosts Nuria Oliver, Chief Scientific Adviser in Data Science at the Vodafone Institute, Chief Data Scientist at Data-Pop Alliance, and Scientific Director and Co-Founder of ELLIS (the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems). Recently, she co-led the winning team of the XPRIZE Pandemic Response Challenge, ValenciaIA4COVID. She has more than 25 year of research experience in AI, HCI, and Mobile Computing. Oliver is the first woman computer scientist in Spain to be named both an ACM Distinguished Scientist and an ACM Fellow. Her research has contributed to the development of intelligent multimodal interfaces, context-aware mobile computing applications, personalized services, and Big Data for Social Good. She holds more than 40 patents and many awards, including the King James I Award in New Technologies and the Abie Technology Leadership Award from AnitaB.org. Nuria, who was always fascinated by the idea of investigating and solving unsolved problems, shares how she fell in love with AI while studying telecommunications engineering and highlights some of her earlier work on smart cars, smart rooms, and smart clothes. She talks about her recent work helping the government in Valencia, Spain to develop evidence-based policies using data science that were instrumental during the COVID-19 Pandemic, as well as the Data-Pop Alliance, an initiative created by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, MIT Media Lab, and the Overseas Development Institute to use data for social good. Nuria also stresses the importance of inspiring girls to pursue computer science and her own efforts in advocating for diversity in the field.

Zoe Clift is a physiotherapist, who works for Humanity & Inclusion, a charity that works along side vulnerable and disabled people in areas of poverty, disaster and conflict. Zoe is the UK Medical Team's Rehab Project Manager and spoke to World Extreme Medicine independently about her knowledge and experience about safeguarding in the humanitarian arena. Join Deb Swann as Zoe explores her pathway into her career, and her experience of this topic in our latest podcast. ReSurge Africa https://resurgeafrica.org/ The British Society for Surgery of the Hand (BSSH) https://www.bssh.ac.uk/overseas.aspx British Foundation for International Reconstructive Surgery and Training (BFIRST) https://www.bssh.ac.uk/overseas.aspx Here are the links to the learning sites and podcasts I mentioned: Kaya learning platform https://kayaconnect.org/ Disaster Ready learning platform https://www.disasterready.org/ Global Protection Cluster https://www.globalprotectioncluster.org/ Harvard Humanitarian Initiative https://hhi.harvard.edu/knowledge-hub The New Humanitarian https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/podcast

The data revolution is the unprecedented increase in the volume and types of data—and the subsequent demand for them—thanks to the ongoing yet uneven proliferation of new technologies. We need data to formulate sustainable development policies. But it requires that we collect accurate data and use this evidence to inform policymaking. The use of evidence derived from data in policymaking requires the capability to collect and analyze accurate data and a way to make evidence available to decision-makers. In this episode, we will speak with Dr. Emmanuel Letouzé, the Director of Data-Pop Alliance, a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization, which he founded in 2013 with MIT Media Lab, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, and ODI. This episode will talk about ensuring that vulnerable groups are not left behind in the data revolution and the advancement of new technologies. Want to learn more about sustainable development and learning? Subscribe to SDG Learncast. Visit the UN SDG:Learn website at www.unsdglearn.org to get the latest learning offers on the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. The transcript of the podcast is available at https://www.unsdglearn.org/podcast/.

International outrage over Russia's war on Ukraine could be a watershed moment for the advance of international justice and accountability, say Harvard Kennedy School Professor Kathryn Sikkink and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Assistant Professor Patrick Vinck. With the eyes of the world focused on atrocities in places like Bucha and Mariupol, Sikkink and Vinck say it is time for countries to invest both their geopolitical and financial capital in the International Criminal Court or the ICC. Established 20 years ago in The Hague, Netherlands, the ICC was the world's first permanent international criminal court tasked with pursuing prosecutions for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and illegal aggression—charges the ICC is now pursuing against Russia.  Sikkink and Vinck say while there have been legitimate past criticisms of the ICC for being ineffective and for focusing too much on certain regions such as Africa, critics are missing the bigger picture—the remarkable story of how much traction the push for international humanitarian justice has gained since the end of World War II. And even if Russian President Vladimir Putin never sees the inside of a courtroom, they say, research shows that the act of identifying war crimes and pursuing prosecutions itself can lower the rate at which those crimes occur. Sikkink has been researching the nexus of human rights and international justice since she first witnessed the Trial of the Juntas in Argentina as a PhD student in the mid-1980s. Vinck is the Research Director of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and a pioneer in the field of data collection from conflict and crisis zones. 

As part of our regular series of conversations with Harvard University's T.H. Chan's School of Public Health, The World's reporter Elana Gordon moderated a discussion with Michael VanRooyen, director of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, about the dire situation and the multiple health risks that refugees from Ukraine, and from around the world, face. VanRooyen is also the chairman of Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital (@HHI).

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST Ready to get help? https://scenariosecrets.com/schedule What we discussed: 01:07 - How Eva got started in instructional design. 04:57 - How she learned about the Interactive Storytelling Accelerator program 07:06 What surprised her about the program? 09:54 About the inspiration behind her Interactive Story - Conversations that work. 15:10 The creative process and coming up with her main character for the story. 20:58 Iteration, revision and feedback... how to make it work for you. 24:54 A skill she honed the most through this process, her answer will surprise you :) 28:11 Advice for new members and interactive story designers. Connect with Eva here and check out her interactive story which is linked on her page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eva-daniels/ To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

