Yassmin Abdel-Magied
Sudanese-Australian Writer, Broadcaster and Award-winning Social Advocate with a Background in Mechanical Engineering
SPEAKER FEE RANGE: $10,500–$16,000 [FEE NOTE]
TRAVELS FROM: International
RELATED TOPICS: Black Speakers, Civil Rights & Social Justice, Faith & Religion, STEM, Workplace Diversity
Yassmin trained as a mechanical engineer and worked on oil and gas rigs around Australia for years before becoming a writer and broadcaster in 2016. She published her debut memoir, Yassmin's Story, with Penguin Random House at age 24, and followed up with her first fiction book for younger readers, You Must Be Layla, in 2019. Yassmin’s critically acclaimed essays have been published in numerous anthologies, including the Griffith Review, the best-selling It’s Not About The Burqa and The New Daughters of Africa.
Yassmin founded her first organization, Youth Without Borders, at the age of 16, leading it for nine years. Since, Yassmin has co-founded two other organisations and now shares her learnings through keynotes and workshops. Yassmin has spoken in over 20 countries on unconscious bias and inclusive leadership. Her TED talk, What does my headscarf mean to you, has been viewed over two million times and was one of TED’s top 10 ideas of 2015.
Yassmin founded her first organization, Youth Without Borders, at the age of 16, leading it for nine years. Since, Yassmin has co-founded two other organisations and now shares her learnings through keynotes and workshops. Yassmin has spoken in over 20 countries on unconscious bias and inclusive leadership. Her TED talk, What does my headscarf mean to you, has been viewed over two million times and was one of TED’s top 10 ideas of 2015.
Yassmin Abdel-Magied is a Sudanese-Australian writer, broadcaster and award-winning social advocate with a background in mechanical engineering.
Yassmin published her best-selling memoir, Yassmin's Story, with Penguin Random House at age 24, following up with her first fiction book for younger readers, You Must Be Layla, in 2019. The sequel is scheduled for release in 2021. Her TV show Same Same, co-created with Tania Safi, was optioned for production by Little Dot Studios in 2019. In 2020, Yassmin co-wrote the sold-out immersive theatre production at Kensington Palace, United Queendom, and was awarded the prestigious Keesing Studio International Development Residency by the Australia Council. Beyond her fiction work, Yassmin’s social commentary has appeared in the Guardian, TIME Magazine, Teen Vogue, Huffpost, London’s Evening Standard, The Australian Financial Review and The Independent, with her work on the Sudanese Revolutions of particular note. Her critically acclaimed essays have also been published widely, including in the best-selling It’s Not About The Burqa and The New Daughters of Africa. Yassmin has also appeared at literary festivals around the world, including the Jaipur Literary Festival in India and Colorado, Hay Festival in the UK and the Dalkey Book Festival in Ireland.
Yassmin’s broadcasting portfolio is diverse: she presented the national TV show Australia Wide, a podcast on becoming an F1 driver, and a series on Breaking Barriers for Virgin. After hosting the internationally released documentary, The Truth About Racism, she created Hijabistas, a series looking at the modest fashion scene in Australia. Yassmin is also a regular contributor to the BBC, the hugely popular Guilty Feminist podcast and various media outlets around the world.
Yassmin is a globally sought-after advisor on issues of social justice, especially concerning people of colour and Muslims in diaspora communities. She has travelled to over 24 countries across five continents, speaking to governments, civil society and multinational companies on inclusive leadership, tackling unconscious biases and achieving genuine cultural change. Her internationally acclaimed TED talk, What does my headscarf mean to you, has been viewed over two million times and was chosen as one of TED’s top ten ideas of 2015. Soon after, Yassmin became a lightening rod for national and international discussions on race, gender and faith after an appearance on a panel show went viral, garnering over 12 million views in less than a week. She challenged the orthodox conception of feminism in Islam and spurred on a global conversation about being a young Muslim woman of colour in the West today.
Yassmin founded Youth Without Borders at the age of 16, then started Mumtaza a decade later, focusing on women of colour. She has been awarded numerous awards for her advocacy, including the 2018 Young Voltaire Award for Free Speech, FYA’s Changemaker of the Year in 2017 and Queensland Young Australian of the Year in 2015. As part of her advocacy, Yassmin has served on the Boards of the Queensland Museum, ChildFund Australia, the Australian Multicultural Council, The Council for Australian-Arab Relations and the domestic violence prevention organisation, OurWatch. Yassmin was also Head of Media for the Australian Youth G20 Summit and the Gender Ambassador for the Inter-American Development Bank.
Yassmin started out as a race car chassis designer and was Team Principal of the UQ Race Car Team at 19. She graduated Valedictorian with First Class honours from mechanical engineering at 20, then went on to work as one of the few female engineers on oil and gas rigs around Australia, before pivoting to focus on her writing and broadcasting career.
