I’m excited to begin my MA in Culture, Diaspora, and Ethnicity at Birkbeck University (2024-2026), as it connects with my ongoing commitment to exploring the role of people of colour and self-organising structures in trade unions while fostering multi-faith solidarity through organised labour. This is particularly special for me, as I’m returning to formal education after many years.

Currently, I work at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) as the Anti-Racism Officer. I led the most ambitious programme: the TUC Anti-Racism Taskforce which reviewed the trade union movement's progress on racial justice and equality.

This two-year programme, completed in 2022, set the groundwork for ongoing work in the movement. My focus now is on implementing the Taskforce’s recommendations and advancing race equality, migrant justice, and anti-fascism by working closely with TUC-affiliated trade unions.

Before that, I worked on Islington Council's 'Listen Up' project, which included initiatives like 'Young Muslim Voices', empowering young people of colour to address socio-political issues and advocate for change at a local level.

In 2011, I founded 'Jawaab', an organisation building the power and voice of young Muslims in tackling Islamophobia, by providing leadership development and exploring - through research - how structural Islamophobia affects youth culture and identity in Britain.

Eliaou is a PhD Student in Psychosocial Studies at Birkbeck University. His PhD engages with Jewish-Muslim histories of minoritization in northern Africa and in the European urban diaspora outside and beyond the question of Israel-Palestine. It provides important scholarship by engaging with this long indigenous history and its rupture in modernity. It will highlight the legacy of little-known histories of judeo-muslim symbiosis and minority diversity in southern Algeria.

The project gives voice to populations whose histories have not been heard and analyses the traumatic processes of exile among traditionalist communities and its effects across multiple generations. In terms of results, the project will constitute a unique collection of oral archives spanning three generations, giving a voice to two of Algeria's minorities: the Jewish population and the Ibadite Muslims of the Mzab.

After studying for three years at a Talmudic school in al-Quds/Jerusalem, Eliaou obtained a master's degree in clinical psychology, psychopathology and psychoanalysis at the University of Strasbourg, France and did a clinical specialisation in peer-support at Université Paris 5.

Eliaou worked as a clinical psychologist for 5 years, drawing on his profession to develop a research project at the articulation of psychosocial aspects at stake in traditionalist religious communities and transgenerational effects of exile/migration.

Olivia is a MSc student in Gender and Sexuality at Birkbeck College, University of London. Her interests lie in the intersection of gender theory, policy and law, with a particular focus on women in detention settings.

Olivia is interested in feminist legal practice and her MSc research will focus on the experiences of women in immigration removal centres, and their access - or lack thereof - to complaint mechanisms and processes, together with the social and cultural obstacles associated with ‘complaining women’.

Olivia is a practising solicitor and is studying the MSc part-time.

James (he/him) is a PhD student in History at Birkbeck College, University of London. His research employs queer oral histories to examine the life and work of England’s queer teachers from the post-partial decriminalisation era of the 1970s to the repeal of Section 28 in 2003.

In this way, the project historicises this particular intersection of the professional and the (putatively) personal and provides the first detailed and sustained account of the ways in which queer teachers' lives were shaped by factors within and outside of the school environment over this 30-year period.

The research is motivated by his own experiences as a gay secondary school teacher in East London. Prior to his PhD, James was a school teacher, and has been a policy advisor within the Civil Service since 2018 where he worked on forestry and the UK Net Zero Strategy.

In 2020, he attained an MA in European History at Birkbeck having been awarded an Eric Hobsbawm Postgraduate Scholarship. His MA research explored mid-century print media representations of queer people in public service occupations.

He passionately believes in the importance of queer space and is an advocate for queer-led social organising to improve LGBT+ health and educational provision and outcomes. He is a mentor with MOSAIC LGBT+ Young Persons' Trust and a member of KNOCKOUT LGBTQ+ boxing club.

I will be studying MA in Contemporary History and Politics at Birkbeck College, University of London, 2023-2025. I have a keen interest in the historical roots of modern conflicts and the efforts that governments and communities make to overcome war-time sectarianism and post-conflict woes.

I am drawn to studying how cross-community adhesion to peaceful coexistence influences peacebuilding opportunities towards post-war reconciliation and recovery. I would like to explore the impact of intercultural communication on countering historical narratives that fuel the politics of prejudice, a powerful barrier to coexistence. My research also aims to investigate theory and practices of policies that intend to assist the strengthening of cohesive communities committed to long-term conflict resolution.

I am eager to discover more about the global climate crisis and the strategic challenges it poses to social peace and sustainable security when left unaddressed, especially in areas where desertification and droughts continue to hit farming communities at an alarming rate.

I completed my BA in Journalism at the University of Leeds in 2012. My undergraduate dissertation assessed the impact of embedded journalism on conflict reporting. Since graduation, I have worked as a journalist and media analyst.

In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my family and socialising with friends. I like improvisational cooking, creating new dishes and listening to music of all types. I cycle on and off road and enjoy exploring rural greenery. I watch feature films at the cinema when time allows and continue to be fascinated by observational documentaries.

Temi is an advocate for marginalised Black communities. She focuses on fighting against institutional racism and is passionate about building a world where we use a radically different approach to resolving conflict within society. Temi has discussed the importance of grassroots organising at a roundtable with the Obama Foundation. Temi has appeared in front of the Home Affairs Select Committee to give expert evidence about institutional racism in the police. She was part of the ministerial roundtable that examined serious youth violence.

She has worked with Mexican institutions to consult on their "Building Movements, Tackling Violence" strategy. Temi was one of sixty change makers from across the world selected to participate in the 10th UNESCO Youth Forum. She was asked to consider how UNESCO can support and amplify the voices of young people who are actively engaged in peace-building across the world and presented these recommendations at the 39th UNESCO General Conference to representatives from across the world.

Temi has been a commentator on numerous outlets, including The Today Programme, Sunday Politics, Channel 4 News, Sky News, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, as well as being featured in Vogue and Elle. She has spoken about racial equity at various universities and companies.

Temi’s work at The 4Front Project is changing the way that people understand how to support young people who have been affected by violence.

Temi grew up on Grahame Park Estate in North West London. It was her early experiences of injustice that formed her primary motivation to create change. She studied Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science where she was a High Spen Scholar. During her studies, she sought to bridge the gap between the academic theory and grassroots movements.

Dan Levy is an MA student in Culture, Diaspora, Ethnicity at Birkbeck College, University of London. He began his studies in October 2022 and is interested in ways of communicating shared histories of marginisalisation between minority communities, and how doing so can form the basis for greater solidarity.

He is interested in asking what factors shape our understanding of ‘solidarity’ and whether there are any limitations to working across difference. He is then motivated by the question of if/how they can be overcome.

He is also particularly curious about the East End’s radical Jewish history in the late 19th/early 20th Century, as well as the resurgence of the Jewish Labour Bund in the popular imagination.

Dan’s completed his BA in Philosophy at UCL in 2019. Since graduating, he has worked in film programming, literary publishing, and as a freelance researcher for charities and social enterprises.

He also serves on the advisory board for JW3’s youth engagement programme, Young JW3.