Sadly, all too often our democracy does not reflect our society as a whole.

Although great strides have been made in recent decades, just 32% of our MPs are women. Just 8% of members of the House of Commons, and just 6% of members of the House of Lords are from an ethnic minority background. In the population as a whole, non-white people make up 13.6% of the population. Worringly, in civil society, representation can be even lower.

The Patchwork mission

The Patchwork Foundation aims to promote and encourage the integration of these under-represented communities into British democracy and civil society. By working to engage deprived and minority communities, they bring these groups into the political process. This process ultimately sews together the diverse and ‘patchwork’ quilt which makes up our country today. Such plurality is our strength.

The Patchwork mission is to “promote, encourage and support the active participation of young people from under-represented, deprived and minority communities in British democracy and civil society.”

Patchwork works alongside mainstream politicians and parties from all shades of the political spectrum. They build networks, connecting senior political figures to youth leaders in their Master Class programme. Their ‘MP of the Year’ awards celebrate MPs who go above and beyond to engage with under-represented communities. Additionally, Patchwork even take delegations to party political conferences, giving young people a taster of these unique events. By attending they get access to top MPs and even front row seats for the Leader’s speech.

Patchwork also run the #getinvolved programme, in which young people take concrete action to sign others up to vote. This vital campaign continues to go from strength to strength. From 2017 to 2018, #getinvolved reached over 2.5million people online, and led to over 2,000 people signing up to vote in a four week period. Patchwork have also been at the forefront of a drive to improve voter registration amongst underrepresented communities, thereby ensuring that everyone gets a voice.

A wide array of supporters

The Rumi Foundation is proud to support the Patchwork Foundation, and to support the recent reception held at No11 Downing Street, the official residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The evening drew inspirational speeches from Patchwork’s wide variety of friends, and was hosted by the Chancellor, Philip Hammond. Top respected journalist John Pienaar and a number of Patchwork graduates all spoke about their passion for work that Patchwork does.

Patchwork will continue to grow and empower young, underrepresented people to change the world around them. With our help, and with Patchwork’s help, they will become the next generation of political and civil society leaders too.

Alongside campaigner Mark Bergman, Rumi Verjee welcomed David Simas, the Chief Executive of the Obama Foundation to Thomas Goode and Co in April 2018.

When President Obama finished his term in office as President of the United States in 2017, he quickly set about building his legacy. From this, the Obama Foundation was born. The work of the Foundation has already begun in earnest in communities in the United States. Their flagship initiative is the the construction of the Obama Presidential Centre, which will be built in the heart of Chicago’s South Side. It promises to be an ongoing project to shape what it means to be a good citizen in the 21^stcentury. Furthermore, the Foundation is training young people to be the next civic leaders. President Obama has launched a scholarship programme to give young leaders a platform to make a difference in their communities.

Community

This sense of community is at the heart of everything that the Obama Foundation does. Indeed, the community has always mattered to President Obama. He did not become the 44^thPresident of the United States alone; he had the backing of communities, many of which had been voiceless for generations. Now he’s giving back to those communities.

The mission of the Obama Foundation is to inspire, empower and connect the next generation of civic leaders. The Foundation aims to inspire people who are already making an impact, and to help those who want to make a difference, but don’t know where to start.

Globally, there are so many inspirational young leaders and civic innovators, some of whom The Rumi Foundation already support. Additionally, the Obama Foundation aims to equip the next generation with the skills they need to make a difference. They want to reach the next wave of change-makers, inspiring them to become leaders and innovators in their communities.

Civic responsibility

David Simas spoke powerfully about the responsibilities that we all have as citizens. Too often, we focus on our rights, but our civic duties are crucially important. If we get this right, we can build strong, supportive communities. It is a privilege for The Rumi Foundation to help shape and build this legacy, alongside President Obama and Michelle Obama.

Lord Verjee joined a star-studded line-up at London’s iconic Wembley Arena for WE Day 2018. The event, which celebrates young people who give back to their community packed the arena to the rafters with over 10,000 children, teachers, inspirational speakers and community activists. WE Day provides a platform for young people to contribute to local and global communities, and to engage in constructive dialogue.

