For the #12 episode of We Belong, we are back in the UK to meet Adelaide Damoah RWA FRSA, a British painter and performance artist of Ghanaian descent who uses her body as a “living paintbrush”, the starting point for much of her work. Through arts, she addresses feminism, colonialism, religion and spirituality. As a descendant of Ghanaian parents, Adelaide Damoah has always had a particular interest in colonial history and knew that eventually she would explore the relationship between Ghana and Britain in her work. In 2016, she traveled to Ghana looking for old photographs of her family  from the colonial era: it was at this time that she found a very powerful image of her maternal great grandmother which was taken in 1920, when Ghana was the British Gold Coast. In conversation with Adelaide, we discussed her relationship with her body and how she uses arts to discuss feminism, colonialism, racism and identities. Key: Rachel Cargle’s Ted Talk: “Coming to Terms with Racism’s Inertia: Ancestral Accountability”

For the #11 episode of We Belong, we traveled to Belgium to meet Sara Lou, a YouTuber and Digital Marketing Strategist. Along with her two sisters, she is part of the “Molem Sisters” collective from Molenbeek, which aims to share positive narratives from this Brussels municipality. In 2019, she did the cover of the song ‘Balance ton quoi’ by Belgian singer Angèle, echoing the #MeToo Movement, to denounce the Islamophobia experienced by veiled women, such as cyber-harassment or discrimination in hiring. The video quickly created a buzz, exceeding 800.000 views. Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xs-EkCW7Ik In conversation with Sara-Lou, we explored the different roles she covers as a full-time Mother, a part-time Entrepreneur and Youtuber. She spends 80% of her time in Molenbeek and she delivers trainings on digital marketing, available here: http://zakietsaralou.com/ Key: Book “The Art of Disruption: A Manifesto for Real Change”, by Magid Magid.

For the #10 episode of We Belong, we traveled to the UK  to meet inspiring Fatima Zaman, peace activist and advocate at the Kofi Annan Foundation. After witnessing the London 7/7 Bombings, Fatima has dedicated her activism toward building peace, security and overcoming extreme violence in conflict. Having served as an Official to the UK Government, her work involved advising Government Ministers and the late 7th Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan. In conversation with Fatima, we discussed her work to enhance and uphold human rights, her commitment to deliver justice and her achievements, including being named as the UK’s Asian Woman of Achievement and being invited to the Inaugural Class of Obama Scholars, at the behest of President Obama and Michelle Obama. Key: Obama Foundation Scholarships and Volunteering https://www.obama.org/get-involved/

For the #9 episode of We Belong, we traveled to Italy to meet Giada Zhang, a female CEO at the head of a family business called Mulan. At only 23 years old, Giada is a successful entrepreneur and she was recognised a Forbes 30 under 30. Her company is the first to distribute oriental food prepared in Italy to a large scale in supermarkets and restaurants. In conversation with Giada, she recalled her childhood in Italy, what it means to be an immigrant daughter, as her parents moved from China to Italy, and how she turned her diversity into a strength: today she is winning the heart of Italians through food and cultural exchange. We hope that her success at such a young age will inspire many more young women to dare leadership and entrepreneurship. Key: book ‘Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action’ by Simon Sinek

On the #8 episode of We Belong, we are in Germany with Rebecca Korang, a performing artist, dancer and choreographer based in Berlin. Together with theatre maker Grace Holme, she initiated a community dance theatre project called 'Utopia Now Theater'. Since 2019 Rebecca Korang is curating the art exhibition at African Food Festival Berlin, aiming to build a growing network among artists from Africa and the African Diaspora in Berlin and beyond. She is also working between Berlin and Accra, Ghana, for artistic research and a long term project that deals with plastic-recycling and creative exchange.     In conversation with Rebecca, she explained her constant quest for identity that reflects her performance art, she recalled her travel back to Ghana to find her roots and the difficulty in feeling German and being perceived as such as a black woman.    Key: book ‘The Disoriented’ by Amin Maalouf.

