Next Women Generation: Recent Episodes
Next Women Generation
Next Women Generation is a platform that you can find inspiring stories of role models who break the ceiling that prevents women and girls from accessing equal rights and opportunities. We hope that these podcasts will help young people to find strength and hope through listening to these inspiring stories of young leaders. Together we can build inclusive communities and achieve gender equality. Read more on our website: https://the-nwg.com/
Rosanich Sou (Rose) is the Partner Director at Httpool, handling the TikTok Cambodia market and managing overall strategies and growth of TikTok for Business in Cambodia. She is a marketing strategist, university lecturer, and social supporter. Rose is one of the finalists for the Women of the Future Awards Southeast Asia 2019. Obtaining her Master of Science in International Marketing Management from the University of Leeds Business School in 2017, she has been a marketing professional for more than eight years, focusing on partnership management, strategic planning, creatives and multimedia, client service, and new business. She has lectured first- and second-year students since 2014 around the areas of marketing, critical thinking, and writing. Throughout her education and career, she has also reached out to youth through public speaking, mentorships, training, and such, via many different projects and programs to develop Cambodian human resources from pre to post-tertiary levels. As a feminist, Rose devotes her time and makes an effort to produce an impact on women's profiles, values, and perceptions, on various levels, personally and professionally, through communication and leadership. Visit our website here: https://the-nwg.com/rosanich-sou/
Sochenda Aok is an environmentalist and content creator. She runs the ZEROW, an initiative that raises awareness of people on zero waste lifestyle and climate change. She is also known as Cambodia’s Zero Waste Girl. Sochenda inspires people by showing them a zero-waste lifestyle and encourages people to learn more about the lifestyle via her digital content on social media.
Kimsy Tor is a mathematician and an assistant professor of the ICT program at the American University of Phnom Penh. She is also a math teacher at AUPP-Foxcroft High School. She was the only student who graduated high school with a grade ‘A’ in 2010. After high school graduation, Kimsy spent many years abroad, earning degrees in mathematics in the United States and France. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the United States, a Master’s in Applied Mathematics, and a PhD in Computational Statistics from France. Over the years, she has developed expertise in Statistics, Probability, Data Science, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligent.
Diana Quintero Giraldo is the co-founder of BIVE, a social enterprise that facilitates access to high-quality healthcare services for 21,000 low-income and rural people in Colombia. She is a social innovator and passionate about unleashing the power of entrepreneurship to build sustainable solutions for the most pressing social challenges, especially in the fields of access to healthcare, agriculture, and rural development. Diana holds a Master of International Development Policy from Duke University, USA.
Sotheapanha Theng is the co-founder of 606 Digital, a media start-up in Phnom Penh. Also, she is a producer and director of Digital Noodle Development Innovation. Panha received the Women of the Future Southeast Asia Awards in 2021. Phana started her career in the finance sector and later found her passion in the media and communication sector. Her work has been shown internationally and won many awards.
Sovan Srun is the CEO of Edemy, an education technology company working to promote equal access to quality education for everyone. Edemy develops e-learning technology, including a mobile application called Tesdopi that enables personalized learning experiences for students and data-driven tools for teachers and schools. Once a teacher herself, Sovan believes that anyone can learn if provided with enough time and support, a belief that everyone at Edemy shares. Sovan is passionate about helping young teenagers to reach their fullest potential in their education and career. Her portfolios include authoring a Major and Career Guidebook for high school students and numerous educational projects. A Fulbright Scholar, Sovan holds an MBA in Social Entrepreneurship from Colorado State University.
Jolyda is a financial management and investment specialist working in Cambodia. Jolyda is the co-founder of Project Inspire, which builds the capacity of young Cambodians on businesses, start-ups, and soft skills. She has a master’s degree in law and diplomacy with a business focus from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a certificate in negotiation from Harvard Law School.
Mary Helda Akongo is the Fundi Girls Lead of the Fundi Bots, working on accelerating science learning in Africa. She’s the founder of Roaring Doves, a community of online and offline violence survivors who come together to speak out, inspire, and support one another. Mary Helda is the survivor of gender-based violence herself. She has won the World Bank #Blog4Dev writing competition for sharing her gender-based violence experience and her work with Roaring Doves. Mary Helda believes that technology and design can positively influence women’s social, political, and economic development in Africa.
