Decision-Making Panel
Pamela is a Lagos-based queer feminist, filmmaker, and social impact strategist dedicated to using storytelling, organising, and philanthropy to amplify LGBTQIA+ voices across Africa. She joined ISDAO's Asanka decision-making panel in May 2025.
Previously, Pamela served as Senior Campaigns Manager at All Out, where she led global LGBTQ advocacy campaigns, trained activists from across Africa, and was a member of the Community Fund grant-making panel for The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERs). At the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL), she led regional community organising and advocacy efforts and directed the PowerUp Project, which supported and connected female human rights defenders from seven African countries.
As a filmmaker and creative director at The Equality Hub, she produced Ìfé, a pioneering Nigerian queer romantic drama, as well as Under the Rainbow (feature-length documentary), Center Stage (web series), and the upcoming sequel to Ìfé, scheduled for release in 2026. She is part of the first cohort of the Obama Foundation Leaders: Africa program. Pamela holds a BBA from the University of Wisconsin, an MBA from Webster University, and a Master's in Human Services from the University of Baltimore, USA.
Pamela has been deeply engaged in African LGBTQI and feminist movements working to challenge systemic oppression, build community resilience, and tell stories that inspire visibility and change. Outside of her work, she is passionate about fitness and wellness, African cinema, and finding joy in everyday acts of resistance and creativity. She is inspired by Audre Lorde, whose life and work as a Black lesbian feminist poet and activist continue to guide her commitment to truth-telling, justice, and liberation.
Cynthia is a Burkinabe feminist activist with nearly three (3) years of activism experience and ten (10) years of experience in the field of music. She joined ISDAO's Asanka decision-making panel in May 2025.
Cynthia works on behalf of LBQ women through WOMA MEDIA, a feminist organization dedicated to LBQ women in Francophone West Africa and Cameroon. She is responsible for communications and advocacy. As a rapper and photographer, her favorite subjects are women's issues and human rights in general.
For the past three months, she has been collaborating with Atelier des Luttes, alongside other African artists, on the creation of an eight-track album entirely focused on human rights. The album addresses themes such as Women who use drugs, transgender women, activism, mental health, sexual diversity, feminism, and more. Cynthia is also passionate about DJing, a hobby she holds dear and a space where she finds escape and freedom.
Régis is a French-Congolese-Angolan queer activist, born in Brazzaville. He brings over 30 years of professional experience in advocacy and activism focused on access to healthcare, human rights, social justice, and education, including ten years with Act Up-Paris. He joined the Asanka grant-making panel in April 2025 and also serves as Co-Artistic Director at Atelier des Luttes (ADL).
Previously, Régis worked as an independent artist and consultant. Since 2010, he has been developing a long-term photographic narrative titled Minorités, grounded in a documentary-style artistic approach. At ADL, he coordinates the Photography & Advocacy training sessions, oversees artist residencies, curates photo exhibitions, and leads strategic artistic partnerships. A self-taught artist, he also completed formal training in photography at EFET-Paris, a school of art and photography.
Régis is part of the pioneering generation of openly queer photographers and AIDS activists on the African continent. He sees himself as a “mediator”, whose mission is to connect and support vulnerable populations — especially women and LGBTQI people — in all their diversity, and topass on their stories through the tools of contemporary art. To counter the discouragement that often shadows our infrapolitical struggles for resistance, he finds balance through his passion for literature, music, sports, and art exhibitions. His historical and contemporary references include Kimpa Vita and Simon Nkoli.
Marame is Franco-Senegalese. She joined the Asanka decision-making panel in May 2025. Before that, she worked with associations, feminist and LGBTQIA+ publications, as well as companies, on awareness and training initiatives focused on gender-based violence and access to rights. She also completed artist residencies in Paris (59RIV) and in Atlanta, USA (Villa Albertine), where she explored themes such as misogynoir, assimilation, and queer visibility.
Marame has a rather eclectic background. After a ten-year career in international management, she chose to shift her focus, pursuing studies on anti-racism and anti-Semitism (Université Paris 8), as well as public affairs (Sciences Po). She currently supports Violette and Co, a feminist and LGBT cultural mediation organization, in strengthening its inter-organizational relationships, event programming, and fundraising efforts.
Marame has served on several boards of directors, including the Lesbian Community of Europe and Central Asia, as well as Égides. She has also enjoyed collaborating as an illustrator with numerous feminist, LGBT, and decolonial magazines.
Her favorite moments involve discovering a new comic book while enjoying a generous glass of wine. As a comics enthusiast, the character that has most impacted her in recent years is Batwoman — and in particular, Javicia Leslie’s portrayal in the TV series of the same name. In terms of symbolism and representation (embodying a Black, lesbian Batwoman), the message conveyed on screen represents a powerful statement in terms of role modeling.
Arit is a queer Nigerian media entrepreneur with roughly two decades of experience spanning education, creative entrepreneurship, and media. They began their career as a School Administrator, then worked as a freelance Associate Documentary Producer, before becoming an international TV Host, Producer, and Voice Talent. Their on-screen career culminated in the role of Host of African Voices, where they told the stories of Africa’s changemakers.
Throughout their professional journey, Arit has focused on sharing under-told stories, amplifying voices, challenging stereotypes, and building safe ground. They currently work as a media consultant and advisor, supporting both corporate and individual clients seeking to expand or refine their media identity. Arit has been active in the LGBTQI space both informally and formally. They served as admin and moderator for several queer online and offline communities, both before and after the passage of Nigeria’s SSMPA Act. They hosted Untold Facts, an initiative to share the stories of Nigerian LGBTQI citizens, and have consistently used their media and digital platforms to elevate queer and feminist narratives and perspectives.
Arit is currently focused on building a world with their partner, Eloghosa, and living a free life. They treasure moments spent with their chosen tribe of family and friends. When not reading a book, Arit is usually thinking about delicious food, cooking delicious food, or eating delicious food.
