Madissa Asgari
MA, BA (Hons)
Madissa Asgari, born in London in 1986, founded Toucan Diversity as a social enterprise with herself as the principal trainer.
Her vision was rooted in the belief that firsthand experience was crucial in delivering impactful training aimed at promoting social change. Growing up with a German mother and a Persian father, Madissa had a diverse and multilingual upbringing. Additionally, being a wheelchair user due to spina bifida, she possessed a unique perspective on the various cultural and religious attitudes toward disability.
At the young age of 18, Madissa Asgari authored ‘Timeband,’ a children’s book challenging the negative portrayal of disability in children’s literature. In this captivating tale, the main character’s disability remains unmentioned in the text, shifting the focus toward her character rather than her physical condition. The book was published and distributed at schools by the national charity Whizz-Kidz, providing young readers with an inspiring narrative that celebrates individuals based on their inner qualities rather than their disabilities.
Madissa’s Legacy
Toucan Diversity’s founder and principal trainer, Madissa died on 16 October 2020. Her death was unexpected and a great shock, as she was thought to be recovering after a long illness. She’s left such a hole in all our lives and we miss her terribly. Madissa’s courage inspires us to never give up. She taught us that we must always fight hard for change.
Madissa was everyone’s guiding star. All lucky enough to have met her will know what a positive impact she had; a gentle, thoughtful woman, driven to fight social injustice.
Education experience
Madissa went on to study Languages and European studies at University of Portsmouth. This included a year at the Marburg University in Germany, which gave her an insight into how disabled students were treated in different countries.
She found that although Germany had better medical services in place for students, Portsmouth University did more to ensure that its students were independent and included within university life.
Having obtained a BA Hons at Portsmouth, Madissa went on to take a Masters in European Studies and International Relations. Disability in society was the subject of her dissertations at both academic levels. For Madissa, promoting the social model of disability to improve the lives of disabled people was paramount.
Reaction to discrimination
Madissa experienced disability discrimination when applying for jobs and this made made her even more determined to set up Toucan Diversity Training, not just for herself but also to create job opportunities for other disabled people.
Madissa established Toucan as a social enterprise in November 2013, with herself as principal trainer and operations manager.
Madissa was an associated member of the Institute of Equality and Diversity Practitioners (IEDP) and completed a TQUK level 3 course in Education and Training. She was also, from 2012, a member of the Portsmouth Disability Forum, which campaigns to improve local facilities and services for disabled people in the Portsmouth area.
Before getting ill, Madissa was working on a TED talk and planning to expand the training portal for Toucan Diversity.
