Good afternoon and a very warm welcome to the Max von der Stuhl Human Rights Award 2021. My name is Nikola Jeves, Professor of Human Rights Law at Tilburg Law School and it's my pleasure to welcome so many of you here today on the occasion of International Human Rights Day. It's every year on the 10th of December that we commemorate that the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. And today, 73 years later, human rights have certainly not lost their relevance and continue to face old but also new challenges. Academic research in this field is important and therefore today we mark this with the Max von der Stuhl Human Rights Award for Outstanding Research in the Field. This event is organised by Tilburg University together with the Netherlands Network for Human Rights Research. The network connecting 11 universities across the Netherlands in the field of human rights. We are very honoured to have her Excellency Dr Bahia Tazipli, Human Rights Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands here today to present the keynote speech. I will shortly give the floor to Professor Wim van der Donk, Rector Magnificus and Chair of the Executive Board of Tilburg University, to further welcome you. But let me just briefly run you through the program. After the welcome by Professor van der Donk and the keynote by Dr. Tazipli, we will move to the award ceremony. Professor Koen Lemmens, Chair of the Jury of the Max von der Stuhl Human Rights Award, will share the jury report and announce who wins the 2021 edition. So without further ado, I would now like to hand over the floor to our Rector Magnificus, Professor Wim van der Donk. Thank you for joining us today, Wim. Thank you for inviting me. Your Excellency, dear colleagues, dear friends from abroad, colleagues from Leuven especially also chairing the jury, what a great honour for me to say a few words at the start of this great lecture in a great tradition at our university. Due to COVID, of course, online. And that same nasty virus was the reason why in the Netherlands, where we intended to celebrate 75 years of liberation after World War II with indeed the establishment of the United Nations, was a little bit in the shadow of all these COVID activities and circumstances we had to endure. That's a pity because actually concentrating ourselves to the United Nations as a fruit of deliberations after the war, of course, it started before the war but was not fully implemented. That's a pity because I think we need in this context, especially from the viewport of human rights, not and never underestimate how important this has been in our world, who now is more and more uncertain, it seems. Thanks to the excellent work of Leonor Roosevelt, who chaired the Committee on Universal Rights, that finally in Paléchao came to conclusions that were adopted in the United Nations General Assembly. It was so important to stress the intellectual foundations of that work on human rights. I think about especially Jacques Maritain, who played an enormous important role in finding the foundations of that sometimes disputed notion of universal human rights. I think he in his time with his colleagues and many women in the committee also have done a tremendous job but indeed this job is in a sense ambiguous because it's never finished. We have defined universal human rights. The defining is one thing, making sure they are obeyed and inspired time and again by all those citizens that have to adopt the notion of universal rights in their own behavior, in the way we look upon states and powerful people. It's so important to stress time and again the notion of universal human rights. And this can also be done thanks to excellent research that is done in our time too. When new endeavors are there, the traditional uncertainties of conflict and war, but also the new vistas of digital societies which invite us to think anew in what that timeframe we should adopt on new insights of safeguarding human rights. So the theme has never ceased to be important. I myself had the honor to sometimes meet Max van der Stool when he was in our law school when I was still actively working there decades ago in a sense. It was such an inspiring man and it's such a good tradition and we are so proud of that tradition at our university that we still have this lecture tradition because I think committed to a global community, feed it by the values that are cherished also in the tradition of our university is a job that we should never give up. So your excellency we are thrilled to listen to your contribution in this extremely important series on lectures on human rights to honor Max van der Stool. But furthermore and more importantly I would say also to take this important subject on the central stage of the agenda. The agenda of the scientific community, the scientific of the international and global community. It's so important. Thank you so much that you haven't accepted the invitation to speak in this lecture series. And with no further ado I think Nicola I give back the word to you because you are the chair. Thank you for having me and I will listen with great interest to the excellency. Thank you so much Professor van der Donk for your words and for setting the stage. I would like to introduce her excellency Dr. Bahia Tazip Lee, the Dutch Human Rights Ambassador and in this capacity she promotes human rights around the world on behalf of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Previously Dr. Tazip Lee was the Dutch Ambassador to Qatar, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Special Envoy for UNFS and the private secretary to Her Majesty the Queen. So the title of Dr. Tazip's Lee keynote today is education lasts a lifetime. Let's give human rights a greater place in the classroom. I'm very much looking forward to it. Thank you again for joining us Madam Ambassador and you have the floor. Thank you so much. Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for inviting me to speak here today. It's great to be connected online to so many of you for this special event dedicated to International Human Rights Day. Right now I'm speaking from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague, a ministry that Max van der Stul headed twice in the 1970s and 80s. That was years before I joined the ministry yet his influence can still be felt today. Max van der Stul was the first foreign minister to place human rights at the core of Dutch foreign policy. A priority which I'm proud to say has been upheld ever since. It is therefore a great honor for me to deliver today's lecture and pay tribute to this legendary figure, a human rights champion for so many people around the world. Three decades ago I had the special privilege of working with Max van der Stul when he was a state counselor at a Dutch council state. In fact he was the person who motivated me to try and make a difference on human rights by pursuing a diplomatic career. I made that decision 25 years ago and I've never regretted it because as a diplomat I have so many opportunities to help improve observance of human rights and to fight injustice all around the world. I've learned that this requires many different approaches as Max van der Stul used to say. There is no fixed recipe for government action to combat violations of human rights because those violations are different in nature. Sometimes you have to use quiet diplomacy working behind the scenes. Other times you need to protest or apply heavy pressure. Since September 2019 I've been working as a Dutch human rights ambassador striving to improve the human rights situation worldwide. You might think I spend all my time responding to human rights violations but my work involves much more than that. An essential part of my job is actually going out and talking to civil society organizations, human rights defenders, human rights victims and young people. The stories that are shared during these interactions can sometimes be distressing but listening to other people's experiences is a necessary eye-opener if we want to better understand the human rights challenges they face and the stories people tell bring their determination and courage to light. These stories can be so moving and they're important in raising awareness about the meaning of human rights both close to home and further afield. What's more these stories inspire people especially young people to make sure they know their rights. They empower them to make human rights part of their daily life. So that's what I would like to talk to you about today. Storytelling and giving human rights a greater place in the classroom. Distinguished guests, when I was 16 years old I watched a music video by a Canadian music artist that has affected me ever since. It was about the real life story of a brave Iranian girl. Her name was Mona Mahmoud Nijat. You can see her photograph on your screen. Mona was a young dedicated high school student with beautiful green eyes and long dark brown hair. She too was 16 at the time. One evening in October 1982 she was studying in her room for an English test when suddenly four arms revolutionary guards entered her family home. The guards blindfolded her and took her to prison by force where she was subjected to interrogation and verbal abuse for hours on end all because of her religion the Baha'i faith. The guards threatened to kill her if she did not renounce her faith. But Mona stood firm and stayed true to her beliefs. Eight months later in June 1983 the prison guards took her together with nine other Baha'i women by bus to a nearby field. One by one the women were hanged. After Mona's execution reports emerged of how she had maintained her dignity to the very end. She was the last to be hanged. When her time came she put the news around her neck, kissed the rope and smiled in a final act of resistance. This scene portrayed in the music video hit me hard. The people who had captured and tortured her did not manage to break her. This was a triumph of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable cruelty. I'm telling you about Mona because her story left a permanent impression on me. Not least because we were the same age and shared the same religion. This made me realize how fortunate I was to grow up in the Netherlands in a democratic country where we can openly express how we feel, what we believe in and what we stand for. How very different Mona's situation was. She couldn't speak out freely, practice her religion or develop her full potential. Mona was essentially deprived of her freedoms. Yet what's so inspiring is that she never lost her inner strength, her ability to stand up for her beliefs. She never gave up hope. To me, Mona's story was a lesson about courage and dignity. I changed in a way after hearing about Mona. Her story had made me aware that freedoms should never be taken for granted. This is why I began to find human rights and justice so compelling, why I decided to study law and to write my doctoral thesis on freedom of religion and belief. And my passion for human rights and my respect for human rights defenders has only grown since then. From this experience I learned how important it is to listen to and share the personal stories of courageous people who stand up for human rights. Their stories show at individual level how human rights are under pressure all over the world. They give us insight into how some countries, especially those with authoritarian regimes, look to each other to see how they can silence their critics effectively by cutting off the internet or by attacking journalists and human rights defenders either physically or online. Listening to their stories also helps us realize how fragile our own human rights are. They remind us that we ourselves could potentially be the human rights victims of tomorrow. It could be me. It could be you. It could be any of us being intimidated, threatened, arrested, beaten or tortured, or having our families targeted. Realizing this can make us even more committed to achieving change for others. After all, as John Cotter, a professor of leadership at the Harvard Business School, aptly said, we can learn best and change from hearing stories that strike a chord within us. That is so true. That is the power of storytelling. At the same time, stories also fill us with hope. They show us that people whose rights are violated still believe in humanity, no matter how great the obstacles they face. Norma Librada-Ledezma, a Mexican whom I met at UN in Geneva, told me about how she became a human rights activist after the disappearance and cold-blooded murder of her innocent daughter Paloma. I could see and feel the pain and grief in her eyes. At that time, her daughter was the same age as my eldest daughter, 16 years old. It made me wonder, what would I have done in her situation? I'm not sure. But do you know what Norma did? She founded the organization Justice for Our Daughters because she knew all too well that her daughter's death was not an isolated case in Mexico. According to the UN, around 10 women are killed in Mexico every day. That's why Norma decided to offer people legal advice and support. In cases of murder, trafficking, and kidnapping of women, so far she has supported over 200 investigations into cases of feminicide and disappearances.  