By Zahra Dalilah
The Baton Passing Begins
Creaking along the wooden floors in the corridors of the Cockpit Yard on a quiet Tuesday evening earlier this month, no one was quite prepared for the bursting excitement that met them when arriving at the door to step into The Ubele Initiative’s ‘Young Emerging Leaders’ evening’.
After six years of building a foundation which could harness the energies of such inspiring young people (aged 21-35 years), the time had come for Ubele to sit down with these young social entrepreneurs, creatives and activists to see how we as a community can come together to propel change. Weaving together individuals from across generations, locations and communities of the African Diaspora, we sat in circle reflecting on leaders we admire, younger and older, and how we can all work together to move forward.
What drew people there?
Whilst many joked that the free food was the number one explanation for their presence (the jollof rice was phenomenal!), their commitment and passion to the building on the work that they do was palpable. At a time where we are told time and time again that our younger generation are apathetic and disinterested in their own futures, here gathered the inspiring young people, defiant, confident and undeniably bound for great things. Their enthusiasm to meet and connect and their endless respect for Ubele and its founding members would have warmed the hearts and souls of even the greatest of cynics.
The feeling that something great had been achieved ran through all of us as the energy was truly moving and tugged on each one of our emotions. As we embark on a new phase in the life of Ubele, it is with huge amounts of gratitude and joy that we welcome on board our new emerging leaders as we begin working together to continue to transform our communities.
Next steps
A ‘sequel’ event is planned for Saturday 14th May at Market House, Brixton, SW9 8LN from 1pm-6pm. If you want to join and build the on the conversation we book your tickets now! Any questions? Just comment below or in the event page on Facebook!
