Case study 34
The United Nations
United Nations Headquarters, New York · 2024 · 2022 onwards, New York and London
Context
What began as posts from a border in Ukraine became a coordination desk, and then evidence. I briefed and spoke at the United Nations on the treatment of Black and African students during the war, and the work was cited by the UN, UNESCO and the UK Parliament.
My role
Advocacy · Briefing · Narrative
- Documented the treatment of Black and African students at the Ukrainian borders in real time, and turned it into a fact base the press could carry accurately.
- Briefed and spoke at United Nations platforms on evacuation, discrimination and what displaced students needed next.
- Moved the argument from rescue to re-enrolment, so the response did not stop at getting people out.
- Held the narrative steady while the coalition ran transport, accommodation, cash and legal routes on the ground.
Impact
- 2,000+
- Students supported out of Ukraine
- 100,000+
- Petition signatures across the campaigns
- UN, UNESCO
- Institutions that cited the work
- UK Parliament
- Also cited the campaigns
A grassroots rescue effort recognised at institutional level, with ambassadors and parliamentarians putting the record on file rather than leaving it to rumour.