I don't think this is something I'll be able to see with my own eyes. Yet I will fight, Norma said. I will continue fighting despite my situation, despite the threats for life of freedom, for a world of freedom, and for a world in which women can live free. Precisely because of the stories of human rights defenders like Norma, I'm convinced that fighting for human rights will never become a thing of the past. Human freedom is something that can never be permanently repressed, controlled, or restrained. Because despite their terrible experiences, human rights defenders keep their face in humanity and continue their struggle to achieve human rights. They continue to believe that the norms of human rights are shared and supported by most people around the world. Distinguished guests, we need opportunities to listen to the stories of courageous people who are fighting for human rights under difficult conditions and how special it will be to interact with them directly so they can share with us in person what they've been through, how they deal with the challenges they face, and what they need to be able to create a change for others. But where can we meet them and listen to their powerful stories? We have one possibility through the Dutch shelter city program which gives weary human rights defenders a chance to take a rejuvenating break in another country so we can meet them during the brief time that they spent in a shelter city. Over the past nine years, more than 300 human rights defenders have been given temporary accommodation, training, and security in a shelter city. Twenty cities are now taking part in this initiative by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Organization Justice and Peace Netherlands. Twelve Dutch cities and eight cities in a range of other countries. I've been fortunate to meet many of these people, activists, scholars, artists, political figures, journalists, and lawyers. Even more importantly, many of them have shared their stories with people in the Netherlands, including many students, so people could hear their activism and the challenges they face back home. And here what they're staying in a shelter city means to the human rights defenders. Defenders like Moja Liefa are human rights activists from Zimbabwe who stayed for a while in Tilburg.   I have worked with people who disappeared overnight, Moja has said. I always wonder when they will come for me. He continued, however, but we do work that needs to be done. It is like an army going to the battlefield. Seeing countries like the Netherlands feeds us with hope. Following his time in Shelter City, Tilburg, Moja was able to return back home with renewed energy and determination to continue his work despite the danger it involves. And then there's David, a human rights activist defending the families of missing persons in Mexico. David constantly needs to be on the lookout for the drug hotels because of his support for 120 families whose lives are missing. David has said that being in Shelter City Utrecht, a safe place, is something he could never have imagined as a real possibility. Experiencing this safety first hand gave him hope that creating a different, more secure world is possible and that things can change in his own country, Mexico.  Sohail was unjustly imprisoned for 10 years without either a fair trial or a lawyer. He was lucky because his sister was able in the end to pay enough money to get him released, but that doesn't mean he is safe now. So Sohail too was grateful for the breathing space that the Netherlands provided. At the same time, he looked forward to continuing his mission defending prisoners' rights with renewed strength back in Pakistan. As Sohail says, I am here to heal myself and to help others. The experiences that Moja, David and Sohail shared with people in the Netherlands made many of their listeners, especially young listeners, appreciate the significance and necessity of the work that these activists do back home. This shows how human rights defenders' stories can foster dialogue between people who might not normally cross paths. This is why in my own work and especially in my outreach to young people, I use storytelling to encourage dialogue on human rights issues, especially through film because visualization is so effective at helping us understand a reality very different from our own and empathize with the people who live it. For example, when I as a teenager watched a music video on Mona, it allowed me to picture the brutality of her execution and at the same time to comprehend her admirable, resolute courage. That's why I use the power of storytelling through film now as a way of reaching people, especially students. Together with Nadja Hoopen, an art producer and director of the Foundation Human Rights in the Picture, I recently visited a series of universities in the Netherlands, including, of course, Tilburg University, as well as students in Hungary, Poland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kursau and Aruba. At each event, we use the same formula. We began by watching a human rights documentary with the students, either in person, in hybrid settings or online. Then we use the documentary to facilitate interactive discussions with the students about their ideas, needs and concerns regarding human rights and justice. One documentary, for example, is called Out and About. It dives into the world of family members of LGBTI people. The students get to see fathers and mothers talk about the challenges they face as parents of a gay child, like the Kenyan mother, Josephine, who explains how she will prepare her own extended family to accept the coming out of her daughter, Gigi, or Elena, a mother in Russia who reveals the big crisis she faces because her son, Alex, feels threatened by the homophobia in his country and wants to emigrate. Usually at the end of the documentary, the whole class is silent for a while, waiting to see who will speak first, to reflect on what they've just seen and heard. Then little by little, the students start opening up to Najja and me, but most importantly, to each other. At each event, the students impressed us with their openness and courage. For instance, some students talked about how they viewed influences like Niki de Jager, a Dutch beauty vlogger and transgender woman as role models, inspiring them to be who they want to be. At one university, several students showed support when they found out one of them was gay. Some placed a hand on the fellow student's shoulder, others wept when hearing about their awful experiences. In a discussion at one European country's university, students were particularly worried about their government's hateful rhetoric towards LGBTI people. Yet despite these concerns, one of the students courageously revealed to his classmate that he is, in fact, gay. He asked, when did it become a bad thing not to be exactly the same as everybody else? So through stories that strike a chord with them, and especially through documentaries, we can give human rights more meaning to young people. And through dialogue, we can encourage these young people to think deeply about human rights in their daily lives and those of others. Distinguished guests, the American philanthropist George Jonas once said, others see the child of today, we see a leader of tomorrow. I strongly agree with his vision. That's why I believe schools are key in raising awareness about human rights. Back when I first joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I was asked to design a colorful poster with an illustration for each article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These posters were hung in schools across the country to raise awareness among children and young people about their human rights and potential. That was 23 years ago. Yet a recent UNICEF poll of children in the Netherlands showed that 51% of them could not name one human right. 13-year-old Quinty, for instance, said, I think I once had a lesson about it in history, then something was said about human rights. And 14-year-old Rowan commented, we did have a lesson about human rights, but I don't really remember it. This lack of human rights literacy among children is alarming. If young people are not aware of their rights and other people's rights in society, how can we expect them to stand up for human rights, let alone make a difference in their neighborhoods or cities, not to mention other countries? As Eleanor Roosevelt said, universal human rights begin in small places close to home. And let's not forget that young people are especially good at spreading knowledge, skills, and habits to others. They will take what they've learned from their schools and playgrounds into their homes and beyond, into their communities and societies as a whole, making their societies part of a global human rights community. That's why I'd like to call on you all today, go back to school, let's be more active in bringing human rights into the classroom so we can invest more in young people's knowledge and work together to increase human rights literacy. We can do that on a day like today, International Human Rights Day, the 10th of December, but I think it would be even better for us all to visit schools and universities during a special dedicated week culminating on International Human Rights Day. We could turn this human rights awareness week into a national or even global human rights week and repeat the campaign every year. So we can truly start a chain reaction and inspire more and more people to join in, in the Netherlands and around the world. Just as Global Money Week was successfully introduced nine years ago in every region of the world, a week every year when professionals go back to school to make children more financially aware and teach them the skills, attitudes, and behaviors they need to make sound financial decisions. Since its inception Global Money Week has reached over 53 million children and young people in 176 countries worldwide. So why not duplicate the success of Global Money Week for human rights by launching a Global Human Rights Week, a week in which we all participate. Academics, activists, practitioners, judges, lawyers, parliamentarians, diplomats, students, anyone who is passionate about human rights. Wouldn't Human Rights Week be a refreshing and inspiring opportunity for interactive dialogue with children and young people on human rights issues? To listen to their ideas and aspirations about human rights and learn about their concerns, needs, and vulnerabilities. Just as I experience on my tour of universities, these interactions can stick with them for the rest of their lives and with us. We can tell children, for instance, about the rights and freedoms enshrined in a universal declaration of human rights and talk with