Speaker: Kellison Benjamine
Function: Executive Director
Bedrijf: 

Over de spreker
Kellison Benjamine, born Sackey Benjamin, is a 27-year-old queer Ghanaian resident of Accra with a degree in Journalism and Communication Studies. With a preference for the pronouns he/him/they/them, Kellison is passionate about promoting social change and advancing human and youth rights, especially for marginalized communities through creative arts and artistic engagement.  Since 2017, Kellison has actively played a key role in community organizing, engagement and capacity building for queer and diverse communities in Ghana through artistic advocacy, using art to promote anti-violence and equality for queer Ghanaians.  Spearheading key initiatives including HERE & BEYOND and QUEER MAT, a psychosocial healing program supporting LGBT+ people in Ghana, as well as OMANYE ABLA WƆ, an artistic advocacy cyber-campaign that circulated literary works, paintings, and graphic design created exclusively by queer artists. The campaign used art to raise awareness about the impacts of abuse and violence against queer and gender-diverse communities in Ghana. These initiatives were led in their capacity as former Programs Director and Deputy Communications Director of the LGBT+ Rights Ghana organization.  In addition, they spearheaded one of Accra’s queer mini-community film festivals dubbed DIVERSITY 1957 in collaboration with ActionAid Ghana and Goethe Institut Ghana, featuring films and digital graphic art that highlight the layers of diverse gender/sexual identities and their connection and contribution to building progressive Black/African societies.  Currently serving as the Executive Director and Community Engagement Manager at Engagement-Q Community (EQC), an arts-based advocacy organization, Kellison prioritizes advocating for equal rights.