WATCH: Maltese Representative Challenges Emma Watson At International Youth Conference
Last night Mina Tolu, Malta’s representative at the huge international conference One Young World (this year hosted in Ottawa, Canada) spoke on a panel about gender stereotypes.
The panel, which was chaired by Goodwill Ambassador (and Harry Potter superstar) Emma Watson, provided a platform for various people to inspire as much action as they could towards a more equal world.
But rather than sticking to their planned speech, Mina started by pointing out a teachable moment. While discussing stereotypes, Mina was earlier referred to as “she”, despite asking to have their pronouns changed to “they”.
“It’s also about challenging and breaking the norms… the things that we take for granted in society.”
Gracious as ever, Emma acknowledged her mistake, and thanked Mina for sharing their story.
“Thank you so much for pointing out my error, I really appreciate you having the courage to do that and I really appreciate you being here and sharing your story.”
Speaking to Lovin Malta this morning, Mina explained that they’re glad the exchange happened the way it did.
“I’m happy it happened this way, because it helped me illustrate the point I was trying to make in the best possible way.”
Mina continually supports We Are, the University of Malta’s LGBT society, and currently works as the communications officer at Transgender Europe (TGEU).