them about what these rights mean in their lives. We could discuss one or more rights in greater detail and in particular why these rights are important for them and everyone. We could talk about situations where children have seen or heard people enjoy the night or demand human rights, or we could ask if they have ever stood up for their rights or the rights of others. There are so many possibilities. Above all, I'd like to encourage everyone to share impactful stories with young people. We can use our own stories or the stories and experiences of courageous human rights defenders whose lives are under threat of inspiring human rights icons and of vulnerable people in needs so we can speak to young people's hearts and minds and motivate them to integrate human rights into their thoughts and actions. We can also share stories by showing students documentaries or plays followed by discussions or listen to music or read poetry. We can simply be creative in our interactions with young people. Distinguished guests, I hope all of you will support my call and join me in taking part in Human Rights Week next year to give a voice to the marginalized among us, to help raise awareness among young people, and to make Human Rights Week as big a success as Global Money Week. This is something we can do for all the brave human beings like Mona who have given their lives for human rights. For the countless people who continue to show courage and resilience and refuse to lose hope like Sohail, David, Norma, and Mojalefa and for all those who have stood up for human rights like Max von der Stuhl. Because in a world where human rights are being violated in so many places, both online and offline, it is never too late for people to realize why human rights matter and to stand up for those rights, both close to home and further afield, as long as we all contribute. So let's launch Human Rights Week and all go back to school every year. Let's share stories and promote the crucial commitment the world made on this day 73 years ago to the idea that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Ambassador. Thank you for profiling us with so much inspiration and food for thought and insights into the important and challenging work that you do. And thank you also for giving us this call for action to establish a human rights awareness week. Among the participants here today are many students also from my class and they're from all over the world and I know that no doubt they will take back home your call to action. So thank you. Thank you for your inspiration. Given the online setting and the number of participants we have today and our full program we unfortunately cannot continue a discussion but I do hope we have the opportunity to continue the conversation and your inspiring ideas when we have the opportunity to meet again in person I hope really soon. So thank you. The lecture by Dr. Tasip Lee will be available online on the website of the government of the Netherlands and Studium Generale will also make the video recording of this event available online next week. So let us now turn to the last part of our event and no doubt some of you will by now have become increasingly nervous. So who will win the 2021 Max van der Stool Human Rights Award? For this part of our program I would like to give the floor to Professor Kuhn Lemmens, Professor of Human Rights Law at the Catholic University of Leuven and Chair of this year's jury. Professor Lemmens you have the floor. Okay thank you. Thank you very much Professor Jagens and welcome to all of you. I hope you can you can hear me. So in 1995 Tilburg University introduced the Human Rights Award for outstanding academic publications in the area of human rights with a view to draw more attention to this field of study in academic research and education. In 2002 the award was renamed the Max van der Stool Award of Human Rights in honor precisely as has been said already of the former Dutch Minister of State first OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, former UN rapporteur on Human Rights in Iraq and Professor of International and European Law at Tilburg University, Mr Max van der Stool. In 2019 it was decided that Tilburg Law School and the Netherlands Network for Human Rights would jointly organize the Max van der Stool Human Rights Award on a b-annual basis starting in 2019. The first edition of the prize under this new arrangement was held in 2017. Now this year an international jury of human rights scholars was appointed to select the winners. The jury was composed of the following members, Professor Josse Duté who is Professor of Health Law at Redbelt University in Nijmegen and Commissioner at the Netherlands Human Rights Institute in 2010 to 2019. There was Professor Lisbeth Lehmza, Professor of Practice of International Law at Marseille University. There was Dr Eva Rieter, Assistant Professor and Senior Researcher in International and European Law at Redbelt University in Nijmegen and myself Koenlem. The award is conceived as an incentive for young researchers and nominations are limited to graduates, pre-doctoral and post-doctoral researchers. Nominations that is important can be submitted by all schools and institutes linked to Dutch and Flemish universities as well as by the TMC Acer Institute in The Hague. So this is so to say the human rights award of the low countries. The award is presented in two categories. Category one is the best doctoral dissertation and category two of course is the best non-dissertation in the academic context which means that we hint at master thesis or papers published in academic journals. In order to have been nominated this year, doctoral dissertations must have been defended between the 1st of July 2019 and the 1st of June 2021. Manuscripts in the second category, so the non-dissertation and academic texts must have been defended or published between the 1st of September 2019 and on August 2021. Only texts written in Dutch or English were considered. Now as to the nominations, we got 20 nominations that were received. 11 doctoral dissertations entered the competition under category one and nine manuscripts entered category two. Nominations came from 10 Dutch universities, University of Amsterdam, de Wey Universiteit Amsterdam, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Utrecht University, Maastricht University, Tilburg University, Leiden, Radboud University Faculty of Law, Radboud University Faculty of Management and Gronen University. There were also nominations coming from Belgium, universities, the University of Antwerp Faculty of Law, the University of Antwerp Institute of Development Policy and Ghent University. What were the selection criteria? So in assessing the submissions, the jury followed the selection criteria which conceived of human rights in a broad sense to include civil and political rights as well as social, economic and cultural rights. The criteria also allowed for works addressing the rights of groups, for instance through the lens of gender, age or ethnicity, or human rights in specific situations, such as in emergencies and during or after violent conflicts. The criteria further indicate that studies can be submitted on human rights procedures, institutions and other forms of implementations, monitoring and enforcement. Finally, submissions may be theoretical in nature or they can be based, of course, on empirical research. Now the jury held its deliberations online on the 11 November 2021. They were also happy to be, they were happy to have the assistance of the academic coordinator of the Netherlands Network of Human Rights Research and that is Dr Leon Castellanos Jankiewicz, who's present also I see and thank you Leon for your precious aid. Now, of course, you're all waiting for the awards. So applying the criteria I just mentioned, the jury decided to award a price of 3000 euros for the best doctoral dissertation and a price of 1500 euros for the best non-doctoral academic test. And so the prize winners are the following. Category one, the price for the best doctoral dissertation. Dr Yusef Befiki, the University of Antwerp, was awarded the price for the best PhD for her dissertation titled, reasonable accommodation in education, an integrated human rights approach on the basis of the right to equality, inclusive education, and freedom of religion, defended at the University of Antwerp. The jury's decision was unanimous. According to the jury, the work of Dr Befiki is a very convincing testimony of scientific competence in terms of methodology and analysis. Moreover, it is a book that challenges readers to react to agree or not to agree, with therefore engages with its audience in a meaningful way. According to the jury, Dr Befiki is aware of the importance of stories and the question from which perspective and how they are told. That's also what the ambassador somehow illustrated here today and how much this also plays a role in legal science and her own position in it. The added modes of critical analysis are not involved as an afterthought, but instead develop on an integrated human rights approach. The approach taken in the book is astute, transparent, and courageous. The legal technique and interpretation is, moreover, very impressive, and the use of sources was excellent. So, congratulations, Dr Befiki. When it comes to category number two, the price for the best non-dissertation in the academic text, here the jury found, Katie Penney from Leiden University was awarded the price under category two. For her master thesis, Tinker-Taylor Twitter lie, government disinformation and freedom of expression in past truth era, submitted to Leiden University. She will receive, as indicated, the 1,500 euros in prize money. The jury was of the opinion that Mrs. Penney's thesis topic is very timely and relevant, and that her work contains a clear analysis. The thesis is well written, immediately relevant, and gives a useful overview of the relevant ECHR case law on the topic, making it a practical study on a pressing issue. That were the conclusions of the jury. I think I can congratulate both winners once again on behalf of all the members of the jury. I'd like to add that it was a pleasure. I'm speaking for myself, but I'm quite sure that this is backed by the fellow members of the jury. It was a pleasure reading all the words. They were of great quality, and it's always a wonderful experience to see how in these low countries human rights research is done and the level and the general quality is impressive. Thank you so much to all the participants. Thank you, Professor Lemonson. Thank you so much for all the work of the juries, also to the other jury members. Congratulations, Dr. Benfekie and Mrs. Penney, with winning the 2021 Max von Sturm Human Rights Award. I'm putting you on the spot a bit here, but perhaps I can invite you to very briefly respond. If you would like to do so, could you turn on your camera? I think you've been unmuted. So perhaps first I can give the floor to Dr. Benfekie if you are welcome and congratulations. Thank you. I'm a bit startled. So I'm going to try and gather my thoughts. First and foremost, I want to extend my gratitude to everyone involved in the award from the institutions, Netherlands Network for Human Rights Research, the Astor Institute, Tilburg University, the distinguished members of the jury, but also definitely the people that have supported me throughout my dissertation journey, which has been of course sometimes tenuous and arduous and difficult and without whom I would not have continued on. I think first and foremost of my excellent supervisor, Professor Wouter van Anhole, the excellent members of my jury, some who are also present here today, Professor Eva Brens, Professor Loree Beeman, and others, friends and family of course. I think what I would maybe like to add is that I agree very much on what has been said about storytelling. In the beginning it was also mentioned that there's not only the importance of defining human rights, but also more than that. The