She wanted to start a global conversation. A TEDx Talk seemed the best way to do it.
After traveling the world, Seconde Nimenya discovered that no matter if we’re black or white, gay or straight, Jewish, Christian or Muslim, we have more in common with each other than we think.
Nimenya, who is originally from Burundi, a small country in east-central Africa, works to bridge cultural gaps as an author, inspirational speaker and diversity advocate.
“In my journey, I have been exposed to all kinds of people,” said Nimenya, who emphasizes tolerance and peace in her speeches. “As I’ve shared my story and listened to people share theirs, I realized that although we have our differences, we have more that bridges us together than separates us.
“At the end of the day, we all want the same things. We want to feel like we belong, we want to be accepted for who we are.”
Nimenya, 50, shared that realization in a TEDx Talk titled “We Are All Not That Different.” She was one of 19 speakers to share the stage at a TEDx conference hosted by Sno-Isle Libraries in Edmonds last year. (The added “x” means the TED events are locally organized with a license.)
TED Talks are short, powerful presentations from expert speakers on everything from education, business, science, technology, creativity and more that are designed to spread ideas, spark conversations and provide opportunities to explore, connect and cultivate new ways of thinking. Many of the presentations have been shared via video around the globe.
“I’m trying to open up the conversation,” Nimenya said. While race, gender, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation are difficult topics, “talking about our differences is the only way we can learn from one another and embrace each other.”
SARA: Talk about your journey.
SECONDE: I was born and raised in Burundi, an African country bordered by Rwanda, Tanzania and Congo. In 1992, I came to Canada, joining my husband who was completing his master’s degree. We were planning to go back when a civil war erupted in my country, and we ended up becoming war refugees. I lived in Canada for 12 years before moving to the United States.
In 2013, I published my first book, a memoir titled “Evolving Through Adversity,” in which I share my experiences from the time I was a girl living in my native village to my immigration journey in North America. The book is full of life lessons I’ve learned along the way.
I am a firm believer that at our very core, we are not all that different. And that’s my passion, sharing different perspectives and encouraging people to evolve through their adversities. I try to use my writing and speaking voice to raise awareness on key global issues, advocating for equality, and diversity and inclusion in the workplace and the education system.
SARA: What are some hardships you faced?
SECONDE: Growing up in a country and culture in an era when girls were being denied education or not being encouraged to get an education. I had to fight to get it. Beyond fighting to get an education, I also had to walk hundreds of miles to attend high school. I dealt with poverty issues without even realizing that we were poor.
I had to deal with the history of my country as it changed from being a colony of Germany and Belgium to an independent nation facing internal ethnic conflicts among my people.
Once in North America, I had to deal with culture shock, and learning from scratch the language and the ways of life. In dealing with my problems, I started helping other immigrants and minorities, and became their proponent, helping them adjust and integrate in their new culture.
SARA: What is a diversity and inclusion advocate?
SECONDE: An advocate in general is someone who takes issues to heart and goes out to help others navigate those issues, and find solutions to problems. I work with organization leaders to hire a diverse workforce, or train school administrators and teachers to inspire students to learn about the multicultural world they live in.
I speak, coach and train on multiple topics related to people of different identities and cultures. Advocating helps me bridge the gaps between service providers, employers, school administrators and community members who work with or need to employ people of diverse backgrounds.
At my events, I want people to feel safe enough to share their stories and have meaningful conversations to heal one another and learn with each other.
SARA: Why did you become a diversity advocate?
SECONDE: It began from when I immigrated to North America, and was uprooted from everything I ever knew and was familiar with. I went through a tough time trying to adjust to American society. It wasn’t easy, especially as I was also raising children within this dichotic set of cultures.
I made a lot of mistakes, had a lot of setbacks in what I wanted to achieve, but I made a commitment to use those adversities to help others who were going through the same issues.
SARA: What was it like growing up in Burundi?
SECONDE: My personal experiences of growing up in Burundi are a mix of good memories of family and friends, but also a lot of adversities like I mentioned above.
In 1972, I experienced the first ethnic civil war as a first grader, and my family was nearly killed because of their ethnicity. I witnessed people wanting to kill each other in the name of ethnic belonging, which would make me want to be more tolerant of those I perceive as different. That’s probably why I ended up becoming an advocate for diversity and inclusion.
Burundi is a beautiful country with beautiful people, but unfortunately has gone through a backward pull because of the different civil wars that has destroyed infrastructures, and so far, no accountability to fix what’s broken.
Sara Bruestle: 425-339-3046; sbruestle@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @sarabruestle.
Sno-Isle Libraries TEDx conference
Sno-Isle Libraries, which serves Snohomish and Island counties, hosts the annual TED event in which speakers come together on a global stage to share ideas worth spreading. The inaugural TEDxSnoIsleLibraries conference was held in 2015.
This year’s TEDxSnoIsleLibraries is 1 to 5:30 p.m. Nov. 4 and will take place at Kamiak High School, 10801 Harbour Pointe Blvd., Mukilteo. The theme is “Shaping Our Future.” Idea and speaker nominations will be accepted through June 11. For information on the free event, go to www.sno-isle.org/tedx.
About Seconde Nimenya
Seconde Nimenya, 50, is an author, inspirational speaker and diversity advocate. She holds a master’s in business administration from the University of Phoenix. She also speaks three languages. She lives in Snohomish with her husband and three children.
Her books include the memoir “Evolving Through Adversity,” which was a 2014 International Book Awards finalist, and “A Hand to Hold,” a novel about an Ethiopian woman who was adopted and brought to the United States as a child.
Watch Nimenya’s TEDx Talk at http://tinyurl.com/tedx-secondenimenya. For more about her, go to www.secondenimenya.com.
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