In episode number 12 of ONE Conversation, The Making of an Activist Fiona Dunne talks to Mohammad Naeem, a student activist and Regional Student Liaison Officer with the ISSU, about his introduction to activism, balancing school work with taking action and what prompted him to get involved in the range of topics in which he is currently engaged.
This episode starts with Mohammad referencing the effect his parents have had on his activism when they instilled in him the principles of honesty and solidarity, and how he understood at quite a young age that small acts of kindness and helpfulness is important to a good society. It moves then to identifying how his activism began in primary school, with simple acts relating to the green and climate change agenda, realising that he could make changes himself, before moving on through to working with the ISSU to support students at second-level.
He found the “silver lining” during Covid when, at his finger-tips, he found the online world offered opportunities to delve into the world of activism across a range of topics, simply because there were no barriers or travelling challenges which a young person might ordinarily encounter. And Mohammad is all too familiar with such challenges living in a rural community in Mayo.
He is a real self-starter and described how he used his TY year to great personal advantage and found opportunities to attend events and build his activism skills. Although online at first, it gave him the confidence to continue when the world returned to in-person events. At first daunted by the prospect of travelling to Dublin alone for the first time, he described the world of activism as “meeting people who will help you …everyone is really helpful in the activism world”. And described how Dublin colleagues met him from the train and accompanied him along to events until he found his feet and his confidence grew. He speaks about leading a group of 44 regional officers and the type of work they do from running national campaigns at a local level to establishing projects locally, such as the Cork Consent Conference, which is the first of it’s kind run by the ISSU initiated by their regional officers in Cork.
He then talks about the importance of his education, how he wishes to do well in school and how he learned to balance his activism with his studies, which is hugely important not just for his future but to keep up with current school work. For anyone considering getting involved in student politics, not sure how to start or if this is for them, then this is the podcast for you. Be prepared to be inspired and be prepared to get active.
Have a listen to this entirely honest and inspiring conversation which provides insight not just to student politics but the day to day challenges students successfully navigate around.
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