two cents that I would like to share today is maybe what I tend to observe is that we often focus on the rights part of human rights and rightly so pun intended. However, we should I think also equally interrogate our notion of the human and not only focus on the right part of human rights, but on the human. What and who do we understand as human and who is left out of that abstract universal notion of the human. I think many of the human rights violations today are in essence not only about or not or not only about not respecting rights, but about not seeing the human rights subject as fully human. And I think that ties in with the political and ideological history of the Western conception of human rights and I think that is while we celebrate the 10th of the December, a December we should also pause and reflect on that. And I don't believe we can make a real headway if we don't really disrupt and question the categories of the human and how it has been historically conceived and which groups have not been part of that human. And I think that very much ties in and that's I promise the last thing I would say it because people are not like she probably knows what she's saying but I'm really not but the last thing I want to say is that that in turn ties in with storytelling, like her Excellency Dr. Bahia does at least said because in our stories we portray the other as in a certain way. And as long as we don't tell different stories, we will keep on uttering certain subjects also in the human rights field. And I think both in my capacity as a human rights lawyer and as a port and a writer, my mission is to disrupt those categories and help us reimagine and find new and better ways of relating to one another and the world. Thank you once more. I'm deeply, deeply honored and humbled. And I wish we were together to celebrate in real life. But I'm more than happy to do it this way. Thank you once more to everyone, to all the other candidates as well. I don't really feed much of competition anyway. And I am sure that they were equally interesting and have equally contributed to the academic debate. So many thanks again. Thank you. Well, thank you. Thank you for sharing your thoughts also and congratulations again.  So I unfortunately, you'll just have to imagine the virtual flowers in this case. Perhaps very briefly also, Miss Pentney, are you here? And can we sort of put you on the spot to give a brief reaction to the fact that you have won the second category of the Max von Stuhl Human Rights Award? Yes, I am here and I am very honored to be here and so honored to have been chosen. So thank you so much to the members of the jury. And I'm sure you had a number of excellent options to choose from. So I'm so humbled that you selected mine. And just very briefly, I have to thank Professor Tarla McGonagall, who was my supervisor and who I would not be here without. And I had a number of excellent professors as well. And I did the master's program at Leiden, who really informed my thinking and shaped the thesis in such a meaningful way. So my thanks to them and thanks to you and to the Netherlands Network of Human Rights and to the University of Tilburg for organizing the event. I know it's not ideal to be online, but I'm very hopeful we can be in a room together very, very soon. But I really appreciate the yeah, the event going ahead and recognizing the value of studying and researching and thinking critically about human rights. So it's wonderful to be a part of this community. So thank you so, so much for this recognition. Yes, thank you. Thank you so much and congratulations to both of you again. I hope this also inspires the students that are here today, perhaps in two years time, we'll be able to award the Max von der Sturck Human Rights Prize to you for the thesis that you are now currently probably in the process of writing. So thank you. Thank you all. And that brings us to the end of today's event. I just have a few short final remarks for the students among us. Please note that if you have participated in this event, this counts towards the Studium Generale Certificate. And as I said, the Studium Generale will also make this recording available online in the YouTube channel of the University next week. I wanted to briefly thank a few people that made this event possible. First and foremost, our jury members, Professor Lemmens, Professor Dutte, Professor Lijnzad and Dr. Eva Rieter for undertaking this huge task of reading no less than 20 nominations and selecting such excellent winners. We owe you great gratitude. Thank you. I would also like to thank Miriam Koumberg of our support office and Annelie Kostoff, Studium Generale. And a special thank you goes to the team of the Netherlands Network at the Else Institute, Leon, Hannah, Merel. Thank you for all your excellent support throughout the year. And finally, thanks to everyone for attending here today. I wish you an inspired human rights day. And I hope we get the opportunity to meet again in person in two years' time for the 2023 Max von der Stuhl Human Rights Award. Thank you all and goodbye.


a great experience. First of all, thank you for arranging it. I think it's always, first of all, it's always nice to meet, you know, this, and interact with the team here. And, and it's a great discussion. And it's a very, very helpful for, I think, not only us, to the audience who is here, and a lot of learnings, and very well organized. Thank you so much.


Hi everyone, welcome to the makeup chair. We are back with another video and I really hope you guys are going to enjoy this one. But as always, I am here to help. So if you need any more advice, any more help, even if it's not related to this video, definitely let me know in the comment section or you can message me on Instagram, which is at shanadykati. My DMs are open for you guys. With all that said, let's get started with today's video. So this first question comes in from Jess. How do I keep my foundation from separating between my brows? So this is a very common thing, not just with people who wear glasses, but just in general. Between your brows, you probably have very soft amount of hair there and this can create a little bit of a boundary. And then when you put glasses on top, you're creating this barrier that's going to trap air in between. So this is why you're getting a little bit of separation.  They have a small amount to play in this. It's actually your application that's probably causing the separation. First thing is exfoliate the area. Make sure you're sticking on top of your skincare routine. Then what I would recommend doing is removing any excess moisture because moisture usually causes the separation. So get yourself some blotting paper.  And you should find that it doesn't separate as much. And you can also do this on the go as well.  Press powders are great for on the go because they're not as messy as loose powders. So take a little bit of this, dab it over the area and you will find that that will minimize the look of the separation. Also, if you find that your makeup is looking perfect just before you put your glasses on, use the setting spray that will lock that in there for you but blotting sheets all the way. Next question comes in from Allison and she is brand new to makeup. I'm wondering if there's any tips on finding your foundation shade during different seasons. So you might start off the year as like a shade one and then a shade two, three as it works towards the summer and then you might drop back down again. Now this can be very frustrating particularly if you're new to makeup. You might have already found the perfect foundation shade and now all of a sudden it's too light or it's too dark and so what I would recommend trying are these adjuster drop. They sound scary and it sounds like it would be really complicated but it's not. It's actually really fun. Do you remember when you were a kid and used to like mix the different shades together? That's basically all this is. It's mixing one or two drops in a light or dark with your regular foundation to make sure that it works for you. Give it a try and definitely let me know how you get on but if you need any more tips on this particular subject definitely let me know. Next question comes in from PM and she's asking about the difference between the Bare Minerals Loose Foundation and the L'Oreal True Match Foundation which I love so much. So I get this question a lot and I really want to just talk you guys through this. Basically there's no difference. It's all about the price point and it's also about personal choice. The L'Oreal True Match is cheaper. I also find I don't use as much and I also feel like I get a really beautiful coverage from it which I can also build on and adjust depending on how I feel. Bare Minerals I find is a little sheerer. It's not as full coverage. I can't build it up in exactly the same way as I can with the True Match but that's all personal choice because a lot of people prefer that kind of sheer effect that you get with a powder foundation but really there isn't any particular difference that I can tell you guys other than the price is a little different and they both work really, really well but personally I would go for the L'Oreal True Match all the time. Next question comes in from Gabby and she is wondering if I will do a bridal makeup tutorial. So I'm going to get my wisdom teeth out soon so I'm not sure if I'm going to have a chance to do a bridal makeup tutorial but I will try my best but I do want to just mention two things that I absolutely love for brides just to help Gabby out so she can have a little bit of a play around with these two products. My main go-to when it comes to bridal or any special occasion is the Giorgio Amani Luminous Silk Foundation. This is gorgeous. Anybody who I know who is a bridal makeup artist or has been a bride or been a bridesmaid they have all worn this foundation nine times out of 10. It's a little bit pricey. However, my next product which is the primer that I love is really cheap. This is the Floormar Illuminating Primer. So the Giorgio Amani is about 45 and then the Floormar is 9.99 so together they're kind of balance each other out a little bit. Love it. Beautiful. Looks great in pictures and it's really long lasting. So those would be my go-tos. The next question is a little bit of a long one but I really like the amount of detail because this will really help me figure out what the problem is. So this person is applying the L'Oreal True Match Foundation and it's grabbing hold of certain areas and looking really strange. Now the L'Oreal True Match Mineral Foundation is a powder foundation. I think that's the one that she's talking about. If you apply a powder over the top of something that's too wet you're basically creating a paste and we're not making a cake. We really want to make sure that our skin is even that the foundation that's powder is going to go over the top of something that's not too damp. Best thing that I would actually recommend doing is applying a very sheer amount of a loose powder something translucent or a setting spray. Basically what that will do is it will not only set everything that you've applied but it will create a very even layer of dampness all over the skin and this will prevent that foundation from grabbing hold of certain areas. So what you want to do is to spritz the skin allow that to dry it will create a beautiful base for you and then go in with your foundation. So that is it for today's video. I hope you guys enjoyed it. If you did give it a thumbs up because I really appreciate it unless you've already given it a thumbs up and then if you click it again you'll undo it. So maybe just do it once. Just that one time. I really appreciate it. Check out the other videos on the screen. Hit that subscribe button if you're new here. Hit that little bell if you haven't already. It's right beside the subscribe button and check out the other videos on the screen. Did I already say that? If I did, I apologize. Check them out. Okay. Bye.


