About Mounir
Mounir Samuel (1989) is a multidisciplinary artist, renown journalist, author of 14 books, documentary film maker, museum curator and cultural entrepreneur working on the cutting edge of politics, media, climate, culture, art, language, gender, religion and geography.
He is notorious for his work on social change and is considered one of the most provocative thought leaders of the Netherlands. Winq Magazine rewarded him with the honorary title of ‘Changemaker of the Decade’.
Living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Mounir is both Dutch and Egyptian. He is a strong advocate for acknowledging and embracing one’s multiple identities, to conclusively transcend them altogether. He is author of the book Je mag ook niets meer zeggen - een nieuwe taal voor een nieuwe tijd (“You can’t say anything no more - a new language for a new time”) in which he presents a blueprint for a value-based language that is truly safe, inclusive and accessible and gives people an equal starting point in the necessary conversations of this day and age. The most pressing of which is the imminent climate catastrophe.
He wrote a book on the climate catastrophe called Jona zonder walvis: een profetie voor Nederland (“Jonah without the whale: a prophesy for the Netherlands”). This book provides a crash course of the climate catastrophe, as well as concrete predictions on its impact and effect on the Netherlands and neighboring countries. Mounir reveals the damaging role of the Dutch government, big business, heavy industry and bio- and fishing industries and presents a conclusive and concrete action plan per sector and profession.
All together Mounir has written more than a dozen books; from fiction to non fiction, poetry to essays. In his work he addresses a wide variety of themes, always stressing an intersectional and most often also interdisciplinary approach.
© Roger Anis (2024)
As a political scientist Mounir is a fierce critic of the rise of anti-democratic and fascist tendencies worldwide. His latest book deals excessively with the nationalist and extreme right doctrine in Dutch politics and is called Nederland voor de Nederlanders: mijn antwoord op (extreem)rechts (“The Netherlands for the Dutchies: my answer to the (extreme) right”). It’s considered a must read by many.
Mounir is the inventor of the public interaction the Privilege Pyramid in Wereldmuseum Amsterdam. In this life size model identities, social position and legal rights are turned into separate building blocks with which one or more pyramids are build. This public interaction visualizes often abstract terms like ‘intersectionality’ and works well as a conversation starter. It also helps deconstruct pre-fixed notions about privilege an identities
The Privilege Pyramid is just one of the many social participatory models Mounir developed to research and reveal systematic in- and exclusion. Many of them are actively used in museums and on festivals.
© Tomas Razmus (2024)
"Mounir deals with the major questions of the day and advocates social justice and sustainable system change."
Mounir deals with the major questions of the day and advocates social justice and sustainable system change. He has been a frequent guest in all sorts of talkshows on radio and television in both the Netherlands and Belgium. From curating the museum exhibition What a Genderful World for Wereldmuseum Amsterdam, hosting the TV program De Nieuwe Wereld (“The New World”), his own theater show En toen schiep God Mounir ("And then God created Mounir”), thought provoking talks such as Should I leave? for IMPAKT festival, theatrical performances at Arab Queer Festival Zagreb, to keynotes for the European Commission- Mounir always keeps challenging existing socio-political concepts and men’s relationship with earth, each other and one’s self.
Mounir has been rewarded with de Kleurrijke Prijs (“The Colorful Price”) as well as all sorts of journalistic achievement awards such as Dick Scherpenzeel aanmoedigingsprijs en Lira Correspondentprijs for talent younger than 30 years.
Mounir Samuel studied political science, international relations & diplomacy, Middle Eastern studies and Islamic law at University of Leiden and UC San Diego.
© Roger Anis (2024)