A celebration of doing good

You can’t buy a ticket to WE Day. Young people have to instead earn their way by participating in WE Schools and taking action on the issues that matter most to them. Some students collect food for homeless shelters. Others raise money to build classrooms overseas. The day celebrates all those young people who help move the world from ‘me’ to ‘we’ – the very mantra of the WE Movement.

Talia Storm, HRVY and Tokio Myers were just some of the stars performing and speaking, and inspiring the assembled crowd. There were motivational slots from campaigner Katie Piper; YouTuber Connor Franta; and Editor of Gal Dem magazine, Liv Little.

The Gen WE Awards

Lord Verjee opened the show alongside fellow WE Day co-chair, Holly Branson. The pair were thrilled to present the Gen WE awards, which celebrate the stand out achievements of two young WE superstars. This year, the first awards went to Fabian Rapp, from Queensmead School in Ruislip, who raised hundreds of pounds to support the Health Pillar of WE Villages in Kenya. The second winner was Darci Scott from The Regis School in Bognor Regis. Darci played a leading role in her school’s WE Day X, helping to inspire over 100 local children from other primary schools.

WE Day 2018 took place on Wednesday 7th March. It was the fifth such event held in the UK. WE was set up by brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger in Canada in 1995, and Lord Verjee chairs WE UK.

Robert F Kennedy was one of the most inspirational politicians of the 20th century. During his political career, he served as a Senator and as Attorney General, and passionately campaigned for civil rights, both in the United States and abroad. In 1968, Robert Kennedy announced his candidacy for the US Presidency, bringing hope to a nation divided at home, and wearied by war overseas. It was during this campaign that he was tragically killed.

Today, Robert F Kennedy Human Rights (RFK Human Rights) keeps Robert Kennedy’s values and ideals alive. RFK Human Rights runs a vast number of initiatives all designed to expose injustice, right wrongs and teach change. Their work covers  a vast array of vital issues, including statelessness, women’s rights and political participation. RFK Human Rights connects advocates, lawyers and experts together, creating a network of change makers with the courage to challenge human rights abuses.

Speak Truth to Power

In January 2018, the Rumi Foundation welcomed Robert Kennedy’s daughter, Kerry Kennedy to the UK to celebrate the launch of the UK pilot of RFK’s Speak Truth to Power programme. She spoke passionately about her father’s legacy over dinner, and how his words and vision still inspire her today. Based on a book authored by Kerry Kennedy, The Speak Truth to Power curriculum is now taught to millions of students around the world. The curriculum draws on real-life examples of human rights defenders, and urges young people to spot abuses and take action. Issues range from slavery and environmental activism to religious self-determination and political participation.

Before dinner, guests listened to students and teachers involved in the pilot. It’s clear that this is an engaging curriculum that inspires both young people and teachers to speak out against injustice.

One of Robert Kennedy’s most quoted and celebrated speeches was his “Ripple of Hope” speech, made in Cape Town in 1966. Senator Kennedy said, “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.” Those words are still relevant today. By launching the Speak Truth to Power Programme in the UK, RFK Human Rights are empowering the next generation to stand up for what they believe in, tackle injustice and to make the ripples of hope which will change our world.

Big Change is a charity with a big ambition. The team there are carrying out vital work that will leave a lasting impact on the way future generations are educated. They want to make sure school is not just about exams, but that it prepares young people for the workplace and life more broadly.

The team at Big Change are committed to radical thinking. They don’t simply want to see ideas that will make small changes; they want ideas that will change mindsets. Big Change supports projects that do three things.

Firstly, they work to give young people the skills they need to believe in themselves and drive change in society. They backed Voice 21, an organisation committed to embedding speaking skills in schools, to ensure that those skills are valued as much as literacy and numeracy. It is this area of oracy-related projects that the Rumi Foundation has actively supported. We are determined to see young people have the verbal skills they need to get on in the workplace, and in life more generally. Voice 21 has been able to:

• Develop an online learning platform accessible by over 1,500 teachers and school teachers;
• Train over 600 teachers and design an accredited oracy leaders programme;
• Conduct research to help build the case for change.

Elsewhere, Big Change are committed to helping young people access the opportunities they need to develop in life. Big Change support the National Citizen Service, which provides 15-17 year-olds with the means to take on new challenges and learn new skills.

