“It's really important to remember global context. I'm sitting here in Northwest Europe, where a lot of companies are putting money and time and effort towards diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, justice. But there are a lot of parts of the world where we are still fighting for, ‘the basics’, equality; we haven't reached the point of equity yet.” - Annelie Wambeek
Annelie Wambeek is a freelance Diversity, Equity and Inclusion trainer who works at the intersection between DEI and intercultural competencies. After a corporate career in finance and foreign policy, she has gone freelance and in addition to training she does keynote speaking and facilitating.
Culture is the spoke of the diversity umbrella that Annelie focuses on in particular, which is related to her personal background. She was born in Sweden, is half Sri Lankan and half English with Dutch ancestry, grew up in Spain, has lived in Kashmir and Wales and is now based in the Netherlands.
You can read about this conversation below, but if you can, have a listen to the podcast audio (with the player above or in your podcast app) to hear the laughs and thoughtful silences, really connect with the tone of Annelie’s perspectives, pick up her warm vibe, and more. We can’t always make all of that come across in the text.
We write this article to make the podcast accessible for people who don’t process information through audio - as a way to be inclusive - but if you can, listening gives you the richest and most complete experience.
Having travelled to many places and experienced many cultures, Annelie’s work is not just work, it involves the many topics and things that she talks about with the people in her personal life. She is deeply aware of the role privilege has played in her life, which is strongly related to why she does the work that she does - as well as the way that she does it.
“With some hindsight, I can look back and think: actually, I've been doing this work for a lot longer than I realized, or a lot longer than it was in my job designation.” - Annelie Wambeek
She has played the role of connector between cultures, a bridge between Eastern and Western cultures and even different continents. It came naturally to her, which is why for a long time she didn't see it as a skill set. In addition, she has always had a strong moral sense and feeling of responsibility to address much-needed change.
“Being a bridge builder in DEI change: this is a very important skill to have.” - Vivian Acquah
In her current work she feels that she is giving back in a way that contributes to the world and is healthy for herself as well: not burning herself out to try and save the world, yet making steps in the right direction.
On one hand, Annelie has felt what it's like not to belong, to be different, whether that's in an organization, a country, or society. On the other hand, she recognizes that she’s had a huge amount of privilege, including education and white privilege (and a smooth way of speaking English). This has a specific nuance for her: she doesn’t visually present as white, but does have a white passing name and a Swedish passport. For many years, especially in her teenage years, this led to her feeling guilt around her privilege.
“The combination of having felt like I don't belong, but also feeling like I have so much unearned privilege, and wondering what can I do with this? It's the combination of those things which drives me.” - Annelie Wambeek
Annelie sees that it is important that we look at our individual privileges as DEI practitioners. She does a lot of work around decolonization and that has made her examine her own identity and background. She is from an ethnic group in Sri Lanka called Dutch Burghers, who are direct descendants of the colonial VOC (Dutch East India Company). This ethnicity has both given her a lot of privilege and has played a huge role in unpacking that her ancestors were ‘not the good guys’.
She grew up as a third culture kid, moving every few years and living in different countries than both her parents were from. She now finds herself as a privileged expat, committed to doing a lot of self-work on how to use these privileges. What she brings together in all of this is a depth in being mindful of multiple perspectives.
“I really appreciate your way of thinking and your way of showing up in this field. It triggers thoughts and explorations, the development of ourselves in this space, decolonizing and de-biasing ourselves – for as far as that is possible.” - Marjolijn Vlug
When does it become a challenge to use your privilege?
The struggle for Annelie is her feeling that she hasn't earned her privileges, it was luck of the draw. In some ways, she recognizes that she is part of the system of injustice purely from having the privileges that she does; being able to get into spaces because of her name and her Western education.
The greatest challenge is figuring out how to use these privileges for good. Creating more justice is her driving force.
“How do we turn that around? Yes, I have privilege. Now, what can I do with that?” - Annelie Wambeek
This awareness and self-work is an added value in the DEI training Annelie offers to people in positions of privilege: the board or the executive team of organizations being confronted with this idea that perhaps they have more privilege than they should. How do you share the power? And how do variable levels of power dynamics come into play here? For Annelie, it's important to help people come to the realization that what this means is a redistribution of power, while coming away engaged and curious about what it is that we don't know. The real change, she finds, comes from people who have had a true shift in perspective.
In her facilitation work she guides discussions around issues or topics that are highly sensitive, either personal or political, in such a way that everyone feels like they are being heard and that they see how much more we have in common than our differences. Depolarization runs through all of her work. Annelie distinguishes what is required to achieve that on the individual versus the organizational level. For individuals, some of the main ingredients that are essential are open-mindedness, the willingness to challenge oneself, even challenge the status quo, and to definitely feel uncomfortable. What is essential from an organizational perspective is buy-in from all levels of an organization, understanding the ‘why’ of the intervention, and committing time and budget.
What truly lights Annelie up is learning in any capacity, certainly including traveling to new places. The more you learn, the more you realize what you don't know. She is fascinated by language, nature and all kinds of things that let her explore new perspectives on life.
As much as she loves training, speaking and other aspects of her work, it took Annelie a long time to become truly aware of the emotional impact that this work can have on herself as a practitioner, both mentally and physically. Having all of her senses fully engaged in a training or speaking engagement, simultaneously sending information effectively and picking up what’s in the room, that’s when she feels powerful. But it also means she gets overstimulated and crashes like a deflated balloon afterward. She has realized how important it is to take time to decompress after a training, to physically decompress and mentally as well.
