Can museums be places of healing?
Yesterday was my 42nd birthday, and a month before that it was my second anniversary as the CEO of the…
Dorota is your Keynote Speaker!
Passionate, lively, exuding hope; she is a remarkable storyteller who challenges and changes the way we see the world.
Dorota weaves together life’s lessons with bits of humour, reflection, and an awareness that the storybook that is each of our lives, is authored as we live. Whether she is speaking about her journey to Canada as a refugee, what it means to seek belonging in a new place, overcoming hardships, or finding the courage to share our story… Dorota narrates her lived experiences in a way that honours all of our stories.
“I’ve heard that women find themselves in their 40’s; this is a discovery I’m so excited for. I imagine it means finally feeling comfortable in my own skin and living unapologetically. Maybe by this point…
I’ll stop existing for or being defined by others; I have my own form and foundation.
I’ll release the burden of what my parent’s left and lost on our journey to Canada.
I’ll learn what it means to serve without surrendering.
The truth is, I don’t quite know what it means to live for me, not in an arrogant or selfish way, but simply living into my possibilities. For too long I’ve played it small, stayed agreeable, denied and delayed my dreams. For the comfort of others, I minimized my abilities and quieted my capacity. Because I was never taught to take up space. I was never expected to lead.”
– Dorota Blumczyńska
Does every gathering need a keynote speaker?
Yes, yes, yes. And Dorota is the speaker you want. A keynote speaker is the glue that ties the whole day together; they’re the person who can motivate, inspire, and entice your audience. No matter the subject of your gathering, Dorota can deliver a message that will leave listeners changed, ready to learn and ready to discover what the next moment will bring.
Our stories deserve to be told.
But to share your truest self takes great courage, and even greater trust. Trust that the people who make up the fabric of your life will widen their embrace so they can hold all of you, the messy, the devastating, the things people rarely speak about, but carry alone and in silence their entire lives.
Some people choose to tell their story through art, hobbies, work, or through their day to day ordinary existence.
Some stories are told through addiction, depression, aggression, self or other destruction.
Some through silence.
But some people are called upon to share their story through words, to others, with others, out in the wide open, aloud.
Dorota is one such person.
Meet Dorota
Dorota
Dorota’s life has centered on survival. Surviving displacement, migration, poverty, the loss of a parent, becoming an orphan, a ward of the child welfare system, and violence. Many forms of violence; domestic, sexual, emotional, and psychological violence.
But it’s not immediately obvious… her armour is a joyful exterior. In fact, many people know of Dorota but few know her, truly know her. This is because, in part, she hasn’t allowed herself be known. In her own words…
“So often I’ve kept silent to keep others comfortable. I’ve edited and altered my life story because I feared the truth was offensive, disturbing, or somehow embarrassing. My reality, my lived experiences, weren’t welcome.”
It is exhausting to live a double life, to live under a mask, to live unknown. To keep up two versions of oneself takes a toll on a person and brings into question every relationship they form.
Who do you want me to be? Who do I feel safe allowing you to see?
That is until you can’t do it any longer.
“Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.”
― Maya Angelou
The spoken word is Dorota’s art form; it is her medium of expression. It is the way in which she brings to life stories, the way in which she gives voice to our need for purpose, the way in which she inspires change. It is her craft, the weaving of words, emotions, thoughts, the way she allows her life’s moments to have a voice and to be heard.
Keynote Speaker
Delivering more than 300 unique speaking engagements, Dorota has renewed a sense of possibility in the hearts and minds of her audiences. In every person live stories which are untold and unknown, for some the stories are filled with air, hopeful, and light. But for others, their stories are like heavy rocks lining their pockets, weighing them down, keeping them below the water line. When a story is told, the rocks crumble and the pockets tear open.
Stories
These are my life’s moments, the messy, the painful, the ones I’ve long hidden.
Some memories come to me at night, others as I walk to greet the rising sun. It is both a blessing and a curse to remember so much. All I have to do is close my eyes and I am taken elsewhere to another time. My stories come from the living pictures that have taken up home inside me, each filled with sounds, smells, and textures.
To know me means to know my story.