When the coronavirus pandemic swept across the world in early 2020, Spain was one of the countries hardest hit. At the time, Nuria Oliver was a telecommunications engineer working and living in Valencia, one of Spain's 17 autonomous regions. She'd spent years working for companies like Microsoft, Telefonica, and Vodafone, using AI to analyze data from mobile networks to explore big questions about healthcare, economics, crime, and other issues—so she realized right away that mobile data could be an important tool for government leaders and public health officials trying to get a handle on the spread of COVID-19.With the backing of Valencia's president, Oliver put together a team of scientists to analyze network data to understand among other things, how much people in Spain were moving around. That helped them predict infection rates, and to see whether lockdowns were really helping to contain the virus's spread. The team's predictions were so accurate, in fact, that when they entered an X Prize Foundation contest seeking the best AI-based pandemic response systems, they won first place. Nuria Oliver joins Harry to explain how they did it—and why mobile data makes a difference in the fight against the pandemic and other health threats.Please rate and review The Harry Glorikian Show on Apple Podcasts! Here's how to do that from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:1. Open the Podcasts app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. 2. Navigate to The Harry Glorikian Show podcast. You can find it by searching for it or selecting it from your library. Just note that you'll have to go to the series page which shows all the episodes, not just the page for a single episode.3. Scroll down to find the subhead titled "Ratings & Reviews."4. Under one of the highlighted reviews, select "Write a Review."5. Next, select a star rating at the top — you have the option of choosing between one and five stars. 6. Using the text box at the top, write a title for your review. Then, in the lower text box, write your review. Your review can be up to 300 words long.7. Once you've finished, select "Send" or "Save" in the top-right corner. 8. If you've never left a podcast review before, enter a nickname. Your nickname will be displayed next to any reviews you leave from here on out. 9. After selecting a nickname, tap OK. Your review may not be immediately visible.That's it! Thanks so much.Full TranscriptHarry Glorikian: Hello. I'm Harry Glorikian. Welcome to The Harry Glorikian Show, the interview podcast that explores how technology is changing everything we know about healthcare.Artificial intelligence. Big data. Predictive analytics. In fields like these, breakthroughs are happening way faster than most people realize. If you want to be proactive about your own health and the health of your loved ones, you'll need to learn everything you can about how medicine is changing and how you can take advantage of all the new options.Explaining this approaching world is the mission of my new book, The Future You. And it's also our theme here on the show, where we bring you conversations with the innovators, caregivers, and patient advocates who are transforming the healthcare system and working to push it in positive directions.When the pandemic swept across the world in early 2020, Spain was one of the countries hardest hit. At the time, Nuria Oliver was a telecommunications engineer working and living in Valencia, which is one of 17 autonomous regions in Spain, the equivalent of U.S. states.  She'd spent years working for companies like Microsoft, Telefonica, and Vodafone, using AI to analyze data from mobile networks to explore big questions about healthcare, economics, crime, and other issues.  And Oliver realized right away that mobile data could be a very important tool for government leaders and public health officials trying to get a handle on the spread of COVID-19.She went to the president of Valencia and proposed putting together a team of scientists who could support government decision makers by analyze mobile network data. She thought the data could reveal, among other things, how much people were moving around. That, in turn, could help predict infection rates, and it would show whether lockdowns and other restrictions on people's movement were really helping to contain the spread of the virus.The president immediately accepted her proposal and appointed her to the honorary position of “commissioner to the president on AI and data science against COVID-19.” And as it turned out, the predictions from Oliver's group were startlingly accurate. In December 2020, when the group entered a contest sponsored by the X Prize Foundation for an AI-based pandemic response systems, they won first place and wound up splitting the $500,00 prize with a second-place team from Slovenia.And for today's show, Nuria Oliver joined me to explain how they did it. We also talked about the difference data is making in the fight against the pandemic, and how our phones are helping to keep us healthy. We recorded this a couple of months ago, in mid-October. But obviously the pandemic hasn't receded at all since then, so everything you'll here is still relevant.Harry Glorikian: Nuria, welcome to the show. It's so great to have you on. I know there's a little bit of a time difference because you're over in Europe right now. But Nuria, I was looking at your background and I was like, Oh my God, I'm like, if I try to go through her entire CV like we're going to, it's the hour of the show is going to like completely go just for the CV. But I wonder if you can sort of give the listeners a quick version of of how your interest in the connection between technology and human behavior has developed over the years. What big themes did you focus on in your various academic and industry posts at MIT Media Lab, Microsoft Research, Telefonica, Vodafone? I mean, those are just a few of the things that you've done. You know, when I when I was think I've done something with my life, I look at people like you and I'm like, I've got so much more to do. But if you could sort of give us that a short version, that would be awesome.Nuria Oliver: All right. Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. Let's see. So I'm originally from Spain. I studied electrical engineering and computer science in grad school, telecommunications engineering, and since I was very small, I was always fascinated by the idea of being a scientist or being an inventor or being a researcher and discovering something or inventing something new or for answering questions that hadn't been answered before. So I love mysteries and logic problems, and these are difficult things to solve. I wasn't sure how to kind of channel that. And when I studied telecommunications engineering, which was six years at the time, it was like together with a master's or equivalent degree. In my fourth year, I did a project on the parallelism between neural networks and human brain and the human brain and the human sort of like neurons. And it was the discovery of artificial intelligence to me, and it was pretty much love at first sight. I realized that it was fascinating to build technology that could do something intelligent. It sounded like science fiction to me. And I always have had this vision that technology is a great tool that we can use to have positive social impact and to improve the quality of life of people. So this has been my vision since I was also very small. So with artificial intelligence, I thought, Well, if I could build computers that could understand people, that would be the first step to build computers that can help people.Nuria Oliver: So I started focusing on modelling human behavior, and then I went to MIT to do a Ph.D., and that was the main focus of my work. So I built one of the first facial expression recognition systems in the world that was working in real time, or I made an intelligent car that could predict the next maneuver that the driver would do. I participated also in the first smart clothes fashion show in the world in 1997. So it was really an exciting time to be at the Media Lab, and I had a chance to develop new models of different aspects of human behavior. Then I went to Microsoft Research and I continued my work on that topic. I built an intelligent office. I did with a colleague, a system similar to the Minority Report, where you could control the computer. You see your hands in the air. And in 2005, I realized that I had spent a decade building, you know, smart computers, smart cars, smart rooms, but even at the time, the most personal computer was the mobile phone, and it probably was going to be the mobile phone. And I felt that, you know, we weren't really leveraging the opportunities that the phone was bringing to us in terms of helping us.Nuria Oliver: So I decided to explore that topic, and I started working on projects related to the intersection between mobile phones, health and wellness. So I did a project to detect sleep apnea on the phone. I did another one to help people achieve their exercise goals using what is called persuasive computing, which are sort of like theories of human motivation and psychology, but implemented like on the phone to encourage people and motivate people to change behaviors. I got the offer to move back to Spain at the end of 2007 and never thought I was ever going to go back to Spain, but it seemed like an interesting opportunity to create and lead a research area within a very large telco, Telefonica, the largest telco in Spain. And with my family, we decided, okay, let's try. So we move to Barcelona, and the challenge was to create a top research team from scratch in a topics that were not the traditional telco topics at the time. At the time telcos were sort of like networking companies, right? And I was doing, you know, big data, you know, data science, artificial intelligence topics that today are at the core of what a telco company is. But in 2007, it wasn't really the case yet. So so we continued working on on on two streams on the one hand, making phones the serve their name or of a smartphone, basically.Nuria Oliver: So we did a project to help people take their medication correctly, for example, and support medication adherence, particularly in the elderly. But the other strain was a new stream for me, which was because of working in a telco, we could have access to large scale, anonymized mobile network data. So data about an entire city or an entire country, fully anonymized, you know, fully non-personal data and that data transfer that is very valuable for social good. For example, when there is a natural disaster or when or to infer the socioeconomic status of a region or to understand crime and predict hotspots of crime in cities, or to help when there are pandemics. So those are all areas that I started developing and exploring while at Telefonica, and I created the area of data science for social good. I was in Telefonica for eight years and then they offer. I left Telefonica and I joined Vodafone as director of research in data science globally. And again, the challenge was similar to create from scratch research activities across, I don't know, 20 different countries in Vodafone. I also created the area of data science for social good. And then I left Vodafone. But I continue with a connection with Vodafone because I'm still chief scientific adviser to a think tank that Vodafone has in Berlin.Nuria Oliver: Since 2015, I had, while I was at Telefonica, I had also gotten involved with an NGO, which is based in the US, which is called Data-Pop Alliance, and it has been created by the MIT Media Lab, the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, the Overseas Development Institute and Flowminder. And the goal is how to leverage data and AI for social good. So it was very aligned with what I had been doing, so I've been collaborating with them in parallel, developing a lot of projects in developing countries in showing the value that data analyzed with AI methods can have to actually accelerate development of a lot of regions. Then in 2018, I became very involved with a very exciting European initiative called ELLIS, which means the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems, and it is the result of a grassroots movement of the European scientists. And our goal is to contribute to Europe's technological sovereignty in AI by attracting and retaining the best scientists in AI to Europe. And to do that, we need to, you know, change a little bit how things are done in Europe, and we've launched a number of actions and activities that we can possibly talk about later. And then finally, in March of 2020, given that I had been working for over a decade on how to use data and AI for social good, including how to use it in the context of infectious diseases and pandemics, I felt that for the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, for the coronavirus pandemic, the governments weren't going to use all these advances that we had made in science, in actually analyzing data, using AI methods to support decision making.Nuria Oliver: So I felt that maybe it was a missed opportunity once again to actually have this disconnection between where science is and where sort of like the real world are and the decision makers are. So, I had an idea in March of 2020, which was proposed, my idea was to propose to the central government and also to the state, the state government, Spain is divided into 17 autonomous regions, which are the equivalent to a state in the US, and they have presidents which is equivalent to governors in the US. So I proposed to the president of the region the idea of having a team of scientists working really closely with the decision makers in sort of like performing relevant models and data analysis that would support their decisions. And they said yes immediately and the president of the Valencian government, and they appointed me commissioner to the president on AI and data science against COVID 19, which is an honorary position. And basically I have been leading a team of 20+ scientists in there since then, working on on four big areas and the intersection between data AI and the pandemic.Harry Glorikian: Yeah, I was, you know, it's interesting that you say they don't always take advantage of things. I remember. I have to go back in my memory 20 years ago, actually, because it was right about the time my son was born, I pitched to Telefonica about location-based services. And at the time, it was almost impossible for people to wrap their head around this idea, that location intertwined with data, and giving somebody the information they were looking for to help them make a decision was going to be a, now what is it? You know, it's a billions and billions of dollars of an industry, but at that time it was people couldn't wrap their head around it. So I think if you're ahead of your time, it's always it's always difficult for the average person to sort of understand where things are going.Nuria Oliver: Certainly. Certainly this is certainly the case. And I think the case of our experience in Valencia, we were lucky that there was sort of like a confluence of factors that really enabled this initiative to not only to happen, but to actually be sustained over time for almost two years now, or a year over a year and a half. And to have a certain level of impact and success. And I think one of the elements was the government had already been working for a couple of years prior on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the profound transformation of our society because of disciplines like biotechnology, nanotechnology or artificial intelligence. They had published their study on artificial intelligence. They had realized that the public administrations haven't undergone the digital transformation that most companies, particularly large companies, have already undergone, and they recognize that there was this opportunity to transform the public administration and become more data driven would become more digital. So I think when I made this proposal, they were in the right mindset and they were already thinking about this. And there was also a relationship of trust with me because I had collaborated with them in drafting the AI strategy.Nuria Oliver: And they they knew that it was a serious effort. They knew that we were going to try to do our best. So I think there are all these different elements that that really helped. And then there was one director general, well there is still there, working for the president who actually comes from the U.S. She's Spanish, but she spent a lot of time working in the for the mayor of New York City. So she had a lot of the same mentality that I had as he was a little bit of an agent of change within the government. She's been a member of our team since the beginning, coming to every single meeting, and that is absolutely necessary because they are the ones that are going to benefit from whatever we do, and they're the ones that need to use it. So they need to see the value and they need to understand it. So I think it's very important to have this sort of like mixed, multidisciplinary, multi-institutional teams.Harry Glorikian: So I mean, I applaud them for seeing that because if you have ever watched our Congress or Senate interview technology people,Nuria Oliver: Yeah, I've seen it, it's famous.Harry Glorikian: It's quite fascinating. Some of the questions where you know, you realize they know so little about. These technologies or their impact and don't understand like. All of these things are like you should be looking at them as nuclear weapons, how do you use them, how do you manage them, how do you use them for good? How do you put things in place to protect people, right?Nuria Oliver: Yes. And the other important message is, I don't think it is acceptable for any policy maker or any representative of citizens to publicly acknowledge, "Oh, I don't know anything about technology." I don't think that is acceptable because technology permeates everything, every single aspect of our lives. So it's it's such a fundamental element of our society that you need to know a lot about technology if you really want to make the right decisions about any topic, absolutely any topic, right? So I think that's definitely something that at least in some governments, they recognize that there is a need for identifying new profiles to work in the public administration, creating new positions, more tech savvy positions, data scientists, but also educating the policymakers and doing courses on on relevant topics related to technology. I think this is very, very, very important.Nuria Oliver: So let's pivot now because I think all of this technology came really in to a lot of good or use when COVID 19 came along. All right. So you know, you one of the data I think you collect in Valencia is mobile data, right? Exactly. Understanding how this data helped you understand and manage the course of the pandemic, can you talk about that a little bit because I think that that's important for people to understand.Nuria Oliver: Yes, so we had four large work streams in this data science for COVID-19 initiative, and the first one was modeling large scale human mobility. Why? Because an infectious disease like COVID-19 that is transmitted from human to human, it doesn't become a pandemic if people don't move. And that's why we have been confined, right? Because it's our movements, the ones that are propagating the disease. So understanding how people move, determining if the confinement measures are working or not, is very important to make the right decisions and the right policies.Nuria Oliver: So there was another lucky factor that I didn't mention, but that has really been very helpful in Spain and is the following factor. For two years prior to the pandemic, the Spanish National Office of Statistics had been drafting a collaboration agreement with the three largest telcos in Spain, which are Telefonica, Vodafone and Orange.Harry Glorikian: Mm hmm.Nuria Oliver: So. So let me rewind a little bit. So part of this transformation that we mentioned of society because you know of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, you know, an artificial intelligence part of this transformation is actually impacting the National Office of Statistics of everyone in the world where the traditional methods to build official statistics, which are via surveys, are susceptible to being improved, leveraging pervasive technology and sort of like big data. So there is a global movement in every National Office of Statistics, in pretty much of every country to explore how they could build official statistics through the analysis of data automatically without having to do surveys, because it's very expensive and it doesn't really scale. And that is why there is only one census every 10 years or 15 years, or in some countries, 40 years, because it's just very expensive to do the census. So the Spanish National Office of Statistics, one of the statistics that they compute is commuting patterns, and they do it by doing surveys. And they thought, OK, maybe we can collaborate with the telcos and analyze aggregated data from the antennas, from the cell phone antennas to infer these mobility patterns automatically without having to do surveys. So that was a very long process of negotiations and getting all the approvals under the data protection agencies and from the legal departments of all these telcos, blah blah blah. So that took them a huge amount of time. So in November of 2019, right before the pandemic, they got all the okays necessary, and they launched the pilot to see how well they could create commuting matrices from this data that was actually a relatively controversial project.Nuria Oliver: It appeared in the media. It wasn't communicated very well because they were saying the National Office of Statistics is tracking you, which is completely wrong. They weren't tracking anyone. But anyhow, when the pandemic happened, they already had all the infrastructure in place and all the legal agreements in place to actually get access to the mobile network data from the operators and combine the data and compute mobility matrices out of the data so that that mobility piece that we did was relatively easy in the sense that the data access was already available. So the vice minister, the vice president of Spain, Calvino, she appointed us the pilot region to be able to use that data during the first wave of the pandemic, at a time when there were really, there was almost no data and it was very hard. We were making a lot of decisions kind of blindly. So through the National Office of Statistics, we were able to access that data and then identify and measure to which degree the confinement measures had impacted the mobility of the population. How successful the stay at home campaign was, how much labor mobility was impactd, h ow was the radius of movement reduced because of the measures? But also what was the impact of those measures on the spread of the virus? Because at the end, you also want to know, OK, is this really slowing down the spread of the virus or not? Right. So we were also able to do that. Yeah.Harry Glorikian: So but now you carried out a large scale survey of the people in Valencia. And so when you look at survey data compared to mobility data, how do you think about that?Nuria Oliver: Yeah, so so the first line of work was the mobility analysis. Then we have two more lines, one which might we might talk about later. One is the computational epidemiological models, the other one was predictive models. And then the fourth line was a citizen survey. And why did we launch this citizen survey? So we launched the survey because in March of 2020 and even today, there were a lot of questions that we couldn't answer. We didn't have any data sources. For example, what is the social behavior that people have? What is the emotional impact of the pandemic. What's the resilience of the population toward all these measures. Are there tests, are people being tested. What is the prevalence of symptoms? Was the labor impact, the economic impact? What kind of protection measures are people taking? How are people moving? Are they leaving their homes, or are they taking public transportation? I mean, there were so many interesting questions that we couldn't really answer, so we decided to ask the people to say, Well, let's just draft, let's design the shortest possible survey that would give us the most information about people's behaviors and perception and situation during the pandemic. So we came out with 26 questions, which we translated to many different languages and the surveys deployed in different countries in the world.Nuria Oliver: It has almost 700,000 answers right now. And one of them is in Spain, evidently. But we also have a very representative sample of in the, I think, in the almost 100,000 from Germany, Italy, Brazil, and the survey has been regularly used by the media, by the policymakers, but also by people to have a sense of how we are doing. So I think the survey has different angles to it. One element is giving a voice to people. You know, I think we have been subject to a lot of measures that have happened to us, but we as citizens haven't had a lot of opportunities to really tell how we were doing and how the pandemic was impacting us and on our fears or what we were thinking. So the survey is a way to listen to to the people and to give them a chance to tell us every week how things are going. It's also an incredible tool to really connect the citizens to the policymakers so they understand, for example, what's the intention to get vaccinated. You know, we know since April of 2020, for example, that the most impacted group emotionally, psychologically is the youth.Nuria Oliver: So the government can think, OK, we need to invest in programs for the youth. But we know that since April of 2020, it's not that we know it now. We know it for over a year and a half from now. So there's a lot of things that we know, you know, for many, many, many months. So that has been incredibly helpful. So the survey is completely complementary to the large scale mobility data. We do have a little bit of mobility information because we ask people their transportation means because we wanted to see people were walking or they were driving individually or they were taking public transport. And we did observe where public transport was kind of shut down for a few weeks or months, there was a huge increase in walking. During the first lockdown, especially. And then there was there wasn't really a big use of public transportation until probably the fall of 2020 or even like the spring of 2021. So, yeah, we did have a little bit of mobility information, but very complementary to the large scale mobility that we could analyze with their mobile data.Harry Glorikian: Yeah, I think this this sort of way that the government or your group is interacting with the people to sort of get this information. I mean, I think that's a more organized and statistically significant way than Facebook or Twitter or any of these other big rooms that you can yell in, right? So, you know, it adds to the discussion.Nuria Oliver: Yeah. I mean, we invested a lot of thought and a fair amount of time. We think the fact that we had no time because we had to react really quickly. But I think if we if we started this effort in mid-March, right, right at the very, very, very beginning of the pandemic. And I think we launched the survey March 28th. So we had about 10 days. Yeah, we're very fast, but we really thought a lot about it. We spent I mean, we worked all day, all night, all the time. I mean, there was nothing else to do anyway. So I mean, we were just sort of like working, working for...I mean, I have three children, too. But we were really working. And my husband also got very involved in this. So it was kind of like a family effort and we invested a lot of time in designing the survey so the questions were really, would be the most helpful possible and sort of like complimentary to the other data sources that we had. And I think that was relatively successful. I mean, it's definitely been very helpful to many different people. We built very quickly visualization tools of all the answers to the survey so anyone can access them, anyone can look at them. And that was very important so everyone can benefit from the answers.Harry Glorikian: So in a pandemic, what can you--if you said, "Oh my God, this these were the, you know, two or three things that we were able to influence," based on this technology integration or information that we were able to provide policymakers that made the biggest difference.Nuria Oliver: Well, I think there are different levels. I think we had the impact at different levels, so the mobility analysis was extremely helpful for the government to really understand to which degree the lockdown and the measures had worked. And They really appreciated that piece of work a lot. The computational epidemiological models, which we haven't talked about yet, but is basically we've been building models to predict the number of cases and the number of hospitalizations and the number of intensive care units and the number of deaths throughout the entire pandemic. And we've built different types of models because one of the take-home messages here is, of course, the underlying reality is extremely complex and it's not a purely deterministic system. Evidently, the world is really, really hard to model. So if we build models that are completely different in their approach and they give us similar predictions, we can be more certain about those predictions than if the models each of them says something different. So we have three different models running all the time with completely different methods like to really see to which degree, you know, they are aligned. So our predictions have been used. I mean, I've been I've been writing reports for many, many months every day with the predictions of the day. So, so they could have a sense of how things were going, how fast the cases were going to be growing and things like that.Nuria Oliver: So that was particularly helpful. I would say in the third wave, which took place after Christmas, and it was the worst wave here in the Valencia region. And it was very helpful because at the time we had just finished our third model, which was using deep neural networks and is a model that we use in the X Competition. And that model predicted extremely accurately the day of the peak of the number of cases and the number of cases at the peak. And it was very helpful because it was a very stressful moment where the cases were growing exponentially. There was a huge amount of tension as to whether to implement more measures or persist with these measures or change the measures or what to do. Because the number of cases were growing, the deaths were growing and they placed a fair amount of faith in our model, maybe more than I would have placed because I was just like, Oh my God, I hope this model works really, really well. But you know, there's this moment where you are thinking, Oh, I don't know. Maybe I mean, this is just a model, you know, the world is more complicated.Harry Glorikian: Exactly.Nuria Oliver: So that was that was very helpful. At the same time, we also build machine learning based, deep neural, network based prediction models of hospital occupancy and intensive care occupancy that was extremely helpful to allocate resources and to figure out which hospitals were going to be saturated and to to anticipate that and to determine whether they needed to mobilize more intensive care units and things like that.Nuria Oliver: And then, as I mentioned, the survey has been helpful, I would say, all throughout the pandemic to really understand the needs of the people, to understand the sort of like the impact of the pandemic on people's lives and and to determine what would be the areas of priority for new policies. So I think the different work streams have had different impacts, but I think that is a broader impact, which is probably the most important, maybe, which is the impact of showing a different way of working, a way of working that is a lot more data driven. That is more technological, that is very, very different to the traditional approach. And seeing that with with a clear example for a very long time and seeing the value that this way of working has brought, I think has been the best way for them to realize what they might be missing if they don't undergo, you know, the necessary digital transformation.Harry Glorikian: Can you have them come over here and talk to our guys? I think you need to have to come here and talk to our guys.Nuria Oliver: I think you would need also internal advocates.Harry Glorikian: I think that I think there's a lot of those. I think there are there are a number of people internally right that that want to you just need to. I think people who sit in powerful positions need to understand the implications and the impact of this,Nuria Oliver: And they have to accept they have to accept that the data might not tell something that they want to hear. I mean, there is also the risk of of losing control in a sense, right? Because the data could say that the policy didn't work, you know, something that maybe you really believed in and you really push for it and then it's like, OK, sorry, but this is not working right and you have to be.Harry Glorikian: But that's, you know, that's part of the that's part of the whole, you know, scientific method. You have a hypothesis, you go test it. And if it didn't work to come up with a new hypothesis, right? I mean, that's that's the way it should be. And you know, in reality, I have this debate with people. Nuria Oliver: The political world is not exactly like that.Harry Glorikian: But I think this sort of decision making is not just from a policy perspective, but it permeates, all the way through. I mean, I have this debate with a lot of people in the medical world of, it doesn't work. It's making the wrong mistake. It's biased. I'm like, it's always evolving. This is software. It's like every day it's getting better. It doesn't sleep, it can get better the next day. So a year from now, it can be an order of magnitude different than it was, you know, when it started. So. But [musical interlude]Harry Glorikian: Let's pause the conversation for a minute to talk about one small but important thing you can do, to help keep the podcast going. And that's to make it easier for other listeners discover the show by leaving a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts.All you have to do is open the Apple Podcasts app on your smartphone, search for The Harry Glorikian Show, and scroll down to the Ratings & Reviews section. Tap the stars to rate the show, and then tap the link that says Write a Review to leave your comments. It'll only take a minute, but you'll be doing us a huge favor.And one more thing. If you like the interviews we do here on the show I know you'll like my new book, The Future You: How Artificial Intelligence Can Help You Get Healthier, Stress Less, and Live Longer. It's a friendly and accessible tour of all the ways today's information technologies are helping us diagnose diseases faster, treat them more precisely, and create personalized diet and exercise programs to prevent them in the first place.The book is now available in Kindle format. Just go to Amazon and search for The Future You by Harry Glorikian.And now, back to the show.[musical interlude]Harry Glorikian: You mentioned the X Prize and you guys won the X Prize. And you split that prize with, you know, people in Slovenia. So did you have some programmers there or did you…Nuria Oliver: No, no, no. There was a first prize and a second prize, and we won the first prize and they won the second prize.Harry Glorikian: Oh okay, okay.Nuria Oliver: So there were first, first, I guess first winner and then second the people there stayed second. Yeah, so.Harry Glorikian: So how did that impact? How did that impact, you winning that, did that impact the way that people thought about the model?Nuria Oliver: I think I think it gave us a lot of legitimacy and, you know, a huge external validation because we had been I felt we had been doing very, you know, rigorous solid work for many, many months. But of course, it was constrained to the Valencia region, maximum to Spain and then the X Prize Challenge asked us to build predictive models of the pandemic in 236 countries and regions in the world. So it was a step up, you know, from what we had to do. So I think I think it definitely gave a lot of like external validation to the work. I think I find it a very inspirational story. I never thought we were going to win. I was a little bit the devil's advocate in the team. When I share with the team this idea, this opportunity of the of participating in the X Prize competition, but it was more like a teaser. I didn't think that they were going to actually decide to go for it. And I and I told them many times, Look, guys, guys and girls. I mean, this is, you know, this is a different level. I mean, this is a global competition. You know, if we go for it, we are going to have to work even harder than we have been working all over Christmas and New Year's and everything because the competition started at the end of November. I think it was a very beginning of December. And, you know, and I think we should try our best. I mean, if we go for it, we go 100 percent you. We just don't sort of go, Yes, this is, let's do it. Let's do it.Nuria Oliver: So we kind of jumped into the pool like the X Prize and. Uh, and it was incredible when we won, I couldn't believe it. It was to me, it really shows that there is talent anywhere and everywhere. And many times what fails is not even the talent, it's actually the environment where this talent is.Harry Glorikian: Correct.Nuria Oliver: If it is not an environment that supports the talent and that encourages the talent and that empowers the talent, that talent is like a little seed, right? And we don't have an environment that enables this seed to grow, it just stays on the ground there, you know, not growing. And I think the entire initiative and particularly the X Prize competition, was this sort of environment where, you know, anyone could win. Everyone was in equal conditions and in our team, our team is extremely sort of like a very flat structure. There are students and there are full professors and everyone contributes equally and anyone can do anything you know is very sort of a hands on, you know, very sort of like a start up. And I think that was a big change from the traditional, well-established, somewhat bureaucratic research processes that prevailed in many institutions, right? Where there is a hierarchy from the full professor to the student. And, you know, many times the students feel that they cannot even do some idea that they might have because they have to be asking for permission, you know. So I think for me, it was also this inspirational story on saying, Well, you know, anyone could win any of these competitions, you know, if the environment,Harry Glorikian: Environment and you know, geography, I always joke. I always say, like, if you're in the West Coast or you can fail multiple times, you come to the East Coast, you've got to fail a lot less and it depends on which college or university you graduated from. You go to Europe, you fail a lot less because your family and everybody around you will not be happy, right? It's depending on where you are, right? You're willing to take more or less risk. And then, of course, that can be superimposed on the organization that's also creating that environment. But let me jump now and say, you know and ask. You guys in Valencia have like a 90 percent vaccination rate, which I think is one of the highest in the world, much higher than the U.S. by far. I'm comparing a region to a country, but. What what do you think accounts for this? The differing levels of a compliance. Do you think the people in Spain are just more trusting of the medical establishment? I mean, you guys have Facebook too, so the same misinformation is getting to you. That's getting to us. Are they more trusting of technology?Nuria Oliver: I think there are multiple factors. I think one very important factor is that fortunately, the pandemic wasn't really overly politicized and anyone from any political inclination or party or view, you know, was adopting measures, was wearing masks, you know, was willing to get vaccinated. So there was there hasn't been this coupling that has happened in many countries between the pandemic and your political views. I think this has been completely orthogonal issues in Spain. You know, the pandemic impacts everyone. The pandemic doesn't care if you are right wing, left wing or center. Yes, the virus is going to infect you the same. It doesn't matter what you believe, you're going to get it. Maybe you don't believe in me but I'm going to infect you. So I that has that has definitely helped a lot. The other issue is Spain didn't have a strong anti-vax movement to start from. There is definitely a lot of trust in the medical system. Spain has universal healthcare for free, so you get the best medical care in the world, pretty much for free, you know, cancer treatment, the best cancer treatment. Everything is for free in Spain, and there is a big trust in the system that is a big trust in the doctors and and and people really love the Spanish medical system because they see that it saves a lot of lives, you know? They see that it helps them and is free.Nuria Oliver: So there isn't really clear economic incentives associated to health care because it's a right that people have. So I think that was another element the element of trust, the element of really trusting the system of the system being free and people realizing that, you know, health care is fundamental for a healthy society and everyone sort of like compliant. So we have the lack of politicization, the fact that we didn't have a strong, anti-vax movement initially, the fact that the health care system, you know, is very trust is trusted a lot and it's for free and people really appreciate it. And then we also have the fact that Spain is a very has a very strong group, whole sort of like group culture where conformism to the group is very important in Spain, as opposed to other cultures where they might emphasize more the individual and individualism. Spain is more of a kind of collective culture in that sense. So as soon as there was a minimum critical mass of people vaccinated, it just became an act of pride to be vaccinated and belonging to the group, you know, and sort of like complying with the group and. And I think that was also a factor.Nuria Oliver: So combining all of this, yeah, we are one of the countries with the highest vaccination rates in the world and we don't really have anti-vax movements like other countries have had or have still. And I think people, you know, you have to also remember that Spain was one of the worst impacted countries in the first wave. So the virus is very real to everyone. I would say everyone knows someone that has had COVID or has died from COVID. So I think as opposed to in other countries or regions in the world where the virus may seen something almost like theoretical because it hasn't been next to you, you don't know people infected. You might think, Oh, I don't know, I don't know anyone. So maybe this could not be real, right? Spain has been very, very real because the first wave was horrible here. And, you know, Spain and Italy were like the most impacted country for a long time. So I think that also has made the pandemic extremely real in Spain since the very, very beginning. And seeing the suffering, seeing people dying, seeing your relatives being in intensive care, you know, has really made people think, Oh, it's not, it's a no-brainer for me to get vaccinated. I don't want to go through this.Nuria Oliver: I don't want anyone from my family to go through this, don't want to infect other people. So I think there is also this element of of having really endured a very, very hard first wave of of of really, really shocked the society and people collectively feeling, OK, we need to defeat this virus together. We need to do anything we can to minimize the impact that is having in our society. So I think there are different reasons, you know, like anything. It isn't a simple answer, right, but there is a confluence of factors...Harry Glorikian: I wish.Nuria Oliver: ...that I think have played in our favor in terms of of the pandemic. I mean, the levels of vaccination are extremely high, but also the life is going back to pretty much normal now. I mean, we there is a lot of activity. I mean traveling, a lot of traveling. We had a lot of tourists this year this summer. Spain kept the schools open the entire school year last year. I think that was extremely smart to do. So that was also very positive in terms of not disrupting the lives of the children and the teenagers, which are some of the most affected demographic groups. So, so yeah, so I'm proud that that actually the response has been like this in Spain.Harry Glorikian: So going back to the technological part, do you do you think that phones will be more useful tools for epidemiology or personal health in the next pandemic? And what have we learned that will help us be smarter about how we use [technology]?Nuria Oliver: Yeah, so I think. So I think so there's a difference between phones and the mobile network. Ok, so what we analyzed was data from the mobile network, not from the phones themselves. This is important to clarify because the mobile network is the data captured at the antennas. Correct. That that are all over the geographic space that are the ones providing the cellular connection. So I think that that has proven in many, many cases for many, many years, very valuable, both in developing economies and in developed economies. Then the phone itself, I think the impact this pandemic has been. I would say varied. So the detailed contact tracing, I don't think it has been successful, at least the data that we have from the survey is that in Spain, it didn't really work at all. We didn't advocate for it because based on our research and we didn't think that that was the most important thing to do at the time. We knew since the beginning of the pandemic that roughly 50 percent of the people 59 years old or younger could not self-isolate if they had to. So in what is called TTI Control Strategy, which is trace to know whom to test, to know whom to isolate, if people cannot isolate, there is no point in tracing them and testing them because they're going to be infecting everyone else if they can't isolate? So I think, you know, investing in infrastructure to help people self-isolate and providing support to people so they can self isolate.Nuria Oliver: And it's not a huge burden to them was also very important to enable, you know, everyone to do a proper quarantine. I think there has been quite it's been quite successful actually the part of using the phones for entering symptoms. Many, many people answered our survey on their phones. I would say everyone, pretty much everyone answered a survey on the phones having some sort of like some digital, you know, certificates for vaccinations and things like that. I think that's probably more helpful. They have projects and using the sensors on the phone to diagnose COVID 19 from the... patterns or the coughing patterns. So I think the phone can also be used as a tool for sort of like a screening tool, maybe more than a diagnostic tool. And of course, it can be used for telemedicine as well, particularly in situations where you are. You can leave your house, you know, or you can't really go so. So for quite a few months, actually, the provision of care for non emergencies, non serious issues has been over the phone actually, and in many cases, is the mobile phone. So I think…Harry Glorikian: Which brings me, I have another question for you, though, because based on that is. Separate from the pandemic, because hopefully it's waning and we can get on with our lives. Do you have any ideas you want to pursue in the area of personal health and health care delivery?Nuria Oliver: Yeah, well, there's one idea that I've been trying to do for seven years, but I haven't been able to get around to it yet, which is a project that I call Mobi-well and it's a project that is really the hope is to really shed quantitative light on the interplay between the dependency that we developed towards our phones and our well-being. So I'm very interested in really understanding what are the implications of the fact that we can't live without our phones and our own well-being. I think the phone is an incredibly powerful tool to support our well-being and to help us in many ways, you know, for chronic disease management, for, you know, as I mentioned, the pressures that I mentioned in terms of helping us change behaviors that we want to change, you know, to exercise more or to sleep more or to drink more water or whatever we want to do. The phone is a great ally. It can be a great ally for as a screening tool for different diseases, as an early detection tool. Also for certain diseases. But we cannot obviate that we are addicted to our phones and that we have a dependency towards our phones. So I am also interested in understanding what are the health implications on the wellness implications of such an addiction and such a dependency, particularly in the younger demographic groups. So that's one project that I'm very interested in. I'm also. We are also working a lot in and the ELLIS Alicante Foundation that I just created on the ethical implications of AI.Harry Glorikian: Yes.Nuria Oliver: Implications such as the computational violation of privacy or the lack of veracity or the opacity or the manipulated subliminal manipulation or behavior discrimination, algorithmic discrimination. So a lot of these challenges, you know, we can test them on the phone and we can also explore and develop innovative algorithms that would have guarantees for non-discrimination. Or, you know, that would be privacy preserving. And we can do studies on the phone to see if that is the case. So I think it's also a great tool for human behavioral studies and for what it's called computational social sciences.Harry Glorikian: I mean, if we could just get Facebook to open its data to you?Nuria Oliver: Oh, yeah, I would love that.Harry Glorikian: Yeah, I'm sure that we could see a lot.Nuria Oliver: Yes, definitely. Absolutely. I mean, you see what's happened with the latest, you know, revelations about some of the Facebook research. So so yeah. But I do think more research is needed to really understand this very complex interplay between ourselves, our wellbeing, both mental wellbeing and physical wellbeing and on the technology that we use. And it's an area that I'm very interested in.Harry Glorikian: My new book is all about that direction, which is how can you utilize technology to live a healthier life. Or is one of the gentleman that I interviewed once said a better health span, not just a life span.Nuria Oliver: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah. So I mean, I've devoted my life to inventing and exploring and developing technology to somehow improve the quality of life of people in some way. But I think it's also time to really understand in a rigorous way, you know, what is the impact that that technology is having on our lives, not technology that is explicitly designed to support our well-being, but the the technology that we use on a daily, you know, on a daily basis, you know, the the services and the applications that we use every day for any purpose, you know, not specifically for health care purposes.Harry Glorikian: Yeah, I think you were chosen, you were on the TR100 list, if I remember correctly.Nuria Oliver: Yeah.Harry Glorikian: And so you always wonder, like how well did the TR100 ed predict correctly? And it seems that they at least in your case, they got it. They got it right on the impact that you would have on the world.Nuria Oliver: Oh, thank you. Yeah, that was really. I have a very nice memory. You know, I got my PhD from M.I.T. So getting this recognition for the MIT Technology Review was really, really nice. And I think it was I was the first Spanish person to get it. So that was also really nice in terms of Spain, because I think, you know, it might have helped other scientists from Spain to, I don't know, be considered or for this award. So, yeah, so I have very nice memories, very fond memories of the event. They areHarry Glorikian: So well. I can't thank you enough for staying up later, or, you know, it's actually late afternoon your time and participating today and sort of giving people who are listening an insight of how technology can make such a profound impact on managing pandemic and keeping people safe and communicating the right information to them. It's huge. And so I hope that people hearing this can take the lessons from our discussion, and you never know people may end up reaching out to you because of it. So I hope that all this, you know, moves in a positive direction. So thank you so much for being on the show today.Nuria Oliver: It was my pleasure. Thank you so much for the interest. And yeah, it's been a really lovely conversation, so I thank you also. Also Linkedin for establishing the connection between us. Thank you.Harry Glorikian: Excellent.Nuria Oliver: Thank you. Ciao. Harry Glorikian: Ciao.Harry Glorikian: That's it for this week's episode. You can find past episodes of The Harry Glorikian Show and MoneyBall Medicine at my website, glorikian.com, under the tab Podcasts.Don't forget to go to Apple Podcasts to leave a rating and review for the show.You can find me on Twitter at hglorikian. And we always love it when listeners post about the show there, or on other social media. Thanks for listening, stay healthy, and be sure to tune in two weeks from now for our next interview.

