Mina Sharif

Mina Sharif

Toronto, Ontario
Afghan Women's Rights Activist | Cultural Competence Consultant | Author | Host
Mina Sharif is an Afghan Women's Rights Activist, keynote speaker, Podcast host, and Cultural Consultant with over 20 years of experience working with marginalized communities. She uses media and personal networks to empower and foster human connection and has been published in "We Are Still Here", with a foreword by Margaret Atwood. She has also shared her expertise and insights on multiple platforms including "The Agenda", CBC radio, and BBC. Mina Sharif has directed Afghanistan's edition of Sesame Street and founded a nationwide mentorship program for girls, and shares her wealth of experience on women's rights, media empowerment, diaspora/identity, and best practices for supporting newcomers to Canada as the lead consultant at Compassion First Consulting and Director at Paragon Institute.
  • Communications
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Awareness Days
  • Charities & Foundations
  • Community Engagement Events
  • Conference
  • Conferences & Summits
  • Consultant & Coach
  • Corporate Audience
  • Inspirational

MINA SHARIF BIOGRAPHY

Mina Sharif is an Afghan raised in Canada, who lived and travelled extensively in Afghanistan for fifteen years. Her experience there focused on utilizing media and grassroots communities to foster connectivity and unity towards a common goal of co-existence and peace building. Experiencing a Global South life, through the lens of her Canadian upbringing, taught her a number of lessons about how we can use our daily opportunities, even within small networks, to make our world a more peaceful and unified community.

Her professional experience includes media training for street children with Save the Children, leading multiple grassroots charity efforts, developing and disseminating nationwide public service campaigns for the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense, and directing the Afghan version of Sesame Street. Mina Sharif is also the founder of Sisters 4 Sisters, a mentorship program designed to empower women and girls in marginalized communities through confidence building.

As an engaging speaker, Mina Sharif is often invited to speak on podcasts, panels and mass media interviews. Sharing her personal experiences of life in the Global South, through the lens of a Canadian raised woman, makes her presentations accessible to audiences in a way that few can offer. Her shared experiences with Canadian raised audiences, newcomers and the diaspora, enable Mina Sharif to inspire in a way that includes everyone in the room, and leaves them realizing that we can all be more active members of the global community. She has spoken at schools, been featured on many podcasts, moderated roundtables, has a considerable social media following, and has appeared on a number of TV and print outlets including the Toronto Star, Al Jazeera and the CBC.

As a hyphenated Canadian, her lived experience has had a great impact on those who face the nuances of the diaspora/identity challenges or want to learn more about them. As a content creator, Mina Sharif helps people connect to Afghanistan beyond headlines. Through the support she has received from her social media following, Mina Sharif has raised thousands of dollars for aid work and founded the Durkhanum Sewing Circle, an emergency response employment opportunity for women who lost their jobs after the fall of Afghanistan, a project for which she was featured in Teen Vogue.

Miss Sharif is now in Canada and continues to lead numerous volunteer aid efforts for Afghanistan. She co-hosts a popular podcast, writes for numerous publications, and serves as a consultant for cultural competence, philanthropy, and best practices to serve newcomers from conflict affected countries. She speaks as an expert on women’s rights, the newcomer and diaspora experience, communication tools, Afghanistan, diversity and inclusion.

Videos

Podcasts

Play

New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy

Emily Prey

Gendering Geopolitics
Play

The Follow

Sanders\Wingo Advertising

Changing Perceptions About Afghanistan with Mina Sharif
Play

OneRising

Misaq Kazimi

Afghanistan by Afghans EP19 | Mina Sharif | A Canadian-Afghan who chose to go back to Afghanistan

Mina Sharif Topic Presentations

diversity measures and intercultural communication - steps we can all take, to truly connect

  • Virtual PresentationKeynote PresentationWorkshop SessionHalf Day TrainingFull Day Training
  • A common critisicm of diversity measures in the workplace is that they feel performative rather than inclusive. Learn from Mina Sharif’s firsthand experience, that it can be a few simple tweaks in approach that make the world more harmonious one diverse room at a time.

