Meet An Arab Woman

As a species, human beings are inherently creative. Creativity is what we use to solve our everyday problems or to do things in a different way using our imagination. But, having this ability to create and actually creating something are two completely different things. That's why we are so impressed when we see people who create something which we consider beautiful. It makes us say "wow, they are so creative!" From the person who doodles on their notebooks, to the one who cooks imaginative dishes at home, to the aspiring Picasso's and the Beethoven's of the world, we are surrounded by creators.

However, for a creator to be considered what we call in the industry a "Creative", they require way more than just creativity. They require a constant awareness of everything that happens inside or around them. They require an unquenchable thirst to interpret life and present their view of the world to the rest of humanity. They must feel the need to create something every second of their lives without even questioning themselves why. That, for me, is a Creative. And I can count myself lucky for being surrounded by such talented ones.

One of those creatives is Sandy Abdelrahman. Sandy was born in Egypt and grew up in East London, where she is an activist and creative social entrepreneur. She is also the founder of Skaped, an organisation that uses art as an engagement tool to educate and raise awareness of human rights issues. She has a track record that includes representing the United Kingdom at the United Nations Youth Summit 2017 in New York and working with Amnesty International.

Sandy is currently studying for her Master's Degree in Art & Politics, for which she has devised an interesting project on the perception that the non-Arab world has of who an Arab woman is. 'Meet an Arab woman', is a project that invites us to have an open-minded conversation on the burning debate about being a woman and being Arab. The project is intended to answer all the questions that the rest of us have about culture, political correctness and stereotypes on gender in the Arab world.

Through online conversations via video call, Sandy wants to answer our questions on gender inequality, discrimination, and racism while at the same time challenging many of the prevailing perspectives. If you want to find out more about inspiring Arab women, or simply learn who makes the greatest falafel, sign up to her project and solve all the doubts that you may have about what being an Arab woman means.

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Is Black Friday Still Worth It For Anyone?

Black Friday 2018 is nearly here and the world is getting ready for the biggest sales day of the year. A day where the big brands will try to sell you almost everything that they have in stock and consumers will buy almost anything, even if it means spending more than they can afford. It is a fierce competition among store owners, but also among bargain hunters. Sadly, it is a competition where the winners are hardly winning, and the losers may lose it all.

I have my doubts on whether Black Friday is really that good for brands and consumers. On the one hand, even if it is true that it is the biggest sales day of the year, anyone who runs a business can tell you that more sales don’t equal more profit. Also, if you have to discount everything to be able to sell something, the discounted price is your new full-price. On top of that, if everyone is waiting for the best deals on Black Friday, who will buy your products at regular prices during the rest of the year? In the end, brands would have to give out their products for free if we continue at this pace (I spoke about this in this post).

On the other hand, one could argue that Black Friday is not that good for the consumer either. The whole shopping experience during that day is awful and it makes you question your faith in humanity. Besides, there are always reports of brands pumping their prices up before Black Friday so that they can offer discounts on the day.

But, for me, the biggest losers during Black Friday are not whom you might think:

• Small brands: smaller brands that don’t take part on Black Friday or can’t compete with the discounts offered by bigger brands because they have smaller margins and can’t afford to make drastic discounts. You might think “well, it’s the survival of the fittest”, but you must remember that small and medium businesses are the ones that keep the economy alive.

• The economy: if stores do most of their sales of the year during Black Friday and the rest of the year customers are hardly buying their products, what is the need for brands to keep shops open all year long wasting money on staff, rent, utilities, warehouses, etc? Who is going to hire all that staff or rent all those commercial spaces if brands don’t need them anymore?

• The environment: Black Friday does not only result in over-spending, but it also brings over-consumption and waste. Consumers not only tend to wait until Cyber Monday to renew their devices, but they also buy some new ones that they didn’t even need just because they were offered at a discounted price, contributing to the electronic waste that is piling up in the landfills all over the planet.

Brands and consumers alike should reassess whether keeping the tradition of Black Friday alive is worth all the hassle. For what is the point of a competition where everyone loses in the end?

Photo credit: behind the scenes shot by Facundo Bustamante.

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