Xiaohongshu
Finding home in community: Fatima Elzahra Ismail on advocacy, belonging and cultural understanding.
3rd Year BSc Sociology and Politics of Science
Fatima has advocated for young people long before she joined UCL, but at UCL advocacy for cultural celebration through our Intercultural engagement team has always been about building community.
Fatima Ismail has called a lot of places home. Born in Sudan, she moved with her family to Jordan and then Ireland, before moving to London two years ago to start her BSc in Sociology and Politics of Science.
Her path into advocacy started with youth theatre in Ireland, where trying to build sets from recycled materials ignited a passion for climate and sustainability work. A passion that brought Fatima to UCL, her course is rare, and it let her combine the two things she cares most about: science and society, and better understand how each shapes the other. This, in turn, led Fatima to become Ireland's UN Climate Youth Delegate and its National Youth Council Climate Delegate for 2025-26 where she was able to represent young people at COP30 in Brazil.
Now in her third year, Fatima has brought her passion for supporting people to UCL. Working for our Intercultural Engagement Team as a Project Assistant, she's helped fund 13 students (so far), to go abroad and experience other cultures through our £1,000 mobility fund.
"I’ve been fortunate to access a lot of opportunities outside of university, but I wanted open the door to other students. Now, working with the Union, it’s great that I’m shaping these programmes and events which support students to go abroad, learn, and travel. This is the impact I wanted to have at UCL."
Fatima also led on the Union's Eid Festival, our upcoming International Festival and celebrations for Holi and Chinese New Year too. “We have so many cultures and religions to celebrate at UCL, and these are key times to bring the community together and share with other students.”
Fatima knew the war in Sudan was affecting her, despite being far from home and knew it must be affecting others, particularly those with family still there. “Sometimes the news can be disheartening, but positive stories and the people in your community remind you why you’re doing the work you’re doing and the impact you’re having. Community keeps you grounded”. Knowing the grounding effect of community led Fatima to join the Sudanese society as Welfare officer – she wanted to create a space for Sudanese people at UCL and across London to feel the benefit of community. “It’s such an important time to have people around you who understand what you’re experiencing”.
Through all this work, Fatima feels like UCL has changed her too. Being exposed to so many different people and views at UCL, Fatima says, has challenged her own way of looking at the world and made her more empathetic. Although Fatima acknowledges challenging your own views can be scary, she had to think would it make her a better person? Would it make her work better?
Now Fatima is sure that it has. Empathy is essential for her advocacy work; when she’s in the negotiation room at the UN, discussing climate justice or human rights, by understanding other people’s cultures, countries and their contexts she is able to better advocate and improve policies – something she feels being at UCL has certainly helped with.
"I'm really proud of the person I've become and still am becoming.”