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST What are the differences between games and gamification, how does that fit into the interactive storytelling framework? Here I reflect on my conversations with Moe Ash, Mohsin Memon and Karl Kapp.  To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST When you first meet Dr. Robin Sargent she might intimidate you... I mean she's so well put together, she's direct, and there's this aura of confidence about her. Then she somehow disarms you with that contagious laugh of hers and you feel completely at ease.  Robin is a successful entrepreneur, instructional designer and mom of three boys. I loved digging into her journey, because I think the lessons from how she approaches life are spectacular and valuable for both men and women.  In this interview we talked about perseverance, investing in yourself, academia vs. corporate, her work and much much more... hope you enjoy and share.  Connect with Robin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinsargent/ To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST There's something really strategic in the "happily ever after" line at the end of a good fairy tale. But we, as learning designers can leverage this strategy to bring our interactive story to a satisfying closure and sell our audience on a future that could be theirs. Listen along with me :) Don't forget to sign up for your free ticket for the Learner Engagement Summit here.  To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST The setup is crucial in letting your audience know who your hero is now, what mundane rut and routine they are in now, who they have been up until this very moment. Establishing this makes the transformation much more satisfying... and evident. All essentials for great interactive stories.  To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST Your character needs a wake up call, something that will make them get on the journey in the first place. Here I discuss the event, big or small, that can be the spark that makes them step out of their comfort zone to take on the challenges that stand in their way.  Plus some talk about Star Wars, George Lucas and Joseph Campbell. Enjoy! To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call   ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube  

