iCHORDS will be hosting its first-ever Knowledge Exchange Café on Thursday, June 16th, 2022 from 10:00 – 11:00 am (EST).
The Knowledge Exchange Café is a monthly event which will bring together individuals to network and learn from one another’s research and experience. The emphasis in these discussions will be on the social and behavioural sciences as they relate to Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and how they help reach the WHO 2030 NTD Roadmap goals. Each Knowledge Exchange Café will include time for networking and conversation to facilitate interaction amongst attendees.
This first session on June 16th will feature a collaborative effort between Sightsavers and ThinkPlace using applied approaches to design and implement sustainable behaviour change interventions for Trachoma. Learnings will be applicable to other NTDs.
View the recording here: https://youtu.be/IKkJxug1SPg
Speakers and Bios:
Eliot Duffy, Executive Design Manager, Australia
Eliot is fascinated by the interdisciplinary demands of complex challenges. He believes that assembling a team with truly diverse backgrounds, and with the humility to engage with new ideas wherever they might come from, is the key to innovation. He believes that the best place for a designer is to be right there in the communities that you are designing with. In the pursuit of this, Eliot has conducted immersive research and design across Sub-Saharan Africa, including in Ethiopia, Uganda, Nigeria, and Mozambique among many others. Eliot is motivated by understanding how these on-the-ground design processes can create implementable and practical interventions that consider both the individual and the organisation. He holds a Bachelor of Politics and International Relations and a Masters of International Security Law.
Samira Matan, Strategic Designer, Senegal
Samira Matan (she/her) is a Canadian human-centered practitioner committed to using design and research to help solve complex challenges. Her natural curiosity and her active listener skills contribute to the development of the work she does. Samira was born to East African parents and grew up with dual identities that have shaped the way she views and interacts with the world. Learning how to say “why” in multiple languages did not end in at her childhood. These days, she is fascinated by people and culture. She learns about people by focusing on what ties us together and what sets us apart from one another. As a researcher and designer, she can naturally connect with anyone—regardless of their background.
Bedan Mwathi, Strategic Designer, Senegal
Bedan is driven by an interest in cross-cultural communication, observation and cultural preservation. Bedan is passionate about Africa, fascinated by people and inspired by the diversity that is cultures and its pool of languages, music, art, fashion, and religion(s). This diversity inspires contributes and enriches the greater human narrative. His motivation is to help design innovative ways for businesses, developmental organizations, and governments to serve and deliver to their customers, users, and citizens. Bedan has gained experience working across-Sub Saharan Africa, with a specific thematic focus on SRH and WASH projects. He has worked in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria and currently Senegal. His work in these areas has focused heavily on the role that behaviour change and linguistic anthropology play in user behaviour and decision making using both remote and physical methods with different populations.
Geordie Woods, Technical Director, Sightsavers
Geordie is a Technical Director on neglected tropical diseases for Sightsavers, focusing on social and behavior change and the integration of water hygiene and sanitation programing into NTDs programs. He works with multiple organizations across these sectors, spearheading innovative partnerships. His areas of expertise include strategic communication design, mass media and community mobilization, and advocacy. Geordie was a Peace Corps volunteer in Guinea and worked subsequently for years in West Africa with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He has an MPH from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
