Diversify Lunch: Building Bridges with Chef Ampy Basa

The Diversify Lunch seeks to facilitate community building, dialogue, conversation and network for the diverse people of Norway. As this is a first event, we are starting small, but we plan to accommodate a larger group of people in subsequent events.

The Diversify Lunch (hosted in collaboration with Chef Ampy of Casabasa) seeks to facilitate community building, dialogue, conversation and network for the diverse people of Norway. As this is a first event, we are starting small, but we plan to accommodate a larger group of people in subsequent events.

“If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him… the people who give you their food give you their heart.”

– Cesar Chavez

OUR WHY

There is a strong thread connecting food, culture and society. The tradition of eating with others or sharing food can be sentimental, whilst providing important connections to our nationality, families or new countries of residence. For many (immigrants and Norwegians alike) food can be a bridge that helps us connect, make friends and feel included in society. As an important part of most cultures, very few things can transport you to a unique memory as does the taste of food. The popular expression of ‘Breaking Bread’ with someone mirrors the important role food plays in bringing people together and forming relationships. Food does not merely nurture our bodies, it can also serve as a bridge for forging understanding between segregated communities.

Each Diversify gathering will be structured with talking points. We see our gatherings as a fantastic opportunity to learn as it provides an avenue to engage with people from diverse background, with different insights, life experiences and viewpoints. Diversify gatherings also facilitates network building and fosters community and cross-cultural understanding over food.

Some pictures from the Diversify Lunch

Stay tuned for more information and updates.

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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