Based on experiences and lessons from the Southern African Rurality in Higher Education (SARiHE) project, this is the third episode of a three-part series reflecting on the potential of co-creative methodology to contribute to decolonial research approaches. Hosted by Jennifer Agbaire (Ibali researcher and Project Manager), members of the SARiHE team engage in further conversation exploring broader challenges around power – including the negotiation of funding regimes and multiple partnerships. This episode features Nathi Madondo (Academic Literacy lecturer) of Mangosuthu University of Technology and Kibbie Naidoo (Director of the Centre for Academic Staff Development in the Division for Teaching Excellence) of the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. It also features Sheila Trahar (Professor Emerita of International Higher Education), Lisa Lucas (Associate Professor in Higher Education and Co-Director of the Centre for Higher Education Transformations) and Sue Timmis (Associate Professor in Education) of the University of Bristol in the UK. The podcast series was produced by Jennifer Agbaire and Motunrayo Oladeji. For more about the SAHiRE project, visit SARiHE – Southern African Rurality in Higher Education. For other engagement activities from Ibali, visit: Knowledge Hub | Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies (open.ac.uk). 

Welcome to the second of a three-episode series with Ibali researcher and Project Manager, Jennifer Agbaire, in conversation with five team members of the Southern African Rurality in Higher Education (SAHiRE) project from the UK and South Africa -  Sue Timmis (Associate Professor in Education), Sheila Trahar (Professor Emerita of International Higher Education) and  Lisa Lucas (Associate Professor in Higher Education and Co-Director of the Centre for Higher Education Transformations) of the University of Bristol as well as Kibbie Naidoo (Director of the Centre for Academic Staff Development in the Division for Teaching Excellence) of the University of Johannesburg and Nathi Madondo (Academic Literacy lecturer) of  Mangosuthu University of Technology. Leading from the first episode on the background and decolonial perspectives informing the SAHiRE project, this episode focuses on the research design of working with participants as ‘co-researchers’. The conversation highlights issues around access and power as well as the processes of navigating important ethical implications and managing data analysis in context. This podcast series was produced by Jennifer Agbaire and Motunrayo Oladeji. For more about the SAHiRE project, visit SARiHE – Southern African Rurality in Higher Education. For other engagement activities from Ibali, visit: Knowledge Hub | Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies (open.ac.uk). 

Thank you for listening to Talking Story with Ibali. We are excited to bring you a series of this podcast hosted by Ibali researcher and Project Manager, Jennifer Agbaire. In this three-part series, Jennifer is joined by a dynamic team of researchers and scholars in South Africa and the UK - Kibbie Naidoo (Director of the Centre for Academic Staff Development in the Division for Teaching Excellence) of the University of Johannesburg and Nathi Madondo (Academic Literacy lecturer) of  Mangosuthu University of Technology in South Africa as well as  Sue Timmis (Associate Professor in Education), Sheila Trahar (Professor Emerita of International Higher Education) and  Lisa Lucas (Associate Professor in Higher Education and Co-Director of the Centre for Higher Education Transformations) of the University of Bristol. Throughout the series, the team shares experiences and lessons from their innovative project, titled Southern African Rurality in Higher Education (SARiHE). This introductory episode highlights the background and decolonial aims of SAHiRE. The team also introduces their interesting positioning of student participants as ‘co-researchers’ within an eclectic methodological approach involving storytelling.  You can find out more about SARiHE here:   SARiHE – Southern African Rurality in Higher Education. For other engagement activities from Ibali, visit: Knowledge Hub | Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies (open.ac.uk).  This podcast series was produced by Jennifer Agbaire and Motunrayo Oladeji.

This is the second of a two-episode series featuring Carmen Martinez Vargas in conversation with Ibali researcher, Faith Mkwananzi.  The series was produced by Jennifer Agbaire and Motunrayo Oladeji. Carmen is a transdisciplinary scholar whose work is focused on the politics of knowledge and knowledge inequalities embedded in higher education practices, especially focusing on participatory research and the Capability Approach. Her research and writing are rooted in a lifelong ongoing conversation between Western and Southern thinkers but especially embedded in recent years within decolonial, cultural hybridity and intersectional lines of thought. In this episode, Carmen shares her thoughts on sustainability in relation to storytelling and participatory approaches. You can get in touch with Carmen by sending a message to martinezvargas.carmen@gmail.com⁠.

We bring to you a two-episode series of Talking Story with Ibali, involving a conversation between Ibali researcher, Faith Mkwananzi, and Carmen Martinez Vargas.  Carmen is a transdisciplinary scholar whose work is focused on the politics of knowledge and knowledge inequalities embedded in higher education practices, especially focusing on participatory research and the Capability Approach. Her research and writing are rooted in a lifelong ongoing conversation between Western and Southern thinkers but especially embedded in recent years within decolonial, cultural hybridity and intersectional lines of thought. In this first episode, she talks about the transdisciplinary potential of storytelling work. If you would like to continue the conversation, you can drop Carmen a message: martinezvargas.carmen@gmail.com. This series was produced by Jennifer Agbaire and Motunrayo Oladeji.

Hosted by Alison Buckler and produced by Motunrayo Oladeji and Jennifer Agbaire, this episode of Talking Story with Ibali features Baeletsi Tsatsi, a South Africa-based storyteller, facilitator and writer. Baeletsi’s stories are distributed by FunDza, Cover2Cover and Book Dash.  In 2020, she was a storyteller in residence at Play Africa's African Storytelling Project, happening in collaboration with ASSITEJ SA. In 2021 she worked with Nal'ibaliand Cadbury to ensure that children feel the generosity of stories. The stories, including an Africanized classic and a Christmas story can be found on the Cadbury website. Her recent storytelling work includes co-hosting the Creative Duets performance, a creative exchange between Welsh and Sub-Saharan Africa Storytellers birthed by Beyond the Border. Her latest nonfiction writing can be found in Anxious Joburg - The Inner Lives of a Global South City. She is currently a Head Storyteller and Curator at Story and Breath, a storytelling company that tells stories that entertain, educate and enlighten.  Among other things on this episode, Baeletsi talks about the power of storytelling to support a problem-solving perspective and the need to develop a language to better articulate the benefits of story work.