Mamobo Ogoro, a young businesswoman of Irish-Nigerian descent, experienced a flood of online harassment which inspired her to set up Gorm, a social enterprise focusing on bridging cultural gaps through media and intercultural education. Ogoro, who herself grew up in an immigrant family in Ireland, founded and now serves as CEO of Gorm, with the aim to educate individuals through others’ narratives, thus disrupting barriers between various minority groups and general public.
Ogoro, additionally hosts a radio show titled Younified on Newstalk where she showcases a plethora of unique voices. Ever since her involvement in activism grew, she has been heavily targeted by abusers on social media, mainly from those opposed to the concept of integration between immigrants and the wider community.
She categorises her attackers into two distinct groups. The first set features individuals afraid of losing something of value by accepting others – these could be immigrants or members of the LGBTQI+ community among others. The second category is those who don’t uphold the principle that “every human being has the right to human dignity and respect.”
Of the first group, Ogoro expressed that some might be dealing with their own fear and economic insecurities; however, she stated that open dialogues and life story exchanges could significantly alleviate these hesitations. She tries to ignore the other group, which seems intent on promoting hate through personal slander.
Ogoro’s Gorm Gathering, occuring on Saturday at the Complex Arts Centre Arran Street, Dublin 7, is set to bring together “creatives, media creators and artists from all walks of life”, with around 200 tickets already sold.
The assembly is backed by Screen Ireland, media regulator Coimisiún na Meán, along with Diageo. They aim to highlight the creative individuals belonging to underrepresented and minority communities throughout Ireland.