Introducing Shabira, our new CEO
As announced in our last blog, our new CEO is Shabira Papain. Today, Shabira tells us a little more about herself and her priorities for the future of Democracy Club.
In the beginning
On the night of 14th August 1977, my mother was in Lisbon, precariously scaling a government building- painting a pro-democracy mural. Suddenly she heard police sirens approaching. Salazar’s government had little tolerance for political activism, so my mum ran like many times before, but this time she tripped and fell. Four hours later, I was born, 2.5 months premature because I didn’t want to miss any more action. And so, my journey into social justice and activism was born, it’s in my blood, its literally my birth story.
For more than 5 generations, my people have not lived in the countries where they or their parents were born. We are a tribe of migrants, a fusion of cultures, languages, and genes. We seem incapable of sitting still and I’m proud to say, I’ve continued this trend. I was born in Lisbon, grew up in Australia and moved to London 21 years ago where I’m raising 3 mixed-heritage children in the east London Bronx that is East Ham. My diaspora influences how I experience and see the world. It means I have direct experience of how hidden and embedded public information/knowledge is for so many people.
I have spent my working life tackling inequalities and promoting subsidiarity. I’m passionate about creating opportunities for people to take more control over their lives. For me, this starts with us being able to make decisions about the things that affects us most, the stuff that keeps us awake at night and has a direct impact on our lives. It starts with democratic participation.
‘In a society where participation is a value, inability to participate is a severe deprivation.”
Sidney Verba
Joining Democracy Club
So, imagine my delight when I discovered Democracy Club. The work of this tiny but mighty team does so much to remove the barriers to democratic participation. It’s an honour to be joining Democracy Club as the CEO, working alongside a dedicated and knowledgeable team. I like nothing more than collaboration; facing challenges and celebrating achievements with a bunch of other crazy folk who want to do good in the world. It appears, I have found my tribe in Democracy Club. Check out our newest impact report from the May 2022 election.
I’m keen to hear from those of you who know our work. What do you think we could be doing to shape the future of national and local democracy? As the new kid on the block, I’m aware that I do not know what I don’t know; shoot me a message, point me towards a blog, report, a podcast or your notes on the back of a napkin. I’ll soak it all up so don’t be shy to reach out. Shower me with your wisdom!
I’ll be focussing on building relationships, growing sustainable income to keep serving our communities and ensure we are asking (and potentially trying to answer) the most pertinent questions facing our democracies today. Digital services have the potential to democratise access to knowledge and information. They can therefore create new barriers to democratic participation. I’m interested in understanding how we, as a community of practice, tackle this challenge? How we hold ourselves to account? How much do we know about who we are leaving behind (intentionally or unintentionally)?
I’ll come back to you in a few months to let you know how I’ve progressed the questions that are emerging for me. I also hope to reflect back what I have learnt from you all. I’m keen to use this opportunity to distil the learning with simplicity and precision that is easy to understand, especially those most at risk of exclusion.