An #IamRemarkable facilitator on the power of self-promotion

Editor's note: This article discusses a person who had suicidal thoughts. If you or someone you know needs help, use Find a Helplineto access local emotional support resources.

What do you gain from being a facilitator?

Helping people gives me a lot of positive energy. For example, I’ve run workshops with refugees whose lives began changing for the better, and women who’ve lived through wars. You can’t beat the feeling of helping people. I love it, and don’t even mind running a workshop with people in New Zealand at 3 a.m., which I did during their lockdown.

What kinds of issues do you deal with as a facilitator?

Sometimes in a workshop, when people have to read what they’ve written, they start crying, shaking, can’t read or can’t turn on the camera. You have to be sensitive and reassure them. I’ve had times where everybody was crying — for example, when we heard the story of a trans woman from Iran. But emotion connects people, too. Hearing others' life stories inspired me to live mine, and I hope that my story will help others to share their stories too.

To get involved and hear more stories, join #IamRemarkable Week 2022 from September28-30. The agendafeatures talks with guests like Venus Williams(in cooperation with Talks at Google), Tom Daleyand Deepica Mutyala, plus panels, daily exercisesand online workshops.