Pandora: Women's Enterprise residential programme in London
9th-15th January 2018
It's not often that we get the chance to switch off from the real world and really absorb ourselves in a learning experience, but the Pandora women's enterprise programme was just this.
In just under a week I was able to meet incredible women from across Europe. I was offered a place to represent T.A.P, a newly formed community initiative I co-founded with 7 friend's to promote social inclusion working with African origin and African diaspora people in the UK but what I found useful was that my own project R.E.D Butterfly was able to thrive by the information and connections I made. R.E.D Butterfly is an organisation aiming to encourage women to realise, empower and/or develop their true self.
It was interesting to learn more about Europass and how I could implement it, however very sobering as it brought home that some of the knowledge and expertise of our European partners may well get lost post Brexit.
One of the most significant sessions was on our learning journey's to different social enterprises in London looking at how they impacted female entrepreneurs. One of the things that really stood out for me was an incident that we witnessed during the session where a 14yo black teenager was stopped and searched by the police. This really brought home the experiences of marginalised people in this country that are often spoken about but not normally witnessed. Our European partners said it was necessary for them to see that whilst here so they too could experience it 1st hand.
I was astounded by the brilliant Ubele Initiative and their new building in North London which is a testament to hard work and great partnerships of all involved in the development. I have even informed Yvonne that I AM MOVING IN!!!
By Kamilah Francis