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST Maybe the story I share in this podcast becomes your inciting incident? What can we do to make sure our efforts survive our departure... just some reflections on work and life as an L&D consultant. Enjoy! To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call   ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST Branching scenarios can easily get away from you, and sit there unfinished... what if there was a way to get rid of the overwhelm and just start with some constraint framework? Guess what, that's what we talk about in this episode... how to get Avalanche Branching under control, once and for all!! To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST Here is my hypothesis about feedback given to learners... It falls on deaf ears, at best they quickly skip over it to get to the next good part, or at worst they feel annoyed with it and resent the designer for being so patronizing. Let's talk about how to avoid this situation.  To learn more Interactive Storytelling or to inquire about my coaching program go to: https://scenariosecrets.com/ ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Interactive Storytelling framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority.You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST I recently had a conversation with someone who in my mind was the epitome of lifelong learning, it made me reflect on my own journey and what it actually takes to grow as a human being.  "Everyone thinks the dream lives in the destination...but that's not the case. The dream lives in the activities that you do today." - Brendon Burchard To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Interactive Storytelling framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST Conflict is a beautiful thing, it's the thing that makes the story worthwhile... if there was no conflict there'd be no story. But this might be the most challenging part of your interactive experience... but it doesn't have to involve other scenes, other people, high drama... sometimes the best conflict is all in our characters head.  To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST This episode is about a story shared in our coaching community. It's not about an interactive story, but it kind of is. Mostly it is a story of perseverance, persistence, optimism and being ready when the universe throws you a break.  “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” — Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST My number one issue was overcomplicating stories, but also not asking enough why questions - why does the hero want this? Why are they not going after it right now? What's getting in their way? All of these help you craft a better hero that all kinds of people can relate to, and help your story have meaning and stickiness in their minds. Inner motivation is really the key to creating a relatable character in my opinion. Enjoy this last episode on the "hero" but certainly not the last on storytelling! Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.  To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Interactive Storytelling framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube  