Name another podcast like this. We're gonna bring it to the table boss talk with your girlfriend Faye boss talk check check check this unit house this your boy e ceo and I'm here with a lovely amazing official mr. Mako what's going on? None none you know my day will all go on I want y'all to stop what you're doing right now and go Like subscribe follow us on all social media platforms. I mean our tick tock Instagram Facebook snapchat You name it. We're on it, but definitely easy to check out patreon if y'all have not been on patreon That's where we drop or all of our full-length interviews before he start clipping before anybody else start seeing it The sign-up for membership and our YouTube membership y'all see you like what we do y'all want to support us go ahead and sign up for a membership Appreciate it man. Hey man. Listen man. Thank you guys for watching the show man. Listen, man We got a guest in here today that don't really need to I said every time you said every time I'm thinking you know I'm saying it's my channel. I feel you know I'm saying y'all listen If you want me to stop saying, you know, she doesn't need an introduction or he don't need an introduction Yes, I mean, you know, whatever what you want to do about it. No No, we got a special guest in there today y'all and she don't need no introduction She's a man this this young lady right here love after lock up life after lock up, you know This year is this year is wild. I never would have thought I even got to meet this young lady, man Monique is in the building. What's going on? Hey? Very happy to have you here today But for me personally, I like to get to know you as a person I don't care who sits in the seat and how popular they are. I want to know where you came from I want to know your humble beginnings all of that sort of stuff. I know you were born and raised in Chicago, right? Yes, what part the West side of Chicago the West side Well, let me just say this about the West side, you know, they stand in front of them stoves over there I went out there. I couldn't go in. I was nervous. I had been watching the news back then I quit watching it since then But yeah, I was like dang man. I need to go to the north side It was something about going to the north side that made me feel a little better But we don't get it. I want to hear about this West side. I did go over there and interview a few people though But I mean, you know, it's a hype about Chicago that have people that kind of they they kind of we don't know, you know what I'm saying But at the end of the day, I missed some great people up there. But yeah West side Couldn't get out of it then when I went it was like big is it bigger than everything else? Yeah, the West side is pretty big That's what I thought. Yeah, it seemed to be like the biggest part of it, right? Well, he was riding it I was trying to figure it out. I'm like, man, I ain't gonna never get out to the West side. I'm not I'm not coming back I love the fact that way how I saw people be always It felt like community in some sort of way where people always be outside chilling hanging out So I know everybody know everybody everybody be looking out for everybody in some sort of way or fashion Is that how it is or that I just got a wrong idea now the West side is like Everybody know everybody right, but we grew up so sheltered like we just didn't go outside. I hang out. Really. Yeah, so I thought everybody can we drive on the street? Everybody be outside just chilling. No, she didn't go out her mom and dad and then went putting up with that Yeah, I can tell you right now. Is that am I right? With your mom and dad. Yeah, okay. How long had them in together? They're still together right now. They've been married for over what 30 years Wow So long time But growing up, how did you? Did you you saw them together? How did you feel because you know a lot of households don't have that a mom and dad in it? Did you notice that growing up that you know other friends of yours didn't have that? Yeah, a lot of my friends they really didn't have fathers in their household But did you feel special because of that? How did that make you feel? Did you are you didn't even care? Honestly, I don't really think too much about it. Hmm. Yeah, so Yeah, she had it. They didn't you know my mama left my daddy and he wasn't I was nine And she just decided she didn't want to be with that nigga no more So she took off and we went with her and I went back to my daddy because she really couldn't handle me You know what I'm saying? So, you know how they go, but you you blessed out to have to go through that You want to talk your mom and dad was together before eight years I know but everybody a lot of people sitting that seat. It's always I was raised by my mother My dad was a rolling stone blah blah blah or I didn't know my dad. I hear that a lot So I want to say a 10% of people are in your shoes. Yeah. Yeah, my dad He was very active in my life growing up I feel like I'm closer to my father than I am to my mother really daddy's girl. Yeah. Wow, so how many kids? I have five sisters all girls all girls. No boys. No brothers. Oh age difference range from anywhere between what like 41 to 19 to 19 Same mother and same father. Yeah. Well, yeah same mother. Yeah. Wow That's good, but not same father three of my sisters. We have the same father. Okay My two older sisters have different father different fathers. Wow, and all of you lived in the same household Yes, we all live in the same. What was it like growing up with all girls a lot of cat fights.  So one of us is arguing with each other So, yeah, should I let y'all go outside go outside get you talk about your parents and let you outside I couldn't deal with all them girls in the house. Oh man, y'all go outside and play with your friends go outside I can't deal with that. Mm-hmm. That's too much. Yes. So what did you like doing as a kid growing up? As a kid I was pretty quiet. I was always pretty much to myself really So, yeah, we grew up as like we didn't really have many friends because my mom raised us to you know Y'all don't need friends like y'all each other. Mm-hmm. So we're y'all each other best friends Yeah, we all were pretty close. That's good. Let's get down to the business Was it dangerous or not over on the west side because you know, we seen that we seen the movies, okay? I seen barbershop too. I've seen a few movies about Chicago. Tell me is it really is it safe? You know, I came and I ain't gonna lie to you I skated by this about the second time in state in Naperville because I knew You know So how is it like just is that because we can just debunk the whole It's this is that for you. How was it was there danger? Was there gang violence? Was there was it just good living? Of course, it was it was gang violence But we grew up staying out the way like we wasn't the people that ran the streets and was doing things We weren't supposed to be doing we went to school. We came home and You know, that was it. We didn't hang out in the streets. That's hard So yeah, so you can't live up there as a family man and got your wife and kids and you know I'm saying and be and stay out the way. Yeah, that's hard I like then but then that's crazy because just like how you said your parents kept you out of the streets Out of out of trouble and so forth I know people who say that they were raised in good households with mom and dad and strict parents and still end up The streets keep calling and they still end up going on the streets Especially when they get of age where the mom and dad can't tell them none of that. I can move out So how comes you didn't have that drive to like be on the street? And I'm asking this from perspective because I'm a parent and being a parent You always want to know how to keep your kids. What's the right way to do what to do What not to do to keep your kids from not going that route? I Will say my mother and my father like they pretty much gave us any and everything that we wanted So it was like we didn't need to go to the streets for anything. So We we just pretty much They just raised us right I guess Which one of your sisters like the bad boy listen that bad boy one of them five is Five y'all One of them like the bad boy, you know what I'm saying? He was out there. You like how she ended up talking it was at you You like the good guys Like when I was younger I wasn't fast I wasn't worried about men and I think that's how it was with all my sisters like we didn't We waited till we got up in age and still you know once we got out of high school and stuff like that to entertain guys Then that's that's the y'all just some good girls then, you know But I just don't I wish I could have been a how they say it a fly on the wall But it'd be in that house, you know because that is something about you know family man You know I'm saying to y'all a family that prays together stays together though I will say that you know it had to be something that kept y'all needed and you know throughout the years You know I mean so kudos to y'all for getting it right man because we need more that in our communities You know we've been together for 20 years and you know Raising family and trying to put family first, you know what I mean and so I get it man So I mean, you know you are here in Dallas, Texas man. You pulled up on me. Yeah, man Thank you so much man. We love the fact that you came here first. This is it the first stop Let's just be real about it You know what I'm saying so we don't get into the show, right? Mm-hmm. Okay, so first of all, how does this show even happen? That's what I was wanting to know like how do you end up on this show? Well, the show was nothing that I've ever applied to be on like when I Met Derek. I was in like a women's support group who had incarcerated boyfriends or husbands So it was more so like we all were in the group