Young Black and Indigenous women are the forefront of movements advancing anti-racism, gender-justice, and decolonization. Yet, even in feminist and social justice spaces, they are rarely celebrated and honoured in ways that sustain and support their work.

On International Women's Day, we will hold space and celebrate Riley Yesno and Hannan Mohamud, two inspiring change-makers who are redefining leadership and advocating for systemic change.

Riley Yesno (she/her) is a queer Anishinaabe writer, researcher, and public speaker from Eabametoong First Nation. Riley grew up primarily in Thunder Bay, ON and currently calls Toronto, ON, and St. John’s, NL, home. She has experience working at all levels of change making, from the grassroots to the international, and has participated in over 100 panels, workshops, and conferences. Riley has attended climate negotiations at the United Nations, delivered a TEDx Talk, and travelled the world public speaking. You can find Riley’s writing in The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, Maclean’s, and many others. She is currently studying at the University of Toronto.

Hannan Mohamud (she/her) is a policy and communications professional with a successful track-record in citizen engagement and mobilization. Hannan creates multifaceted solutions to address policy and social issues through meaningful collaboration with citizens, decision-makers, and political institutions. She has demonstrated this through her work with the UNHCR, where she advocated for refugee rights to education and healthcare in Malaysia. Currently, she is a first year student in the English Common Law program at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law and the Vice-President of advocacy at the Black Law Students Association. She is also a recipient of the 2021 30 Under 30 Award by the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation.

This event is a partnership between Leading In Colour and Platform.

Email admin@theplatform.ca for more information.