facultyexplore advaya’s teachers
Explore advaya's faculty of teachers, scientists, practitioners, philosophers and storytellers, who share multidimensional, local and diverse narratives from across the world.
Ilaj
Ilaj is project lead for Ulex’s LGBTQI+ psycho-social resilience and holistic security programme.
Ilaj is project lead for Ulex’s LGBTQI+ psycho-social resilience and holistic security programme. Ilaj works with grassroots groups involved in social and environmental struggles, and also NGOs in the areas of social and environmental justice. As a WenDo trainer – a self defense and self assertiveness method for women and trans* people – they are passionate about working with body awareness as a radical means of deconstructing internalized systems of oppression. Ilaj is a member of the Ulex core team.

film
Facing repression: building movement resilience
The first gathering in Regenerative Activism, 2021: an annual conference of dialogues and workshops exploring radical transformation organised by Ulex Project, Gita Parihar and advaya. As our movements grow and as the faltering neoliberal order tries to salvage its interests through new alignments with the far right and other authoritarian tendencies, activists and our organisations face new threats and forms of attack. We need to better understand the mechanisms of suppression and repression and ways to combat the damage they cause our movements.

film
Resilience in times of uncertainty
Part 4 (the finale) of The Regenerative Activism Series 2020! Participants: Gee (Ulex Project), Aesha Francis (Urban Mindfulness Foundation), Dean Francis (Urban Mindfulness Foundation), Anthea Lawson (Perspectiva), Eweryst Zaremba (Ulex Project) & Jyoti Fernandes (Land Workers Alliance). These are probably the most important years in our history. We’re facing the gnarly, and interlinked problems of climate crisis, stark inequality and a post-democratic reality. Earth’s life support systems are under attack, while authoritarian, racist and intolerant nationalist populism is on the rise. Our survival involves deep transformation and a shift beyond the failing capitalist system that underpins our extractive and destructive economy. How can we sustain ourselves through this time? How can we enable our activism to be a source of flourishing, for ourselves and society as a whole? We will dig deep into key questions and practices for a truly regenerative activism.