Season 2 Premiere Ep 1

Beyond the borders: Dr.Rana Dajani`s journey in Global Innovation and Literacy

 Listen to the full episode here: https://afripods.africa/episode/season-2-premiere-beyond-the-bor/5f44d54c-f03b-49a8-801d-784c2c38aba3

PODCAST SUMMARY

We begin the second season of Mazungumzo by taking an explorative  journey into Dr.Rana Dajani`s work and life. Driven by a deep commitment to literacy and women empowerment in STEM, she has taken on various key roles that are part of her dedication. Her  resilience and strive to go on with her passion for science led to her undertaking her PhD studies in the United States.Dr. Rana has a strong dedication to fostering a culture of reading in children  through her initiative, “We Love Reading,” that opens up children to the world of books. Her life’s work serves as an  inspiration and a motivating factor for  individuals to discover their passions, prioritize their goals, and make a lasting impact on their communities. In this episode, we delve into her remarkable journey and her pivotal role in bridging the gap between science and education, driving meaningful change, and advancing women’s representation in STEM fields.

Dr. Rana Dajani is a prominent scientist and social entrepreneur who has made significant contributions to global innovation and literacy, particularly in the field of genetics and education. She hails from Jordan and has an impressive track record of promoting scientific research, literacy, and innovation, both within her home country and on a global scale.

Here are key things to listen out for: 

A multi-dimensional Journey of nurturing humanity and igniting change- In her journey, Dr.Rana has taken up the role as a mother, as a scientist, a social entrepreneur,a policy advocate and a human rights activist. All these roles showcase her commitment to nurturing future generations and sparking a positive change.

Empowerment through reading- Dr. Rana’s  `We Love Reading` initiative nurtures an intrinsic motivation in children to create lifelong readers and changemakers by connecting communities through stories in their native language.

Post-pandemic lessons: Redefining Global Dynamics-  Dr. Rana highlights the post-pandemic era lessons particularly on multicultural representation in the science and innovation sector. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed opportunities for change, shattered stereotypes and highlighted crucial aspects that led the way for a more inclusive world.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

INTRO

Welcome to Mazungumzo, African scholarly conversations, a podcast that highlights the perspectives of various stakeholders in academia, or research fields across Africa through open dialogue or Muslims on scholarly communication in Africa.

Joy Owango:

Welcome to Mazungumzo African scholarly conversations, where we are joined by an expansive list of African policymakers, science communication specialists, innovators, and tertiary institutional beads who contribute to this realm of science communication and scholarly communication. I’m your host Joy Owango, the Executive Director of Training Center and communication -TCC Africa a capacity building trust based at the University of Nairobi Chiromo campus in Nairobi, Kenya. On today’s episode, we are joined by the incredible Dr. Rana Dajani , who has been in Paris for the just concluded International Literacy Day hosted by UNESCO at the Paris headquarters. She’s a renowned molecular biologist, social entrepreneur and global thought leader whose work has touched countless of lives. Her journey includes receiving the UNESCO International Literacy prize in 2017, for which she is now part of the jury, the Jacob social entrepreneur award, the Nansen UNHCR refugee Award, and the Schwab social entrepreneur Award. She made it to the list of the 100 most influential Arab women, and was a Fulbright fellow and as an Eisenhower Fellow, and also not mentioning an Ashoka Fellow. Furthermore, Dr. Dajani’s  The journalist groundbreaking initiative ‘We Love Reading’ has established over 8000 locally run libraries in more than 60 countries in five continents, igniting a lifelong love of reading in children and creating a ripple effect of a positive change in communities worldwide. A warm welcome to the program, Dr. Dajani.

Dr. Rana Dajani:

Thank you very much for inviting me to be on your podcast, I’m excited and inspired to learn and share.

Joy Owango:

So this is quite an expansive CV, you’ve had on promoting literacy in not only Jordan, but also in the Middle East, North Africa. And we can also see pretty much with an expansion to five continents, could you please give us a brief background into who you are, and what defines your identity.