Thirdly, they create environments where change is possible. Through their support of the care charity Frontline, Big Change are changing the perception of the care industry, designing campaigns with the aim of attracting the very best and brightest graduate talent to an exciting and challenging career.

Diversity and ambition is key at Big Change. They back a range of projects, focused on changing the structure of the system for young people. The Rumi Foundation is pleased to support this oracy related project. It’s an outcome-orientated, big thinking charity, working to provide young people with a space to think, innovate and grow.

Sat Singh grew up in one of the most disadvantaged areas of London. He had a severe health condition, and had to spend his formative years caring for family members, all while doing the usual things that young people do, such as studying for exams. Sat decided to use his own experience to think about how he might help other people in similar positions. Armed only with his determination to succeed and the support of a few friends, Sat set up Renaissance Foundation.

The Foundation started with a firm belief that if any young person believes in themselves they can achieve anything. It is this self-belief which has propelled Renaissance Foundation from its humble beginnings to where it is today. For several years now, Renaissance Foundation has been taking groups of young people to Oslo for the Noble Peace Prize ceremony. They have received funding from the Prince’s Trust, have been supported by Richard Branson and were even invited to Downing Street to meet the Prime Minister.

Renaissance Foundation now focuses on supporting three specific groups of disadvantaged 13-19 year-olds: young carers, transitioning hospital patients (moving from the child care system to the adult care system) and at-risk disadvantaged schoolchildren. They are based in a welcoming hub in Shoreditch where young people can drop in, confident that they will be given a safe space and a warm welcome.

Led by Sat, the team have built up an impressive array of connections and contacts and peer mentors, whom inspire and empower the young people they work with to build resilience and believe in themselves. Stars such as Lewis Hamilton, Serena Williams and Richard Branson are just some of the role models who have been brought into the Renaissance Foundation family since it first began in 2003. Through team-building workshops, they equip young people with the skills they need to succeed in life, and with the support of corporate partners, they organise career visits and employability sessions.

The Rumi Foundation is proud to support the team at Renaissance Foundation, and are always delighted to hear the latest ways in which the team thrill and inspire disadvantaged young people in London.

The scope of the work undertaken by the Clinton Foundation is truly inspiring. From education to the environment, and from health to women’s rights, the Clinton Foundation is delivering change across the globe.

 

The friendship and partnership between the Rumi Foundation and the Clinton Foundation is one which we are naturally proud of, and our family Foundation shares many common goals and values with the Clinton Foundation.

 

In October 2017, President Clinton and his team updated a group of supporters on the Foundation’s work at a dinner hosted by the Rumi Foundation. The Clinton Foundation is a beacon of hope, connecting people and inspiring them to give something back to disadvantaged communities.

 

The Rumi Foundation’s support for the Clinton Foundation-backed Building Tomorrow programme is something which we especially proud of. Building Tomorrow builds schools in rural and poorly connected areas of East Africa. Because of the work of Building Tomorrow, young people in countries such as Uganda now get the education they need to develop and grow, which they otherwise might not have got. In addition to this, Building Tomorrow are committed to educating people across the globe about the importance of having community-based schools, which every boy and girl can attend.

 

As a result of the work of the Clinton Foundation, lives are changing for the better. The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) was formed in 2002. The Initiative was an early pioneer in helping to transform and save the lives of Africans living with HIV/AIDS. The Clinton Development Initiative empowers rural farmers to reach their potential.

 

The Rumi Foundation is proud to support President Clinton’s vision.

We rightly invest time and money in the education of the next generation. It’s a no-brainer: we want to see our families succeed and thrive after us. Education is a vital part of this process. Today’s technology can revolutionise the way we teach and engage the leaders of tomorrow, and connect people from all over the world. The WE Global Learning Centre in Toronto seeks to change the game, by placing technology and interconnectedness at the heart of education.

This state-of-the-art facility has been set up by WE to inspire children and young people. The Centre can reach students across the globe, not just in Toronto, but also in small and remote rural communities. Students learn from the experiences of those in other countries, inspiring them to give something back to their own local and global communities. The Centre is an engaging technological marvel, which the Rumi Foundation is proud to have backed and help make a reality.

