Oluwadamilola Akintewe, former Salzburg Global intern, is awarded the prestigious Diana Legacy Award
Oluwadamilola Akintewe, a former communications intern at Salzburg Global Seminar, has consistently worked to empower women and youth in her home of Nigeria as a young changemaker. Oluwadamilola was recently awarded the Diana Legacy Award, which aims to create opportunities for the world’s leading humanitarian and social activists and strengthen their impact.
Salzburg Global Seminar: What sparked your personal interest in social work?
Oluwadamilola Akintewe: When I was in the second year of my undergraduate law program in 2018, I had an experience on my campus that became the underlying factor for my interest in social work. One evening, I was returning from church when I was attacked by someone wielding a machete who robbed me of my valuable resources and nearly struck me with the machete. I was saved because we heard passersby voices which caused him to flee. The experience, even thinking about it years later, still gives me chills.
I reported the incident to the appropriate quarters on campus but instead of receiving physical and psychosocial support, I was met with classic victim blaming. In my naivety, I had believed that if I followed all socially acceptable and curated rules for young women, I would be protected. I learned the hard way that everyone is dispensable in the patriarchy.
I've never felt more helpless than I did that day after the attack. I then became angrier at the system in society that is designed to protect perpetrators. I never wanted another person to experience the same reality that I did, so I became the change I desperately needed to see. Or, better put, I became a tool to empower others to be the change as well.
This experience motivated me to found "Forbidden Topics", a young feminist community that uses storytelling to amplify the voices of women and youth against social and gendered violence and injustices. Leveraging digital media, especially during the lockdown, the community spread across over 30 countries by providing a safe space for these individuals to share their experiences with violence without shame while providing them with a platform to advocate for social issues.
SGS: Can you explain more about "Forbidden Topics" and your broader experience in the field of female empowerment?
OA: Forbidden Topics as a grassroots feminist community has expanded to organize social impact projects that empower young women and youths against gendered violence. In 2020, we launched the “Speak Out On Forbidden Topics” series, which is a space for dialogue, collaboration, and deep dives into anti-feminist laws, legislation, and norms. With my law background, we produced an international exposé on the topic focused on countries ranging from Nigeria to Peru and India, platforming youth voices across over 30 countries.
Last year, with the support of Defend Defenders, we launched the She Village Program that equips young women and men across Nigerian tertiary institutions to advocate against technology-facilitated gender-based violence.
In my personal capacity, I have also organized numerous advocacy projects to foster gender equality. For instance, I spoke at the Youth Corner against Gender Violence at the One Young World 2022 Summit, which is the largest gathering of young changemakers in the world. At the Women Deliver 2023 Conference, the largest gender equality gathering in the world, I spoke on investing in women and the accountability of global leaders to see women's issues as an agenda, not as an afterthought.
SGS: What recognitions have you received for your social impact work? Can you tell us more about the Diana Legacy Award?
OA: In 2021, as an undergraduate, I was named among the top 10 finalists out of 3,400 nominations from 92 countries for the Chegg.org Global Student Prize; this was supported by UNESCO and the Varkey Foundation.
For my bachelor of law thesis on the influence of International Law on Women's Human Rights Advocacy Against Violence, I was recognized by the African Union as a woman of impact, and was a finalist in the Maputo Protocol Solidarity Awards. I also won the inaugural Samantha Singh Award for young people aspiring to careers in development policy. Then, I atended the .org Impact Awards as a “Rising Star in Social Work”.
In 2024, I had the greatest honor of being awarded the Diana Legacy Award by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex. The Legacy Award is the highest recognition for a young person in social impact. It honors the life of the late Princess Diana of Wales, who believed that young people could change the world. All of these recognitions are a testament to the consistency I've shown in my social work since 2018 and I am thankful for these honors.
SGS: How did your internship at Salzburg Global Seminar influence your work?
OA: While at Salzburg Global Seminar, I saw social impact from a different perspective through hearing about the inspiring thoughts and actions of global leaders. In my role as a communications intern, I was privileged to interview and write articles on leaders who championed change in their spaces.
Some of these people did not often carry the nomenclature “changemaker”. They were CEOs, directors, managers, and founders who took up careers to make the world a better place. Meeting these people inspired me to see beyond my current activities and aspirations, and to see changemaking as a lifelong endeavor.
Oluwadamilola Akintewe was a communications intern at Salzburg Global Seminar in the fall of 2023.
To learn more about internship opportunities at Salzburg Global, please visit here.