Dr. Rana Dajani:

 So first of all, I always like to say that  I’m a mother. And that’s the first thing because I think that’s the most important thing we can do right for humanity and for Earth is to help produce future generations who are healthy and very well know their potential and what their responsibilities are to serve their, their humanity and nature around them. So I like to start with that. At the same time, I think I’m a teacher educator, inspiring children, I was a school teacher, actually, for 10 years before I did my PhD and,  taught science and biology, from ages grade one to grade 12. That also made me realize the importance of features. So if children are not at home, they’re at school with the teacher. And so the teachers are the ones that molded and shaped the personalities and mindsets of the children as they grow up. And therefore they are the second most important people in society for producing the next generation. So my hat’s off with  respect to all teachers, but even now, as a professor at the University, we’re still teaching, right? So the teaching profession is very, very important. And I think as a society, the more the society values their teachers, that’s a reflection of the values of that society and how advanced it is. But then also and I like to talk about these different roles that I’m describing as my different people in English talk about hats, I don’t wear a hat I wear a scarf so I talk about my five scarves in that sense. So the third one is I’m a scientist, right? I grew up getting thrilled and excited and trying to understand how things work in nature around me. I wanted to be a pioneer but I you know I couldn’t travel I couldn’t go to the moon. So I thought I can be a pioneer not at a cosmetic scale but at a very micro scale trying to understand how cells communicate. So I  work in  two research area fields. I work on ethnic populations in Jordan, trying to understand their human lineage, the diseases trying to discover novel gene risk factors that would benefit all of humanity. it’s just easier to discover them in these populations. And then the other field is looking at epigenetics of trauma. So I study how trauma, displacement and war, adversity impacts not just the mental health, the physiology, but are actually the DNA of children and adolescents and adults, and whether that is transferred across generations. And we are actually just submitting a paper to nature to that effect. So those are my science. And, you know, you ask a question, we get more questions. And that also, yeah, and that led me you know, as a scientist that led me into policy, because working with when you discover a new gene, you need to work with stem cells. And I was then asking, Okay, wait, I’m a Muslim, can I work with stem cells, so I kind of spearheaded an effort to create a law in Jordan, to help regulate stem cell therapy and research. So you go in places you never know, going beyond your classroom, your lab, your office to serve the community and society. And the last one is the one you’ve talked about, which is I’m a social entrepreneur, started, ‘we love reading’, which is about changing mindsets through reading. And I also like to say I’m a human rights activist, wherever there are people who are oppressed, I want to support them. So that’s it in a nutshell.

Joy Owango:

 Oh, wow. Those are more than five scarves. There’s quite a bit that you’re handling right now. But I like to focus on your book, you wrote a book ‘five scarves doing it doing the impossible if we can reverse cell fate, White country redefine success’. It’s a very interesting and explorative book, where you describe yourself in a blend of roles, pretty much with what you’re trying to explain to me right now. That is, as a mother, a teacher, a scientist, a defender of human rights and a social entrepreneur. What was the inspiration? What was the inspiration behind this? And what was what and what was the? What was? What was there? Rather, was there a pivotal moment or experience that shaped your path to becoming this multifaceted leader?

Dr.Rana Dajani:

I think it’s multiple things, right? It’s very difficult to pinpoint one, one thing. It’s a combination of factors. So humans are complex, right? And we’re always changing and evolving. Not in the biological sense, but in the personal and personality sense. Because it’s all about who you are, and how you interact with the environment around you. And that is always changing. So maybe I’ll talk about three points. One is my upbringing. So I’m a Muslim, obviously, from my scarf, and that influenced a lot of my values growing up and my aspirations of what is my role in life? So on one hand, the curiosity was fostered a lot growing up. There were no question that was not allowed, we were allowed to ask any question we wanted. And it was perceived as part of being doing the right thing. And that curiosity that was fostered through asking those questions, and reading a lot of reading, we didn’t have a TV at home. So we read a lot. No, and reading for fun, right? Reading, reading novels and stories, and then playing out the rules that we read about in the story. And that was so important to widen the imagination, to build critical thinking skills. And to think outside the box in the sense that to be the hero I read about, right? If somebody told me it’s impossible at home, I would say, wait a minute, but there was, you know, the heroine in the story was able to do it, why can’t I?  and then my mother on the other side, and that was and that was really inspired by my father, who was a physician and scientist, my mother, who ran the house,  like an army. Yeah, like a tight ship. We grew up, like having responsibilities and chores that we had to do. And she didn’t want any outside help. She wanted us to actually do the work to be responsible and to take care of each other. But also, she taught us taking care of the community, you know, not just our neighbors, but the wider community. She ran, like boot camps for young girls in the summer, which we were a part of. So I learned from her that feeling of responsibility that also stems from my tradition and religion, where there’s a saying that says everyone is a guardian. And so that feeling of guardianship that if I have knowledge, I have to share it, if I have knowledge, it’s the responsibility I can’t keep it to myself is what really pushed me to go outside my comfort zone and, and feel this responsibility that I have to make a difference. And I have to try, right, it’s not about doesn’t matter if we succeed what matters is to try and I think that’s fundamental for who I am today. In those senses, so those are maybe some of the things that shaped and maybe the last thing is, is pursuing my passion, not being not subscribing to, to a definition of what success says a definition of a career. But really living my curiosity leads me wherever I go, and having the courage to pursue that curiosity. And I always remind myself not to lose sight of that, because once you lose sight of that, life becomes boring and very mediocre. So you need to keep reminding yourself to find that curiosity, which actually made us survive as a species. It’s awesome.