Channary Ny 's the country manager of the She Investment. She has worked on gender equality and anti-trafficking with non-governmental organizations in Cambodia. She joined the She Investment in 2021. She is passionate about women’s economic empowerment in Cambodia.
Sokhadeva Chanthet is the Deputy Director of the Department of Rural Health Care of the Ministry of Rural Development. She has worked on water, sanitation, and hygiene since 2016. Sokhadeva holds a master’s degree in public health from the University of Melbourne.
Somountha Mith is the Deputy Director of the Department of Rural Water Supply of the Ministry of Rural Development. Somountha received a master’s degree from Chaing Mai University. She has worked on gender and natural resource management, climate change adaptation and disaster management, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), and international development. Somountha commits to promoting women’s leadership and gender equality through her career.
**Sovattha Neou is the Country Director of CARE Cambodia. She has worked on community development, good governance, water and sanitation, and gender equality with the nonprofit sector in Cambodia for almost two decades. Prior to her role at CARE Cambodia, Sovattha was the Executive Director of WaterSHED for nearly four years.
This interview is part of the HerRoles Campaign, co-organized by the WaterAid Cambodia and Next Women Generation. HerRoles Campaign aims to raise awareness of the public on women’s roles and leadership in the WASH sector in Cambodia.**
**Bernadin Sang is the Business Development Manager of the Tiger Water Solutions. Prior to this role, Bernadin has worked with public and nonprofit sectors in Cambodia on water, sanitation, and hygiene. She started her career as a teacher. Currently, Bernadin is an active member of the Women in WASH Network.
This interview is part of the HerRoles Campaign, co-organized by the WaterAid Cambodia and Next Women Generation. HerRoles Campaign aims to raise awareness of the public on women’s roles and leadership in the WASH sector in Cambodia.**
Many Dy is the Country Manager of Engineers Without Borders Australia. She works to increase sustainable access to safe, hygienic, appropriate WASH and assistive technology solutions for communities living in hardest reach and/or challenging environments in Cambodia. Many has worked in the health sector including waster and sanitation, HIVAIDS, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin for over 20 years in Cambodia, Timor Leste, and Myanmar.
**This interview is part of the HerRoles Campaign, co-organized by the WaterAid Cambodia and Next Women Generation. HerRoles Campaign aims to raise awareness of the public on women’s roles and leadership in the WASH sector in Cambodia.
Spandana Palaypu is the founder and CEO of Zoeasy, a Dubai-based startup supporting blue-collar job seekers to find the right employment opportunities in the UAE. Spandana is also the Vice Curator of Global Shapers Dubai of the World Economic Forum. She was featured on Forbes 30 under 30, Forbes 50 Startups, Ahlan 2019’s Most Influential, and One Young World. Spandana is a recipient of the Duke of Edinburgh Award and World Challenger, where she assists in building schools and teaching in Tanzania. Her initiative, Zoeasy, has won a few challenges, including Lead 2030’s United Nations SDG Challenge and Expo Live’s Innovation Impact Program.
Bopha Pen is the CEO of Rithypul Co., Ltd, a private company providing financial education for Cambodian youth and the community. She also is a board member of the Federation of Education Service in Cambodia and the country lead of YSEALI Women Leadership Academy. Before becoming the CEO of Rithypul Co., Ltd, Bopha worked with a few local non-governmental organizations and private companies in Cambodia. Bopha wants to promote the livelihood of the community through strengthening financial literacy knowledge.
Thlang Sivchheng is a co-founder and partner of HT& P Partners, a professional firm providing tax, audit and accounting, and advisory services. She worked for Grant Thornton Law & Associates and BDO Cambodia, a member of international firms, for eight years before she came out and set up her own practice in 2017. She earned her Master of Science in Accounting and Finance from Bangor University in the UK. Currently, she is an Active Fellow Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) and Kampuchea Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Auditors (KICPAA).
Erika Mison is the talk show host, Making a Difference, in the Philippines. She is also the founder of Helping Heart Organization and a member of the Local Youth Development Council. In her talk show, Erika centers the discussion around youth engagement in social development in the Philippines. She interviewed a range of people from youth activists to older adults working to bring changes to the Pilipino society.