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST The Hero is very important to a successful story, but the hero is nothing without a very clear and visible goal. Or as the storytelling nerds say... the outer motivation. So how should you think about this to make your hero and their goal something your audience will root for? "Everyone thinks the dream lives in the destination...but that's not the case. The dream lives in the activities that you do today." - Brendon Burchard To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST Today I'm talking to Story Designer and Author, Rance Greene.  ABOUT: Rance formed needastory.com for those who struggle with storytelling at work. His methodology—Story Design—gives leaders and talent development professionals a systematic and creative way for discovering who their audience is and how to persuade them to take action on new ideas. Rance is the author of Instructional Story Design, a practical guide for developing stories that train. He coaches, teaches, speaks and writes often on the benefits of stories to connect people to one another. Here are some of the questions we get into:  1. Tell us your story, how did you get here and become a Story Designer for L&D?  2. What is your definition of a story? 3. How does one use story to reinforce learning? Where does it fit? Does it replace content? 4. Can you tell us your philosophy on storytelling?  5. You've worked with many people on crafting their stories, or refining their stories... where do you see people usually mess up when they're first getting started? 6. How can they avoid those pitfalls?  7. Other than reading your awesome book, what advice would you have for someone who wants to introduce storytelling into their learning ecosystem?   To learn more about Rance's work: https://needastory.com/ids To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube  

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST This episode is a little, just a little, off my beaten path of scenario design. It has to do with our mindset in L&D... how we're hurting our results, and hurting our learners by convincing ourselves of a reality that is based purely on our imagination. It's short, not too sweet, but candid and hopefully the jolt you needed today. Enjoy! "Everyone thinks the dream lives in the destination...but that's not the case. The dream lives in the activities that you do today." - Brendon Burchard To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST In this episode we continue exploring the hero in your story. How to make them more than just a name and a position. What strategies you can use to make them instantly relatable and someone your audience will care about. Also, reflections on Toy Story 4. Enjoy! "Everyone thinks the dream lives in the destination...but that's not the case. The dream lives in the activities that you do today." - Brendon Burchard To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST There's no story without a hero. There's no transformation without a hero. And, if your hero is someone people can't relate to... it might be all for naught. There's nuances to crafting a good hero, but we can always err on the side of simplicity. In fact, simplicity in this area might be the most difficult part... come explore with me.  To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST I love transformation stories... and with good reason, they make amazing experiences for us. And guess what, they can be amazing learning tools for our audience, IF we do transformation right.  Sidenote: The movie whose title I could not remember is Free Guy!! Go see it.  To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority.You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST There are essential ingredients to crafting a great story. There are elements that you can be loosey goosey on, not do so well and still create an OK story for your learners. But this one piece... this is one of the most important things to get right: transformation.  Here I dig deep into why I think it matters, what it can do for your learner, how it can enhance their buy-in, how I think it increases how persuasive and emotionally engaging your story is and much more. Enjoy! "Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today." - Robert McKee  To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner and Articulate Master, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST I had a great convo with Rued Riis, "the Vyond guy" as we lovingly call him in the L&D world... and I had a couple of aha moments around the use of storyboards. The conversation really solidified in my mind that a storyboard has a place, but to be honest, it is relegated to the back seat (and probably used if your focus is dressing up content, not actually sharing a meaningful story)...different strategy/tool for different outcomes. Enjoy! "Everyone thinks the dream lives in the destination...but that's not the case. The dream lives in the activities that you do today." - Brendon Burchard To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube  

In this episode I talk to Alexander Salas. He's an instructional systems developer and eLearning designer with 14 years of experience specializing in the blend of learning technologies and gamification for performance outcomes. Since 2007, Alex has worked in every facet of corporate learning and performance enablement for Fortune 100 enterprises such as Philips, Centene Corporation and Dell Technologies. He's the owner of StyleLearn, an eLearning design firm helping clients of all sizes. He's also the Chief of Awesomeness at eLearning Launch, the online academy for digital learning professionals. Question Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 02:14 Were there skills that you have developed over the years that you wish you had when you first started? 07:01 What is ADDIE, really? 12:01 How has your development process evolved over the years? 23:36 How do you pitch ideas to stakeholders not ready to hear them? How do you overcome resistance? 32:08 What it means to be an instructional designer today. 35:29 Gamification, what is your definition of it? 47:00 Deep dive on how Escape Rooms work in eLearning. 58:17 Favorite app or tool that you can't live without? 01:04:06 How to get in touch with Alex. Learn more about his Academy eLearning Launch: https://www.elearninglaunch.com/ To learn more about Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT ANNA: Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework. Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. Connect with her on LinkedIn or watch this interview on YouTube

Getting attached to one kind of solution, or one kind of mindset, something I call being a "purist", will hurt you, will hurt how creative you are in your solutions. I had fallen into this trap, and realised that through more exploration and deep conversation with people practicing a different "purism" I might augment my own practice with their approach.  THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST Sometimes you just gotta go back to the roots. That's what I did in this episode.. How I got started with instructional design, why scenarios resonated so much with me and all the wacky adventures along the way.  This is episode one of 6 that gets into the roots of my freelancing career, how and why I created Broken Co-Worker, and continue to evolve my Narrative Scenario Design practice. The biggest goal is to help you overcome some of your limiting beliefs about what can and can't be done…how creative you can be, how proud you can be of the work you love. Honestly, if this immigrant kid can, so can you.  "Everyone thinks the dream lives in the destination...but that's not the case. The dream lives in the activities that you do today." - Brendon Burchard To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST In this episode I reflect on mentorship in the Zoom age and how to facilitate this (or rather the difficulty of doing so) as a remote worker. I also reflect on the lessons I've learned from coaching my students, some common pitfalls, and my thoughts on communities of practice. "Everyone thinks the dream lives in the destination...but that's not the case. The dream lives in the activities that you do today." - Brendon Burchard To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube  

Most of my worst projects happened when I was trying to be too creative. When I was trying to reinvent every single aspect of development... starting from a blank page. Over time I learned there are ways to be creative, and deliver an outstanding product while placing massive constraints. I want to share that strategy with you today.   To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna co-developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

Have you had a habit that held you back from living your best life? I know I sound like a life coach here, but discovering this one limiting mind habit has been a huge aha for me. I sometimes wish I could go back in time and change things. What I said. What I did. But now I realize that all this was a result of what I thought. About myself, about the situation, about limitations... and I brought that with me everywhere I went.   Your reality will reflect what you believe and expect. Want to change how your creative projects work out? Change what you believe about how they'll turn out first. Easy to say. More difficult to do.   Now this aha came slowly. But it became clear that I was not the only one holding this limiting thought habit after I worked with my coaching clients. I found some people had all the luck with clients, all the creative freedom... while others struggled to get an inch.   I discuss this and great examples in this episode. Hope you find it useful! Until next time my lovely learning designers!   To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube    