Rumi Verjee attended the opening of the new facility, along with the former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon; philanthropist Hartley Richardson; and the Finance Minister of Canada, Bill Morneau. Rumi was thrilled to see how the centre is bringing together families, teachers and students from the local community and further afield, inspiring young people to be leaders of the next generation. It also brings to life the many terrific projects that WE supports, connecting communities across the world, from Canada to India, from South America to the US and from the UK to Africa, creating a truly global community.

WE’s mission is to make ‘doing good doable,’ and by launching the WE Global Learning Centre, they’ve taken another step along the path of entrenching that ideal for the future.

The exclusion of any child from school is a tragedy. It wastes potential talent and costs the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds each year. Excluded children are more likely to be unemployed, or even involved in criminal activity. There has to be a better, preventative approach.

Based near Bath, Jamie’s Farm works with children at risk of exclusion; seeking to enthuse and inspire them and to re-engage with their many positive qualities.

Three key strands lie at the heart of the work of Jamie’s Farm: Family, Farming and Therapy. Through ‘Family’ children share the successes of each other and learn how to cooperate in a group, showing what a supportive family looks like. The Farm encourages children to raise livestock, giving them a sense of purpose and well-being that provides them with satisfaction and pride. They receive therapeutic sessions from trained staff to help them understand their weaknesses alongside their own often under-appreciated strengths and, on this greater understanding, to grow as individuals.

Over a period of ten years, Jamie’s Farm has gone from strength-to-strength, working with thousands of children. Over 4,600 at-risk pupils have now visited Jamie’s farm, and their most recent reporting reveals that of all the children who were at risk before their visit, 69% are no longer facing exclusion. The project continues to grow, and remains fundamentally committed to the core values that are vital in nurturing the very best qualities in the children that come to them.

The Rumi Foundation is proud to support this innovative project, which gives disengaged children a space to think, a space to renew, and a space to grow.

In April 2017, Lord Rumi Verjee, along with Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep, hosted a dinner to raise awareness of the Think Equal foundation.

Pervasive discriminatory mindsets are the root cause of human rights violations across our world, and we can only break the cycles of violence, negative stereotypes, and prejudicial judgements, if we invest in encouraging values, empathy, and respect for the dignity and equality of others.

Less than twelve months ago, and deeply affected by the story of rape victim Jyoti Singh, as told in her film India’s Daughter, the BAFTA and multi award winning film producer Leslee Udwin founded the charity Think Equal. The charity’s projects on the ground in Sri Lanka have already gained government support, and illustrate perfectly that Think Equal shares The Rumi Foundation’s guiding principle that children of all genders, ethnicities, religions and other backgrounds have optimal opportunities to develop their full potential, have their views respected, respect one another, live free of discrimination and violence, become youth leaders, and active participants of a free and equal world.

 

On Wednesday 22nd March 2017, WE UK held their 4th Annual WE Day at Wembley Arena, bringing together together world-renowned speakers, A-list performers, and tens of thousands of young people to celebrate a year of action that transformed communities and changed lives.

You cannot buy a ticket to WE Day and those attending this year’s event, who all earned their way by undertaking community service and volunteering, were treated to performances by many great performers generously giving their time to support WE Day – not least Jessie J, The Vamps and Fleur East – alongside a number of inspiring guest speakers including Kate Winslet and Margaret Trudeau.

WE UK, of which Lord Verjee is Chairman, works to inspire young people all across the country and is now active in over 3,300 schools. The call to action is as strong as ever and the charity is pleased to be able to work with WE Dayto encourage many young people to take the ‘We Pledge’ and ensure that positive change can and will happen.

Lord Verjee also attended a dinner on the 21st March, in the company of Margaret Trudeau, hosted to bring the WE Day message to a broader audience.

The Rumi Foundation hosted Dean Nitin Nohria of the Harvard Business School in London in January, 2017 for a discussion with over 100 guests and 30 students.

Nitin Nohria was appointed Dean of Harvard Business School in 2010. Under his leadership, HBS has transformed and modernised as a place where future business leaders not only consider their impact on the companies they lead, but also on society as a whole.

Dean Nohria discussed the changing political climate globally and the responsibility of HBS to show leadership not only to alleviate global poverty but also to support and engage those in our local communities left behind by globalization.

The Rumi Foundation continues to support HBS and its mission to educate leaders who make a difference in the world.