Ayan Said
Ambassador-led Initiative
9
SROI
Ayan worked as a teacher before founding Voicing Voices in the aftermath of the pandemic. The UK’s gender furlough gap, in which 133,000 more women were furloughed than men [1], exacerbated the challenges already faced by women from vulnerable communities across the country. While in Qatar, Ayan became active in mobilising young people for social justice through education and she has maintained this drive ever since.
Ayan attended the 2019 One Young World Summit in London and was immediately consumed with the atmosphere present throughout the event. She felt that the work she had been trying to do by herself was validated through her membership in a community of like-minded young people. Through One Young World, Ayan received mentorship which proved to be useful both in terms of practical advice and realising her potential. Since then, Voicing Voices has grown to address gender inequalities in marginalised communities with an emphasis on intersectional factors. Ayan has designed and delivered workshops to international audiences in Qatar, collaborating with the Qatar Foundation on multiple campaigns raising awareness for International Women’s Day. This includes supporting masters students at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in designing courses on how parents can support SDG 5, and providing leadership training to young people for THIMUN Qatar. She has also delivered workshops to UN Women UK and Solace Women’s Aid, focusing on the challenges faced by women in both personal and professional settings.
Ayan is committed to purpose-driven networks and communities like Wading Herons, an organisation of former corporate professionals interested in social entrepreneurship, and maintains an active role in the One Young World Community. She has directly delivered workshops, seminars, and talks to over 464 people and has written for publications such as Doha News, while also partnering with the Qatar Medical Students Association for a period of five years.
"At the Summit I was engulfed, consumed, with the atmosphere. It felt that all the work I was trying to do on my own had been validated. It made me realise I wasn't alone"