For this new episode of We Belong, we travel to Sweden to meet Evin Incir, a newly elected Member of the European Parliament. Kurdish descent, she recalled her early years in Sweden, growing up in a suburb of the city of Gothenburg and engaging in politics at a very young age. Becoming an MEP at the 2019 European Elections was for Evin a dream that came true. She has since been serving on the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.     In conversation with Evin, we discussed her career, the current challenges that the European Union faces in light with the pandemic crisis and the need for more solidarity in Europe.    Key: Schuman Traineeship at the European Parliament, Deadline June 30.

For the #6 episode of We Belong, we take you to Belgium to meet the mind behind a million visitors website, Hanan Challouki! She is the managing partner of the creative agency Allyens and the original founder of the online platform Mvslim.com. Focused on inclusive communication, she spends her time developing strategies and campaigns for companies like Brussels Airport, BNP Paribas and Unilever. She's also listed as one of the Forbes 30 under 30 for her innovative thinking. In conversation with Hanan, we recalled her childhood in Anvers and the whole journey of Mvslim.com, that started from a student idea and became so big that she decided to sell it a month ago in order to focus on her next steps!   Key of the day: Plural Plus Video Festival by UNAOC Deadline June 19

For the #5 episode of We Belong, we take you to the UK to meet Gena-mour Barrett, a journalist and Editorial Creative Manager at Netflix UK, where she curates the Netflix IX interview series. As a freelancer, she has bylines at Elle, The Guardian, Refinery 29 and BBC Newsbeat. She was listed as one of 2019’s 30 Under 30 for Media and Marketing in Europe by Forbes and she was a recipient of the 2018 Roxane Gay fellowship for a woman of colour writing fiction with Jack Jones Literary Arts.   In conversation with Gena-mour, we dived into her personal story, her childhood in South London, the lessons learnt and her passion for writing. We also discussed humour and satire on Media, representation and diversity on the entertainment industry and, of course, Europe and her views on Brexit!   Key: Netflix series “Dear White People”

For the #4 episode of We Belong, we are back to France to meet Linh Lan Dao, a French TV Journalist for Franceinfo télévision. She works at the fact-checking TV program “Vrai ou Fake” and she uses arts to explain the news on the Youtube channel “Draw my news”. Following the broadcast of a TV show by two French humorists Kev Adams and Gad Elmaleh, she denounced prejudice and racism targeting Asians in a video that made 2.5 million views. She is committed against anti-Asian racism and she has been particularly vocal since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, shading the light on anti-Asian discriminations, verifying news and tweeting with the hashtag #Imnotavirus. We discussed about her passion for journalism and drawing, the importance to giving a voice to Asian communities living in France and representation on Media.  Keys: Harvard free online courses (https://online-learning.harvard.edu/catalog/free), British Council Free Online Courses (https://www.futurelearn.com/courses) and the Atlas Corps Fellowship Deadline May 1st (https://atlascorps.org/apply-united-states/).

For the #03 episode of We Belong, we take you to Spain to meet Míriam Hatibi, an activist against racism and islamophobia and the author of “Look Me in the Eye” and “Leila”. Miriam also contributes to the opinion sections of different publications, where she promotes a visible media presence for people of diverse origins, particularly women.  Following the August 2017 terrorist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, Míriam vehemently condemned terrorism at a demonstration in Plaça de Catalunya that brought together hundreds of Muslims. Since December 2014, she has been the spokesperson for the Ibn Battuta Foundation (FIB), an entity created to promote socio-cultural exchange. In conversation with Miriam, we recalled her reaction to the terrorist attacks and how she works to deconstruct islamophobia and stereotypes surrounding muslim people. We also spoke about her ambition to create new spaces for immigrant daughters to shine in society.  Keys: Code Academy (code academy.dev), One Young World Scholarships (https://www.oneyoungworld.com/scholarships).