Joy Owango:

 Yeah. Now, you’ve come from the Middle East, and also with also the kind of work you’re doing. It’s also a representation of North Africa. So there is there are a few things that are there commonalities in that region, there is religion, and also some cultural attributes as well, which cuts across, what would you say when young girls see you, what do they aspire to be? I mean, you come in you in your scarf, or maybe you’re in your full religious outfit. And when you go into a classroom, or when you go into a university, and girls see what you’ve achieved, and it has been heavily influenced by your upbringing, because from what you’re telling it as it is, you’ve been influenced by your upbringing, but most importantly, by religion, how you’ve grown up with, with the traditions and the religions that that have influenced your everyday life? what do girls see? what can they aspire to be when they see you? And most importantly, how can they take advantage of their everyday life, their their not only their everyday life, but most importantly, their upbringing and their religion to be to aspire to be to? Where you to be like you?

Dr.Rana Dajani:

 That’s a very important question. It raises a lot of issues that have been, you know, raised in the past, because there’s

Joy Owango:

Already preconceived bias about you. Yeah,

Dr. Rana Dajani:

 Unfortunately, the media plays a very, you know, not a good game of  raising up stereotypes.  On one hand, and then the other hand really promoting a globalization of a particular definition of success and a particular definition of what who is a scientist or, or who is advanced or who’s civilized? Which is totally, totally biased, Totally.And not not fair, and not based on any valid universal values that any human being would agree to. So how do we counter that? Right? So as you said, by me showing up, as I am, as I, the way I dress, without changing or compromising who I am, and proudly, talking about my who I am as a Muslim, without subscribing to any group, or any ideology, in that sense, but saying, I’m a Muslim, and what that means to me, right? So see, owning who I am. And I think that’s a very important thing. And of course, it’s not about talking about it’s actually doing it. Right, and so that’s why Wherever I go, as a very successful scientist and a successful social entrepreneur, I provide an exemplar, a role model for young women and men, by the way, who says, Wait a minute, I can still be true to my religion and be successful, because they saw somebody who has been able to do that. Otherwise, the role models were always people who had either left their religion, or were ashamed to be outward and outspoken about their religion. And That’s the message that comes across. And then when suddenly, I’m coming here, very outspoken. And because I’m dressed like that, I’m already sending a message without even saying anything, right? Just who I am and how I dress. I’m immediately first of all, dispelling those myths or disrupting those stereotypes because I don’t fit that. So wait a minute, that makes people stand back and say, Wait a minute, wait a minute. Okay. So there is a way there is another way. And deep down inside young people really need to see people who look like them, who dress like them who say Oh, and culture and religion, that they can identify with that person. And that’s how they feel confident. That’s their own identity and they feel for you, right? If we’re not proud of who we are, we cannot be creative. If we’re not proud of who we are. We cannot be successful. We will always be followers. And we will love the producers of knowledge of creativity of ideas. And not that I’m any special. I’m sure there are 1000s of amazing women and men out there, I’m just another one. And I happen to have a platform that I use to inspire others to come up on the platform with me, and to share and to and to talk about who they are with pride with confidence. And so that’s what I see. And I’ve had so many responses from young women and men, not just from Global South, for lack of a better word, but even global north, people who have been displaced thrown diaspora, but even even women and girls coming from Anglo Saxon or Francophone backgrounds who tell me, you know, what, we wish we could be like you, right. And these are young women who already have their own role models, but they also don’t fit. Because we’re so diverse, humans are diverse, and our DNA is all different. And it’s therefore it doesn’t make sense that we have only one model of success. And that’s what my book is all about. It’s about celebrating diversity. So how you are a role model, I’m a role model. And I’m there are many kinds of role models, how can we celebrate them all, and build the confidence in the next generation to be proud of who they are. And by the way, we need it, because the world is facing so many challenges today, we’re not able to solve them using the old ways, which are all very biased, very global, north, very westernized, very colonizing. We need, we need,  the world needs us, the other parts of the world, the 6-7 billion who haven’t had a voice, we need you to come up and speak up and be proud of who you are, and not to be afraid to make mistakes. It’s okay to fail, we’re not going to get it right on the first round or the second round, we’re going to keep trying and what matters is trying and I get I draw that from my religion. My Religion says try. What matters is the effort, don’t worry about the results, they will happen. And that’s actually a theory in physics. It’s the chaos theory. It’s one of the flutters of swings, it moves the air a centimeter. And then change happens through time and space beyond that we can imagine. And that is, so that only be the butterfly and just move your wings a little bit make a difference? Yeah.

