Doha Debates Podcast

Introducing the Doha Debates Podcast: A new debate every two weeks.Tackling the world’s most pressing issues, the podcast brings together people with starkly different opinions for an in-depth and human conversation that tries to find common ground. With a rotation of hosts and young guest voices from the Doha Debates ambassador program, join us for debate, dialogue and inspiration.

Note: This episode discusses suicide.In the final installment of our six-part series about the refugee experience, host Nelufar Hedayat talks to weightlifter, nurse and refugee Cyrille Tchatchet. A native of Cameroon, Cyrille first came to the UK in 2014 to compete in the Commonwealth Games. Feeling that it was too unsafe to return home, he became a refugee, experiencing both homelessness and depression. With support, Tchatchet went on to win multiple weightlifting titles, and became a mental health nurse. His story underscores some of the hardships that refugees face — and what can be achieved when people have the support and opportunity they need to succeed in their adopted countries.Listener challengeDuring this season of Course Correction, we're challenging you to reflect on different aspects of the refugee experience and share your thoughts with us.Our last challenge is a place for storytelling. If you are a refugee, our challenge is simple: Share your story with us. Tell us how you came to be displaced, what obstacles you face and what your hopes and dreams are for the future. Please share with us via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, or tweet directly to our host, Nelufar Hedayat.

More than 85 percent of refugees and asylum-seekers are hosted in developing countries, many of which neighbor the countries being fled. In this episode, host Nelufar Hedayat looks at the role that local communities can play in hosting refugees.Nelufar speaks with Rodaan Al Galidi, who talks about his experiences fleeing Iraq to start a new life in the Netherlands. UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and acclaimed Pakistani actor Mahira Khan tells Nelufar about her experiences meeting Afghan refugees in Pakistan.Listener challengeDuring this season of Course Correction, we're challenging you to reflect on different aspects of the refugee experience and share your thoughts with us.For today’s episode: Tell us about a time when you had the choice to welcome someone else into your social circle, What were the criteria you used to decide whether or not to let them in? If you did let them in, what enabled you to empathize with them?Please share with us via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, or tweet directly to our host, Nelufar Hedayat.

This week, a bonus episode: A town-hall-style discussion with Malala Yousafzai on the future of women's and girls' education in Afghanistan and other conflict areas.In the six months since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, many schools and universities have closed their doors to young women, and promises to reopen have gone unfulfilled. Education and equality advocate Malala Yousafzai joined students and Afghan refugees for a global town hall conversation at Qatar’s National Library, moderated by Doha Debates correspondent Nelufar Hedayat, on March 28, 2022. The audio from this discussion and audience Q&A examines the refugee experience, men's role in the fight for equality and the future of education.Malala became the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2014. After surviving a 2012 attempt on her life by the Pakistani Taliban, she created Malala Fund, an organization dedicated to fighting for every girl’s right to access to free, safe and quality education.

Jennifer Roberts, a senior education officer with UNHCR, talks to host Nelufar Hedayat about the 10 million refugee children worldwide who lack access to education, what it takes to educate displaced people and how some host countries are working to meet the challenge.Next, Nelufar speaks with Dr. Saleema Rehman, an Afghan refugee who received her medical degree in Pakistan. Dr. Rehman talks about what it was like to attend school as a refugee and the pride she has now that she's able to give back to her community.Finally, Nelufar speaks with Academy Award-winning actor Cate Blanchett about her experiences as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador advocating for refugees. Blanchett explains that educating refugee children and young adults provides opportunities to be leaders in rebuilding their homelands while also benefiting their host countries.Listener challengeDuring this season of Course Correction, we're challenging you to reflect on different aspects of the refugee experience and share your thoughts with us.For today’s episode: While not all of us have experience as a refugee, many of us know what it’s like to attend a new school. What’s something that a teacher said or did that made you feel welcome and accepted? How did that change your perception of the school? What are some tactics that could make it easier for newcomers to integrate into schools?Please share with us via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, or tweet directly to our host, Nelufar Hedayat.

In Part III of our season on refugees, we look at the mental-health toll of living as a refugee or an internally displaced person. Host Nelufar Hedayat speaks with an internally displaced Afghan woman about trying to care for herself and her children while living in a shipping container. She also examines different ways that refugees define and experience the trauma of conflict, and she shares stories from aid workers who help displaced persons process their experiences.Listener challengeDuring this season of Course Correction, we're challenging you to reflect on different aspects of the refugee experience and share your thoughts with us.For today’s episode: Have you been in a situation where you've had to worry about providing basic care for yourself or your family? What resources helped you through it? If you're a refugee, what was the moment you felt that your life stabilized enough to start thinking about your long-term hopes and dreams rather than daily survival?Please share with us via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, or tweet directly to our host, Nelufar Hedayat.

On this episode of our season chronicling the refugee experience, we’re focusing on bodily harm. What kinds of injuries do displaced people suffer, and what does it take to tend to those injuries — not just the ones that can be seen, but the invisible ones that might take longer to heal? This episode features a first-hand account from an internally displaced Afghan dealing with a long term foot injury.If you want to help those who have suffered from physical ailments while being displaced, you can learn more at the following links: The International Committee of the Red Cross Doctors Without Borders World Vision International Listener ChallengeDuring this season of Course Correction, we're challenging you to reflect on different aspects of the refugee experience and share your thoughts with us.For today’s episode: Tell us about a time when you made a difference for someone with a health problem, disability or chronic pain or illness, and what the outcome was. Please share with us via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, or tweet directly to our host, Nelufar Hedayat.

In the premiere episode of our season on the refugee journey, we'll take a closer look at the moment of displacement and its immediate aftermath. Hear from experts on what causes displacement, and what resources refugees and internally displaced persons have once they decide it's no longer safe to remain at home. This episode features the story of Mohammed Anwar, a Rohingya refugee who nearly lost his life on a fishing boat while fleeing violence in home country of Myanmar.Learn more about Anwar’s story.Listener ChallengeDuring this season of Course Correction, we're challenging you to reflect on different aspects of the refugee experience and share your thoughts with us.For today’s episode: Tell us about a time when you were in a difficult circumstance and needed help from a stranger. What was it like when you were in need? Did you repay the stranger’s kindness, and how did that feel? If you are a refugee yourself, have you experienced help from strangers?Please share with us via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, or tweet directly to our host, Nelufar Hedayat.

For the past two seasons of the Course Correction podcast, we’ve challenged ourselves to find ways to change the world. In season one, host Nelufar Hedayat conducted personal challenges to explore how individuals can have a real impact on global issues. In season two, she focused on listening to people she disagreed with in order to figure out how to bridge the gaps that divide us.This season, we’re focusing on a specific global challenge: Refugees. Why this single topic? Displacement of people is arguably one of the biggest humanitarian and geopolitical issues of our time. The United Nations estimates that there are 84 million forcibly displaced people around the world, and nearly 27 million of those are considered refugees. These numbers are the highest they have ever been. Course Correction has partnered with UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency, to illuminate all aspects of the refugee experience. The season will follow refugees and other forcibly displaced persons from the moment they leave their homes to their eventual resettlement or return, detailing arduous journeys that can sometimes last years or even decades.

Course Correction is proud to introduce listeners to The Long Game, a new sports-themed podcast that highlights stories of courage and conviction on and off the field.In this episode, The Long Game host and US Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad talks to Amy Mackinnon from Foreign Policy Playlist to introduce herself and the new podcast.The Long Game is a production of Doha Debates and Foreign Policy.