Holding Space

In Holding Space Aminata Cairo presents her own, unique vision in the promotion of inclusion that far surpasses the standard diversity & inclusion approach. She grounds her work in indigenous knowledge, the blues aesthetics, holy hip hop, and Caribbean and black feminist theories. Hailing from her Surinamese roots, her Native American nurturing, and academic training she uses personal stories to explore the themes and steps on a way to a more inclusive community. She engages her audience utilizing storytelling, with the ultimate goal of creating a new story, collectively. She challenges the audience to take a closer look at themselves and each other, raising the question what it really takes to collectively create an environment of equality and validation. It is about us, all of us, is her message, as she forces us to feel, hear, and own that. This book is not a reading, it is an experience.

Aminata Cairo is an anthropologist, psychologist, educator, storyteller, and “love-worker”. She is an independent consultant “who works with people”. She is the former lector of Inclusive Education at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. She was the first and only research professor of African descent in the Netherlands. Born in the Netherlands to Surinamese parents she left for the US at age 18 where she pursued her academic career. She returned to the Netherlands after 30 years and obtaining two Master's degrees and a Ph.D. In the Netherlands she utilizes her academic, community activist and artist skills to make a difference and has a special affinity for the stories that are overlooked, silenced or marginalized.