talking about our experiences our relationships with the men that we were dating and Who introduced you to that support group? um Actually just scrolling Facebook and I had saw like prison wife girlfriend support group. Okay Because a lot of my friends they didn't understand like why I chose to waste my time and deal with somebody in prison Let me stop you right there because I'm gonna be honest with you didn't waste your time I'm gonna be real with you. You know my mom. I told you she left, right? Mm-hmm. I didn't tell you about Jimmy feels See Jimmy feels was right in my mama's house and my daddy didn't know it and I seen these letters I didn't really understand what was going on at the time. Mm-hmm. You know I'm saying but Jimmy feels was locked up He was giving all these good scenarios about what he could do But he couldn't do much because he was locked up. Mm-hmm, and I think he got into her head You know I'm saying yeah, cuz she ends up moving and leave. I never told you this story really But yeah, Jimmy feels them letters. We didn't see at the house for mama. He didn't you know We couldn't throw house out and found some letters from my mother and my daddy after my daddy passed away And I was happy about those but you wouldn't have seen the Jimmy feels and how you knew about them letters I used to be nosy as hell. You know what I'm saying. And so she was writing This dude that was in prison on my dad. Mm-hmm, and Jimmy feels was his name now How do you end up writing somebody that's locked up? Honestly, um, I Was scrolling on Facebook and I just came across like a like a Facebook like prison pen pal group Really? And yeah, he was the first guy that I've seen so he was handsome I liked what I what he said and I had reached out to him. Wow. I was bored. It was like two three o'clock in the morning He's always bored.  Which you mean how long I have to wait wait till you come home? Like two and a half years. Would you do that again if you ever I would never do it again Like for a nigga to be locked up and you out here with all these strong men Look at that. We are here in the flesh. You were seeing all the people while he was locked up. No In the beginning I was seeing other men Okay, so when you wrote him initially you had a boyfriend. I didn't have a boyfriend, but I was dating other Guys, okay, so when did it fall like when do you be like, okay? Yeah, he might be the one Maybe like a year into the relationship. What did he say them to make you fall because? Honestly, but he started doing things for me that those other guys really wasn't doing like he was like sending me money Like for my birthday Like from in prison. Mm-hmm. Like he was doing things for me like sending flowers and stuff So I was like, okay. He's you know showing me Right, you know a little bit of effort. So I'll entertain it a little bit more. Mm-hmm. So You know, did you ever go visit? No, cuz we met around COVID.  Nope Wow That's crazy. So he had a phone No, he didn't have a phone. You know, they'd be sneaking cell phones in there where you can like FaceTime and stuff like that No, we don't have a phone, but we did a video chat. Oh Yeah How y'all video chat was he in the cell or was he in the visitation room? So you basically, you know, so It's a crazy thing though you wouldn't when when everything said and done you end up this film and all I want to know about this with this film that came out and we like how did y'all end up getting to that point? Well, I was in communication with the cast and director and you know, she liked me as a person She felt like me and Derek. We had an interesting, you know relationship So you kind of created it Yeah, pretty much pretty much. Yeah, and then they also liked the fact that we never Saw each other in person, right? They like the fact like oh the first time y'all gotta be meeting each other is the day He get out of prison like we want to see how that goes and So you let her from the Facebook, I'm sorry the casting director How did you meet the casting director? Well, because I guess they were like looking for people to be on the show So they were like in these groups like okay talking to people So I wasn't the only person that they reached out to they reached out to a lot of other women in the groups too It seemed like you was one of the most popular ones to me So so do you when you did it do you feel like like how did it change your life the way people were? You know responding to it to you I would say I think it changed me because people automatically assumed that I was an insecure person Because I reached out to a man in prison and I was never insecure before the show even you know started. I think once it aired and Things went the way it went was when my insecurity kind of started But over the time it's like, you know, I'm not gonna allow You know people to change the way that I feel about myself Well, some of those things like that made people think that you was insecure I hope what made you feel like people thought that like you got to think about it did I mean The comments they they can be brutal And I think it was because a lot of people was not used to seeing a bigger plus size woman on TV Yeah, they they automatically assume a bigger woman like a man has to have ulterior motive like oh She must be spending money on him or you know They don't feel like a man could just love a plus-sized woman just because they love, you know, they feel like They have to have ulterior motive Well, but they is a shelter because I didn't see this all my life Yeah, you understand I'm saying in certain situations when you think about it There's somebody that somebody loves and it's always something that you can't put your hand on because it ain't their business No way, you know saying so, right? That doesn't surprise me Right now that will not even So that's that's what I can't but the comments again people there's all type of people out here because we get it as well And they thinking this and saying this and that's what they do So yeah, I get it I could see that being a thing for them because when you look at the Lizzo's and the Monique's and the different people that have came about there always have been things that people would pinpoint For them because they're brutal people or not people are there's a lot of evil people in this world. Everybody's not nice I can remember a time when I was crazy as hell. So I know it ain't you know It's just it's a known fact So when you think about it like like how do you feel are you comfortable like doing the show now? Like in the way you looked on the show. Did you like the way it turned out? I'm comfortable now Cuz now I'm secure and I know who I am at this very moment back then I would say I think After watching it back and you know all the you know infidelity and everything that took place It kind of made me insecure because it was like Why is it they you know you cheated with all these different women? It wasn't one woman or two women It was you know over 10 women. So yeah He was So it was 10 over 10. I don't know.  I never caught him red-handed. So you don't you know What you think I Mean it is what it is to pass like I don't you left anything, huh? I really do too much on it no more. It is what it is. So you pretty much gone. It's over never never again But before this situation, you know how your life wasn't in the limelight You know one thing I always say about people who now become in the limelight as in celebrities and stuff like that Your life is now an open book to everybody to see and scrutinize Do you ever feel like man? I wish I didn't I don't think I feel like I wish I I didn't No, no regrets cuz I just took it as a lesson You know, I know better for next time to make yourself stronger. Yes Because now forward your life is gonna be out there for everybody to see and know and scrutinize continually, right? Well, you know, you set up cameras like me Yeah Did you ever do any good on your camera? I used to know, you know setting the cameras up trying to figure things out I never set up any cameras. Okay I Mean you was a super spy you got the phone you you would look through it, you know Do you believe I leave mine open cuz I don't want no problems, you know, I'm saying whatever she can see I can see whatever I can see she can see.  Not cameras, but I'm gonna check this damn phone. Yeah, I'm check the phone check location You got a you did you put a help on it or anything? Mm-hmm. So you could tell when when he would say he were here or there Yeah You really do you might need to get into tech to work So do you think you would do this with like all any any guy or just that particular situation I would never do that with another guy because if I feel like I have to go through your phone check your location and do all They're like you're not the man for me. Like I want to Be secure in my relationship. I want to be able to trust somebody So I would never do that again in another relationship. You had evidence in reason Yeah, you know, that's what the police say if they have any reasonable reason to do this You know, I mean you had you had things that may triggered you into doing this You had skin in the game too, right? Cuz you had been you know being there for somebody who didn't have that somebody you was there for him as well He whether it was monetarily or whatever the case may be. I mean a lot of time people do think well You got that she be a bigger frame girl.  Did you ever buy a lot of expensive gifts for it? No So he was using you say you were using him I was using him. I feel like when a relationship like you Give and take it's a yes a given take I'm just trying to figure out what the hell the world so the nigga just was a whole and really more than anything That's all I'm here.  