HRH The Prince of Wales hears of charity’s international success during special reception at Clarence House
February 23, 2016: One of the highlights of my role as Managing Director of Mosaic is taking the opportunity to reflect and celebrate the incredible achievements of all the mentors and supporters who work so tirelessly to help us achieve our goal of improving the future of young people living in deprived areas in the UK and internationally.
This has never been truer than when we were recently hosted by our founder HRH The Prince of Wales at Clarence House to honour the delegates of our 2015 International Leadership Programme.
The Mosaic International Leadership Programme (ILP) is an innovative leadership development opportunity which aims to develop leadership skills, inspire thinking about global issues and equip young people to become involved in their local communities.
The programme operates in 18 countries with delegates using their training to establish a diverse range of projects in key areas including fighting global poverty, sustainability and promoting cohesion and tolerance in communities.
Last year, we had the difficult task of selecting just 80 extraordinary young international leaders from 1,948 applications – which, I can assure you, was no mean feat. A number of the delegates attended the Clarence House reception and had the opportunity to share their incredible experiences with The Prince of Wales.
If space allowed, I would enthusiastically list every delegate and their project – but here I will highlight the work of three in particular, all of whom shared their personal stories with HRH.
| Javid Shahmaliyev, a 30 year old social worker from Azerbaijan, was present at the event and was supported by Tahir Taghizadeh, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to the UK. Javid shared how he has used experience gained on the ILP to focus on the discussion of gender issues, particularly selective abortion of which Azerbaijan has one of the highest rates in the world, by visiting 20 local mosques across five different regions in his home country.
Also in attendance was Morad Alqadim, 27, a Senior Training Coordinator and Community Outreach Manager for Mercy Corps, an international development organisation that helps people around the world survive and thrive after conflict, crisis and natural disaster. Following his participation in the ILP 2015 Summit, Morad decided to support community integration across Jordan. As part of his action plan, Morad conducted a series of leadership and conflict management workshops in various cities across the country, targeting Jordanian and Syrian activists, influential men, and women and young people. And the last delegate (but by no means least in this prestigious list) I would like to mention is Amaal Al-Khatatbeh from Jordan. Amaal is working on a sustainable energy project, encouraging the production of biodiesel from waster oil and algae oils as an alternative and environmentally friendly energy resource. |
Jonathan Freeman is Managing Director of Mosaic |
Amaal has been working on three phases of her project: a research and feasibility study including developing the prototype for algae extraction; creating and delivering an environmental day at a public school in Jordan and partnering with another organisation which aims to bridge the gap between generations so they can also learn about environmental issues.
As well as turning the spotlight on the individual stories of the remarkable delegates, we also took the opportunity to announce that the 2016 ILP Summit will take place in Abu Dhabi in November, kicking off another year of inspirational work led by young people around the world.
Above all, the ILP is a programme which demonstrates that Mosaic’s purpose is not confined to any one city, country or culture, but is quite simply motivated by a desire to better the lives of people living in difficult conditions – wherever they may be.
I, like all Mosaic supporters, am inspired each day by the tenacity and passion of our ILP delegates and look forward to hearing more remarkable stories of their achievements throughout the year.
For more information on becoming a Mosaic mentor, please call 020 7566 8734, visitwww.mosaicnetwork.co.uk or email mosaic@bitc.org.uk