W’qaas Ali Khan

W’qaas is an impatient advocate of racial and migrant justice, which isn’t totally surprising for someone born in Punjab, Pakistan – a region split into two different nation states following the fall of British colonisation of the subcontinent. While born in Pakistan, W’qaas’ parents migrated to Belgium and they grew up in Antwerp, Belgium. This is why border policy politics and human rights injustices are topics that run deep for W’qaas, making these their expertise areas. After some years in Brussels and London, they call Berlin home since January 2019. 

W’qaas believes that to achieve systems change, we need to embrace and deeply commit to radical change. Philanthropy is a by-product of the crony capitalist system we live under with the aggravated pretention of “doing good to counterbalance the extractivist and unjust logic of profit” – a narrative that they believe absolutely needs to be shed. Dismantling what allows philanthropy to exist is the ultimate social justice goal, but until we can actually abolish capitalism and philanthropy in its totality, modelling participatory grantmaking is the only way forward in the field.

Other things that excite W’qaas are spending quality time with their chosen family, astrology, food (with a preference for spicier cuisines), movement – currently mostly yoga, spinning, hiking and dancing (at queer raves or their living room) and karaoke.