Now when you get a mature man a real Mendingo warrior When you get your one a real stomp down Man who already Test stood the test of time, right? And he gotta believe in God, too. I gotta say that but You you won't have to go through those things. Exactly. Well, how caught how precautious are you gonna be on this next election? I mean you in Dallas. Mm-hmm. It's a lot of men here in Dallas, Texas. I mean he looking for a woman You know I'm saying somebody that they can hold on to at night, you know what I'm saying How are you gonna make the choice this time? What's what what's your steps? Give me a little rundown? That's what I'm looking for. Oh Explain to me what you see in a what is an Octi a older man Somebody that has experience Teach me new things that know how to treat a woman. How old you know over 45 What's the oldest you'll date? I Would say 65 Okay, I've always dated older men though. Yeah, he was one of the youngest guys I ever dated So I that was me stepping outside of my comfort zone Now I'm just like, you know, I'm gonna go back to what I'm used to older men that you know faithful faithful Somebody who knows how to take care of a woman. Oh, but it's some old holes out here, too.  He got two Oh, he gonna do it gonna be respectful I'm not okay with it, but at the same time Don't give me a reason. Well, not even don't give me a reason But if you're gonna be Cheating at least be slick about it because I've met women who say as long as he taking care of home He taking care of me. You don't have no woman stepping to me. Nobody calling my phone. I'm good I've heard woman old-school woman who would tell me that because they know that men gonna be man They're gonna step out there and do what they do anyway. Mm-hmm. Is that you it's not me But I also heard of a respectful way and a disrespectful way to cheat What's the respect so I decide to cheat don't be disrespectful don't be having a woman go through your phone calling me And you know doing all the extra stuff like yeah, yeah, yeah, don't call my house That's what you mean don't and that mean my cell phone that I can look at the bill, right? Don't want a man who don't cheat at all. Yeah, no, were you faithful the whole time? Let's be real Now any beginning a relationship. We wasn't committed to each other. He was still locked up. Oh once he was committed once he came home Yeah, I was faithful never once did you even you know cuz Bob said if you even think on a man in that way No, okay. I was completely faithful. Wow And you was completely let down You the victim Yeah, wouldn't you say that I wouldn't say I was a victim Why why how are you like he just didn't know what he had and he just fumbled it basically Have anybody have you tried to get back? Since when since all this kind of been like up and down. Yeah here lately. Have you tried it not for the past month? All that nigga coming back you too. I don't wanna be he gonna be calling change your number cuz he car Would you ever date another person coming out of prison?  Hmm. That's already established I ain't trying to build the man up. I want him already together. I heard you say in an interview That when your relationship you stuck it out because you thought he would change But then you know what came to my mind, you know, whenever you said that is majority woman We all think that way, but we still know that you don't ever date somebody thinking that you gonna change them because it never usually Happened however, they are that's who they are. Mm-hmm. So You knew that right It was more so like I would I Knew he was just getting out of prison. He's been in prison for almost 10 years since he was, you know, 19 So I was just hoping like I see some type of growth not even change change him, but just growth Okay. Okay. So that's I think I was sticking around waiting to see like, okay, when is he gonna grow up like It's best in time now Yeah, wow So You've moved on he's moved on And it no smoke nothing else I mean now you you've moved on he's got him a new female You looking for you a new boo up here in Dallas In Dallas, you'll get a southern one. No street for it right down the street, too You know what I'm saying?  You keep going down 30 all this stuff.  How do we you know I'm saying how do we get next to you? I love it. I would a good sense of humor cuz I love to laugh. Yeah, that's me. I'll be cutting Oh, that's how I got her right there.   They done changed up the code. Oh I think that was that blue wasn't it I would have this regular Yeah, I got it with that.  I don't know you can't go and see you must have been in the hole in this church Like you don't know what it go I'm really your home body. How you spend to get somebody I know I know but I'm out of Dallas So hopefully I feel like my husband is here. It can be because Yeah, but when I you know when I come through I will float never did hit the floor just Gliding through but so do you think like like you you think Dallas is a good place I mean would you ever do a show like you remember them shows where you would where people would try to meet you You know I mean one of me different. Would you ever do a show like that like a matchmaking? Yeah matchmaking type show That'd be hard.  Yeah, I think that'll be live You might think about that cuz you get that's a and it's a plus because it just keeps everything going. What you think?  Yeah, there's difference. Yeah I'm gonna ask you this one more thing about The other guy like his girl Have you ever heard anything you say they come back at you or nobody calling did somebody reach out to you come at you in the wrong way who like Hit you the other guy. I want to see his name stand away from me. Mm-hmm Derek. I think his name Did his girl any of his new found friends reach out to you or anything cuz they know the show You know what I mean? Like they know you was the girl and everybody know you was with him Do they try to do messy stuff? Of course try to play you into situations call your phone hang up or get on Facebook That what they do get on Instagram Facebook and TikTok, but you know, they sit and they argue with themselves Say that I don't respond, but they want to respond. Yeah, and it's a waste of time because if that's who you're with Why are you trying to get a reaction? Wow? because Because you know what's going on.  From what you said you rich out and you you created this thing where they wanted to be a part of y'all Because you evidently was the one making the moves for the show to even happen, right? Mm-hmm That's star power really that that's that's a hustler mentality Like like for them to reach out to you and say, okay We could do this when he get out or whatever now you put him in the line I'm like, did he have to sign papers and stuff to even do all that? Yeah, and so Everybody was going good. You thought it would been marriage and all that at that point at one point Like you see what I'm saying. Yeah, we would have been married, but yeah, but I was that was before he proposed Yeah, before he proposed. Yeah, like we was fantasizing really cuz that's what y'all do my mama used to do it when they locked up Actually got out and got me a ring. It was like, okay, like he for real and you believed it.   What do you how do you advise these women? To should they get out of it should they not get get into it today, what? And my advice would be baby Livio life Okay, if you gonna take a man serious straight out of prison allow him to come home and establish him. So let him You know figure out what it is that he won't like don't sit around and waste. I don't even want to say waste your time, but just Don't go by words go by actions wait to He comes out and can feel it and you have a so now you're signed again to another episode, right? Yes, I signed on for another season Not a complete season.  Mm-hmm. Okay. So what can we expect from it? Just basically like what I'm up to now like how things have been since the break-up Okay me working on my wig line. I'm doing Brand ambassador deals. I'm looking for some more traveling doing more bbw body positivity events Mm-hmm, and I'm working on my lip kit. So is that I'm with that you have on that's your line I'm sorry. Is that your line that you have on now? No, this is not my hair line Okay, you're supposed to be wearing your hair line all the time I'm still working on vendors again samples and stuff like that. So it's not quite perfect to get so it's still in the process Okay, but you do bbw events, right? Mm-hmm. Let me ask you a question about that. Have you growing up? Have you always been a bbw? Yes all your life. Mm-hmm. Okay. So I know that People sometimes especially recently with social media stuff like that can be very cruel with people who are plus size, right? Especially if you are very confident I love a plus size woman who I think because I have a couple friends who are so confident They'll wear whatever water and she don't care that they dress better than some people who are not plus size.  I Would say just if you're confident just be who you are don't allow other people Opinions affect how you feel about yourself. If you feel like you look good in it. That's what makes you feel good Do it don't worry about what other people think Yeah, because what I think about I don't always think about the adults who are plus size who are trying to put that image out There I'm thinking about the kids who are coming up who are having issues With that confidence because when you're a kid and you're plus size That's when you're battling with that the most to me until you come into yourself and build that confidence up to say You know what? I don't care about nobody say this is what I love to do. This is how I love to dress This is how I express myself That's who I think about because they're looking up to a lot of women looking up to you when they see you and to see How you dress confident and how you're walking with your head up high You don't care about what nobody say a lot of children are looking up to you who are that you know Mm-hmm. So that those are the kids that I be thinking about yeah, I want to go back into This guy and Your family how did they feel about you? Seeing this guy that was locked up because that's something they never liked him from day one Oh, they didn't they didn't even want to deal with that are none of them not one They didn't know him They just didn't like the fact how I was wasting my time talking to somebody that was incarcerated they didn't like that Really, but that didn't stop you it didn't And so and and I get it cuz they didn't want to see you go through it cuz they know when that nigga get out Mm-hmm.   