Create a community with your voice
The Vision
Sharing Voices. Bringing People Together
Aswatona is an educational, mentoring, and information program implemented by the association Yasmin Kollektiv. The program’s ambition is to connect and support podcasters within the WANA region (North Africa and West Asia), and beyond. The name Aswatona is Arabic for our voices; the overall idea is to build up a sustainable transnational network for Arabic-speaking podcasters to exchange and learn from one another on a peer-to-peer level within a safe environment. Our program will take place in 2023. It includes two workshops, regular meet’n’greets, and the production of twelve episodes of Aswatona Podcast in Arabic, which will be translated and dubbed into German and English. Join us and create a community with your voice.
The Idea
We have many ambitions. Four of them are particularly important to us.
Peer-to-Peer Learning
We draw attention to the differences and similarities of the region and aim in the long run to overcome disparities within and between the countries.
Strengthening women’s voices
We want to encourage topics that affect women. Therefore, Aswatona is a platform that promotes women’s voices to support their personal and professional development.
Safe Space for Exchange
We support a culture of public information and discussion, which leads to a more inclusive, stable, and equal society. We want to listen to each other and exchange our experiences and visions concerning global and regional challenges in different societies.
Breaking Stereotypes
We want to reach a diverse audience all over the world and question our patterns of thought. We publish in three languages to encourage transnational communication and establish a sustainable transnational network.
The Process
Aswatona Podcast Production
Our mentoring program offers a platform for participants to hone their skills, showcase their talents, and gain valuable experience in podcast production. We offer a unique opportunity for participants to collaborate and produce the Aswatona podcast. Within our program’s frame, our participants choose the format and topic for each episode related to the overall topic of gender. They work in small groups of 2-3 individuals from different countries. They exchange knowledge and have the support of our experts and a professional team of mentors along the way.
Workshop
Our Experts and Mentors brainstorm ideas with our participants in the workshops. The participants decide on the topic they want to deal with.
Teamwork
In teams of 2-3 our participants record and produce the episodes
Dubbing
After the scripts have been professionally translated, the episodes are recorded together with the participants and the dubbing artist.
Publishing
The episodes are then published to Aswatona podcast for the world to enjoy and share 🙂
The Medium
Podcast, a tool to create a community
Easy access, high potential, and a great impact, especially on the young generation – that’s what we think about podcasting. Furthermore, podcasts can provide a platform for marginalized communities to be heard and create a space for discussions and perspectives that are often underrepresented in mainstream media. Additionally, podcasts can be easily shared and distributed online, amplifying the reach and impact of activism efforts.
Aswatona Podcast
Our Top Rated Episodes
Episode : 10
Power Dynamics in Queer Relationships
What is the first thing that pops to your head when you hear the word power? Power and Power dynamics – a topic that is difficult to grasp. In this episode we explore the questions of how power dynamics affect us. In four chapters we take you with us through our thoughts and knowledge on the topic of power dynamics. Be curious what awaits you and listen in to our final episode from the Aswatona Podcast.
Episode : 06
Plan B Pill in the Levant region
My body, my choice is a political claim of women all around the world! But who can choose and what are the options? In this episode we shed light on the (missing) availability to the plan B pill in the Levant and some personal stories on its impact.
Episode : 07
Body Narratives (HER)
Women in the WANA region are telling stories of their bodies from a very personal perspective, body ownership and gender dynamics are two main pillars in the stories we are hearing in this episode
Episode : 03
Why your access to food is at risk?
One of the major global challenges of the 21st century is Food Security which threatens to impact the WANA region more than any other region across the globe. In this episode, we explained the issue with the help of experts and activists
What's Happening
Latest Updates & Articles
2023 Workshop Kick-off
Feedback & Transparency
What People Say About Us
A workshop in audio editing? A session on monetizing podcasts? Training in interview skills? – Ahead of the workshops, we ask our participants about their interests and what skill training they appreciate. We ask our participants and partners regularly for feedback. This gives us the opportunity to adapt the contents according to our participants’ essentials. Our aim is to provide support where it is really needed and to deal with criticism in an open and transparent way. Here are some quotes of our participants’ opinions after the first online workshop in March 2021
We asked the participants to what extent they agree with the following statements: Your baseline knowledge on a scale from 1-10
Baseline Knowledge 1-10 before 1st workshop
Baseline Knowledge 1-10 after 1st workshop
Audio recording
Podcast formats
Audio cutting
Post-production
Online recording
before 1st workshop
after 1st workshop
Audio recording
Podcast formats
Audio cutting
Post-production
Online recording
We also welcome your ideas and feedback!
We are constantly evolving, embracing new ideas, and creating new formats that benefit as many people as possible. Keep up to date on our social networks. We will also be offering online workshops and live sessions there in the future. If you have any ideas, criticism, or feedback, feel free to write to us on social media or send us an email.
We are nothing without our listeners
An engaging community is essential to any podcaster. We aim to build a community of listeners who want to actively participate in discussions and are not too shy to ask questions. Through social media, we want to offer a platform for vivid interactions and dialogue.