Yasmien Naciri

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Dutch
English
Yasmien Naciri

Who is Yasmien Naciri?

Yasmien Naciri is General Manager of the Innovation Centre in Antwerp, an author, a columnist and a guest lecturer. She is also known as an entrepreneur, former scientific collaborator at the University of Antwerp and the founder of various projects. In recent years, Ms. Naciri has focused on poverty, youth, education and entrepreneurship. Since 2014, she has been a familiar voice in the social debate, focusing on social challenges, innovative projects and policy proposals. Thinking and doing are two concepts that go hand in hand for her.

In 2015, for example, she lobbied former Minister of Economic Affairs and Employment Philippe Muyters for a separate status for student entrepreneurs, which thousands of young people have now been able to obtain. She was also the founder and chair of a development aid organisation that campaigned for equal access to running water and equal educational opportunities in Morocco. Together with her organisation, she took care of the reconstruction of 15 village schools in order to get as many young girls into the classroom as possible. In addition, she is the creator and founder of Fleks vzw, an open youth organisation in Antwerp where young people are encouraged to do business – she herself encountered barriers as a young entrepreneur, which is why she also campaigned for the student-entrepreneur status. She has now left the organisations because she strongly believes in the power of sustainability and wants to offer other young people opportunities by making way for them. Today, in addition to her work as general manager, she voluntarily commits herself to various administrative councils in the education, youth, culture and poverty sector, including the umbrella organisation for all youth activities in Flanders, Formaat vzw, the Ancienne Belgique and Literatuur Vlaanderen.

Ms. Naciri has a broad field of interests – she is convinced that there is no other option if societal challenges are to be tackled. That is why she prefers to work on innovation and change management, policy making, strategic communication, inclusion and social mobility.

    Build a society in which everyone feels at home

    Society is changing at a rapid pace. The statistics and trend analyses are very explicit in this regard, and the polarisation that exists in our society is a result of this. Change goes hand in hand with resistance, fear and conflict. Many will know Yasmien Naciri from her years as a frequent guest at Hautekiet or as a columnist at De Morgen, but most probably first got to know her when she answered Vlaams Belang chairman Tom Van Grieken in De Afspraak on 6 June 2018. She was invited because of her book entitled "Taking matters into our own hands". Van Greeks tried to charm her with: "If all immigrants were like you, I don't think there would be such a big problem." And that is the very essence of something that Naciri has a very clear view on. The nuances and grey zones in our society. Far from what is black or white. How we can best place challenges and how we can tackle them together. In short, how we can build a society in which everyone feels at home.

    Inclusion at work

    For a long time, diversity was a concept that was widely used. In the meantime, we have replaced the term with “inclusion” because there is a difference between what we perceive and how we do or do not deal with it. Only it appears that we are now falling into a similar trap by approaching inclusion as a trend, an observation, and therefore too often as "a wrapping". Having built up expertise in the communication world for several years, Ms. Naciri knows all too well where those blind spots lie in communication agencies and also in HR, where they too often resort to image and recruitment campaigns, in response to "we can’t find them". Yasmien Naciri likes to point out fallacies, the inclusion business and inclusion consultants who are eagerly called upon, but who are often found too late to be only scratching the surface. It is no longer a secret that inclusion has a positive impact on well-being and on a company’s financial results. The question we need to ask ourselves is how we get started on an inclusive (personnel) policy tailored to the organisation, a policy that is not outsourced to agencies, consultants or coaches. Inclusion is not a "project" or "work group" but, rather, a common thread throughout the organisational and corporate culture that everyone should be in agreement with. To make that happen, the HR department plays a hugely important part in realising this cross-fertilisation in all departments. Everything stands and falls with HR, including the well-being of every employee because, as research teaches us, retention is at least as important as recruitment.

    Progress inside and outside the company walls

    Leadership is about more than just giving and taking charge. A company or organisation stands or falls with the type of leaders that are working there, the care they take of the employees and the extent to which they are open to change. In a society that is rapidly changing and where (a new generation of) potential employees are increasingly critical of companies on social media, it is inevitable that preventive and fundamental thought is given to the vision and social impact of a company. Whether it is about sustainability or innovation. Companies are increasingly expected to think beyond organisational boundaries and provide a driving force for social progress. Directly and indirectly. For progress inside and outside the company walls.

Yasmien is a lady with an opinion, and can also explain it well. Empathetic and assertive at the same time, that’s possible.
For a Kom op tegen Kanker (Stand Up To Cancer) event, she made a wonderful contribution concerning her experiences with solidarity, social media and the need for a connecting society. And it was clear, instructive and inspiring.
 

Marc Michils

Algemeen Directeur Kom op tegen Kanker

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