“It's so easy to not allow ourselves the time to process.” - Annelie Wambeek
In this work you know you have a lot of people challenging you, which she welcomes, but they're often challenging your worldview, foundations and morals, which is not easy and not something that you can forget about or even should forget about in a minute. Annelie’s go-to is to consciously schedule time to decompress first by herself, and then process out loud with somebody else.
“I've been on the journey of learning to listen to my body, not just my brain. Self care has really changed now that I work for myself, and I think it's constantly changing.” - Annelie Wambeek
This form of care is crucial for ourselves as practitioners, and Annelie highlights that it can be important for participants too. Annelie sees a responsibility here for DEI professionals who open this Pandora's Box of things that participants may have repressed. It's important to realize that we often are trying to shake people's foundations, make them question things that they have been raised to think and have believed all their lives. Of course that's going to make people uncomfortable. And we need to take great care around that.
She notes the ethical responsibility that we need to be trained well enough to know when specific support is needed for our participants. That means a standard of care is important, as is the ability to distinguish between what is in the sphere and skill set of the DEI trainer, and what indicates that people need somebody else, a therapist or a psychologist . That distinction of needs includes our own needs: we can't solve everything on our own and the same applies to participants.
“There's a responsibility, an ethical responsibility, I think, when you raise things that really shake and question people; their assumptions, their values. It's not enough just to shake them a little bit and then go away.” - Annelie Wambeek
Annelie feels privileged to be part of people's journeys, even if it's just for a small part, if it makes them think or ask a question that they wouldn't have otherwise.
At this point in her life she feels like she’s on the peak of something very exciting, going up a roller coaster knowing it's about to go all over the place with amazing opportunities and potential, and a lot of uncertainty around where it's going to go. But she would love to think that when she’s 96 years old and reflecting back, this was a time in her personal life and career where she really let her passion drive her.
Going forward, she would love to explore decolonization and as well as innovative experiential learning, particularly experiential DEI learning: how to make people feel certain things, and really remember that feeling and the corresponding learning.
“The impact is so much faster when people activate this. Virtual reality experiences so far, to me, have been the one of the best ways to really make people experience how it is to feel included, but also for them to experience what the impact might mean for the team and the organization.” - Vivian Acquah
Annelie’s biggest wish is that in 50 or even 100 years DEI will have become so entrenched in individuals and organizations that we will have made ourselves obsolete: no one needs DEI practitioners anymore. She would love a world where everyone instinctively has that level of empathy.
Doing a lot of work on herself as well, she can see the changes in her own mentality, her mental health and in taking care of herself. On a personal level, she is increasingly allowing herself to be who she really always was: seeing her difference and her lived experience as an asset, not an obstacle. This required an important shift in belief.
“I've always felt, you're successful despite your skin color or your body size or whatever it is, but I'm really starting to feel now that maybe that is in fact because of that.” - Annelie Wambeek
An important piece of wisdom Annelie is happy to share with us is something she picked up from a short podcast about imposter syndrome that made her realize: when you're feeling that you're out of your comfort zone, you’re actually in your learning zone, and that is a positive thing.
“Whenever I think, ‘Oh, am I out of my depth?’ I realize, no, you know you're growing and you're in your learning zone, and it's uncomfortable, but that's how it should be.” - Annelie Wambeek
Another important note is the notion of ‘do no harm’. As DEI practitioners that means to carefully consider whether what we can do will lead to behavior change, especially when the available time - or indeed our expertise - is limited compared to what’s needed. We can create the practice of checking in with each other and set the example of passing work to another DEI professional who has expertise and lived experience in other areas than ours. There is so much rich expertise available in our wider network and community.
“As DEI practitioners, something we need to remember is that we have strength in our community.” - Annelie Wambeek
Annelie notes that it’s been helpful for her to start her day with our questions in this conversation. She appreciates the opportunity of listening to our episodes, learning about other DEI change makers; what drives them, what motivates them. Who is the person behind the shiny business card, website or LinkedIn presence? We’re glad that this season now also includes this view into her own personal perspective and insights.
“Thank you so much for sharing you, for sharing who you are behind the scenes as a DEI change maker.” - Vivian Acquah
Thank you for joining this journey of sharing stories, wisdom and inspiration. Coming together as change makers, we create momentum, share our insights, make connections, and cultivate an environment that holds a wide range of viewpoints.
LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE WITH THE PLAYER AT TOP OF PAGE or in your favorite podcast app
About Annelie Wambeek
Annelie has the privilege of working independently with global clients, at the intersection of the DEIB and intercultural fields, with a focus on belonging, decolonisation, power and enhancing inclusion. Interculturalism is both her work and life!
Connect with Annelie via
LinkedIn
Resources:Books
The Body Keeps the Score - Bessel van der Kolk
My Grandmother’s Hands - Resmaa Menakem
Africa Is Not a Country - Dipo Faloyin
Brotherless Night - V. V. Ganeshananthan
Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging - Afua Hirsch
Podcasts:
The Key To Overcoming Imposter Syndrome - Steven Bartlett
Legacy, a Podcast Series with Afua Hirsch and Peter Frankopan
Empower Your Team with Actionable Inclusion Training by Vivian & Marjolijn
When your organization wants to elevate its diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, consider hiring Vivian Acquah and Marjolijn Vlug, the dynamic hosts of the Global Inclusion in Practice Podcast.
Renowned for their expertise in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Vivian and Marjolijn bring an engaging and practical approach that resonates with teams at all levels. Their training offers more than just theoretical knowledge—it’s full of actionable strategies that empower organizations to create inclusive environments where everyone can thrive.
By tapping into their wealth of experience and fresh perspectives, your team will gain valuable insights and the tools to embed inclusion into the fabric of your workplace culture.
With Vivian and Marjolijn, prepare for impactful sessions that inspire real change.
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