Zarangis Huseynova is the founder of WoWoman, a startup providing mentorship and training to female entrepreneurs based in Azerbaijan. Since the establishment, WoWoman has trained more than 10,000 women from Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Middle Easter. Zarangis is also the founder of Speak Glocal, an educational organization providing English language training to teachers. She also founded the W Space, a coffeeshop and rental space in Baku, Azerbaijan. Zarangis started her first business when she was 18-year-old with $200. Zarangis talked about her startup at One Young World 2018. She was featured on Forbes 30 under 30 Europe 2019.
Sreylin Meng is the CEO and co-founder of Smart Farm Assistance, a technology company solving agricultural problems. Her company's mission is to support farmers through innovation and technology.
Pauv Chandavin is the co-founder and general manager of Health:D Cam, a digital health platform. Health:D Cam provides health and hospital information to Cambodians through its online platform. She co-founded this platform after hearing problems faced by her friends and co-workers. Before starting Health:D Cam, Davin has worked with non-governmental organizations in Cambodia for many years.
Sokkheang Sorn is a video producer. She has worked in the media field since 2013, starting from volunteering at a non-governmental organization in Phnom Penh. Sokkheang has developed her interest in media and communication after listening to her friend’s experience in this field. She has worked with the radio and TV stations in Phnom Penh. Currently, she is a producer of two programs, including Khmer Insider and The Legacy.
Zizipho Ndevu is a podcaster and TV presenter based in South Africa. On her podcast, Hey Ziz Podcast, Zizipho discusses a number of crucial topics, including mental health and pursuing purpose. Previously, Zizipho was a TV presenter at Joburg Today. She interviewed a range of guests from government officials to local and internationally acclaimed celebrities. Zizipho was brought up by her dedicated mother, who worked hard to make sure that she could have a chance to succeed. Her mother worked as a housekeeper to earn a living and support her study material. Experiencing adversity, Zizipho aspires to raise awareness of people on mental health and well-being.
Ronelle King is the founder and Director of the Life in Leggings: Caribbean Alliance Against Gender-based Violence. Life in Leggings aims to tackle the rape culture and gender-based violence in the Caribbean region. Ronelle was awarded the Queen’s Young Leaders Award in 2018 for her efforts to help end violence against women in the Caribbean region.
Sotheary YIM is an accomplished psychologist, psychotherapist, and peacebuilder, based in Cambodia. Sotheary is the co-author of Understanding Trauma in Cambodia, a guiding book on trauma in Cambodia. She published the book called Past and the Present of Forced Marriage Survivors; Experience toward Healing, which reflected her 15 years of experience working with survivors of forced marriage, trauma, and transitional justice.
Heang Omuoy is the founder and CEO of Camsolution Technology, a professional software development company in Phnom Penh. She is the Tux Global Institute president, a Japanese funded institute that provides education services in technology and engineering. She is the co-founder of the WeMall, an e-commerce company providing a sustainable e-market for women. Omuoy also co-founded the Tech for Kid to optimize students’ learning and innovation to realize their potential for the job market. She is the winner of the 2019 Cambodia’s Women in Tech Awards. Omuoy was awarded the Technovation 2018 Regional Ambassador of the Year at the Technovation Global World Pitch in San Francisco.
Thyda Thaung is the founder of the Thaung Enterprise, promoting Cambodia's natural salt product from southern Cambodia, Kampot province. Thyda founded the enterprise to make the lives of the community better and connect salt producers to the local and international markets. Thyda is the winner of the 2018 Cambodia's Young Women Entrepreneur Awards. She also won the second prize in the National Entrepreneurship Awards 2020, recognizing her strategic leadership to lead the enterprise.
Khazana Sihwaya is the founder of the 2030 Nutrition Project, which aims is to mobilize resources for scaling up nutrition in under-served schools and community health centers within Lusaka. She was born and raised in Lusaka, Zambia. A few years ago, after interning at a Children's Hospital, she developed a strong affinity and passion for maternal, child health, and nutrition issues. She believes that malnutrition and wasting during the 1,000 critical days of life can be eliminated only if mothers and caregivers are empowered with the right tools and awareness of nutrition and child health.
