Beyond the Margins is a non-profit online publication dedicated to producing content focused on LGBTQIA+ persons and communities across Africa. We aim to bring our readers queer-affirming multimedia content which sheds light – and adds to existing research – on the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people across the continent.
The central aim of Beyond the Margins is to foster greater understanding and acceptance of LGBTQIA+ individuals and communities. To do this, we will be working alongside LGBTQIA+ media practitioners (and allies) across Africa to tell stories that give voice to marginalised individuals and communities.
This publication was made possible with the support of the Other Foundation. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the Other Foundation.
The Beyond the Margins website is the flagship project of Beyond the Margins NPC, a non-profit company made of:
Carl Collison
Founding Director and Board Chairperson
Carl Collison (he/him) is a journalist, photographer, filmmaker and researcher, who focuses specifically on producing LGBTIQ-related content from across Africa. A former researcher with Human Rights Watch, Collison was also the Other Foundation’s Rainbow Fellow at the Mail & Guardian.
In 2017, as a result of his queer-focussed journalism, he represented South Africa as a participant in the U.S Government States Department’s International Visitors Leadership Programme. He was shortlisted for the 2018 Gerald Kraak Award and Anthology. He was also included in the inaugural #Awesome50 list, which recognises the work done by people across Africa to better the lives of the continent’s LGBTIQ people. Short stories he has written have been included in the collection of essays, They Called Me Queer and For The Love of the Land.
Documentary films (and photographic exhibitions) he has put together have been screened in film festivals and events in Argentina, Kenya, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, Mozambique, U.S.A, the United Kingdom as well as the 2020 Pride Afrique.
In April 2023, he held his first solo international exhibition (featuring photography, text and documentary films looking into queer lives across Africa) at the Western Oregon University.
In August 2023, the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice’s annual “Economies of Violence” public event centred around Collison and his multimedia exhibition, Islanded (No More), which he has been putting together over the past few years covering the lived experiences of LGBTIQ+ people across Africa. The exhibition focuses on the intersections between queerness and religious and traditional belief systems in various parts of Africa.
Khanyisile Phillips
Board Secretary
Khanyisile Phillips (she/her) is the former Education Programme and ILGA World Manager at Gender DynamiX and a dedicated advocate for gender justice in Southern Africa. Equipped with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) from the University of the Western Cape (UWC), she is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Honours in Sociology, majoring in Policy Analysis and Organisational Management. Central to her activism and advocacy is the need for codified policies and legal frameworks within education institutions to embed a gender self-determination approach to meaningful inclusion. By ardently advocating for affirming policies, she aims to enhance access to inclusive and equitable quality education for trans and gender-diverse South Africans, while promoting a culture of freedom of speech, association and expression.
Michelle Adams
Interim Treasurer
Michelle Adams (she/her) is Senior Accountant at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). Prior to this she served as Finance Manager at The Other Foundation, where she consistently stood as an ally for queer rights in Southern Africa, leveraging her financial expertise to bolster advocacy initiatives in the region. Adams holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Financial Accounting from Stellenbosch University, is a registered SAIPA Accountant, and has 15 years’ experience in Accounting / Finance, having worked in both corporate and NGO spaces.