Spotlight On: Nigerian-Irish Psychologist & Social Entrepreneur Mamobo Ogoro

Mamobo Ogoro procrastinated a lot during lockdown. But unlike the rest of us, she didn’t spend her time making sourdough starters and banana bread. She set up a social enterprise. 

GORM Media, a project born out of personal experiences, aims to unify across differences and increase a sense of belonging among marginalised communities in Ireland. To do this, the company (currently four staff members and 10 volunteers) hosts intercultural training programmes, runs workshop events, and creates in-house content telling the stories of under-repesented communities. One of their most recent Instagram Reels considers how to eliminate racism in Irish society. Another video on their YouTube channel debunks many of the myths around autism in women. 

“I wanted to create something where communities could speak for themselves and have a chance to control their narrative,” Mamobo says. “A lot of these social issues affect members of the Gen Z multicultural community. We have an amazing group of unifiers who work with us, people who recognise different ways of seeing the world and want to learn and teach from diverse perspectives. We’re like a B2B company, we’re teaching organisations about inclusion. We want people to be clued in and teach news skills in an accessible, healthy, and entertaining way.” 

At the time of writing, GORM has 8,000 followers across their social media platforms. It’s here that the company showcases their many projects, from their Wideshot workshop pilot programme to their web series ‘Them’, a show dedicated to amplifying new voices and sharing new ideas. In April, the group announced that they had been commissioned by Fís Éireann and Virgin Media Television to bring their pilot programme ‘Now You Know’ to the Virgin Media Player. Things have, Mamobo says, really snowballed. 

 

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“It all started with a Twitter account, then I moved into YouTube and Instagram,” she explains. “At the beginning, I was going from my own personal experience. My family moved to Ireland when I was three, and growing up in a migrant household in the middle of nowhere I was curious about social psychology and why people hate. GORM is under three years old now, but we’re on a mission. We want to build anti-racism into society and allow communities to use their own voices, not just to feel empowered but to have those difficult conversations that may not be happening elsewhere. I’ve already learned so much from the team!” 

GORM’s mission statement is about unity and interculturalism. Mamobo differentiates this from diversity, as the project is focused on bridging differences – not just highlighting them. “Diversity is all about difference,” she says. “And sometimes when that’s highlighted it can have a negative impact bringing about divisions, and people can feel like they’re left out. Diversity is acknowledging you exist, but we want to take a step beyond that.” 

On April Fool’s Day, Mamobo took to GORM’s Instagram to joke that this was the end of the social enterprise. But the gag wasn’t completely unfounded, as the project has indeed moved into its second iteration – GORM 2.0. Mamobo says the company wants to take a more focused approach to work, increase their following and client base, and of course, reach more people. “I want to break our own echo chamber,” she says. “A lot of the people who follow us are clued in but there are lots of people out there who aren’t. We want to reach them.” 

You can follow GORM on Instagram at @GORMmedia and Mamobo at @Mamobo96.

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