In this episode I talk to Austin Welch. His learning films have earned three Brandon Hall Awards and he's spoken about the emerging role of media and learning at the International Association of Food Protection, ATD, and TEDx. As a Kirkpatrick Certified Professional, Austin is always looking for ways to create emotionally intelligent training films that lead to measurable behavior change.   Question Timestamps:  01:31 What are inductive learning experiences? 05:02 How do you overcome stakeholders that want to spoonfeed learners information (in case they miss the point)? 08:38 Why is video your favorite medium? 13:48 Why are endings the hardest part of crafting a good story? 18:51 Framework on how to get started on your first story in L&D? 24:46 How does emotion mix or influence learning? 37:28 Corporate Mythology? What? 44:00 The Clarify Session as a tool to discover the Mythos 46:35 Design Thinking and Storytelling? How do these things go together? 54:24 Divergent and Convergent thinking... strategies to think in more divergent ways. 1:00:55 To learn more about Austin's work at Sage Media. Connect with Austin on https://www.linkedin.com/in/austinwelch Or https://www.linkedin.com/company/sagemedia   To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

In this episode I share two powerful experiences that introduced me to scenarios and interactive storytelling. One was from Allen Interactions GANGS: PATROL E-LEARNING and the other was Connect With Haji Kamal from Kinection Studios.  I also discussed Kolb's Learning Cycle… how I think it beautifully fits with this style of learning. Check it out, I think you'll love the thinking behind it. It's a game changer. Finally, I discuss the strategies you can use to convince stakeholders to embrace these new ideas.  To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube  

THE SCENARIO SECRETS PODCAST Sometimes you just gotta go back to the roots. That's what I did in this episode.. How I got started with instructional design, why scenarios resonated so much with me and all the wacky adventures along the way.  This is episode one of 6 that gets into the roots of my freelancing career, how and why I created Broken Co-Worker, and continue to evolve my Narrative Scenario Design practice. The biggest goal is to help you overcome some of your limiting beliefs about what can and can't be done…how creative you can be, how proud you can be of the work you love. Honestly, if this immigrant kid can, so can you.  "Everyone thinks the dream lives in the destination...but that's not the case. The dream lives in the activities that you do today." - Brendon Burchard To learn more Interactive Storytelling: https://scenariosecrets.com/ To talk about joining my coaching program: https://calendly.com/elearningsecrets/45m-call ABOUT:  Anna Sabramowicz is an instructional designer and coach. She fell into the profession after losing her last year of university funding to be a chemistry and english teacher. She's worked and consulted in both academia and corporate environments for over a decade. Stakeholders include adidas, Thomas & Betts, Sony, Michelin, Rubbermaid, Emerson, VIHA, RRC, Queen's University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Tanzanian Government. She runs a coaching program with her partner, Ryan Martin. It helps Instructional Designers unleash their creative superpowers and develop immersive learning experiences with Storyline 360, using her Narrative Scenario Dynamics framework.  Anna developed Broken Co-Worker - an immersive anti-harassment elearning experience which was awarded an Articulate Guru Award, she earned the League of Innovation award through Apprenticeship Manitoba for first Online Electrical Carpentry elearning Program. She's also earned a Best in Show and Audience Award at the eACH Toronto for creating a Code Orange Emergency learning experience for Vancouver Island Health Authority. You can find Anna on LinkedIn or on watch her instructional videos on YouTube

Jocelyn Kelly is the founding director for Harvard Humanitarian Initiative's (HHI) Women in War program, and currently is a fellow at HHI where she designs and implements projects to examine issues relating to gender, peace, and security in fragile states. Kelly has been conducting health-related research using qualitative and quantitative research methods for over eight years both in national and international settings. She has given briefings related to gender and security to the United Nations Security Council, the U.S. State Department, USAID, the World Bank, OFDA, the Woodrow Wilson Center, and the U.S. Institute of Peace. Prior to joining HHI, Jocelyn worked as an Emergency Management Specialist in Hurricane Katrina-affected areas and acted as a liaison to the FEMA Public Assistance Chief in Louisiana. Kelly's international work has focused on understanding the health needs of vulnerable populations in Eastern and Central Africa and has included working with the Uganda Human Rights commission to launch the first office in Africa promoting the Right to Health. Stephen and Jocelyn explored the challenges of COVID in conflict zones including increased violence, lack of access to care and disruption of community. Jocelyn discussed her research on the effect of COVID on interpersonal violence as well as escalating overall violence in conflict zones. Stephen and Jocelyn reflected on the encouraging resilience that people have demonstrated including the creation of microeconomies that included mask making. They finish their discussion on the global responsibilities to provide care and resources to these underserved and marginalised areas. Jocelyn discussed specific links to her work that include more details on her research as well as more information about the Harvard Humanitarian initiative and related projects.   https://hhi.harvard.edu https://www.resource-fulempowerment.com https://www.jocelynkellyresearch.com

Today is a researchers' roundtable with Tanya Corbin, Summer Merion, and Filip Vostel. Tanya Corbin (Ph.D. Political Science), is a disaster policy scholar and Department Chair of Security and Emergency Services at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide. Before pursuing an academic career, she worked in policy, non-profit, and business, including as a small business owner. This experience informs her academic work, where she aims to co-create knowledge with applied value to inform public policy and support practitioners through research and innovative academic program development. Her current research agenda includes a comparative project examining policy change after the 2017 hurricane season and governmental policy responses to COVID-19. She is Co-lead for the NSF CONVERGE Covid-19 Emergency Management Working Group with Dr. Samantha Montano. Summer Marion is Incoming Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy and PhD Candidate in Political Science at Northeastern University. She holds additional affiliations as a Research Fellow with the Pandemics and Borders Project, Research Associate with the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland, and Visiting Researcher with Harvard Humanitarian Initiative under the T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Summer's research focuses on global governance, international organizations, health security, and philanthropy. She is currently working on a projects examining the role of private foundations in outbreak preparedness, prevention, and response, as well as the border politics of global outbreaks.  Filip Vostel is senior researcher at the Centre for Science, Technology, and Society Studies at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences. He has been working on synthesizing several streams within STS (e.g. lab studies, ANT) with social studies of time. In his current research he explores time and temporality in big science and how various time layers - and their interminglings - co-shape knowledge (and knowledge production). Currently he is writing a book investigating the multiplicity of speeds/accelerations in socio-technical domains and human lives broadly conceived (The Speed Complex: The Socio-Technical and Human Dimensions - to be published with Bristol University Press in 2023). He teaches STS at Charles University in Prague and serves as the Secretary at the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST). 

This episode features a conversation with Dr. Hanni Stoklosa. Hanni is the Executive Director of HEAL Trafficking, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) with appointments at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. Dr. Stoklosa is an internationally-recognized expert, advocate, researcher, and speaker on the wellbeing of trafficking survivors in the U.S. and internationally through a public health lens. She has advised the United Nations, International Organization for Migration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of State, and the National Academy of Medicine on issues of human trafficking and testified as an expert witness multiple times before the U.S. Congress. Moreover, she has conducted research on trafficking and persons facing the most significant social, economic, and health challenges in several countries throughout the world. Among other accolades, Dr. Stoklosa has been honored with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Women's Health Emerging Leader award, the Harvard Medical School Dean's Faculty Community Service award, has been named as an Aspen Health Innovator and National Academy of Medicine Emerging Leader. Her anti-trafficking work has been featured by the New York Times, National Public Radio, Fortune, Glamour, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, STAT News, and Marketplace. Dr. Stoklosa published the first textbook addressing the public health response to trafficking entitled Human Trafficking Is a Public Health Issue, A Paradigm Expansion in the United States. In this podcast, Hanni and I discuss her background, the epidemic of human trafficking, and some counterintuitive ideas on what the optimal response is for healthcare worker who might suspect that their patient is a victim. Hanni is an amazing world changer and leader in this movement. I’m confident you’ll be impressed with her passion, outlook, and experience. So please, enjoy the conversation between yours truly and Hanni Stoklosa...

What impact has the coronavirus pandemic had on places of armed conflict or refugee settlements that are already fragile due to violence and deprivation? As part of our regular series discussing the pandemic and as a special podcast in The World's feed, reporter Elana Gordon moderated a discussion with Jocelyn Kelly, director of the program on gender, rights and resilience at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. Watch and listen to more of The World's Coronavirus Conversations here.

Valeria has a Master of International Affairs with a concentration in Economic and Political Development from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and two Bachelor degrees in Diplomacy and International Relations and Modern Languages from Seton Hall University. She also holds certificates in Humanitarian Response to Conflict and Disaster from Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Human Rights and the Rights of Refugees from Amnesty International.  Valeria is co-founder of Global Emergency Response and Assistance - GERA., an NGO established in 2015 that provides humanitarian assistance and community development to refugees. Valeria has worked for the Organization of American States in her home country of Nicaragua. She had previously interned with the European Union, also in Nicaragua. These positions gave Valeria the opportunity to promote humanitarian goals and access to justice among different groups, including indigenous people, disabled people who have experienced discrimination, and victims of domestic violence.

This talk was given as part of the Oxford Transitional Justice Research (OTJR) Seminar Series. Peace has been a notoriously difficult concept to measure because of the diverse ways in which it can be defined. Other than a general distinction between negative peace as the absence of violence, and positive peace as the absence of structural violence, i.e. norms, institutions, attitudes and societal features than can incite violence, there is little consensus on which norms, institutions, attitudes and societal features can nurture peace. On the one hand, policy makers need instruments to track progress on peace, whereas on the other hand, many peace scholars and practitioners suggest that peace is perhaps too complex to measure. I experienced this tension first-hand whilst leading a cross country participatory assessment of resilience in three post conflict contexts – Guatemala, Liberia and Timor-Leste – and subsequently when implementing population perception surveys on peace and justice in Eastern Congo. Last year, I conducted a systematic review of peace measurements, through which I identified 19 direct and proxy measures of peace that are used across policy and practice. In this talk, I will present the findings of the systematic review and situate them in the context of my experience with participatory approaches to defining and assessing peace in conflict affected contexts. Anupah Makoond is currently reading for an MBA at the Saïd Business School, following an MSc. in Evidence Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation at the University of Oxford. Immediately prior to coming to Oxford, she led the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative’s Peace and Human Rights programmes in the DRC and the Great Lakes. Between 2014 and 2016 Anupah was the Programme Officer for Interpeace’s Frameworks for Assessing Resilience Programme.

