Let us Learn campaigners and Advocacy Year members will graduate from Just for Kids Law's groundbreaking leadership training on 5th July 2018.
Martha Lane Fox, Just for Kids Law [JfKL] patron and Baroness of Soho, will ‘graduate’ 19 successful candidates in a special evening ceremony at City Hall, London. David Wolfe QC will be the keynote speaker.
Nineteen young people have completed an innovative seven-month leadership course, designed by Just for Kids Law co-founder and barrister Shauneen Lambe.
Many are part of the award-winning Let us Learn campaign, which involves hundreds of young people who grew up in the UK, but are unable to take up university places because they fall outside restrictive student loan eligibility criteria and are facing ever-increasing Home Office fees. Despite having the talent and ambition to go to university, this may be the only chance some of them have to invite their families to attend a graduation ceremony. Some have just completed their JfKL Advocacy Year training and are going forward in their careers.
Among those graduated by Baroness Lane-Fox on Thursday 5th will be Francis Opoku, who says,
'I have enjoyed the training process. It has enlightened my perception not only about myself, but about other people. The leadership course has compelled me to critically challenge my views and perceptions of society, individuals, and the wider state of life. I think the most impressive thing I have gained from this is confidence. The module that dealt with unconscious biases really challenged my world-view. I was taught that not everyone holds the same view as me, and the acknowledgement of that, is alright. Though I had always been aware of this fact, the leadership course articulated it in a more informative way.'
Just for Kids Law co-founder Shauneen Lambe says:
‘Once again we have a fantastic group of ambitious young people graduating from the Just for Kids Law leadership program. This program is now in its third year and as usual I have been inspired and motivated by the young people I have worked with over the year. Whether they are going to University or going forward in their careers they are leaders of their own lives and in their own communities. It is hoped that the leadership program make them more resilient and confident, skills that can only help them to make the changes they want to see in the world.’
The course was designed by Shauneen, and was built on the principles of the ‘True North’ leadership programme, taught at Harvard University by Prof Bill George.
Recently Let Us Learn has been the subject of much publicity as, alongside the Windrush controversy, the government's "hostile environment" and extortionate Home Office fees has been thrown into sharp focus. These issues have made it harder than ever for young people to settle their status and achieve their potential.
Notes for editors
- Just for Kids Law is a London-based, award-winning charity, which supports young people facing difficulties in their lives.
- Funding for the Let us Learn leadership training is provided by Unbound Philanthropy.
- The Let us Learn campaign was founded in 2014, and currently involves over 400 young migrants, who have faced obstacles going to university because of restrictive eligibility criteria for student loans.