Joy Owango:

Okay, that is quite inspiring. So tell me, how was your experience as both a mother and a scientist influenced your life? And what effects has this balancing act had on your children? Your kids look at you and say, Oh, well, how am I going to fill in her shoes?  How am I going to compete with her? Oh, most likely? They’re like, Oh, yeah, that’s my mom, whenever they’re walking around, when they see in the present, like, oh, yeah, that’s my mom. So tell me, how is that balancing act? And how does it influence your children?

Dr.Rana Dajani:

 That’s another very important question that I also get asked actually, it’s, you know, every life is different. And every journey is different. And so the lessons that I can share is that it’s that it doesn’t all happen at the same time, right? I was for 10 years as a school teacher, and had four children. And having a job as a school teacher is always good for being a parent, because you have all summer, you come home early, you kids can go with you to school. So that was a period of time. And then I went and did my PhD and became a scientist when my kids were older. So again, not to subscribe to a particular journey, to create for your own journey, create your own journey based on your priorities. So for me, the important lesson is to have confidence in yourself, and find your priorities in every particular stage of your life. Right. So for me, at that stage of my life, my children were  my priority. Because if I wasn’t there, who was going to be there for them? Right? Nobody could substitute me, but as a parent, but other other roles could be substituted. So having the awareness to say this is more important. Now I’m going to do it and not to be enticed, tempted by all but if you have your children, now, you can do anything later. Or what do you know, you know, stick to your priorities. And if you’re following your passion, you will find the way to get back to your passion later. And you change, right you change the environment around you. Don’t be a  slave to it, right. And so I then did my PhD when I was 30 in the dream stage, until I found an opportunity. My children were older, I applied, I got a Fulbright, I went to the US and did my PhD. And even then, the second lesson is to choose your partner carefully and engage with dialogue with your partner to show that he or she understands what you need. And so it’s given take, it’s taking turns. Sometimes it’s his turn to pursue his passion, and then now it’s my turn. But it’s about having a dialogue and sharing and talking and communicating. And so and so, my husband, he was a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force,  he resigned so that we could all go together because the priority was the family to America for me  to do my PhD, and I’m sure he’s not alone, we only talk about the negative stories of men, we don’t talk about the positive ones and how they support their wives. Men, there are great men out there. And we need to tell their stories as well, so that we can shift the narrative. And so in the US with my advisor, I told my advisor, hey, I, I’m here because I love science. Otherwise, why would I be here being older and having kids? However, my priorities if push comes to shove is my kids because nobody can replace them? Yeah. Yeah, I go home at five. I’m not coming in on weekends, like typical PhD students. And he respected that. So again, being strong, and knowing what you want people will understand. And then doing quality work. So I did finish my PhD and five years, just like the students who stayed all night and stayed all weekend, because I knew what I wanted. I scheduled my time. And I involve my kids. So when my kids were always with me in the lab, I taught them everything I did, I shared my results with them. And again, that’s again, back to communication. Don’t isolate your family members, your community from you, share with them what you’re doing, what your dreams are. So my kids didn’t think, oh, where she was Mama, why is she not here? Oh, no, they were thinking she’s testing our hypotheses. Because they were always right, they knew they named all my mice. They shared the you know, all the dreams and the fit and the, you know, the downplays and the ups of being a scientist. So that’s important. And then we went back to Jordan, where I opened my own lab at my university, the Hashemite University, and, again, engaged with society in the community, and also trying to find research that serves my community that can contribute originally to science and not to read the Joker. So it’s always about quality. That’s the third line, to focus always on your passion, and doing and your curiosity and doing something that’s quality. Not you know, I’m not being a scientist because of money. There’s other jobs that get better money. I’m not being a scientist because of fame. No, I’m in science, because I want to really understand what’s happening around me. And when you focus, right, you will excel on the long run, you will excel. So that’s why I focus, focus, find your passion and follow it and you will excel and people will see what you do in the end. So we became the world experts, for example, in two ethnic populations, the sarcasms and the Chechens. were the first ones now to prove that there’s an epigenetic signature that can cross three generations. So again, every time I feel what am I doing, I remind myself about being following my curiosity. So that’s how and then, and so all the things I’m doing are unfolding as I go on my journey. They don’t all happen at the same time. And it’s okay, if things don’t work out the way you want it, you will achieve it in a different way. Right. So when I finished my master’s, I wanted to pursue a PhD immediately, I couldn’t because I didn’t have the money. I got accepted at Cambridge University in England, but I didn’t have the money. So I put that aside and got married, became a school teacher. I was actually I went to visit Cambridge as a visiting professor, many, many years later. So I got to go to Cambridge,

