Category: Experience Sharing

Experience Sharing

My First Time: Navigating a Racist Experience in Norway

The very first time I felt the full-fledged traumatic effects of racism was in Norway, in 2017. I went to Norway for a training course for a month. My fellow trainees and I were lodged at Vika, Oslo Central, which was a pretty decent area from what I was told. So, on one fateful afternoon

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Experience Sharing

Surviving my ‘Norwegian’ Depression: Part II

(Continued from Part I..) My smallness was further exacerbated by my perception of my husband as I believed that he didn’t “get me” or stand up enough for me. He didn’t understand. And although he never directly said this, I felt that he started to worry about what I might say when out at dinner with his

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Experience Sharing

Surviving my ‘Norwegian’ Depression: Part I

Many might know of the term the Psychological Migration Process. I understand the notion and have studied different variations of it. Essentially, this process occurs, in many cases, when moving to a new country: Feeling of positivity about the new country. Depression after a while and negative thoughts about the new country manifests. Eventually, life begins

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Experience Sharing

“You Are His First Negro.”

My partner has a deadbeat childhood friend. Let’s call the deadbeat friend, “Dick,” and my partner, “Milan.”  For Dick’s newly born precious son’s christening, Milan and I travelled about 6 hours to be present. After the Christening, we drove back to Dick’s, we figured we’d stay for an hour or two and then set off on

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Experience Sharing

“People Like You.”

Some time ago, while exploring my possibilities of taking a paid language course for the Summer, because I am here on a working resident permit that does not qualify me for the free Norwegian courses, the attendant at the language school, clarified that there were no courses that I could currently join, as everyone was

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Experience Sharing

Riding the Waves of Unemployment.

For the most part, I see myself as a stereotypical Norwegian – blue eyes and blond hair. Growing up in the one of the richest municipalities in Norway, I was one of the lucky ones where we would always travel to a new destination each summer.  Because I was one of the fortunate ones, I

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Chisom Udeze

Founder of Diversify, Diversify Consult, HerSpace & The Annual

Chisom is an Economist, a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Strategist, and a 3 times founder of impact driven companies. She has over 14 years of experience working with organizations like the European Commission, The United Nations, ExxonMobil and The Economist Group. Chisom is analytical and a data enthusiast. She is passionate about interrogating the cross-sectoral relationship between society’s inhabitants, resources, production, technology, distribution and output. She efficiently and effectively unlocks complex systems, interprets data, forecasts socio-economic trends and conducts research.

Having lived and worked in 7 countries across 3 continents, she is highly adaptable to different circumstances and people, and thrives in uncertain environments.

As the founder of Diversify and Diversify Consult, Chisom and her team work with companies, institutions, governments and civil society to develop sustainable DEIB strategies and embed measurable diversity and inclusion initiatives in the workplace and society. In addition, in 2022, Diversify launched the Diversify Nordics Summit, the largest conference in the Nordics that gathers cross-sectoral stakeholders to amplify DEIB in the Nordics and beyond.

In 2020, she founded HerSpace, a diverse and inclusive co-creation community for all genders, with particular focus on women and non-binary people. In 2022, HerSpace launched HerTech, Women in Tech incubator, for women-led companies, with a focus on the inclusion of diverse founders. 

Chisom is a thought-leader in DEIB and a passionate advocate for mental health and wellness. She writes often on DEIB and justice related topics, some of her work is published on Forbes.

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