    Mina Sharif was raised in Canada. In 2005 she moved to Afghanistan where she lived for fifteen years. In this presentation, Mina Sharif shares her biggest takeaway from that experience; that we can and must change the way we look at diversity. You will hear firsthand about what it was like to encounter a world she had only seen through news reports. She will share photos, anecdotal stories and steps she took in her life to counter feeling unheard both in Afghanistan and in Canada. She will inspire your audience to excitedly connect more to their own roots, respectfully and effectively learn more about their peers, and all the while appreciate the experience of living in the diversity of Canada.

effectively supporting newcomers

  • Virtual PresentationKeynote PresentationWorkshop SessionHalf Day TrainingFull Day Training
  • Whether you are an organization supporting newcomers, or members of a community that wishes to be more supportive to those who have recently joined you, you will benefit from this presentation. Having spent her entire childhood in Canada and most of her adulthood in Afghanistan, Mina shares firsthand experience as a child refugee, a diaspora raised in Toronto who has worked with and volunteered to support newcomers, and as a recent returnee from Afghanistan. Additionally, her professional experience as a founder of Sisters 4 Sisters, a mentorship program for girls and women from marginalized communities in Afghanistan, will offer you effective tools and takeaways for best practices in supporting war affected newcomers, like those who have arrived from places like Afghanistan or Ukraine. Having lived the before, during and after of the war refugee experience, Mina Sharif can support you in your journey to welcome new Canadians with a wealth of personal and professional knowledge.

empowering women

  • Virtual PresentationKeynote PresentationWorkshop SessionHalf Day TrainingFull Day Training
  • In this dynamic presentation, Mina Sharif shares her firsthand experience working with the women of Afghanistan on fighting for their human rights. Canadian raised, she lived in Afghanistan for fifteen years and founded Sisters 4 Sisters, a mentorship program for women and girls in marginalized communities. Mina Sharif is a contributing writer to the best selling “We are Still Here: Afghan women on Courage, Freedom and the Fight to Be Heard”, featuring foreword by Margaret Atwood. She founded Durkhanum Sewing Circle, an emergency response training program featured in Teen Vogue, for women breadwinners in Afghanistan. She has been interviewed by numerous media outlets around the world discussing best practice for support and solidarity for women who need our voices.

Testimonials

Coming Soon!

Articles & Media

Toronto woman behind Afghan ads

Toronto Star

KABUL–Western countries spend millions trying to win hearts and minds in Afghanistan, only to throw it all away with a clumsy cultural gaffe. That's where Mina Sharif c
View

Meet the Afghan Women Showing Their Resistance by Sewing

teen Vogue

Since the takeover of Kabul, Afghan women and girls in the country have been prohibited from continuing their careers and education. Because of this, combined with an economic crisis, many have had to search for alternatives to make ends meet. For the women of the Durkhanum: Kabul Sewing Circle,...
View

Hey World, Are You Listening? Afghan Girls And Women In Crisis Are Asking Read more at: https://www.shethepeople.tv/news/women-of-afghanistan-diaspora-fundraisers-relief-mina-sharif/

shethepeople

“Afghanistan has a 5000-year-old history. We have had women in leadership roles the entire time. By no means do Afghan women need international influence on empowerment,” Mina Sharif, executive producer for shows such as Baghch-e-Simsim and Voice of Afghan Youth, tells SheThePeople in a...
View

The Open Forum UK

SBC

Prospect and Possibility of Engagement with the Taliban on Women Rights
View

Al-Jazeera

SBC

Taliban Takeover: Fighters Enter Afghan Presidential Palace
View

Books

We Are Still Here: Afghan Women on Courage, Freedom, and the Fight to Be Heard
We Are Still Here: Afghan Women on Courage, Freedom, and the Fight to Be Heard
After decades of significant progress, the prospects of women and girls in Afghanistan are once again dependent on radical Islamists who reject gender equality. When the United States announced the end of their twenty-year occupation and the Taliban seized control of the country on August 15, 2021,...
How to book Mina Sharif for an event?

Mina Sharif keynote speaker is an expert presenter and has a wide range of experience speaking to a wide variety of audiences and organizations. Mina Sharif delivers keynotes, workshops & training sessions. They may also host or emcee events. Hire Mina Sharif from Toronto, Ontario for your event to inspire the audience to take action and make change in their work and their lives. Your workplace will benefit from our keynote speaker and their keynote talks and speeches will shift the mindsets or behaviours for the audience members in Canada. 

Interested in booking Mina Sharif for an event?