Jonathan Chu is a Director at 95% The Culture Consultants, a consultancy company aiming to turn workplaces into joy places. He believes that a workplace can genuinely be a joy place when people are not only results-oriented but people-conscious. That fuels him as he consults, facilitates, and manages culture transformation programs for clients such as Cyberview Sdn Bhd, Affin Hwang Capital, MNRB Group, Vivaki Sdn Bhd, and Naga DDB. Also, Jonathan is the Coordinating Ambassador of One Young World for the Asia 3 region. Passionate about youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, and education, he took on this role to support the quest to help more leaders to achieve the sustainable development goals for which they are passionate.
Caritta Seppa is the Co-founder and COO of Tespack, a company specialized in mobile energy to make everyone Energy Independent. She is currently responsible for the company’s day-to-day management and oversees the financials, operations, suppliers, import/export and closing partnerships, and managing investor relations and capital raising. Caritta was selected as one of the Top 100 Women in Wearables in 2018, awarded as Top 10 Entrepreneur Under 30 in 2017 by Global YE Awards, and one of the Winning Women Entrepreneurs in Europe 2017 by EY. She was awarded as one of the Top 10 Women in Tech 2017 by WSC and Craigs Newmark. She is the winner of the WSC competition Finland 2017 and Global Female Founders Start Tel Aviv competition 2016. She was shortlisted by Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2018 under the “Industry” category.
Priya Prakash is a healthcare entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of HealthSetGo. Under her leadership, the organization, in a span of 4 years has become India's largest healthcare organization for schools that currently operates in over 77+ cities across the country, impacting 250,000 students and parents. She has been recognized as Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia & India - Healthcare & Sciences and has been the recipient of the Global Citizen Prize, Cartier Women's Initiative Awards, and Unilever Young Entrepreneur Award. Priya is the Founding Curator of the Gurgaon Hub of the World Economic Forum and a Member of the Future Generations Commission on Health and Climate Change. Additionally, she’s a State Level Olympic Weightlifting Champion, avid health blogger, and has been featured in various national and international publications for her work. Priya holds a degree in Mathematics from Lady Shri Ram College and education in Social Entrepreneurship from INSEAD. Read her full story here: https://the-nwg.com/2020/10/22/priya-prakash/
Fatoumatta L. Kassama is a social entrepreneur based in The Gambia. She is the founder of Girls’ Pride, a social enterprise aiming to address period poverty in the Gambia. Fatoumatta is the founder of Eye Care for All, aiming to eradicate preventable and avoidable blindness. The Eyes Care for All provides free individualized home-based eye care services and community screenings for the less privileged living with Glaucoma in her community. She is the co-founder of Prospect for Girls. This non-profit organization provides vocational skills training for women and girls, including tailoring, driving, food services, photography, hairdressing, makeup, and graphic design. Read her full story here: https://the-nwg.com/2020/10/15/fatoumatta-l-kassama/
Arizza Nocum is the Co-Founder and President of KRIS, a non-profit organization that utilizes education as a pathway to peace in the Philippines. She is one of five global recipients of Zonta International's Young Women for Public Affairs Award. Arizza is one of the youngest nominees to the list of 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World. She is also one of ten young leaders hand-picked by the former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to eradicate violent extremism through the Extremely Together initiative. Read her full story here: https://the-nwg.com/2020/05/14/arizza-nocum/
Taichi Ichikawa is the co-founder of World Road Inc. and the director of World Dream Project, based in Japan. “Building the world into a single school” is the vision of himself and the company. To achieve the vision, he is currently working on a worldwide education book project called World Dream Project, which gathers 196 dreams with stories from 196 countries into one book promoting SDGs. The book will be published in 2021 and it’s planned to distribute schools all over Japan and also launch worldwide to become a next-gen’s textbook. Read his story here: https://the-nwg.com/2020/09/13/taichi-ichikawa/
Beatriz Gonzales is a 24-year old mental health advocate. She is best known for her speech titled “The Not Valedictory Address,” where she debunked the common notions of what a Valedictorian should be and tackled issues concerning Mental Health. She is continuously doing her part in spreading awareness and eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health by giving talks and working with institutions and individuals who share her passion for this cause. Beatriz is also an artist. She started drawing when she was three and never stopped ever since. Read her story here: https://the-nwg.com/2020/05/04/beatriz-gonzales/