They try to protect you Mm-hmm, he ain't gonna do right and they told each other that over and over again. I could damn well believe Put a risk in between you and your family a little bit. I would say Once he got out and they knew like I was on my way to go see him. They was just like That's crazy Do they meet they met him of course. No, my mom and my dad they never met him. They didn't want to meet him But your sister's dead. Yeah, my sister's man. I wonder they met him. What did they tell you? He ain't for you. They knew it already, but you couldn't see it. I couldn't love was blinded Definitely. Yeah, love will blind you. I'm blind now So so like like when but the thing is it's funny because That's a whole deal because when you do start dealing with somebody's incarcerated you become co-dependent So you start being locked up with them in a sense. Let's be real That I tell my daughter she work at the prison.  That's all I could say. I appreciate the The switch up, you know, I can't wait to see this new new episode of follow-up to see what happened Which I hope you can find your man here in Dallas, man You know I'm saying what's your IG when people if they trying to get a hold of you My G is miss unique and my SS die and IQ you E All right now y'all heard that I better get on it Dallas stand up So I definitely know that I'm gonna be standing tuned with everything man I just when I thought about it and seen just how you You know kind of how you you know went through all of this it was fascinating to me because I know a lot of people I still to this day, I write prisoners. I know prisoners. I you know, that's a part of what I do Just for just to give them. I'm not trying to go with them. I'm just trying to be there for them You know what I mean, right?   What would you've changed? I would have changed I Would have created more boundaries and I would have Not gave so many chances so after I saw the first red flag, I would have walked away Had I known it was gonna turn out the way that it turned out. What was the first red flag? Your mommy asked while he was in prison or once you got out the first red flag The first red flag would be I would say When he told me he was he didn't call me for like a day and then I called the prison and And what he told me he didn't call me for a day because he was in a hole and then He had somebody call me and tell me that he was in a hole And then I had called the prison to see if he actually wasn't a hole and they told me he wasn't So you already had doubts at that time for you to Call them Yeah, and they told me he wasn't in a hole and in the whole time he was That they he didn't call me he spent on a phone talk to one other girl So you really have to lie about that And he told me he wanted to he wanted to relax his mind he didn't feel like talking on the phone So he lied and told me he was in a hole.  I would say like maybe a week after he got out He was like he was gonna go see his dad He wants to go see his dad So I wasn't tripping and then I was like he had his location on and Then it was like two o'clock in the morning. I woke up and he still didn't come back to the hotel so then he came back to the hotel saying he got robbed and He was with his I'm like, well, how did you get robbed? Like did your brothers get robbed? I was like I was that new girl they got a new one now. What's that girl name down there since you got Man people born out here So he lied and say he got robbed but in actuality he gave all his belongings to his brother to hold for him So I could believe he got robbed. So that was just like But this rod this one running just No, man, like Scott is in the water y'all in Chicago with him. No, he was in Cleveland. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah So so so what's I mean you gotta think about it, man You you didn't did your thing now. So so what about you? Have you started? Do you have your own YouTube channel? Are you I started my use that's what I'm talking about For the food man, I get mad about that.  You know, I'm in Dallas. So I'm a, you know Do some shorts or do you know because that's important, you know So many people looking to hear from you a lot of times they can't wait on no episode Yeah, they want to see you now in Ralph on in Dallas Downtown, you know, I'm saying the way of it's gonna be what so what's the big event here in Dallas? So I have a pajama party going on tomorrow in Arlington and then Sunday. I have a BBW Pool party event. Wow shot to my girl, man. Teresa, man. She brought you through man. That's your manager How'd y'all link up miss bank? Yeah, you've she from where she from Arkansas little rock. Okay. Yeah And so how did y'all link up? What you be on that social media girl You see me now you you following me today We're gonna get down. So so what so when you what made you what made you reach out and what made y'all link up like that? Well, she reached out to me and I just loves her from the very first conversation We had cuz I could tell she was like dedicated. I know she was for me and you know She just have a very positive and you know good vibes.  Mm-hmm. Shout out to her and her daughter, man I met him and when I was in a little rock So it's just live to have these connections man when she reached out to me. It was a no-brainer. You know, I'm saying I'm like, yeah Let's get it man. Yeah, she coming where what I'm gonna shut it down. You know You know, I hope when whenever you come to Dallas off. I'm in Chicago.  No Yeah, I'm just tripping off he didn't clean you You went up tell her how'd you like it? I didn't like it. It's nothing going on out there. Like You like what the hell I don't got myself into so I mean that's so Definitely going back up to Cleveland So but like like when I come up to Chicago I'm gonna rock out which cuz I do I do get up there. Like I said, I love you up there sometime man, um, like, you know When it I gotta ask you this like Give me some top threes. Give me a top three. I do everybody a top three. What can I ask? Top three most influential plus size models or plus size influence I like that Number one I Like her too cheese. She's hard.  She will put it out there like nigga. This is what it is Okay, and she from Houston, Texas So there's no number one who else Honestly, although the other two are usually like people that I see on Instagram Name them name them since you want to put them out there. They're Instagram. Whatever I'm gonna just name them over Monique. I'm kind of mad about that. You don't like Monique that much She lost weight a little bit. Maybe you upset what you upset? Why do you do you check Monique out sometimes You gotta understand man, like it's few far between because like I said y'all A lot of times a lot of times people are saying oh, man, you know, she be she shouldn't even do this She shouldn't do that. You know, they'd be on y'all about certain things you're wearing all kind of stuff So y'all have to be strong in this world. It's this internet world crazy So you say the other two would be on Instagram So you don't know their names Unless you know the first and first and last name if you do that you can name that It's one girl that I follow her name is fitting fancy. She hold on Fitting fancy you called out on boss. I'm gonna one today. No, what's the other girl? The other one? I think her name is like curvy Something I don't know Man, that'd be hard. You ever thought about coming out like with a clothing line and stuff. I did I'm I actually have something in the works Let's get it then.  I'm gonna call you out on that Okay, where is it at? You know, I'm the one be calling people I tell people in here, you know, I say it's been a lot of people sitting that seat last year in line. I'll be putting them right back That's crazy, right like so, you know, when it's all said and done in your career like What do you think what if you couldn't speak and somebody had to do a documentary on you in your life What would you want it to be about? What would you want them to say things that a couple of things to stick out About me. Yeah, it's your dog. You mean Basically, like how I really build myself up like I went through something like I Wanted to say traumatic but something so heartbreaking and I still you know still chose to move forward and not allow that to hold me back and To hold me back. So it's just like all about me moving forward and doing what's best for me. Wow and putting myself first. Wow Yeah, the let's talk about the pool party one more time to shout it out one more time What you going with was it what's going on the pajama party? Yeah So the pajama party is going on tomorrow and then I'll be a special guest at a BBW pool party on Sunday Man both the islands and both the knowledge and y'all better come out Is it anybody can come or is RSVP or what? What is it? Anybody could come they could purchase a ticket one Even break the link is in my Instagram bio already y'all. Hey, man. Y'all see it y'all heard it man So hey man, we love you. Thank you. You know that when I say that it's time. It's about to be over What is your Instagram link? Me Is Say man, we love you You can come see me you don't talk about So man, hey man, listen, it's been another great segment of boss talk 101 what a boss is told and we out