Trustees play a vital role in providing strategic guidance and governance, ensuring charities can deliver essential services to communities across Ireland. This Giving Tuesday we’re shining a light on Boards of Trustees across the country. Here we chat to Dr Zélie Asava, a Board Member with the Irish Film Institute (IFI).

Can you tell us a little about you?

I am the  author of Mixed Race Cinemas: Multiracial Dynamics in America and France (Bloomsbury, 2017) and The Black Irish Onscreen: Representing Black and Mixed-Race Identities on Irish Film and TV (Peter Lang 2013). I am a Film Classifier with IFCO and am a Board Member of Screen Ireland (co-chairing the GED committee), French Screen Studies, the Irish Film Institute, Catalyst International Film Festival and the arts magazine Unapologetic. 

What inspired you to become a Charity Trustee?

I think from a very young age I was interested in voluntary work. My parents were both volunteers. So, it was really important for me to be able to amplify the voices of people who don’t have a voice and use my platform in that way.

What does being a Charity Trustee mean to you?

I think professionally it’s, you know, as an academic, it’s really important for me to take my research and be able to apply it to real world issues. And then personally, I sit on the board of the Irish Film Institute and as a teenager, that was a home from home for me. It was a really important space.

What did you find most surprising about becoming a Trustee?

I have two small children so that was challenging at the start. But, I was surprised at how quickly that became natural and a part of my everyday life.

What advice would you give to someone considering becoming a Trustee?

Think about where you can best serve.

What one word would you use to sum up being a Trustee?

Integrity

Ready to put your hand up and join a charity board? Find out more at www.charitiesinstitute.ie.