Events

PAST EVENT: In our own words: women of colour in Scottish media

To coincide with Black History Month, GEMS are thrilled to be profiling the work of women of colour who feature on BBC's 'the Social on Wednesday 23rd October, 2019 at the University of Strathclyde.

Throughout history, black women’s voices have been missing from the media. New platforms offer opportunities to hear new voices, and BBC’s the Social is one way that women of colour have reached new audiences for their work.

Join us during Black History Month to hear from contributors to the Social, revisit their work, and explore questions around creative freedoms, precarious work, and speaking out.

Speakers:

Shola da Rocha-Afodu: Shola is a content creator for BBC The Social. Living in a predominantly caucasian country since birth has sparked a need for this afro Scot to make relatable content for those from similar communities. Starting in May 2017, the main focus of her videos is highlighting everyday issues of people of colour living in Scotland, using her own experiences as examples. Since becoming a first time mother in March 2018, Shola was on hiatus to adapt to motherhood, until May this year. She now also enjoys creating videos about the not so glamorous side of being a parent that social media prefers to hide, all the while representing mothers of similar backgrounds. Since June 2017, Shola has also produced and presented her radio show Roots on Sunny Govan Community Radio Station. After noticing a gap of representation for minority cultures in community and commercial radio, Shola is committed to featuring various genres of music from Africa, Asia, Caribbean and South America in an attempt to cater to people of non-Western and mixed backgrounds. In between changing nappies and reading “This Little Baby” for the umpteenth time to her toddler, this mama is determined to amplify our voices in Scottish media. Follow her on Twitter.

Vanessa Kanbi: Vanessa is a Scottish Ghanaian documentary maker and podcaster who has a passion to shine a light on untold stories. Vanessa has a podcast called Magnificent Mothers where she interviews mums about their life story’s and experiences. She also creates content for BBC The Social and her personal YouTube channel ‘Vanessa Kanbi’. She often features on BBC Radio Scotland as a guest and has her debut on BBC Scotland’s new TV channel in October.

Follow her journey online, on Instagram and on YouTube.

When: 23rd October, 5.30pm

Where: McCance Building , Room 301, University of Strathclyde, Richmond Street, Glasgow, G1 1RG.

Book your free ticket here