Turning Impulsivity into Possibility

Our guest for this month's Feature Friday is Damini Awoyiga. Damini is a student, an activist, a spoken word poet, and the former Halifax’s Youth Poet Laureate (2023-2024). Damini is the founder of Damini Creatives and the Afro-Indigenous Book Club, a book club created to encourage young people to read books written by Black and Indigenous authors and to share the realities and experiences of Black and Indigenous Canadians. Damini was the Junior Artist in Residence for Wellness Within, a community organization working for reproductive justice, prison abolition, and health equity; CBC’s artist-in-residence for the Michaelle Jean Foundation Canadian Black Summit held in July 2022, where she hosted an interactive community poetry booth. She is also a freelance journalist for CBC Mainstreet. She has also enjoyed being a board member of the Nova Scotia Girls Institute for Resource and Learning (NS GIRL), and she is a member of the HRM Youth Advisory Committee. Damini has received multiple awards, including the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Community Hero Award. She recently spoke at her first TEDx Talk at TEDx Argyle about the power of creativity, becoming the youngest TEDx Argyle speaker at the age of 18. Damini loves to dance, write, create, sing, and perform poetry about social justice issues she cares deeply about. It was a pleasure to host this month’s Feature Friday episode with the thoughtful and inspiring Damini Awoyiga! Show notes: 00:00 - Introduction to Damini Awoyiga 1:25 - Damini on her upbringing 10:25 - Damini on her mentors 10:45 - Damini on being a young creative entrepreneur 17:35 - Damini on some of the challenges she’s had to face 23:15 - Damini on her Ted Talk 33:05 - Defining Youth Poet Laureate 37:55 - Damini on her future in journalism 40:15 - Advice for those if feel stuck 49:30 - Finding the right people to work/create with 52:05 - What does community mean to Damini 53:45 - Damini on events she’s a part of 54:40 - One word checkout with Damini!