Joy Owango:

You still ended up going to Cambridge.

Dr. Rana Dajani:

And so it’s, it’s like the poem. You know, I’m different because I took the path less trodden. So you forge your own path, right? You create your own journey. And you make it your own as  life is long what you can’t do now, you can do later. So, remember that?

Joy Owango:

Yeah. And from what I’m getting from you is, have a pipeline and stick to your pipeline. You know, you know, what you want. And the next steps around? I mean, the next steps leading to what you’re going to achieve in each part in each milestone of your pipeline. Because

Dr. Rana Dajani:

one thing Yeah, and you can change your mind, by the way, it’s okay. You don’t have to stick to being like, I’m a scientist, right? But now I’m a social entrepreneur, I want to see so you can change your mind if you’re pursuing your passion. And that’s important to know as well. Sorry for interrupting.

Joy Owango:

 It’s okay, that makes sense. That makes sense. Because it’s that multifaceted approach to what you love makes it first of all makes it worth living, because you have a variety of things that you’re doing that is number one, and your children are seeing you from different angles, they’re seeing you as a scientists, they’re seeing you as a social entrepreneur, they’re seeing you as a thought leader, they’re seeing you as mommy  at the end of the day, they still see us mommy. And it’s that whole process that gives them a robust perspective of who you are. And as I was listening to you, the one thing that caught my attention was when you say, your husband who was in a very senior position in the Air Force in Jordan, and he resigned so that he could be with you. And also that means also, but not everybody is fortunate to have a partner who is understanding, but if, if you may not have a partner is understanding, but it’s family support extended family support to see how you can still manage your career and, and your children. But it also within the,  nuclear setting, having a partner who is understanding where there’s constant communication means that you both have goals that need to be achieved for the long run. And that contributes greatly to, to the achievement of any of your of any of the plans that you have in mind. And that is really important. So and this leads to the fourth question, and that is given your passion for fostering a culture of reading in children, especially in an era where reading is often perceived as dull compared to other forms of entertainment. You established the We love reading program, which has reached over half a million children. And in your view, how has this program transformed children’s attitudes towards reading? And what innovative strategies does the program plan to implement to further its mission?

Dr. Rana Dajani:

