Joel Mordi

Nigerian Joel Mordi is a Princess Diana Legacy Award recipient, published poet, and global development student at the University of York, whose journey began when he organized Nigeria’s first month-long all-inclusive LGBTQ+ pride protest in 2019, which led to his forced displacement due to his identity as a gay man. In 2015, he founded the Mordi Ibe Foundation (MIF), Nigeria’s largest non-profit focused on empowerment, inclusion, equity, and diversity, reaching over 500,000 students and educators across more than 200 schools. MIF combats child labor and other forms of educational inequality, offering full scholarships to marginalized students, including those affected by disability, insurgency, period poverty, and sexual minorities.

MIF initiatives include distributing 40,000 menstrual pads to address period poverty and implementing the "small actions, big impact" challenge, where students campaign against single-use plastics and engage in recycling practices. As the 2022 LGBT+ undergraduate of the year award winner in the UK, Joel interned at Clifford Chance, gaining valuable professional insights and work ethics. He also served as a youth special adviser on the SDGs to the Commissioner for Youth Development in Delta State, Nigeria, and contributed to electoral reforms leading up to the 2019 General Elections.

MIF’s LGBTQ+ emergency fund supports safe housing and essentials for sexual minorities, and its maternal/neonatal health outreaches have reached over 80,000 rural women. Despite a diagnosis of dyslexia, PTSD, anxiety, and depression, Joel excelled academically, winning full scholarships at the University of East London and Oxford University and currently studies at the University of York and works with the Sanctuary Scholarship York to fundraise for refugee and asylum seekers' education.

Academic achievements include presenting at conferences on forced migration and marginality in the arts, contributing to publications on welcoming learning environments, and participating as a speaker and peer mentor at CEU’s OLIve project. In 2023, as a keynote speaker at the Warwick University Africa Summit, he addressed anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in Africa.

MIF’s impact on peers includes visiting special learning centers and advocating for inclusive learning experiences, anti-bullying policies, and scholarships for disadvantaged students. They have distributed thousands of school items and implemented the SDGs school scholarship fund, supporting over 600 students, while their student and educator ambassadors program empowers individuals to drive change on issues like albinism, FGM, child labor, and menstrual health.

Joel advocates for youth engagement in solving inequalities through education and innovation, working with Safe Passage International and other charities, campaigning against unlawful child immigration detention and supporting refugee education initiatives. His Guinness World Record attempts, including the "Walking Backwards" project, highlight social injustices such as hate crimes against refugees and modern slavery.

MIF promotes global citizenship by fostering North-South cooperation and connecting communities in need with resources, engages in cross-cultural dialogues, workshops, and conferences to address the unique challenges of marginalized communities, contributing to a global exchange of ideas and practices. Joel’s advocacy has garnered international support, including a campaign at Nottingham Trent University that gained significant social media traction and he continues championing the rights of marginalized groups, striving for inclusive policies and sustainable development globally.