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Minna Salami        

Writer, Lecturer, Feminist, Gender Equality Activist & Founder of Award-Winning Blog MsAfropolitan

Minna Salami is a Nigerian-Finnish and Swedish feminist author, social critic and currently Program Chair at THE NEW INSTITUTE.

She is the author of Can Feminism Be African? (forthcoming Harper Collins) and Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone (Bloomsbury 2020) which has been translated into multiple languages. She has also co-authored children’s books and written content on feminism for numerous anthologies as well as educational textbooks.

A leading voice of contemporary feminism, she has drawn over a million readers to her multiple award-winning blog MsAfropolitan.com. Her writing can be found in the Guardian, Project Syndicate, Al Jazeera, and The Philosopher, and many others. She is a frequent speaker and lecturer including at some of the world’s most prominent institutions such as the UN, EU, Oxford Union, Cambridge Union, Yale University, and the Singularity University at NASA. She has worked as a Research Associate and Editor at Perspectiva, consulted governments on gender equality, written school curricula, and curated cultural events at The Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Salami is a Full Member of the Club of Rome, a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader and sits on the council of The Royal Institute of Philosophy and the boards of The African Feminist Initiative at Pennsylvania State University, The Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Sahel, and is an associate with Perspectiva. She has served as chair for the House of Beautiful Business, a judge for the One World Media Awards, a nominator for the Prince Claus Foundation and the Princess of Asturias Foundation.

An alumni of Lund University and SOAS University, Salami has lived in Nigeria, Sweden, Spain, and New York and lives between London and Hamburg.

Speech Topics

What Knowledge Do We Need for the 21st Century?

What kind of knowledge do we need in these times of the polycrisis?

In her keynote Minna Salami, a Senior Fellow and Research Chair at The New Institute, will discuss the nondualist knowledge and the black feminist perspectives on the polycrisis, and explain how they intertwine with decolonisation and identity.

Alchemy & Revolution: Feminist & Afropolitan Perspectives on Human Nature in a Post-Pandemic World

In a world reshaped by pandemic upheavals and the polycrisis, traditional notions of humanity and society are in flux. This lecture explores transformative shifts in our understanding of the human experience in the post-pandemic world. From historical reckonings to contemporary socio-political movements like the George Floyd protests, it delves into how these events redefine our collective identity. Engaging feminist theory and Afropolitanism, the lecture interrogates what it means to be human in an increasingly interconnected yet unequal world, both materially and metaphysically. By portraying Nature as a citizen of both the city and the cosmos, the talk advocates for a revised understanding of the non-human natural world and its role in fostering progressive change. Drawing from Nature study, African feminist thought, Afropolitanism, pop culture, aesthetics, Yoruba cosmologies, and philosophies, the lecture invokes alchemy and revolution to envision a future where we analytically, critically, and imaginatively redefine our collective destiny.

Revelation & Revolution: The Connection of Black Feminist Theory & the Arts, Music

In our mechanic and data-driven world, the most impactful institutions equate social transformation with measurability. The idea that a work of art can lead to transformation in unmeasurable ways is itself a lost art form. At the same time, creativity itself is increasingly stifled by algorithms and measurability. Social movements have sometimes advocated that works of art should promote progressive change as a duty. Is there more to creativity than these assumptions imply? Minna Salami's talk will explore this question with Black feminism as a guide.

What Can Black & African Feminism Say About the Crisis?

Who defines what it means to be human? And how and to what measure? In a world in crisis, this question is of central meaning. The talk addresses the question through a Black feminist lens rooted in contemporary African thought.

Democracy as an Embodied Creature: The Human Citizen in a Time of Polycrisis

A reflection on democracy, citizenship, and the challenges of navigating complex and interconnected crises.

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