If you’ve read my last post, you’d know that I’ve been challenging myself to step out of the edit suite and into the interviewer’s chair. After two decades of being the one who makes others sound polished, finding my own voice has been a significant part of my learning journey for the past year or so.
My latest project, a mini-series called Asia Centre’s Big Ideas, felt like the perfect opportunity to hone my interviewing chops. In this series, I had the privilege of interviewing Dr. James Gomez, the Regional Director and founder of Asia Centre – a Civil Society Organization (CSO) based in Asia.
Our goal was to document resilience in practice: how an Asia-based multinational CSO operates successfully even within a resource-constrained environment.
All the Moving Parts
While I am still navigating the art of interviewing, I haven’t abandoned my roots. For this series, I didn’t just step behind the microphone; I also produced and edited every single episode. This project was the sum of many moving parts—researching the stories, conducting the interviews, and doing the close editing required to deliver a polished end product.
A Deep Dive into Asia’s CSO Sector
If you are interested in the inner workings of the CSO/NGO sector in Asia, this series offers a rare look at a CSO that successfully navigates multiple countries. We explore everything from funding models to the “operational code” that keeps a CSO moving forward.
Here is a breakdown of our deep dive:
Episode 1: The Donut Model: A Self-Funding Architecture for Civil Society in the Trump 2.0 Era
We explore innovative self-funding strategies that allow CSOs to remain sustainable in a shifting political landscape.
Episode 2: Freedom from Academia: How Unencumbered Research Empowers Civic Action
A look at how moving beyond traditional academic constraints can lead to more impactful, real-world civic action.
Episode 3: Competence, Culture, and Competition: The Operational Code of Asia Centre
In the final installment, we pull back the curtain on the internal culture and operational standards that drive success.
Reflections on Reinvention
Stepping into the role of interviewer for this series has been one of the most valuable professional development experiences I’ve had. It has reinforced my belief that an “old dog” can indeed learn new tricks, provided they are willing to leave their comfort zone and embrace the principles of self-directed learning.