Sudan has been involved in ongoing civil wars since 1983. The wars were about religion, culture and resources. By 2005, approximately two million civilians had died. In 2011, the southern part of the country voted to secede from the north, creating the new country of South Sudan.  But there were still three regions that were claimed by both north and south: Abyei, Blue Nile, and South Kordofan. These regions are rich in oil and have fertile farmlands, so politicians and humanitarians predicted there would be violence following the secession. Civilians in these regions, mostly farmers and shepherds, would be caught in the middle.Content Note:Discussion of genocideNathaniel Raymond is a human rights investigator. He was looking into an alleged massacre in Afghanistan when he was introduced to the idea of using satellite imagery for humanitarian purposes. At that time, satellite images were sometimes used for documenting force swells and finding the locations of mass graves. But Nathaniel wondered if he could figure out a way to use satellite imagery proactively; what if he could figure out a way to see an attack coming and sound an alarm before anyone got hurt?Nathaniel wasn’t the only one who had this idea. Actor George Clooney had also been researching ways to use satellites as “anti-genocide paparazzi” in Sudan through an organization he co-founded called The Enough Project. The Enough Project and the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and others sponsored the project. The Satellite Sentinel Project partnered with the private satellite imagery company DigitalGlobe, who gave the SSP permission to point some of their satellites where they pleased and take pictures. By December 2010, the Satellite Sentinel Project was in full swing, inventing a new methodology for analyzing satellite imagery of active conflict in real time. The mission of the Satellite Sentinel Project was threefold: Warn civilians of impending attacks,document the destruction in order to corroborate witness testimony in later investigations, and potentially dissuade the governments in both Sudan and South Sudan from returning to war in the first place. “We wanted to see if being under surveillance would change the calculus… If they knew we were watching, would they not attack?” The Satellite Sentinel Project would release their reports at midnight so that they would be available in time for morning news in East Africa. Critics of Satellite Sentinel Project say that South Sudan shouldn’t be a playground for experimental humanitarian efforts bankrolled by a foreign movie star. And Nathaniel says the critiques are valid. “It was always a Hail Mary pass. And, we must be clear, it was always an experiment, which in and of itself is problematic. But… what else are we going to do, sit on our hands?” Satellite Sentinel Project released a total of 28 reports over 18 months. The methodology Nathaniel and his team developed is still being taught at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. Today Nathaniel Raymond is a lecturer on Global Affairs at Yale’s Jackson Institute. Special thanks to Ziad al Achkar, one of Nathaniel’s colleagues from Satellite Sentinel Project that helped us with this episode. Producer: Garrett TiedemannEditors: Bethany Denton and Jeff EmtmanMusic: Garrett Tiedemann

Sudan has been involved in ongoing civil wars since 1983. The wars were about religion, culture and resources. By 2005, approximately two million civilians had died. In 2011, the southern part of the country voted to secede from the north, creating the new country of South Sudan. But there were still three regions that were claimed by both north and south: Abyei, Blue Nile, and South Kordofan. These regions are rich in oil and have fertile farmlands, so politicians and humanitarians predicted there would be violence following the secession. Civilians in these regions, mostly farmers and shepherds, would be caught in the middle.Content Note:Discussion of genocideNathaniel Raymond is a human rights investigator. He was looking into an alleged massacre in Afghanistan when he was introduced to the idea of using satellite imagery for humanitarian purposes. At that time, satellite images were sometimes used for documenting force swells and finding the locations of mass graves. But Nathaniel wondered if he could figure out a way to use satellite imagery proactively; what if he could figure out a way to see an attack coming and sound an alarm before anyone got hurt?Nathaniel wasn't the only one who had this idea. Actor George Clooney had also been researching ways to use satellites as “anti-genocide paparazzi” in Sudan through an organization he co-founded called The Enough Project. The Enough Project and the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and others sponsored the project. The Satellite Sentinel Project partnered with the private satellite imagery company DigitalGlobe, who gave the SSP permission to point some of their satellites where they pleased and take pictures. By December 2010, the Satellite Sentinel Project was in full swing, inventing a new methodology for analyzing satellite imagery of active conflict in real time. The mission of the Satellite Sentinel Project was threefold: Warn civilians of impending attacks,document the destruction in order to corroborate witness testimony in later investigations, and potentially dissuade the governments in both Sudan and South Sudan from returning to war in the first place. “We wanted to see if being under surveillance would change the calculus… If they knew we were watching, would they not attack?” The Satellite Sentinel Project would release their reports at midnight so that they would be available in time for morning news in East Africa. Critics of Satellite Sentinel Project say that South Sudan shouldn't be a playground for experimental humanitarian efforts bankrolled by a foreign movie star. And Nathaniel says the critiques are valid. “It was always a Hail Mary pass. And, we must be clear, it was always an experiment, which in and of itself is problematic. But… what else are we going to do, sit on our hands?” Satellite Sentinel Project released a total of 28 reports over 18 months. The methodology Nathaniel and his team developed is still being taught at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. Today Nathaniel Raymond is a lecturer on Global Affairs at Yale's Jackson Institute. Special thanks to Ziad al Achkar, one of Nathaniel's colleagues from Satellite Sentinel Project that helped us with this episode. Producer: Garrett TiedemannEditors: Bethany Denton and Jeff EmtmanMusic: Garrett Tiedemann

On today’s show, host Will Oremus looks at the fallout from Amazon’s announcement last week that they’re abandoning plans for a new headquarters in New York City. Some celebrated it as a victory; others mourned a missed opportunity; still others were mad that Amazon took its ball and went home, rather than negotiating a fairer deal. Then, April Glaser talks with Faine Greenwood from the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, where she focuses on the role of drones and data intensive foreign aid projects. Her latest piece for Slate is headlined “Why Humanitarians Are Worried About Palantir’s New Partnership With the U.N.” 6:02 - Interview with Faine Greenwood 23:15 - Don’t Close My Tabs Stories discussed on the show: Slate: New York’s Anti-Amazon Movement Is Now a Blueprint for Critics of Big Tech Slate: Why Humanitarians Are Worried About Palantir’s New Partnership With the U.N. Don’t Close My Tabs: April: The New Yorker: Private Mossad for Hire Will: Wired: AR Will Spark The Next Big Tech Platform-Call It Mirrorworld Podcast production by Max Jacobs You can get updates about what’s coming up next by following us on Twitter @ifthenpod. You can follow Will @WillOremus and April @Aprilaser. If you have a question or comment, you can email us at ifthen@slate.com. If Then is presented by Slate and Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, New America, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. To read more, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our weekly newsletter. Listen to If Then via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s show, host Will Oremus looks at the fallout from Amazon’s announcement last week that they’re abandoning plans for a new headquarters in New York City. Some celebrated it as a victory; others mourned a missed opportunity; still others were mad that Amazon took its ball and went home, rather than negotiating a fairer deal. Then, April Glaser talks with Faine Greenwood from the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, where she focuses on the role of drones and data intensive foreign aid projects. Her latest piece for Slate is headlined “Why Humanitarians Are Worried About Palantir’s New Partnership With the U.N.” 6:02 - Interview with Faine Greenwood 23:15 - Don’t Close My Tabs Stories discussed on the show: Slate: New York’s Anti-Amazon Movement Is Now a Blueprint for Critics of Big Tech Slate: Why Humanitarians Are Worried About Palantir’s New Partnership With the U.N. Don’t Close My Tabs: April: The New Yorker: Private Mossad for Hire Will: Wired: AR Will Spark The Next Big Tech Platform-Call It Mirrorworld Podcast production by Max Jacobs You can get updates about what’s coming up next by following us on Twitter @ifthenpod. You can follow Will @WillOremus and April @Aprilaser. If you have a question or comment, you can email us at ifthen@slate.com. If Then is presented by Slate and Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, New America, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. To read more, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our weekly newsletter. Listen to If Then via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The protection of populations affected or threatened by conflict and natural disasters is a critical component of humanitarian action. Challenges of ensuring protection are notably complex, touching on myriad intersecting issues including international legal norms, frontline humanitarian negotiation, gender, and the migration patterns of vulnerable populations.In this episode of the Humanitarian Assistance Podcast, Yves Daccord, the Director General of the International Committee of the Red Cross gives the opening keynote address for the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative’s 2018 Humanitarian Action Summit. In his talk, Mr. Daccord discusses four current challenges in addressing protection: the protection of aid workers—including the increasing use of remote management to transfer risk to local partners, impunity for attacks on healthcare, the use of detention as state policy to dissuade migration, and the digital insecurity of vulnerable populations fleeing violence.

On August 1, 2018 the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ministry of Health announced the 10th Ebola virus outbreak since 1976 had been confirmed in the country’s North Kivu Province. Senior Director of Emergency Health at the International Rescue Committee, Michelle Gayer, noted this outbreak has, “the potential to be the worst ever seen in East Africa—and risks being an encore of history we simply cannot afford.” Health workers face a number of challenges delivering medical and preventative care in this context, exacerbated by high numbers of operational armed groups and rumors that the outbreak is politically fabricated to decrease voter turnout in the country’s upcoming elections. New options for treatment and lessons learned from the 2014 West Africa Ebola crisis can provide insight for aid workers on the frontlines of this latest outbreak. In this episode, Ambassador Sinead Walsh and Dr. Oliver Johnson discuss their new book, "Getting to Zero: A Doctor and a Diplomat on the Ebola Frontline," which explores the shortcomings of the 2014 response, as well as suggestions for improvement in future outbreaks. They are joined by Patrick Vinck, the Director of Research at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, who is currently conducting research on the outbreak in the DRC.

City Councillors Sumbul Siddiqui and Alanna Mallon discuss all things Cambridge. Today's episode: the tragic loss of a young Cambridge Rindge and Latin student this week; the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Community Conversations: race and class, 32 BJ SEIU, resident permit parking fees, the Sherman Street crossing, domestic violence, the Port Fair and the Cambridge Jazz Festival. Recorded at Cambridge Community Television.

In light of recent international negotiations over nuclear disarmament and efforts to respond to the use of chemical and poisonous weapons, we sit down with Dr. Erickson to discuss the health and environmental impacts of conflict and emergencies. Dr. Timothy B. Erickson is an emergency medicine physician at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston where he serves as the Chief of Medical Toxicology in the Department of Emergency Medicine, and a faculty member at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. He is an expert in environmental toxicology and crisis in climate change, and has active humanitarian health projects in conflict regions of Ukraine and Syria, as well as ongoing health projects in Nepal and India. Dr. Erickson earned his M.D. degree from The Chicago Medical School in 1986, and is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American College of Medical Toxicology, the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, and the National Geographic Explorers Club.