Through all her work, Yassmin is an advocate for transformative justice and a fairer, safer world for all. She is currently based in London.
Yassmin published her best-selling memoir, Yassmin's Story, with Penguin Random House at age 24, following up with her first fiction book for younger readers, You Must Be Layla, in 2019. The sequel is scheduled for release in 2021. Her TV show Same Same, co-created with Tania Safi, was optioned for production by Little Dot Studios in 2019. In 2020, Yassmin co-wrote the sold-out immersive theatre production at Kensington Palace, United Queendom, and was awarded the prestigious Keesing Studio International Development Residency by the Australia Council. Beyond her fiction work, Yassmin’s social commentary has appeared in the Guardian, TIME Magazine, Teen Vogue, Huffpost, London’s Evening Standard, The Australian Financial Review and The Independent, with her work on the Sudanese Revolutions of particular note. Her critically acclaimed essays have also been published widely, including in the best-selling It’s Not About The Burqa and The New Daughters of Africa. Yassmin has also appeared at literary festivals around the world, including the Jaipur Literary Festival in India and Colorado, Hay Festival in the UK and the Dalkey Book Festival in Ireland.
Yassmin’s broadcasting portfolio is diverse: she presented the national TV show Australia Wide, a podcast on becoming an F1 driver, and a series on Breaking Barriers for Virgin. After hosting the internationally released documentary, The Truth About Racism, she created Hijabistas, a series looking at the modest fashion scene in Australia. Yassmin is also a regular contributor to the BBC, the hugely popular Guilty Feminist podcast and various media outlets around the world.
Yassmin is a globally sought-after advisor on issues of social justice, especially concerning people of colour and Muslims in diaspora communities. She has travelled to over 24 countries across five continents, speaking to governments, civil society and multinational companies on inclusive leadership, tackling unconscious biases and achieving genuine cultural change. Her internationally acclaimed TED talk, What does my headscarf mean to you, has been viewed over two million times and was chosen as one of TED’s top ten ideas of 2015. Soon after, Yassmin became a lightening rod for national and international discussions on race, gender and faith after an appearance on a panel show went viral, garnering over 12 million views in less than a week. She challenged the orthodox conception of feminism in Islam and spurred on a global conversation about being a young Muslim woman of colour in the West today.
Yassmin founded Youth Without Borders at the age of 16, then started Mumtaza a decade later, focusing on women of colour. She has been awarded numerous awards for her advocacy, including the 2018 Young Voltaire Award for Free Speech, FYA’s Changemaker of the Year in 2017 and Queensland Young Australian of the Year in 2015. As part of her advocacy, Yassmin has served on the Boards of the Queensland Museum, ChildFund Australia, the Australian Multicultural Council, The Council for Australian-Arab Relations and the domestic violence prevention organisation, OurWatch. Yassmin was also Head of Media for the Australian Youth G20 Summit and the Gender Ambassador for the Inter-American Development Bank.
Yassmin started out as a race car chassis designer and was Team Principal of the UQ Race Car Team at 19. She graduated Valedictorian with First Class honours from mechanical engineering at 20, then went on to work as one of the few female engineers on oil and gas rigs around Australia, before pivoting to focus on her writing and broadcasting career.
Through all her work, Yassmin is an advocate for transformative justice and a fairer, safer world for all. She is currently based in London.
- Valuing Diversity and Beating Bias
Unconscious bias, diversity, the importance of diverse teams and how to challenge and change our workplaces and communities. We've all heard about the concept of 'unconscious bias', but what does it actually mean? In this engaging and informative talk, Yassmin Abdel-Magied will use personal experience backed up by research to illustrate the impacts of bias on both our workplaces and community. She will also share what we can all do about it, so that we can create safer, fairer, and more productive workplaces for all. You will learn to:
• identify your own biases, as well as the biases that inform your company and industry culture
• understand the impact of biases on those around you and your business performance
• challenge these biases and their impacts to both improve your workplaces and community - Transformative Leadership
The world is changing at a rapid pace, and the importance of inclusion and diversity is clearer than ever. Leading an organisation through transformational change however, is no easy feat. Yassmin Abdel-Magied expertly combines personal experience and research to inform leaders on the tools of transformative leadership, the common mistakes leaders can make, and how to be a just and empowering leader for the 21st century. Key takeaways:
•You will learn about the difference between intention and impact, and how to bridge that gap
•You will learn how to focus on the root causes of challenges, rather than the symptom
•You will learn to pinpoint a keystone change, a required step of transformative change - Changing and Creating Culture in Workplaces and Communities
- Women in Male Dominated Industries
Challenges, benefits, experiences - Unconscious Bias: What is it, and How Can We Deal with It?
- The Role of Faith and Culture in Leadership and Society
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