This week’s #TOBcommunity spotlight is on Yassine Senghor (Pronouns: She(ish)/her(ish), who runs Confronting Change. Read on learn more about the important work they do, and how they could support you too.
What organisation(s) do you run or work for?
Founder of Confronting Change building tailored D&I strategies that focus on reflection, accountability and action.
I am also a writer, speaker, mentor, facilitator, and content creator always working through an intersectional lens to share my experiences as a queer, big, black, butch, immigrant, gender non-comforming woman with mental health issues.
How do you / your organisation support and celebrate marginalised people?
As a Diversity & Inclusion specialist, I drive my clients to centre the voices and experiences of the underrepresented and marginalised. The focus is on creating inclusive and equitable workplaces, but I also push clients to consider the output and impact of their work. I encourage them to understand their power of influence and to wield this responsibility in a way that challenges social injustice, inequality, and that strives for actual change. I also offer mentoring and I am in the process of developing a recruitment support service to empower marginalised people when navigating the job market and workplaces.
What can we expect from you in the coming months?
I am working with a range of clients to improve their inclusion and equity practices but the projects I am most excited about are the more personal ones. They are in early stages so I don't want to say too much, but I am potentially working with a charity to chronicle the stories of LGBT+ elders via a variety of mediums and platforms with the aim of creating intergenerational relationships with young queer creatives who will then interpret their stories in their own artistic form.
I also noticed that there are an increasing number of LGBT+ films coming out of Africa & the Caribbean that pop up here and there at international film festivals, but are not necessarily accessible to diaspora communities. So why not take some of the learning that has developed within the last year around digital festivals and global connectivity and create a festival celebrating these films? Again, early days but keep an eye out or get in touch if you would like to support with any of these projects, and look out for formal callouts in the next few months!
What’s your secret superpower?
Making every person I speak to feel like they are the most important person in the room. (Seems small, but I really think we can learn something from everyone and we all have something to offer, so if I'm speaking to you, I want you know that I am deeply interested in you and what you are saying - (unless you are deliberately being trash in bad faith, then I gots no time for ya!))
Favourite quote that sums up your philosophy on life:
"I am not African because I was born in Africa, but because Africa was born in me." - Kwame Nkrumah.
This is particularly important to me at the moment as I reconnect to my roots, ancestral heritage and work through some of the identity issues that have always made me feel disconnected from myself
Describe yourself in 3 words:
Eccentric, Unexpected, Empath
Where can people find you?
Twitter: @ytsenghor
LinkedIn: Yassine Senghor
Instagram: @bigblackbutchbitch
Website: www.confrontingchange.com
The Other Box community, aka #TOBcommunity, is an intersectionally inclusive global community, where the voices and experiences of the most marginalised in society are prioritised. It’s a place where our members share opportunities, events, resources, and seek advice and support. Join us at www.facebook.com/groups/theotherbox