Dorothee Klaus, Stevens Le Blond, Massimo Marelli, Nathaniel A. Raymond Civil society, governmental and private sector partners are increasingly engaged in and reliant on digital data and ICTs for the delivery of public services and support to vulnerable populations. However, emerging and related cyber- and data-reliant risks threaten the human security and human rights of these populations, undermining their development potential.   The proliferation of ICTs among affected populations and humanitarian and development actors alike exposes critical, unaddressed gaps in the legal, ethical and technological frameworks that have traditionally defined and governed humanitarians' professional conduct. These gaps are an open secret, as is the lack of professionalization around data protection and ICT use. Increasingly, they are a disaster waiting to happen. As evidenced by the recent security breach of a software platform used by aid agencies to store the data of vulnerable people, the risk of such ICT- and data-related disasters is very real and far-reaching in the humanitarian and development sectors. In the face of these evermore complex threats, the need for capacity development for digital security and cyber resilience is increasingly recognized in the international humanitarian and development communities as critical. Unfortunately, an effective approach for such capacity development is lacking.    In this panel discussion convened by the Signal Program on Human Security and Technology of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the École polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), speakers from a diverse set of backgrounds will explore and debate the major challenges and opportunities of digital security and cyber resilience in the 21st century. Through the unique experience and perspectives of the speakers, the panel will bring theory and practice together to frame a critical narrative and agenda for ensuring that ethics and human rights are central to global and national debates around digital security and cyber resilience. supported by BMZ

Dorothee Klaus, Stevens Le Blond, Massimo Marelli, Nathaniel A. Raymond Civil society, governmental and private sector partners are increasingly engaged in and reliant on digital data and ICTs for the delivery of public services and support to vulnerable populations. However, emerging and related cyber- and data-reliant risks threaten the human security and human rights of these populations, undermining their development potential.   The proliferation of ICTs among affected populations and humanitarian and development actors alike exposes critical, unaddressed gaps in the legal, ethical and technological frameworks that have traditionally defined and governed humanitarians' professional conduct. These gaps are an open secret, as is the lack of professionalization around data protection and ICT use. Increasingly, they are a disaster waiting to happen. As evidenced by the recent security breach of a software platform used by aid agencies to store the data of vulnerable people, the risk of such ICT- and data-related disasters is very real and far-reaching in the humanitarian and development sectors. In the face of these evermore complex threats, the need for capacity development for digital security and cyber resilience is increasingly recognized in the international humanitarian and development communities as critical. Unfortunately, an effective approach for such capacity development is lacking.    In this panel discussion convened by the Signal Program on Human Security and Technology of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the École polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), speakers from a diverse set of backgrounds will explore and debate the major challenges and opportunities of digital security and cyber resilience in the 21st century. Through the unique experience and perspectives of the speakers, the panel will bring theory and practice together to frame a critical narrative and agenda for ensuring that ethics and human rights are central to global and national debates around digital security and cyber resilience. supported by BMZ

The recent scandal over Facebook's use of personal information has shone fresh light on one of the most pressing issues of the 21st century:  How can we protect our privacy when we are willingly—or unwillingly—giving vast amounts of data to companies like Facebook, Google, or Amazon. But those technology companies aren’t the only ones using personal information. This kind of data is also at the core of the work of international agencies delivering humanitarian aid. In this week's episode we speak with Dan Scarnecchia, a researcher with the Signal Program on Human Security and Technology based at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. Scarnecchia and his colleagues recently wrote the Signal Code, which represents a human rights approach to privacy and data during crises. We'll examine how the humanitarian field is now grappling with ever-changing technology and increasing reliance on data and personal information.

April 19, 2018 — The recent scandal over Facebook's use of personal information has shone fresh light on one of the most pressing issues of the 21st century:  How can we protect our privacy when we are willingly—or unwillingly—giving vast amounts of data to companies like Facebook, Google, or Amazon. But those technology companies aren’t the only ones using personal information. This kind of data is also at the core of the work of international agencies delivering humanitarian aid. In this week's episode we speak with Dan Scarnecchia, a researcher with the Signal Program on Human Security and Technology based at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. Scarnecchia and his colleagues recently wrote the Signal Code, which represents a human rights approach to privacy and data during crises. We'll examine how the humanitarian field is now grappling with ever-changing technology and increasing reliance on data and personal information. You can subscribe to this podcast by visiting iTunes, listen to it by following us on Soundcloud, and stream it on the Stitcher app or on Spotify. Learn more Refugee Connectivity: A Survey of Mobile Phones, Mental Health, and Privacy at a Syrian Refugee Camp in Greece

Did you ever wonder what it’s like to explore the Amazon LOOKING for venomous, poisonous and toxic risks? Or how about pondering what it takes to get in the prestigious National Geographic Explorers Club? Or how about summiting Mt. Aconcagua or making it to Everest Base Camp, or even to Antarctica? How about curiosities as to what makes the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative tick and the amazing projects it undertakes to make the work a better, healthier, and safer place?  Well then you will enjoy this laughter filled and inspirational episode with the remarkable Dr. Tim Erickson. Tim is a Core Faculty at the prestigious Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, with expertise in environmental toxicology and crisis in climate change. He also has active humanitarian health projects in conflict regions of Ukraine and Syria. He’s also an emergency medicine physician at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston where he serves as the Chief of Medical Toxicology in the Department of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Erickson is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Medical Toxicology, American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, and the prestigious National Geographic Explorers Club. Previously, he served as the Director for the Center for Global Health and Professor of Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Medicine. Dr. Erickson has been a member of multiple editorial boards and has a prolific academic history including publishing over 120 original journal articles and book chapters as well as editing 4 major textbooks. He has presented over 100 national and international invited lectures related to emergency medicine, toxicology, humanitarian global health, and wilderness/expedition medicine. And he has extensive international experience in Africa (Rwanda, Sudan, and Kenya), Asia (India, Vietnam, and Nepal), South America (Brazil, Peru, and Argentina), Europe (Kosovo, Ukraine, France) and Antarctica. But he’s also lobbed a snake at my daughter (it’s OK, it was rubber). His office is filled with blowgun darts that may or may not still have qari on their tips, as well as skulls and a variety of spiders and snakes, which I believe are all dead, but with Tim, you never know. So be warned…. In this episode we travel around the world to humanitarian hot spots as well as Antarctic rescues in very cold spots. We discuss his Tox-Boy beginnings and his current work at Harvard, and a great deal in-between.  Tim is the poster-boy for living a life in full—adventure, family, healing others, and training future and current physicians and healthcare providers—while have an amazing time doing it all.

"Innovation is not just a moment that can come from crisis; crisis can come from innovation."After disruption comes absorption, and that is how something new becomes normal. Nathaniel Raymond, the founding Director of the Signal Program on Human Security and Technology at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, takes us through historical moments of innovation to show how crisis can cause innovation, but also how innovation can cause crisis - something that can lead to new political, moral and ethical compounds. He argues that the absorption of innovation is now more important that invention itself. Through innovation and design, we can redefine what is normal.

In this episode of the podcast, we speak with experts and practitioners about the duty of care for humanitarian organizations, and the challenges of implementing it in practice. Speakers: Luigi Bocci, Field Security Officer, World Food Programme, Afghanistan; Phoebe Donnelly, Assistant Researcher, Feinstein International Center, and Doctoral Candidate, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; Dyan Mazurana, Associate Research Professor, Feinstein International Center and Friedman School, Tufts University; Megan Nobert, Director, Report the Abuse; Lisa Reilly, Executive Director, European Interagency Security Forum (EISF); Erwan Rumen, Field Security Officer, World Food Programme, Iraq; Orly Stern, Independent Researcher and Consultant, Senior Fellow, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative; Christine Williamson, Director, Duty of Care International

Parallel session: Humanitarian Innovation and the Military 18 July 2015, 11:00-12:30, 1st Panel Room. Nathaniel Raymond, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, James Ryan, University of London. Chair: Josiah Kaplan, Humanitarian Innovation Project. Military and humanitarian actors increasingly interact across a range of contexts, from natural disaster response to complex emergencies. To date, however, sensitive but important questions surrounding knowledge creation, diffusion, and exchange between both communities remain under-explored, both in debates on humanitarian innovation and humanitarian civil-military coordination. This panel seeks to prompt critical discussion around a sensitive topic by examining how innovative forms of knowledge are created, diffused, and exchanged between military and humanitarian space. How do aid workers learn, adapt, and 'rebrand' military innovations for civilian use? To what degree are military actors adapting humanitarian concepts and practices for their own use? What sensitivities and dilemmas do such interactions pose for both humanitarian practice and principles? This discussion will be grounded in concrete case studies drawn from medical humanitarianism and emerging approaches to networked technologies such as remote sensing and mapping.

Parallel session: Ethics for Technology and Big Data in Humanitarian Innovation 17 July 2015, 14:00-15:30, 1st Panel Room. Nathaniel Raymond, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative's Signal Program: ‘Applying Humanitarian Principles to the Collection and Use of Digital Data in order to Identify and Mitigate Potential Risks to Vulnerable Populations', Stefan Voigt, DLR Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information, and Josh Lyons, Human Rights Watch: ‘Between transparency and sensitivity: considerations on the use of very high resolution satellite mapping technologies for humanitarian operations and human rights investigations' Chair: Anaïs Rességuier, Sciences Po Paris. This panel will discuss ethical issues and risks specific to the application of new and existing technologies and the collection of ‘big data' for humanitarian purposes. The first presentation will identify potential risk vectors and models of prospective harm that may stem from current data collection practices through digital platforms, which is increasingly for humanitarian practice, and will provide examples of scenarios where this harm may occur and applying commonly accepted sources of humanitarian principles. The second presentation will give an insight in the current and up‐coming state‐of‐the‐art of satellite technology and will stimulate a discussion on how the geospatial community can navigate future policy debates in a balanced and informed way.

It is no secret that we live in a truly connected world. I can speak from experience that it is possible to be online in every nook and cranny of the planet - from deep inside the Ugandan countryside, to the middle of war torn Syria to the Islands of Fiji. The opportunity to connect to "the net" anywhere, for whatever reason - business, social, and yes, even evil - is here, now. There are many consequences, externalities and unknowns associated with this connected reality - some of which we are painfully aware of, like trolling, and some we don't have the ability to image yet (for example, what happens when virtual reality becomes ubiquitous)? One of the things we know, is that every time you use your mobile phone, swipe a credit card, surf the internet or basically any other activity that involves passing digital information across the internet, you leave a small, unique breadcrumb or fingerprint behind. If you were to capture and review these breadcrumbs for one individual, across any length of time, you would have the the ability to learn an astonishing amount about them. If we perform this exercise across communities and whole populations, who generate what we now call "big data," the learning and insights can be profound. Today's guest on the 109th episode of the Terms of Reference podcast is Emmanuel Letouzé and Emmanuel has dedicated his career to thinking about how big data can be used to help those most in need. He is the Director and co-Founder of Data-Pop Alliance, a Visiting Scholar at MIT's Media Lab, a Fellow at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, a Research Associate at ODI, and a Non-Resident Adviser at the International Peace Institute (IPI). Emmanuel is the author of the UN Global Pulse’s White Paper, “Big Data for Development: Challenges and Opportunities”, where he worked as Senior Development Economist in 2011-12, and the lead author of the report “Big Data for Conflict Prevention” and of the 2013 and 2014 OECD Fragile States reports. He is also a regular speaker on Big Data and development issues. In 2006-09 he worked for UNDP in New York, including on the Human Development Report research team. In 2000-04 he worked in Hanoi, Vietnam, for the French Ministry of Finance as a technical assistant on public finance and official statistics. As you'll hear us discuss towards the end of the interview, Emmanuel is also a political cartoonist.

Dr. Vincenzo Bollettino is the Director of the Resilient Communities Program at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. Prior to his current appointment, he served for five years as its Executive Director. Enzo has twenty years of professional and academic experience in international politics, humanitarian action, civil-military engagement in emergencies, and the security of humanitarian aid workers. He has spent the past fourteen years of his career at Harvard University in administration, teaching, and research where his current research focuses on civil military engagement during humanitarian emergencies, the security of humanitarian aid workers, and on the professionalization of the humanitarian aid field.

Dr. Michael VanRooyen is the Director of the Division of International Health and Humanitarian Programs in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Director of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. Stephen Morrissey, the interviewer, is the Managing Editor of the Journal. L.F. Roberts and M.J. VanRooyen. Ensuring Public Health Neutrality. N Engl J Med 2013;368:1073-5.