 Yeah, so ‘We Love Reading’ is based on research and science and on a philosophy. And the philosophy is about fostering the intrinsic motivation within the child to fall in love with reading from a place of pleasure and passion, rather than by extrinsic motivation, that is first on the outside. And if you if one is able to foster that intrinsic motivation, then this child falls in love with reading forever. And they will realize that through reading, they can change, not just discover their inner potential, but the whole world around them, and therefore they can become changemakers in their own right. And unfortunately, education has always been about extrinsic motivation, not intrinsic motivation. It’s like putting the horse the cart before the horse, and we love really, we put the horse before the cart. And that’s how, in the 21st century, we need this kind of educate this kind of mindset. Because we don’t know, you know, with the internet and chat GPT and AI and, and disasters and pandemics, the structure of education, as we know, is not going to remain upright, it’s dissolving. And so it’s about then what is it that we have to do? So it’s about fostering that intrinsic motivation. And that’s what ‘We Love Reading’ does. And that’s what’s unique and innovative about it. On how we do it is we train adults and youth to read aloud to children because it’s about that human experience of sitting with a child looking in their eyes and reading aloud a real story with a real book. That’s fun in their native language. That’s very important. Oh, oh, yeah, if it’s in Uganda, it’s in Luganda, Vietnam, it’s Vietnamese. In Nigeria, every country, they speak their local language that’s very, very important. That’s the other part of the we call it our secret sauce, is that’s why there’s so this ownership. So these are adults who are reading aloud to the children. They are volunteers. They’re not paid, but they do it because they care about their community. There’s, they’re speaking in their own language, they’re using stories from their own culture. And this gives them this feeling of responsibility and ownership, that it makes a mindset shift of, instead of complaining and waiting for somebody to save them, acting as victims, they suddenly become empowered and take control of their own lives. And thinking, if I’m reading aloud to the children, they discover their voices, literally, but also figuratively becoming leaders in their community and changemakers in their own right. And that’s why We Love Reading’s mission now is about changing mindsets, through reading, to nurture changemakers. So reading becomes the tool. And now all these changemakers whether children or adults or youth can perceive themselves as confident members of society who are thinking of how to solve the problems locally. And because they are local, they know better the root causes of the problems, and they know better to solve those problems in a sustainable fashion. And so that’s what we love reading is all about. So I developed a program for reading for fun, to a program about leadership and social entrepreneurship and mental health. Because when you have purpose, you’ll feel better if you have when we are. And we’ve done a lot of research with different universities within Jordan, the Arab world and across the world. International universities like Harvard and Yale, and we’ve shown that first of all children’s executive functions are all improved. So they do better at school and they want to go to school. Their reading practices and attitudes all improved. Even their behavior, their empathy, their behavior towards particular seems like the environment has all changed for the better and for the other their well being, their life satisfaction, and their resilience has all improved. And their leadership qualities, and their motivation to lead. So all this, we were able to prove scientifically and published in peer reviewed journals that you can find on our website, on how the program works and why it works. And you know, it’s based on shared universal values. That’s why it has spread all over the world, yet it celebrates the uniqueness of each person, which is kind of a reflection of nature, like DNA, it’s universal, yet diverse of every individual.

Joy Owango:

Okay, so could you share with us any experiences that have shaped your perspective on multicultural representation in the science and technology and innovation sector? And what are your thoughts on what can be done to foster greater participation  of Arab women in this sector?

Dr. Rana Dajani:

I actually yes, so the trends that we’ve seen, you know, the world, especially after the pandemic, has shown us I see the pandemic, as bad as it was, it has a silver lining. And that’s it, it showed us that the way things have been in the past is not going to work. People were talking about that in the past, but nobody had the the energy, the momentum, the impetus to actually make a difference. But with a pandemic, people were able to change and do things in a different way. And so it proved that nothing is impossible that if we can dream it, then we can make it happen. And so now we have a license, we have proof that we can do that. And what also the pandemic showed is this myth that the global north is more advanced and knows more and can cope is the whole myth. They they did not do very well at all with the pandemic. And I’m talking about the general public dealing with what should be done, while many African countries actually were leaders. And developers delivering the core of the vaccine, helping each other, you know, how to deal with the crisis, coming up with creative innovative solutions for different sectors of society, whether it’s health, or education, or, and many, many other things. And so this should be seized as an opportunity to talk about these successes, share them, disseminate them, document them and showcase them for two reasons, one, to build confidence locally in African society and Arab society and, you know, all the global south for that matter. To determine who we are, and to remove that myth of that we need somebody to come and save us, and for the global north, to see in us an opportunity for them to grow for them to be better, that there’s something they can learn from us. And so for that mutual back and forth to happen, on equal footing of power dynamics, where we all are equal at the table, and we all have something to give. And there’s a lot to learn, for the global north to catch up to learn from us, from the Global South, regardless where we come from. And that requires not just for us to be at the table, but not passively. We have to be there assert with assertion, and to have a voice and to speak up. And so to make sure that the power dynamics that we own it, and we hold them in our hands. And this requires young people to be courageous, to be bold. And now again, I repeat, not too afraid to make a mistake, because a lot of people will not speak up afraid to make a mistake, it’s okay to make mistakes, say, You know what, this is what I think I may be wrong, let’s test it. And if it turns out I was wrong, that’s okay. This is how we learn. This is evolution. This is biology. Nobody’s gonna get it right from the start and, and I think those are very important points that we can allude to, to have more representation to have more equality. And then this will lead to more quotes from us from the global south. With changing of terminology. Right, because quotes, we always quote southern Western scientists or some Western policymaker or some Western historian, we never quote people from our culture, our traditions, we don’t we feel that it’s not worthy, it is worthy if we make it worthy. If we don’t think it’s worthy, nobody else is gonna think it’s worthy. So we need to shift it started quoting our people, and from our culture and our history and our traditions. We and this will develop into citations that I want to cite something from my tradition, yes, it may not be out there in English. That’s okay. To me, it’s important. I’m going to cite it and that’s how you create the momentum. And then thirdly, terminology, terms we need to change the terms you know, terms and words and language shapes how we think. And unfortunately, we all speak in English and that language is already shaping how we think or about ourselves, the world around us in a very limited version. And that’s what we need, we need to change the terminology like I hate using Word Global South Global North, or developed and developing or first world and third world, all these are words that box us and limit us. So we need to come up with our own terminology and proudly say, you know, I want to use this term, and this is what it means. And then it gets people catch, it becomes catchy and catches up. So we have opportunities to do this. And if we change the language and the terms, slowly, we change the mindset and the frameworks, and this is systems change. This is what the world needs today. And we can be the leaders in that.