Are you looking to hire Mina Sharif for your event? Mina Sharif Toronto, Ontario is a dynamic and engaging speaker that offers audiences researched content paired with expertise and a dynamic speaking ability. Mina Sharif is also a Canadian corporate consultant and coach and facilitates workshops and training sessions for a corporate audience. Mina Sharif is an expert keynote presenter and speaks on wide variety of topics. Hiring a great speaker for your event is important and working with a thought leader like Mina Sharif from Speakers Canada’s roster will engage audiences into the content of the presentation to bring awareness and a fresh perspective for their approach to their work and their lives. Book Mina Sharif to educate, motivate and activate the audience through an interactive and entertaining presentation at corporate meetings and gatherings.

Known as a popular key note speaker in Canada, Mina Sharif creates life changing experiences for the participants with practical insights and strategic advice they can implement right after the session. Working with a one our leading expert speaker like Mina Sharif from Toronto, Ontario offers organizations a fresh perspective to assist the people of the organization. No matter if it is a government, association, or business crowd, Mina Sharif is a perfect speaker for your event. Through unique practical insights for trending topics and years experience speaking to different organizations, Mina Sharif focuses on changing individuals to make better decisions at work and their lives. No matter if you are holding an in person or virtual event, having an influential speaker such as Mina Sharif will engage, motivate, and activate the audience to make a change in their lives and inspire action for results to meet organizational goals. Your workforce will benefit from Mina Sharif’s presentations and speeches, with measurable results set to shift the people of the organization and core direction of the company. Book Mina Sharif speaker for your annual general meeting, conference, summit, or convention in Canada.

How much does it cost to hire Mina Sharif for a keynote presentation or virtual event?

Mina Sharif is an expert professional key note speaker with a lot of experience speaking and delivering engaging talks to organizations and audiences in Canada. Each of Speaker Bureau Canada’s talent have different ways to assess their fees, and Mina Sharif speaker fee ranges depending on the size of the audience, event format (in person or virtual), event location, and if the organization booking them is a non profit, association, government department/government agency or business/corporation. The speakers we work with are flexible with their fees, and it is important for us to learn more about your event before we approach them, as it is our role to work for you, and to help you find a speaker within budget. 

Please contact Speakers Bureau of Canada and provide us with your event details so that we can contact Mina Sharif to check availability or confirm the pricing and associated costs to hire a great speaker like Mina Sharif for your event. As Mina Sharif's agent and as a Canadian top speaker bureau and talent agency for speakers, we are able to propose each event opportunity from each host organization’s behalf to try to help you get in touch with Mina Sharif and confirm them for your in person or online meeting/event. We can also provide and advise on the booking process and potentially negotiate their fee. Speakers Canada is a client focused speaker agency, and we work for you in finding good speakers for your team meetings and booking processes.

Mina Sharif Disclaimer
Speakers Bureau Canada assists companies and event planning teams seeking to hire talent like Mina Sharif for speaking engagements, virtual meetings, conference appearances, training sessions and workshops facilitations. Our Canadian speakers bureau does not claim to exclusively represent Mina Sharif, however they are represented by Speakers Canada, and we work with them closely for their Canadian speaking opportunities and bookings. As Canada’s top speaker bureau, we represent Canadian motivational keynote speakers and professional guest speakers that will be available on your upcoming events date and location that are withing the budget. Our talented bureau speaker booking agency can help find business speakers or celebrity speakers that aligns with each organization, audience, event theme and the topic themes you hope for the speaker to address in their presentation. 

When SBC receives a request to book Mina Sharif we provide you with their speaker fees, travel costs and check their schedules. We work closely with the host organization’s event planning team and the speaker to handle the logistics and to relay or negotiate associated costs. Our talented team members then will work with our talent directly or their agent/manager/assistant to confirm the Canadian speaker fee and travel expenses, so that event planning teams can receive an official quote for the speaker appearing at the event. Speaker fees and travel costs vary per speaker and our role is to contact Mina Sharif about your event, after we have connected with the event organizers to learn all the event details and/or conference program. Each booking request is unique since session durations and audience sizes can vary which may affect the speaker’s fees. If you are looking to hire Mina Sharif, we recommend filling out the booking request form so a booking agent from Speakers Bureau Canada can get in touch with our talent to help you coordinate with your team to engage the speaker for a successful event.

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