Sara Mansour is an Australian

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, and founder/artistic director of the Bankstown Poetry Slam. The Bankstown Poetry Slam is the largest regular

Poetry Slam A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word, spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. Poetry slams began in Chicago in the 1980s, with the first slam competition designed to move poetry rec ...

in Australia which offers an artistic outlet for the young people of Western Sydney to share their voices in a safe and inclusive environment.

Education

Mansour graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor of Laws from

Western Sydney University Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus public research university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university in its current form was founde ...

Career

Mansour co-founded Bankstown Poetry Slam in 2013. Bankstown Poetry Slam holds monthly workshops and

performance evenings. Slams often have more than 300 guests (the "slamily") in attendance and have featured notable poets such as the late Candy Royalle,

Rupi Kaur Rupi Kaur (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਰੂਪੀ ਕੌਰ; born 4 October 1992) is an Indian people, Indian poet, illustrator, photographer, and author. Born in Punjab, India, Punjab, India, Kaur immigrated to Canada at a young age with her f ...

, and

Omar Musa Omar bin Musa is a Malaysian-Australian author, poet, rapper, and visual artist from Queanbeyan, New South Wales. He has released four hip hop records, four books of poetry, and the novel ''Here Come the Dogs'', which was long-listed for the Mil ...

. Mansour also co-founded the first ever National Youth Poetry Slam in 2022. In 2018, Mansour was one of the nine founding board members of NOW Australia (a national organisation that sought to provide assistance to victims of sexual harassment, intimidation, or abuse in the workplace) led by veteran Australian journalist Tracey Spicer AM. In 2019, Mansour co-wrote an episode of ''

Halal Gurls ''Halal Gurls'' is an Australian comedy-drama online series created by Vonne Patiag. The series offers a candid look into the lives of three 20-something Hijabis living their best lives in Sydney, Australia as they endure the unseen everyday cult ...

'', an Australian

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

on ABC TV about a group of

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

women, their careers, and their personal lives in

Western Sydney Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

. The show was nominated for an

AACTA Award The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry, ...

in 2020. In 2023, Mansour was appointed as youngest-ever board member of the

Opera House An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

Trust and will sit alongside the first Indigenous chair, Professor Michael McDaniel. In 2024, Mansour and the Bankstown Poetry Slam team hosted Palestinian journalist, Plestia Alaqad, for a sold out slam at the

Sydney Town Hall The Sydney Town Hall is a late 19th-century heritage-listed town hall building in the city of Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, Australia, housing the chambers of the Lord Mayor of Sydney, council offices, and venues for meetings and ...

Honours and recognition

* 2017

Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in Inner South-Western Sydney. The region is located to the north of the St George region (from which it is separated by Wolli Creek) and to the south of the Inner West region ...

Australia Day Award for Young Citizen of the Year * 2023 Western Sydney Community Forum ZEST Award for Outstanding Voluntary Leader * 2024

Creative Australia Creative Australia, formerly known as the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announc ...

$50,000 Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship Recipient * 2024 NSW Young Australian of the Year finalist

References

External links

*
Bankstown Poetry Slam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansour, Sara Living people Western Sydney University alumni Lawyers from Sydney Australian television writers Australian women television writers Australian Muslims 1993 births