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Hi John,

Eden Tadesse is a social entrepreneur, digital innovator, and human rights activist from Ethiopia, and we're proud to say, a ONE activist alumni 🙌 Now, she can also add 2023 winner of the prestigious Goalkeepers Global Goals Award to her ever-growing list!

Find out more about her incredible work improving digital financial inclusion for refugees and read our interview with her at the end of this email. 

🤔 Which activist inspires you?

Share the name of a well-know activist who inspires you. They may be a full-time activist, or a musician, actor, writer, artist, athlete… anyone working to make the world a better place! 

💡 Solutions journalism story of the month:

Climate change research is much more diverse than what the public hear from in the media, new study finds.

💥 Your activist quick hits:

❓This month, we observe World AIDS day. How much do you know about HIV/AIDS? Take our quiz to test your knowledge, and share it to raise awareness! 

🔥 Climate change driven hunger, fuel insecurity and water stress are driving migration and instability. Climate change is a global security crisis.

🏆 Do you know a young person who's positively impacting the world? Tell them to apply for the Global Citizen/ Cisco Youth Leadership Award! The prize includes $250,000 to support their work. Apply before 15 Dec.

🎥 From an enormous initiative to restore land and ecosystems across 11 African countries to indigenous small farmers in South Africa defending their land against mining companies. Watch these powerful documentaries to learn more about climate action in Africa.  

⏱ ONE CEO Gayle Smith busts myths on foreign aid in ONE minute.

People Changing the World: Eden Tadesse

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and the focus area of your activism work?

Absolutely! I’m a proud multipotentialite, which means I have many different intellectual and creative pursuits. I’m an entrepreneur, digital innovator, human rights activist, writer, drummer, and coach. I’m based in Berlin, Germany, but I’m originally from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

Upholding the rights, dignity, and respect of all individuals are at the heart of my activism. My main focus areas are: economic empowerment for refugees; digital financial literacy; health equity; gender equality; and youth participation in politics. I founded the impact start-up Invicta to support refugees with education, employment, entrepreneurship and mental health counselling globally.

My initiatives aim to improve digital connectivity and access for countries in the global south, and ensure refugees have a say in labour laws that affect them. They all seek to tackle the root causes of inequality for vulnerable, marginalised groups who are often overlooked and/or underrepresented in politics and media. 

What is your most memorable moment as an activist?

As an undergraduate student in India, I stumbled upon a toxic language and social sciences course with deeply sexist views embedded in its curriculum. Hundreds of students signed up to the course every year, I was horrified. I felt a moral obligation to take action, so I launched my first feminist campaign. As student council president, I contacted students asking them to sign my petition. And it worked! I handed in the petition and an application letter to our dean and held a silent protest outside her office for several weeks. After months of campaigning, speaking to the local press, and mobilising student activists, I finally got the course removed entirely. My application letter is still one of my proudest pieces of writing and will be available on my policy blog soon.

Tell us about a campaign or cause that inspired you to take action

When violence erupted in Juba, South Sudan, hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese citizens fled to neighbouring countries in need of food, shelter, and protection. At the time, I was a 19-year-old activist living and studying abroad. When I heard the news, I was devastated to say the least. I decided to travel to the neighbouring region of Ethiopia-South Sudan and lived there for a year to support refugees. It was a totally impulsive decision that nearly cost me my full scholarship. But that’s the thing with activism – once that ‘inner-button’ is switched on, there is no going back! Am I right?

What was the last book that had a big impact on you and why?

‘Frontier Justice’ by Andy Lamey was such an eye-opener for me. It talks about historical accounts that have shaped refugee law over the last century. It gives me lots of hope! Thanks a million to Nas and Juan (my roommates in Doha) for gifting me this wonderful book on Valentine’s Day!

What is your favourite activism-inspired book/song/podcast/website/film or quote?

“If to be feeling alive to the sufferings of my fellow creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large.” - William Wilberforce

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