https://www.alternarratives.world/blogs daily 0.75 2026-09-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b53e8b4796a564a5525728/d99680b2-c5fb-4d67-a286-a814840ed559/IMG_1628.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b53e8b4796a564a5525728/c93c2fc1-e928-452c-8b71-f5eff84dfc43/IMG_1623.jpg https://www.alternarratives.world/home daily 1.0 2026-05-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b53e8b4796a564a5525728/8353af49-bfae-4a69-981e-908d5da562a8/IMG_1627.JPG https://www.alternarratives.world/about daily 0.75 2026-05-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b53e8b4796a564a5525728/4a49ccb3-509c-4b48-8bb5-8154884cefd4/IMG_1624.jpg About - I’m Lys. Born in Togo, raised between Benin, the United States, and France. I’ve lived and worked on five continents, learned the languages and the codes, and observed cultures with the attention of someone who has never quite belonged to just one. I moved to the Netherlands to do something that felt almost radical after all that movement: stay. I live in Utrecht now. I actually like staying in one place now. What I do with all of that An observation: the dominant narrative about immigrant and diaspora communities in western markets is not just ethically incomplete, it’s a business liability, and I help people and institutions fix that. In addition, I host Thoughts From Between Places, a space for conversations on identity, belonging, and global mobility. My current creative endeavor is Bloom: Extending the Portrait into Voice - a podcast series in development extending the visual work of Dutch artist Dagmar van Weeghel, whose four-year portrait project addresses the erasure of women of African descent from the 19th-century European photographic archive. In a past life Before all of this: a decade in international communications spanning the UN ecosystem, development finance, and media, among others. Two masters degrees, in economic development and digital media management, from Sciences Po. Four languages. And a sustained conviction that the stories institutions tell about the world shape the world they get. “You are here” Ina world obsessed with time, I’ve always held a soft spot for place. Alternarratives is where I think in public. Essays, podcast episodes, travel dispatches; less lifestyle, more witness - what happens when you pay attention to the places and people that western media tends to summarize hastily. If you’re here because something resonated; a podcast episode, a post, a conversation: welcome. https://www.alternarratives.world/the-podcast daily 0.75 2025-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b53e8b4796a564a5525728/6f7bb4e4-42b8-4699-babb-96f9529f8415/IMG_1621.JPG https://www.alternarratives.world/lemarche daily 0.75 2022-04-21 https://www.alternarratives.world/lemarche/p/lonlon-soy-candle-kit monthly 0.5 2026-08-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b53e8b4796a564a5525728/1649794448891-GOI8Y3S41GU2C4PGXX4V/jessica-delp-smNzhFQRktg-unsplash.jpg Le Marché - Fifa Soy Candles https://www.alternarratives.world/lemarche/p/the-muse-calming-brew monthly 0.5 2026-08-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b53e8b4796a564a5525728/1649796694720-GY4UQ5S76EC9UUUB65NN/lemongrass-g0f51e6bd9_1280.jpg Le Marché - The Muse Calming Brew https://www.alternarratives.world/lemarche/p/naila-travel-balm monthly 0.5 2026-08-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b53e8b4796a564a5525728/1649794075141-QP2BIFXCOY8692CAOE4I/brittney-weng-CSquI0aw_Rg-unsplash.jpg Le Marché - Baké Buttery Balm https://www.alternarratives.world/lemarche/p/cora-scarf monthly 0.5 2026-08-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b53e8b4796a564a5525728/1649797541584-50ZJB828Z55OHIXLA92O/nickolas-nikolic-_KCrSolz6FI-unsplash.jpg Le Marché - Awa Handwoven Scarf