Our people

Omar van Reenen (they/them) is the Strategic Alliances & Coalitions Consultant with ILGA World, focusing on building global partnerships to advance LGBTI people’s rights.

Born and raised in Namibia, they are a civil rights activist and the Co-Founder of Equal Namibia, the “largest civil rights movement in the country since independence” (Namibian Sun, December 2021). Omar’s advocacy was instrumental in landmark victories such as the 2023 Supreme Court ruling recognising same-sex marriages concluded abroad and the 2024 High Court decision decriminalising apartheid-era sodomy laws.

Omar holds a master’s degree from the Center for Human Rights and has completed the International LGBTI Youth and Student Organisation Activist Academy, the Young African Leaders Initiative, and the Human Rights Campaign Global Innovator Fellowships. Their grassroots activism extends beyond Namibia, earning them recognition as one of The Guardian‘s “most inspiring persons of 2023.”

Before joining ILGA World, Omar mobilised support for strategic litigation, led annual Pride celebrations, spearheaded LGBTI visibility campaigns, promotes queer civic engagement, and built queer youth networks across Africa. Their advocacy journey was inspired by their grandfather’s anti-apartheid struggle and the Black Lives Matter movement during their tenure as the first international student elected President of the State University of New York-Oswego Student Government in 2018, where they passed significant racial justice and gender equality reforms.