Joy Owango:

So you’re a member of our OWSD, the Organization for Women in the global south in the developing world. You’re a member of the Jordan chapter. Take me through how the organization has not only worked with you and supported you in promoting literacy amongst girls in Jordan, and also the Middle East and North Africa as well.

Dr. Rana Dajani:

Yeah, so OWSD Which is the acronym has been fantastic, and in giving a, let’s say, a framework, and an authoritative body to support the work that we’re doing, and really to be creative and innovative enough to realize that it’s not just about what you do in your lab and what you do in your classroom, it’s about how you serve your community. So celebrating, we love reading in that context, as important work that will lead to doing better science in the long run. Because it’s about, you know, we love reading is about building critical thinking skills, read our language and your native language, and you can become more creative, being proud of who you are, you know, and so on. And so OWSD in that sense, you know, disseminating our successes. Sharing the platform to talk about We love reading and what’s happening. And to reach more countries, more women around the world has been really, really important in We love reading, spreading as well, and became a role model for other woman scientists to think how they can serve their community as well.

Joy Owango:

Yeah. And now, as we’re finalizing our podcast, I just want to go back to your book. And what key message, or takeaway Do you have? Do you hope your readers will gain from the five scarves? And what actions would you like to inspire the readers to take after reading the book?

Dr. Rana Dajani:

Yeah, well, first of all, read, read, read, read, reading is very important, right. So always read your book, read to yourself, read to the children read. Second, remember that your DNA is different from anyone else that has ever lived, that lives today that will ever live in the future. So you are special, you are very unique, and therefore you have something to give to the world. So find a challenge in your community that bothers you and start thinking of how you can solve it. And don’t think you’d have to change the world. Just think what you can do today in your, in your home in your community, something small, and that will then change into something bigger, so be that butterfly. And remember, if you can dream it, then it’s then it’s possible, right? So have the confidence, Trust yourself, trust that gut feeling inside of you. And lastly, write, write your story. Keep a diary now and at some point, make it into a book you owe it not just to yourself to write about your story, but you owe it to future generations to hear your story from you. Because if you don’t write it, somebody else is going to write your story and you can’t trust what they’re gonna write about. Or they’re going to write their story. And that becomes the role model. So we always generation to write our own stories. And don’t say, Oh, who am I? No, like I said, you’re special, you have a fantastic story that young people need and not just young woman young men need to read about so they can be inspired for their own lives, and to support those people around them to make a difference. So be the voice right and be the butterfly of change.

Joy Owango:

Oh, well, I think that’s how you’re going to finish be the butterfly of change. Rana. This was such an amazing interview. I love every moment of it. You’re such an inspiration. I’m looking forward to when we’re going to publish it. And for sure this is going to inspire young girls and also young men, but particularly, it’s going to create an influence and a voice of change in the regions we are targeting mainly in North Africa and also in the Arab world. Thank you so much for this interview. Have a lovely day.

Dr. Rana Dajani:

Thank you very much.

Joy Owango:

Okay, bye for now.

Outro:

Thanks for joining us on today’s episode of Mazungumzo podcast, be sure to subscribe and follow us on all our channels for more updates and for candid stories by researchers, policymakers, high education leaders, and innovators on their journeys. See you in our next episode.

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