Hi, thank you for tuning in to NancyTalks podcast. I'm Nancy Okereke and I'm a historian. I do research on African societies and cultures, and I believe it's very important for us to have regular conversations about social and cultural issues because of how they affect us in one way or another. In this podcast, I'll be sharing my opinions on these issues especially as they intersect with gender. I'll be publishing a new episode every Sunday and you can always listen on Anchor or other platforms. In today's episode, which is basically introductory, I talk about why it's important for young people engage more in conversations on culture.

Culture is the way of life of a people. What this means is that culture is an embodiment of the way we live as a group of people, our perception of other people and things, our values, the way we respond in certain situations, who and what we believe in, amongst other things.

I talk about cultural issues a lot, and one of the reasons is because of how women are affected by certain cultural practices upheld by our different societies. From limiting gender roles to other harmful practices.

And then, I often hear people complain about the government and other issues in our society; sometimes, I take part in these conversations, too. But, I think we should do more than just complain. We should have intelligent conversations about these issues so we can examine where we've come from, where we are now and how to move forward from our present state.

I think we, as young people, should engage more in conversations like this because it's up to us to determine what our future would be like. It's even more important for women; we, as women, have to take up more space in the society - especially in leadership.

If you'd like to be a part of this conversation, please leave a message.

Thank you.