During the ITP UN Women ITP Live Conference in Dubai, Cosmo ME spoke to Amanda Cerny about all-things feminism and her passion for advocacy. She is a true inspo and totem to “get you a girl who can do both.”
Although we may know her as Youtuber and Vine-r, Amanda first touched on how she became a UN Ambassador. She became a UN Wildlife Ambassador in 2019 and says that her relationship with them was engendered quite “organically”. She says, “I think it is important to use my platform to voice issues that I care about, like environmental and wildlife issues.” Not only this, Amanda also played a key role in helping with the Covid crisis in India, generating donations to aid the country recover.
“It was through those issues that the relationship with the UN started. I did a campaign called Wild for Life, using my platform to generate more awareness on poaching issues, directing those interested towards the website. My posts alone generated a 50 percent increase in traffic to the website and over 40 million views, which is awesome.” We love that, Amanda. Like a true *kween*.
In the vein of using her platform for the betterment of society, Amanda also feels personally responsible to make people happy. She says, “I think an important part of being an influencer is being true to yourself” or it could be “something simple like making someone feeling a little bit happier during a stressful day”. We completely agree as Amanda’s platform is seriously *so* funny.
When asked who her biggest inspiration is, Amanda recanted her loved for Angelina Jolie. “A lot of the humanitarian work that she does is so genuine, and the fact she is a successful woman in business and producing. Being hands-on and taking a leadership role in things, I find it really inspiring.” Amanda mirrors that by addressing some really important, but overlooked topics in her podcast called Feels Good alongside Jacqueline Fernandez.
Lastly, Amanda addresses her issue with putting people into boxes and how much of a detrimental impact it has on women’s growth. Amanda says, “I love proving people’s perceptions about me wrong – but, unfortunately for some people, those labels can hold people back from reaching their full potential. It happens a lot, especially with women. For instance, women who embrace their sexuality, aren’t allowed to talk about philanthropy? It’s naïve, and while I think the world is starting to think a little bit differently now, there’s still so much more room for growth and for leadership roles for women, for us to be taken seriously.” And that is incredibly true considering that too often the one-dimensional appeal prevents women from expanding their repertoire.
Amanda Cerny was speaking at the UN Women ITP Live Conference in Dubai.