Season 2, Episode 2: Caitlin McNamara
This week Ella chats with the incredibly versatile writer and campaigner Caitlin McNamara. They explore their perspectives on privilege, belonging, societal value and knowing your worth.
Caitlin at a glance:
Caitlin is currently writing her first radio documentary (airing on BBC Radio 4 in April 2022), working as Director of Jude Kelly Studios, and campaigning on legal reform to better prosecute gender-based violence.
Show Notes:
The mundanity of joy
the limitations of self labelling
work denoting societal value
Belonging, Privilege and claiming your space
Cynicism, belonging in a female space and Woman of the year award
money, women, finance & knowing your worth
Activism and Money
Quotas
Advice for those 10 steps behind you
Listen to the show
Apple - https://apple.co/3tu2E6A
Spotify - https://spoti.fi/33FiobY
Mentioned in this episode:
https://www.judekellystudio.com/
Find Caitlyn:
https://www.instagram.com/caitlinmaymcnamara
Who is Caitlin McNamara?
Caitlin is a writer and campaigner living in London.
She has a Fd in Fine Art from Académie des Arts de la Ville Bruxelles, Belgium; a BA (Hons) in International Relations from the University of Sussex, England and Univerzita Karlova Prague, Czech Republic; and a PGDip in Arabic from SOAS University of London, England.
After graduating in 2010, she worked in costume on a Gerry Fox feature film in Marseille and studied French on the Erasmus programme in Bordeaux before moving to Syria to learn Arabic. Caitlin's time in Damascus coincided with the beginnings of the Arab Spring and she stayed to support the uprisings whilst working to produce an independent festival of visual art at The Danish Institute.
She had to leave Syria in 2012 due to the war and moved to Brussels to work as Digital Spokesperson at the UK Representation to the EU. She has also worked as Political Assistant at the British Embassy in Prague.
Caitlin left the British Foreign Office in 2015 and returned to London to work in journalism, with a focus on using film and audio to raise awareness about sociopolitical issues - specifically women’s rights, the illegal bombardment of medical facilities in conflict, and the repurposing of vacant buildings for social good. She has worked in production on BBC Two's daily news and current affairs TV programme, Newsnight; BBC World Service podcasts; BBC News Arabic Digital Documentaries, Heinrich Böll Stiftung Films; and Filmwave.
She was recruited as a writer for the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign during the 2016 EU Referendum and for Atalata - a social enterprise that works to increase the number of women in government worldwide.
When the last children’s hospital in Aleppo in 2016 was bombed, Caitlin led a media campaign that crowdfunded £250,000 in one week to restock the hospital. Off the back of this she was recruited by The Syria Campaign to work for the White Helmets between their London and Beirut offices. She accompanied the rescue group on a US tour of their Academy Award winning film to speak at the UN General Assembly Social Good Summit and worked on the group's 2017 Nobel Peace Prize nomination. Caitlin was part of a collaboration with Viral Thread to produce a video showing children dying from an illegal attack of sarin nerve gas, the film was seen by over 94 million people worldwide and the global outcry which this, and similar media coverage, generated led to an immediate response from the US government and raised over one million dollars in support. During Caitlin’s time with The Syria Campaign team, 59,000 stories about the White Helmets' lifesaving work were featured in major news outlets. She also contributed to their report on Russia’s disinformation campaign to cover up war crimes in Syria and a campaign to highlight the illegal bombing of health facilities in Syria.
Caitlin regularly collaborates on international performance, writing and art projects. In 2016, she co-curated the Czech Centre London's visual arts programme. In 2017, she performed in Theatre de Complicité’s Everything That Rises Must Dance at Somerset House in London. In 2018, she curated a free series of political learning events at SET Dalston - an arts and community charity of which she is a trustee. She has also worked for Art Dubai and Frieze Art Fair.
In 2019, Caitlin was recruited to lead Hay Festival's inaugural edition in Abu Dhabi. They built a free and multilingual education and outreach programme that reached students in 100+ local schools and universities; campaigned on freedom of expression issues in the UAE; and curated a successful public programme of literature, music and film. Caitlin has also worked on Hay Festival's Beirut 39 project celebrating new Arabic writing as well as for Edinburgh International Book Festival, BBC Arabic Festival, Oxford Literary Festival, Latitude's Literary Stage and The Laugharne Weekend.
Caitlin is currently writing her first radio documentary (airing on BBC Radio 4 in April 2022), working as Director of Jude Kelly Studios, and campaigning on legal reform to better prosecute gender-based violence.
This podcast was produced by RogueSpirit Productions - message to see how they can help you produce your podcast - david@roguespirit.co.uk
Support The Podcast
My DREAM is that everyone on this podcast gets paid - not only me and amazing producer, Rogue Spirit Podcasting, but also my guests.
Most of the people I speak with experience systematic oppression and give their time for free.
Yet I truly don’t believe that we can have true inclusion without money. Too much change-making happens at the expense of the change-maker.
With your help, I can make this dream a reality.
Becoming a monthly supporter will unlock bonus episodes about how I create the music for each guest.