Thinzar Shun Lei Yi is a winner of the Women of the Future Southeast Asia Award 2019. She hosts the Under 30 Dialogue, which is a TV show in Myanmar. Her show discusses various topics concerning politics, youth participation, and democratic development in Myanmar. Shun Lei is passionate about promoting equal rights and opportunities for each individual in Myanmar, especially political rights and opportunities for marginalized groups such as women and youth. Read her story here: https://the-nwg.com/2020/05/09/thinzar-shunlei-yi/
Margianta Surahman Juhanda Dinata is the founder and Executive Director of Emancipate Indonesia. Emancipate Indonesia focuses on modern slavery issues, particularly forced marriage, forced labour exploitation, and forced sexual exploitation in Indonesia. His passion for promoting the rights and dignity of people living under privilege has been developed through his life experience, being raised by a strong single mother. He also serves as a member of the Youth Advisory Panel for UNFPA Indonesia and a One Young World Ambassador. Read his story here on our website: https://the-nwg.com/2020/08/30/margianta-s-j-d/
Brighton Kaoma is the award-winning social entrepreneur and environmentalist, based in Zambia. Brighton started his activism at the age of 14 when he and his friended co-hosted a radio program to raise awareness of people on environmental issues. In 2014, he co-founded the Agents of Change Foundation Zambia, a nonprofit that gives young people training in radio journalism, leadership skills, and environmental and ethical issues. Brighton has worked with UNICEF as a Climate Ambassador and is a Global Youth Ambassador at Children's Radio Foundation. He was honored with the Queen's Young Leader Award by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015. In the following year, he received the WWF International President’s Awards. Read his story here: https://the-nwg.com/2020/09/21/brighton-kaoma/
Sotheavy AT is the winner of the Women of the Future Southeast Asian Awards 2020. She is the founder of Think Plastic, which is a social media campaign to raise awareness of people on plastic usage and environmental pollution in Cambodia. Her campaign page, Think Plastic, has more than 97,000 followers. She produced more than 80 videos on topics related to plastics and pollution. Each of Sotheavy’s videos encourages people to discuss environmental pollution caused by plastics and reaches thousands of people across Cambodia. During COVID-19, Sotheavy creates another campaign, Stay Home, to raise awareness of people on COVID-19 and to share necessary information related to COVID-19. Read her story here: https://the-nwg.com/2020/06/07/sotheavy-at/
Muygech SOK is the Principle Architect and Founding Director of BMK Architects. Muygech is the finalist of the Women of the Future Awards Southeast Asia 2020. Muygech started her own design studio based in Phnom Penh in 2016, BMK Architects after she completed her master’s degree from the UK. Her vision is to bring betterment to your life through good design. Read her story here: https://the-nwg.com/2020/07/10/muygech-sok/
Sara Rajabli is an award-winning social entrepreneur, based in Azerbaijan. She is the founder of BUTA Art & Sweets which is the first social enterprise working to promote employment opportunities for women with special needs in Azerbaijan. Sara launched the BUTA Art & Sweets with 85 Euros bootstrapping. The platform involves 20 women with special needs, having more than 40 sweet menus, and cooperates with more than 70 companies and organizations. Also, Sara is the founder of Social Business Youth Center, aiming to provide the necessary skills and tools to young people on social entrepreneurship and support young people to launch their initiatives. Within two years, the Social Business Youth Center becomes the biggest online mentorship program on social entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan, accepting more than 5500 applications and more than 3500 participants. During COVID-19, she founded the Bir Fincan Kitab in July 2020, aiming to develop critical thinking of young people through organizing book discussions, meetings with writers, sharing thoughts on books in online and offline platforms. Within two months, the Fir Fincan Kitab has 200 memberships. Sara is the winner of the Eurasian Regional Startup Awards that recognizes her leadership and contribution to promoting employment opportunities of women with special needs. She is the first young social entrepreneur to receive awards from the President of Azerbaijan and the winner Social Entrepreneurship Nomination Award by the Ministry of Economy and State Agency on SMEs. Read her story here: https://the-nwg.com/2020/09/17/sara-rajabli/