Sara Mansour is an Australian lawyer,[1] writer, poet, and founder/artistic director of the Bankstown Poetry Slam.[2][3][4] The Bankstown Poetry Slam is the largest regular Poetry Slam in Australia[5] which offers an artistic outlet for the often-marginalised youth of Western Sydney to share their voice in a safe and inclusive environment.[6][2][7]
Sara Mansour | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 May 1993 |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Citizenship | Australian |
| Education | Bachelor of Laws |
| Alma mater | Western Sydney University |
Education
editMansour graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor of Laws from Western Sydney University.[3][2]
Career
editMansour co-founded Bankstown Poetry Slam in 2013 with fellow poet Ahmad Al Rady.[7] Bankstown Poetry Slam holds monthly workshops and Poetry Slam performance evenings which often have more than 300 guests in attendance.[3][7] Notable poets such as the late Candy Royalle, Rupi Kaur, and Omar Musa have performed at Bankstown Poetry Slam.[8][9][10] In 2018, Mansour's team was required to hire security guards for their monthly event after Australian politician Mark Latham incited online racial abuse and death threats towards the Slam-goers.[6]
In 2018, Mansour was one of the nine founding board members of NOW Australia, a not-for-profit national organisation that sought to provide assistance to victims of sexual harassment, intimidation, or abuse in the workplace.[2] NOW Australia was initially led by veteran Australian journalist Tracey Spicer AM and was dissolved in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]
In 2019, Mansour co-wrote an episode of Halal Gurls, a six-episode Australian comedy-drama on ABC TV.[12] Halal Gurls is about a group of Muslim women, their careers, and their personal lives in Western Sydney.[13] The show was nominated for an AACTA Award in 2020.[14]
Honours and recognition
edit- 2017 Canterbury-Bankstown Australia Day Award for Young Citizen of the Year[3]
References
edit- ^ "From over-surveillance to being called 'terrorists', here's what Australian Muslims faced after 9/11". ABC News. 11 September 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ a b c d Coade, Melissa (4 April 2018). "Young lawyer leads movement to end workplace sexual harassment". www.lawyersweekly.com.au. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Australia Day award winners named". Daily Telegraph. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ Dumas, Daisy (12 February 2024). "Poetry forged in war: Palestinian exile and social media sensation Plestia Alaqad leaves Sydney audience in tears". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ "Why poetry is a powerful way to shed light on injustices | dailylife.com.au". www.dailylife.com.au. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Poetry slam hires security after Mark Latham calls it 'Islamic political ranting'". the Guardian. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ a b c "Why poetry is a powerful way to shed light on injustices". Daily Life. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ "'A fierce bright light': poet and activist Candy Royalle dies, aged 37". the Guardian. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ Pitt, Helen (1 November 2019). "Thought poetry was dead? The 'Instapoets' raking it in online would beg to differ". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ "Omar Musa: Genocide is the basis for racism in Australia". the Guardian. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ "NOW Australia has closed down". The Industry Observer. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ "Trailer Drops For 'World's First Hijabi Comedy' Halal Gurls". HuffPost. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ "ABC iView to premiere world's first hijabi comedy series, Halal Gurls". Mumbrella. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ Rugendyke, Louise (26 May 2021). "The 'hired help' steal the show in SBS's riotous heist comedy". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 October 2021.