The ‘Communities that Work’ travel fellowships were part of a three-year partnership between the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and the Rank Foundation. 58 travel fellowships were awarded under the theme. A hastily completed application form led to a robust interview process and an offer of an opportunity of a lifetime for me in 2012. Across 2013-14 I embarked on two interconnected trips to Atlanta, Georgia and New Zealand that allowed for an exploration of Black Leadership, Community Enterprise and Social Action.
The learning derived from this generous travel experience has been captured in our fellows’ final 2015 report and video. The recently published Building Stronger Communities through Global Learning by Issy Kershaw breaks down the learnings from the fruitful partnership.
The transformative experience I had through my travels and the extensive network that has been created has been fundamental in informing the development of the Ubele Initiative. For instance, two Ubele initiative founding members (Yvonne Field and Ezra Blondell) were awarded fellowships in 2012 and were together at the fellows’ awards ceremony in May 2016. Along with other Black women who were also awarded fellowships.
The WCMT accept applications from anyone over the age of 18, from all walks of life and are especially keen to receive them from members of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities. They have also supported the establishment of a new BME network.
Applications for 2017 are now open. http://www.wcmt.org.uk/apply Closing date 20th September.
