Hear THE Voices...
Voices of the Belt & Road tells the stories of people that are part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It demystifies the initiative by enabling you to listen to the voices of experts and policy-makers, but also the very people affected by the initiative day in and day out.
It has become fashionable to conceptualize the BRI through large numbers. But we hear very little of the people and stories behind the initiative. BRI needs stories, it needs faces and it needs voices. Voices of the Belt and Road is your chance to hear them.
In this podcast, Sebastian Murdoch-Gibson, a research fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada discusses the ‘Polar Silk Road’ and its potential consequences for the Arctic and Nordic countries. He also talks about his travels, where he met a wide variety of actors who are involved with proposed Belt and Road projects including a former tech entrepreneur and creator of Angry Birds who wants to link Helsinki and Tallinn via a undersea tunnel.
Read MoreIn this podcast, Harriet Kariuki, a young analyst from Kenya who works at an investment firm in the region talks about China-Africa relations in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative. This includes topics such as Chinese investments in the Horn of Africa, the current debt build-up, the African startup scene, as well as integration amongst Chinese and Africans.
Read MoreBack in 2013 Manchester took a new and innovative approach to increase its commercial connectivity with China by establishing a unique vehicle to lead its China engagement strategy: the Manchester China Forum (曼彻斯特英中协会). Core to the Forum’s focus has been recognition of the importance that improved connectivity with China plays in delivering broader economic benefits to Manchester. In this podcast, we interview Rhys Whalley, Executive Director of the Manchester China Forum, who tells us more about the Forum and its work with China.
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