A Pioneering & Inspiring Human Rights Lawyer in Iceland

Claudia Ashanie Wilson is a 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. She 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. By passing the bar, 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.

Questions I Asked Claudia During the Interview

1. Where are you originally from and how did you end up in Iceland?

1. What was it like adjusting to life here? Iceland is quite different from Jamaica. Did you have any culture shock? Was it a difficult adjustment?

1. What was it like learning Icelandic?

1. What inspired you to study law here?

1. Did you have any idea that you would be making history just by graduating from law school in Iceland?

1. Recently, you made partner at your law firm Réttur. Congratulations again! What kind of human rights cases do you take on?

1. Did you experience any discrimination or racism when you first came or even in present times?

1. You have been named one of Iceland’s most influential women in the 2020 issue of “June 19 Magazine”. Congrats! Representation is such an important part of people feeling empowered anywhere they live. Do you feel like Iceland is understanding that and is trying to showcase the diverse, amazing people, like yourself, that live here?

1. You are involved with different organizations here, such as the Iceland Chapter of Amnesty International, W.O.M.E.N. and others. Why is it important for you to be involved with these organizations?

1. What is your favorite Icelandic word or phrase?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz_icvGq2IM GIVEAWAY – Enter to Win One of Andri Snær’s Books!!

I’m giving away three of Andri Snær’s books, which are below.

1. On Time & Water
2. LoveStar
3. The Story of the Blue Planet

To enter win one of the books, all you have to do is leave a positive review for the All Things Iceland podcast (you can use this link to easily do it), take a screenshot of your review, and send that screenshot to me in an email at jewells(at)fromforeigntofamiliar(dot)com. If you have already left a review for the podcast, please just send me a screenshot of that review.

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Some of you might be aware that one of my goals for the podcast is to travel around Iceland more to interview different people in each region. In July, I set up the All Things Iceland community on Patreon. It’s a membership platform that was founded in 2013. It allows for creators like me to provide exclusive content to listeners like you in exchange for a monthly subscription.

Each month I am doing Ask Me Anything videos, Live Chats, and Folklore Friday each week. Sometimes I do updates about my life in Iceland. I do not share this content on any other channel. The support from my patrons on the All Things Iceland community on Patreon will help to evolve All Things Iceland. There are several membership tiers to choose from and each tier has a variety of benefits.

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Þakka þér kærlega fyrir að hlusta (og að lesa) og sjáumst fljótlega

Thank you kindly for listening (and reading) and see you soon!