Damini Awoyiga

Damini Awoyiga is a high school student. She is an activist, spoken word poet, and the former Halifax’s Youth Poet Laureate (2023-2024). Damini is the founder of Damini Creatives and the Afro-Indigenous Book Club, a book club created to encourage young people to read books written by Black and Indigenous authors and to share the realities and experiences of Black and Indigenous Canadians. Damini was the Junior Artist in Residence for Wellness Within, a community organization working for reproductive justice, prison abolition, and health equity; CBC’s artist-in-residence for the Michaelle Jean Foundation Canadian Black Summit held in July 2022, where she hosted an interactive community poetry booth. She is also a youth freelance journalist for CBC Mainstreet. She is the Vice-Chair of CPA High School’s Black Student Association. She has also enjoyed being a board member of the Nova Scotia Girls Institute for Resource and Learning (NS GIRL) and she is a member of the HRM Youth Advisory Committee. Damini has received multiple awards including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. Damini loves to dance, write, create, sing, and perform poetry about social justice issues she cares deeply about.