Mariama Sanneh Wins Young Heroes Award for Tackling Islamophobia and Sexism at the Age of 15

Thanks to her special pedagogical videos and presentations through which she tackled racism and islamophobia, Mariama Sanneh, the British Muslim girl, has won the National Lottery Award for Young Heroes. The 15-little-girl has been described as “the spirit” of Integrate UK.

The National Lottery Foundation announced that Mariama won the "Little Hero" award because of her fabulous work in the British Inclusion Charitable Foundation.

The £3,000 award will be given as a grant to the Foundation for Mariama's work in providing training and running awareness campaigns against Islamophobia, female genital mutilation, racism, and sexism.

 

A Young Muslim Winner, again!

Bristol based Mariama Sanneh, 15 has won the National Lottery Award for Young Heroes for tackling racism and sexism. Her innovation of creative videos and presentations make her “the spirit” of Integrate UK. Despite her age, the girl was able to shed light on the most important issue over decades like sexism and gender equality.

"Mariama is one of the most prominent members of the Foundation in the city of Bristol, and she has been promoted recently becoming a member of the Foundation's Council, which reflects her ability to influence young people in Britain," said Amal Ali, who supervises Mariama in the Foundation.

Mariama, the young activist, devoted to fighting for gender and racial equality, is only 15 years old. In fact, she is a junior trustee of Integrate UK which is a Bristol-based charity. It empowers young people to be active in changing society. The young winner is a passionate activist. She has her special manner and creative media to address topics like racism, while providing support and training to her peers.

 

 

When she was involved with Integrate UK, Mariama participated in a film called Vitriol that encouraged young people to challenge right wing extremism, racism, and Islamophobia. Having more than 10,000 views on YouTube, the film was a surprise. It is used also to deliver peer education workshops nationally. With 200 students, Mariama has delivered these workshops in her own school.

To challenge homophobia and all forms of hate, Mariama co-created, sang and performed in a music video in 2020. She is now a leader in representing her school's youth led Equalities Council, encouraging change to policy and practice. Later this year, “she will co-deliver training for her teachers on different issues relating to gender and racial inequalities,” according to BBC NEWS.

 

Mariama is Our Proud

The Integrate UK is a Bristol based charitable Organisation which was established in 2009 by a group of girls in Bristol, UK. Its main targets were to raise awareness about some of the inequalities, gender, and race-related issues in society. This was by workshops and the use of video clips, including but not limited to issues such as radicalisation, female genital mutilation (FGM), sexual abuse and Islamophobia, and Mariama was a trustee in Integrate UK.

So, reacting to the award, Bristol based Senegambia Hidden Talents say that “Mariama, 15, is a very dynamic and community-oriented teenager, who has been an instrumental member of Senegambia Hidden talents from 2013 and had played key roles in the planning and execution of some of our recent events including our trips to Barry Island, Bristol University, the House of Commons and Buckingham,” according to the Gambian website GunjurOnline.  

“We are once again incredibly proud of her achievement, and we hope and pray for her to achieve more successes in future, and for this to serve as inspiration to her peers in Senegambia Hidden Talents and the wider Bristol BME community.”

During the first lockdown, Mariama was interviewed on BBC Points West in response to the BLM movement. In a persuasive manner, she spoke about the need “to diversify the curriculum so that all young people felt represented and valued in their schools.” She also sits on the With and For Girls Task group working with activists from all over the world, informing this international funder about the needs and rights of young women.

"I'm Gambian, so outside of Integrate and school things I'm part of an organisation called Senegambia Hidden Talent where we basically organise different events, fundraisers and educational trips, '' Mariama said.

She added saying “we've taken trips to the Houses of Parliament, the University of Bristol and Buckingham Palace."

Despite her busy timetable, the Year 10 student could support and mentor younger members, and make sure they have a voice. She helps them recognise and make the most of their skills and talents, according to the National Lottery.

 

The Change Can be ‘You’

In the future, Mariama said that she wanted “to be known as someone who kept speaking out on issues.”

“I want to be known as that person who is confident enough to speak for everybody, you can always be that one person to make a change.”

She said also that she was "proud" of her work with Integrate UK and hoped the award would inspire other young people to "make the world a better place."

In her interview with BBC, Mariama said that the National Lottery Award “is a real testament to the extraordinary work that Integrate UK does, and it feels amazing to receive this recognition.”