Quote by Lupita Nyong'o: “No matter where you're from, your dreams are valid.”

Your ambitions don't have an expiry date or a geographic requirement. Being born in a place with fewer resources or less visibility doesn't mean your biggest aspirations are out of reach — they are real and they count.

Nyong'o delivered this in her Academy Award acceptance speech in March 2014, a landmark night for representation. Her speech was widely shared online and spoken about as a message specifically for young women from Africa and the diaspora who rarely saw themselves reflected in Hollywood.

Kenyan-Mexican actress and author who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2014 for her role in 12 Years a Slave. Born in Mexico and raised in Kenya, she is a prominent voice on representation in global film and media.