Scholars’ Blogs
This Blog is edited and curated by Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust Scholars
Spreading The Gift of Zimbabwean Literature
This idea came about as Geraldine and I were having one of our Quaracatch up calls, and we started talking about how many children were now at home and possibly not going to be back in school for a year or so.
Lockdown Journal - We Are not in the Same Boat
The world has seen over 4 million COVID-19 cases and close to 300,000 deaths related to the disease. Yet, some people are still saying that we are all in the same boat. We are not. We are going through an unprecedented time in our lives where each one of us is facing unique problems and our lived realities and needs differ from one another.
Lockdown Journal - Unexpected Break in Johannesburg
Where to even start and what to even share amidst the many thoughts whirling through my mind?! I was rereading the few blog posts I wrote at the beginning of my Oxford journey — I’m so glad I wrote and I’m sorry I didn’t manage to become consistent in posting blogs. But here we are today
Lockdown Journal - A Time to Read
While the brave new world of a digital term holds its promise, there is something about sitting in one of the oldest libraries in Europe, surrounded by new and ancient texts and the brightest minds in the world, that I miss dearly.
Lockdown Journal - Reflections from India
I hurriedly booked flight tickets, packed my bags in a rush and sayed goodbye to my friends in Oxford, not knowing when we would be back. I wished I had more time, to see the Radcliffe Camera or to visit my favourite coffee shop one last time, however I was already on my flight to Delhi (one of the last) before I realised.
Ditchley Foundation conference: Security in Africa in a changing world
It was an incredibly exciting and thought provoking experience for both of us and we hope that this post encourages others to consider the impediments to security in their own countries and regions.
Seeds of Resilience Against a Global Pandemic
About a month ago, the Government of Maharashtra, with whom we had been working before I came to Oxford, reached out asking for ways we could collaborate to build solutions to record, trace, track, monitor, and visualize incidents related to the outbreak.
Observing COP25 Chile Madrid, Where Climate Change Policies Are Wrangled
When she said "We need to give a human face to climate action", the Minister of Environment reminded me what was missing in the political debate about the climate crisis; the shared acknowledgement that human lives are at stake.
Awakening The Entrepreneur Within Me
I wouldn’t have been able to stand on the Forum stage without WHT’s support. The scholarship programme pushed me out of my comfort zone to materialise this business idea and provided me with invaluable support by connecting me to previous scholars and experts in the start-up arena.
Debating Can Bridge the Divisions Among Us
We would benefit from having a more serious and respectful discussion about the difficult topics that divide us. And we should start by accepting that if some issue is effectively generating a divide in society, hearing both sides respectfully may be a good start. The key to debating is in listening as much as it is in speaking.
When Law and Public Policy Work Together - a WHT pro-bono project by Ana Lucía Díaz Azcunaga and Ramón Narváez Terrón
Our pro-bono project gave us the opportunity to work together to offer policy recommendations to a proposal that has not been well planned or addressed by the Federal Government.
Pop-Up Clothing Store for the Homeless in Oxford - a WHT pro-bono project by Jade Weiner
The homeless and vulnerably housed in Oxford require and deserve the care, protection and love that we often reserve for the social, academic or financial elite.
Trust and Collaboration - LDF Internship in Southern Africa
The Louis Dreyfus Foundation (LDF) is involved in developmental work in 14 countries spanning Africa, Asia and South America, and a key WHT partner. I was the inaugural WHT intern of LDF. I began my internship in the southern African country of Zambia, where I spent four months.
What To Do With Freedom? 30 Years From The Velvet Revolution
WHT alumna Zuzana Hlavkova delivered a speech at a rally that commemorated 30 years of freedom from the communist rule in Czechoslovakia on 17 November 2019 in Bratislava, Slovakia. The event was a homage to Velvet Revolution, the freedom movement that led Czechoslovakia out of a totalitarian communist regime and into democracy in 1989.
When Presentation Becomes a Quest for Personal Truth: A Retreat at the Cumberland Lodge
Former WHT scholars always looked dreamy when telling us about the days at the Cumberland Lodge. “It’s really special”, they’d recall. When our bus drove through the bare trees of Windsor Great Park, on a sunny winter morning, we were quickly ushered into the lodge’s old Victorian library to find out why.
Seeking New Opportunities where Society and Nature Meet - Q&A with Bivishika Bhandari
My activism and social entrepreneurial experience opened my eyes to larger cross-cutting issues, especially between women and the environment.
What I learnt at the Battle of Ideas 2019
At first, I thought my presence at the debates would be questioned; isn’t that for philosophy and art students?
Essay Writing Workshop: A Toolbox for Communication and Creativity
To me, the workshop was like being given a tool box filled with familiar and unfamiliar tools to use in our Oxford journey and beyond.
