OUR FOUNDER
Sivan Breemhaar is a social entrepreneur who founded AFRIEK in 2013. Following a Master's in Conflict Studies and Human Rights, in which Sivan focused on Rwanda, she felt a strong personal calling to visit the region. Upon experiencing the beauty and creativity within Rwanda, she was compelled to launch AFRIEK with the ambition of pioneering a more balanced and respectful way of collaboration between the West and Africa.
“There is disparity and conflict between cultures everywhere, but the gulf between the West and Africa feels the strongest to me. I want to contribute to more equality between continents and pursue an approach of collaboration and co-creation. Working with individuals of different backgrounds, and different cultures, it is abundantly clear to me that we can achieve so much more when we listen to one another and work together. I believe this can really help to counterbalance the one-sided fallacious narratives that the West propagates about Africa.”
Based in Amsterdam, a city known for its progressiveness, but where racial inequality still persists, Sivan acknowledges her position of white privilege, harnessing it as a tool to rebalance narratives around Africa and the Diaspora. Whilst the Diaspora continues to fiercely push the issue of racial inequality, Sivan aims to use her position of privilege as an ally, to spread awareness and raise consciousness.
We'd love to hear your thoughts and work together with like minds.
Please contact sivan@afriek.com to learn more.