Features

For those who don’t know you, tell us a little about your background.

I was born in Abu Dhabi, am from Toronto and currently call London home, living a ‘gathers no moss’ kind of life that’s true to my nomadic Somali roots. Having lived in so many places and experienced different cultures, I have a deep fascination with people, communication and creativity, especially when all three elements come together to make the world a lovelier place.

I’m a Creative Director, writer, speaker, mentor and DEI & Mental Health advocate who leads with equal parts strategy, empathy and humour.

What are you most looking forward to about reviewing Anthem Awards entries?

As someone with a political science and international relations academic background who’s chosen a creative profession, this is exciting to me in its very conception. We as communications professionals are more than capable, in fact I believe we’re responsible, to do good in our world with the skills we have.

What does it take for a project or campaign to cause real-world change?

I’ve always believed that creativity and critical thinking are intrinsically connected and when aimed at the problems of society or the world at large can inspire change that’s impactful, but more importantly sustainable. 

It’s not just about the work that’s compelling, hard-hitting, exciting or eye-opening, it’s about how all of that lovely stuff translates to real, actionable outcomes that better the situation(s) they support.

How does your work at MediaMonks support your mission?

I’m a co-founder of wellbeing.monks where we’ve essentially put together a delightful team of Monks that voluntarily conceive, spearhead and organise a number of peer-to-peer initiatives with the mental and physical wellbeing of their fellow Monks in mind. The main goal of wellbeing.monks is to create an intersectional & inclusive safe space within our London-based Monastery first that will hopefully be picked up and encouraged by Monks across the globe.

I also specifically head up our DoGood.monks pillar of wellbeing.monks with a focus on, you guessed it, doing good :). We’re currently joining forces with The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT), a new, purpose-driven brand that helps a generation of Young Leaders working in the fields of Agriculture & Food, Education & Employability, Environment, Health and Inclusion to create sustainable change in their communities across the Commonwealth.

Bonus: What’s your favorite purpose-driven project or mission-driven campaign right now, and why?

There are so, so many incredible initiatives by the Young Leaders I’ve been exposed to in my time so far working with QCT, that are so humbling, inspiring and renew my hopes for the next generation pretty much every day. Have a look for yourself! (link: https://www.queenscommonwealthtrust.org/projects/)

Another initiative that’s recently caught my eye is ‘Project Guideline’ (link: https://ai.googleblog.com/2021/05/project-guideline-enabling-those-with.html) from Google Creative Lab which is a great example of how tech can be used to improve quality of life in a seemingly simple, but very poignant, people-first way.