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Speaker & moderator

Dounia Maakor

Dounia Maakor is an author, presenter, program maker, and strategic advisor specializing in diversity, inclusion, and equality. With a background in media and cultural strategy, she analyzes societal developments, representation, and dominant narratives with precision. She brings perspectives together, asks thought-provoking questions, and helps organizations craft stories that reflect today’s reality.

  • Rate indication: Price on request
  • Available for booking as: Presenter Day chairman Speaker
  • Languages: Dutch English

Dounia implements inclusive practices in her work daily and has developed proven strategies that enable organizations to embed habitual inclusion into their operations. Her hands-on experience allows her to offer concrete solutions, sharing practical examples of how inclusive initiatives have improved team dynamics, increased employee engagement, and ultimately enhanced organizational performance.

 

Inclusion as Practice, Not Just Intention

In the media, Dounia worked with diverse perspectives and sensitive societal issues, gaining sharp insight into how norms are established, who defines what is considered “neutral,” and the consequences when certain groups are consistently excluded. She translates these insights into organizational practice, approaching inclusion not as an intention but as a concrete way of working: how organizations manage differences, power, language, and decision-making in daily operations.

 

What Dounia Does for Organizations

Dounia supports organizations in strengthening their DEI approach in a sustainable and actionable way. She helps leaders and teams understand how inclusion—or the lack thereof—affects organizational culture, collaboration, and leadership.

 

Her work focuses on:

  • Inclusive organizational culture and psychological safety
  • Awareness of blind spots and exclusion mechanisms
  • Inclusive leadership and decision-making
  • Translating DEI ambitions into concrete behaviors

Sessions

Many organizations have ambitions around diversity and inclusion but struggle to translate them into daily practice. In this lecture, Dounia Maakor explains why good intentions are not enough and where inclusion is truly made—or broken.

Drawing on her media background and experience advising organizations, Dounia highlights how norms, power, and “neutrality” influence decision-making, leadership, and collaboration. She shows how exclusion often occurs unintentionally and which concrete choices organizations can make to embed inclusion structurally.

This lecture offers:

  • Insight into how DEI works at systemic and behavioral levels
  • Recognizable examples from organizations
  • Practical frameworks for leaders and teams
  • A realistic and actionable perspective on inclusion

Suitable for leadership programs, organization-wide events, and corporate gatherings.

Organizations operate in an increasingly diverse and critical society. In this lecture, Dounia shows why cultural relevance and DEI are inseparably linked and what can happen when organizations fail to connect the two.

She connects societal developments to the internal reality of organizations, demonstrating how representation, dominant narratives, and blind spots affect trust, reputation, and engagement among employees and stakeholders.

This lecture offers:

  • Insight into societal and cultural dynamics
  • Awareness of invisible norms within organizations
  • Tools to approach inclusion strategically
  • Reflection on the role and responsibility of organizations

Suitable for boardrooms, executive teams, and strategic leadership groups.

Many organizations have clear DEI goals but struggle to translate them into concrete actions. In this interactive workshop, Dounia helps teams and leaders bridge the gap between ambition and practice.

Together, participants explore how inclusion—or exclusion—manifests in daily collaboration, decision-making, and communication. The workshop allows for reflection as well as practical application.

The workshop focuses on:

  • Recognizing mechanisms of exclusion
  • Discussing tensions and discomfort
  • Defining concrete inclusive behaviors
  • Strengthening ownership within teams

Outcome: shared understanding, clear action perspectives, and concrete next steps.

Video's

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