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Kol-Kes INSPIRATIONS

We do not live in a world of isolation; there's always someone somewhere creating something. Opening up one's mind and reach to grasp onto the beauties that manifest is the simplest yet most precious gift to oneself. This page is where Kat Kai Kol-Kes lets you in on what she has found to inspire the Kol-Kes creative flame. 

#01
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FIRST EVER #ShapePRIDE

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When I joined the Global Shapers Community Gaborone Hub in 2013, I was simply excited to be a part of a collective of young people in my city  who were actively working at making change a reality. In 2015, the Hub elected me as the Curator and I became the first openly Trans-identifying person to hold this prestigious office across all the Hubs in the world.

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In 2015, we still didn't have any formal collective or avenue for LGBTQIA+ members of the community to be visible or share the kind of community specific concerns they wanted to have addressed. I started asking the Global Shapers Team at World Economic Forum Headquarters what it would take for us to have LGBTQIA+ Shapers convene and push for SOGIESC inclusions in global Hub actions.

Fast track to June 2020 and I had the honour of being called in to form part of a collective of LGBTQIA+ Shapers, Young Global Leaders and Allies who mounted the first ever #ShapePRIDE. This was a truly global affair with Shapers representing Hubs on all continents.

The adage about walking far with others over walking fast alone is no more evident than in the gift of community and perseverance which made #ShapePRIDE a reality. This is the start of something which will change lives of many people across the world for generations to come. 

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Read more on #ShapePRIDE HERE.

Read more on Global Shapers Community HERE.

#02

 

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2020 MUST JAMS â€‹

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A while ago, I shared on my Twitter that I was enjoying listening to music made in 2019/2020 which isn't mind-numbingly unimaginative. This came as I challenged myself to stop only listening to pre-2010 releases - because I was also starting to say thing like 'remember when music was...' A friend of mine asked me for a playlist.

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In an effort to brighten your new seasons (wherever you are on the planet), here's a list (non-exhaustive & randomized) of full albums I highly recommend listening to. They are all new. They are all rich with tones and substance. They prove that the age of good music is far from over. 

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  • B7 - Brandy 

  • Tamotait - Tamikrest 

  • Have you lost your mind yet? - Fantastic Negrito

  • Mr - Leslie Odom Jr.

  • Twice as Tall - Burna Boy

  • Woman - Syleena Johnson

  • Holy Room - Somi

  • It Is What It Is - Thundercat

  • Wild Card - Ledisi

  • We Are Sent Here by History - Shabaka and the Ancestors

  • Paul - PJ Morton

  • Love Always Wins - KEM

  • Kiwanuka - Michael Kiwanuka 

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Here's my gateway PLAYLIST. Enjoy!

#03

 

BRISBON KOFI - THE HEALING SECTION

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In what seems like a birth I have watched and waited for, I find myself invigorated and stilled all at once by the latest collection of works by Brisbon Kofi. 

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There is a delicate approach to storytelling with which he leads the listener through the various terrains of love, lust, hurt, happiness and others. The honesty makes it difficult to imagine that the writer-performer is not simply bleeding themselves dry for the page in a sort of one -hit-wonder 'pièce de résistance'; because one couldn't possibly have more to bare of themselves after delivering something as raw; could they? But then, you are reminded that this is a work of (and quite importantly for) healing. 

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Through THE HEALING SECTION, Brisbon Kofi offers stories which position a Queer, Black, Young voice as the star and conduit. When I wrote My Tongue. My Noose. (Kol-Kes, 2018), I wanted it to serve as a form of healing practice, to comfort Black and brown Queer folks who are taught to fear their voices. Brisbon Kofi has given me that kind of companionship here, and I hope you find inspiration in it too.

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Visit his website HERE. 

Inspirations updated regularly; so check back in soon!

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