Blog
In my blog, I capture thoughts, stories and reflections – sometimes light and personal, sometimes layered and sharp. Always with the intention to inspire, raise awareness and connect. Most recent posts are part of Transformative Tales: a storytelling series in which I interview women who are driving social and ecological change.
Transformative Tales: Saida Derrazi
“People who voted for Wilders just need a bit of love,” says Saida Derrazi with a smile that is both gentle and resolute. As co-founder and head coordinator of the Muslim women’s collective S.P.E.A.K. and chair of the Comité 21 Maart, the Moroccan-Dutch activist…
Transformative Tales: Esther Xosei
“What drives all of my work is a desire to make a difference.” With these words, Esther Stanford-Xosei (51) captures the heart of her mission. An activist, legal specialist, community advocate and international expert on reparations, she has dedicated…
Transformative Tales: Claudete Costa
She spent most of her childhood on the streets of Rio de Janeiro. From the age of eight, she sold sweets during the day to help support her family’s income. At night, she earned money by collecting and reselling recyclable materials. At twelve, she survived the tragic…
Inclusive communication: a bridge to connection in a super-diverse world
It’s the late 1990s, and I’m studying at the School of Journalism. My dream? To travel the world as a travel journalist. So I add the course ‘Intercultural Communication’ to my curriculum. There, I learn about cultural differences…
Want to work on inclusion? Changing your language could be a starting point
‘Where you from?’ sounds like an innocent question, right? However, not for Andrea. She was born and raised in the city of Leiden in the Netherlands. But her interrogators, mostly strangers, rarely seem to be satisfied with…
The tattoo on my ankle blurry, the changes in my life razor-sharp
It lasted two and a half years. Two and a half long, uncomfortable years. At first, I showed no symptoms. But after a few weeks, I started to feel under the weather. Out of place. Lost. Disoriented. As if I had come home in the…