This class, facilitated by Ishara Sahama, delves into the difference between activism and advocacy and how both are needed to make progressive change for the future of today’s young people, and for the current generations.
As a young person and professional, with a few years of community organising experience, Ishara will use her lived experience as example of how activism and advocacy go hand-in-hand, why it’s important to understand the difference between the two actions and how it helps shape your purpose and drive towards a greater good, as a young, emerging leader. This class is linked to the O-week class on “Intersectional Thinking and Empathy”, but can be watched as a standalone class.
WATCH THE CLASS HERE:
OUR SPECIAL GUEST FOR THIS CLASS:
This class is taught by Ishara Sahama.
Ishara Sahama is a passionate social and gender justice advocate, community organizer and education facilitator. She currently works in the NFP/social enterprise space, providing strategic thinking, community organising, project management and advisory support. Ishara is part of the founding team and board for two upcoming enterprises which focus on:
1. transforming family businesses across Australian/New Zealand to for-purpose and for-planet businesses, and
2. supporting, empowering and up-skilling Womxn in family business by addressing issues concerning intergenerational equity and gender
inequities
Ishara is also a Climate Reality Leader and community organizer for UNAA Young Professionals Queensland and The One Women Project. She has presented and organized several presentations, panel discussions, forums on topics such as the climate crisis, sustainable development goals (SDGs), youth engagement, anti-racism, gender equity in urban planning and environmental concerns and, intersectional justice. Ishara has particular career interest in ensuring that culturally and linguistically diverse and gender-fluid groups are recognized and included in civic decision-making processes pertaining to socio-economic and urban development. Ishara believes that by addressing system flaws and improving them through shared decision-making with diverse citizen participation, can systematically dismantle socio-environmental injustices in rural-urban areas. She graduated at the end of 2019 with a BA Honours Geography and BSc Geographical Sciences, from The University of Queensland.
Ishara is a Womxn of Colour, with mixed Sri Lankan cultural heritage.
Pronouns: She/her