From Jamaica to Being an Iceland-based Human Rights Lawyer - Interview with Claudia Ashanie Wilson

Claudia Ashanie Wilson is an Iceland-based human rights lawyer and activist who moved from her home country Jamaica to Iceland in 2001. When Claudia came to Iceland she didn’t speak Icelandic nor had she previous been to law school. Through a lot of hard work, she became fluent in Icelandic, and received her masters degree in 2014 in international law from the Reykjavík University. Claudia passed the Icelandic bar examinations to become a district court attorney in Iceland. In doing so, she became the first non-European person to do that in Iceland.
Since her move to Iceland, Claudia has been very active in human rights initiatives both by in governmental and non-governmental organizations. She has served as vice president for the Women of Multicultural Ethnicity Network (W.O.M.E.N.) in Iceland, Social Activities Coordinator for asylum seekers on behalf of the Red Cross, and was appointed by the Ministry of Welfare to the Welfare Watch of Iceland.
She currently sits on the board of representatives for SOS Children's Villages in Iceland, the boards of Amnesty International, Iceland Chapter and the Icelandic Equality Fund.
Claudia recently became a partner at the law firm Réttur Aðalsteinsson & Partners, where she has worked since 2013. She is also a guest lecturer at United Nations University Gender Equality Studies and Training Programme (UNU-GEST), the School of Business and at the University of Iceland as well as the School of Law at University of Iceland and Reykjavík University.
00:00:00 - Intro about Claudia
00:04:09 - Moving to Iceland from Jamaica
00:06:03 - Culture shock in Iceland
00:10:01 - Her impression of Icelandic people
00:14:12 - Being the only Black woman in her town
00:18:00 - How Claudia learned Icelandic
00:22:13 - A funny misunderstanding about an Icelandic word
00:24:12 - Going to school and learning topic in Icelandic
00:24:33 - One of the best tools for learning Icelandic
00:26:53 - Why she wanted to become a lawyer
00:29:42 - Going to Law School in Iceland
00:33:28 - Making History in Iceland
00:36:02 - Iceland's representation of foreigners
00:39:59 - The type of law Claudia practices
00:41:30 - The type of discrimination cases she handles in Iceland
00:43:31 - Gender inequality and gender based violence in Iceland
00:49:18 - Refugees in Iceland
00:57:39 - Discrimination Claudia has faced in Iceland
01:04:43 - Claudia's favorite Icelandic word or phrase
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Get exclusive content, like Folklore Friday, by joining the All Things Iceland community on Patreon.
/ allthingsiceland
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
All Things Iceland podcast
Hear interviews with natives and expats that dive deep into Icelandic history, language, nature, and culture, as well as learn new Icelandic words and phrases.
Available for download at:
My website - allthingsicela...
Apple podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Google Play
Stitcher
TuneIn
PlayerFm
Overcast
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Learn more about Iceland on my other social media channels:
Instagram - @allthingsiceland
Facebook - @allthingsiceland
Twitter - @jewellschambers
#livinginiceland #iceland #peopleiniceland