Young Emerging Leaders Collective (YELC)
The Young Emerging Leaders Collective (YELC) is a growing community for young Black people, people of colour and racialised people, committed to racial and social justice.
The collective is a space to exchange ideas, support and care; learn and build capacity and resilience; and work together in anti-racist and anti-oppressive action.
Read more about the History of YELC here
Aims:
Advocates: We aim to equip our next group of YELC members with the tools they need to become strong advocates for Black and racially minoritised communities facing environmental injustice. We’re focused on helping young leaders tackle the systemic issues that drive environmental racism.
Empowering Young Leaders: Through the programme, YELC members will be supported by Ubele as they grow into confident and empowered leaders. They'll take part in workshops, mentoring, and training that are all designed to help them on their leadership journey.
Driving Change Together: YELC members will join forces to play an active role in campaigns that support marginalised communities. They'll focus on fighting environmental racism and systemic inequalities, working to build stronger, more resilient communities.
Objectives:
YELC will focus on environmental justice and community organizing through youth-designed campaigns.
Participants will develop and enhance leadership skills throughout the programme.
They will lead impactful campaigns on environmental justice.
Participants will gain new skills, including policy advocacy and influencing change.
We are excited to re-introduce the Young Emerging Leaders Collective (YELC)!
The Young Emerging Leaders Collective (YELC) is dedicated to supporting young Black and racialised individuals in developing their leadership skills and addressing the social justice issues that affect them and their communities.
YELC extends past just being a leadership programme—it's a growing community for those committed to bringing about racial and social justice. This collective space allows members to exchange ideas, offer support, and campaign for causes that are important to them. The YELC community is where ideas meet action, and resilience is built through shared experiences. Together, we are committed to driving meaningful change and standing against oppression faced by people from minoritised backgrounds.
The YELC programme also gives individuals the opportunity to develop imperative skills needed to be advocates. YELC members will learn public speaking skills, how to effectively communicate and navigate boundaries and how to successfully campaign to influence practice and policy.
YELC 2024 will be focusing on Environmental Justice in relation to Black and racially minoritised people. Please see below how you can apply to join!
Join Ubele’s Young Emerging Leaders Collective (YELC) 2024: Youth Leadership Programme Exploring Environmental Justice
Are you a Black or Racialised young person, who is passionate about Environmental Justice?
Do you want to join a collective of young leaders campaigning for social justice, racial equality, and environmental sustainability?
Ubele is looking for extraordinary young advocates that believe in the power of activism to take their leadership skills to the next level and campaign against environmental and social injustice issues of their choosing.
If you’re a young leader aged 18-30 from Black and racially minoritised backgrounds living in London, this is your opportunity to step up and make an impact.
What The Programme Entails:
The YELC programme is a year-long leadership initiative designed to equip young advocates with the skills, knowledge, and resources needed to create and lead campaigns that tackle the most pressing social and environmental justice issues facing black and racially minoritised communities. You will be at the forefront of developing and executing three powerful campaigns focused on social justice and systemic change.
Why Join YELC?
As a YELC member, you will have access to a range of tailored workshops and community dialogues that will help you:
Build Leadership Skills: Enhance your public speaking, campaign development, and policy advocacy abilities.
Develop and Lead Campaigns: Co-design and implement impactful campaigns with the support of the Ubele Initiative.
Influence Change: Learn how to write successful funding bids and influence practice and policy at various levels.
Collaborate and Innovate: Engage in social lab sessions, learning journeys, and sharing sessions to brainstorm, innovate, and learn from peers and experts.
Your Role as a YELC Leader
Not only will you be learning, you also be leading. You’ll have a direct say in decision-making, ensuring that your voice shapes the direction and outcomes of the campaigns. You’ll work collaboratively with other young leaders, sharing governance and co-designing strategies that will make a real difference in your community.
Application Information
Application Opens: 14th October – 4th November 2024
Programme Commences: 18th November 2024
Requirements: Young leaders aged 18-30 from Black and racially minoritised backgrounds living in London
Attendance: Attend a total of 9 days (Some half-days) between November 2024 - November 2025. Attendance at all sessions is mandatory.
Expenses: £100 per day will be paid to each participant.
If you’re ready to take the next step in your leadership journey and drive change for social, racial, and environmental justice, we want to hear from you!
We understand that writing long answers in applications is not accessible for all, for this reason we would like to offer you the option of sending a video application answering question number 5 (your video application should be no longer than 5 mins) or sending a written answer between 250-300 words.
You can apply online here:
The deadline for applications will be Monday 4th November 2024.
Interviews will be held on the week commencing Monday 11th November 2024.
Please e-mail yelcollective@ubele.org with any questions.
Join Us in Making a Difference
For more information, visit our Instagram and X (Twitter) page, @yelcollective, or contact us directly via email at yelcollective@ubele.org .
Funded by The Blagrave Trust, Zoom Cares Fund, and the Tides Foundation.
Vision
We envision a world where racial and social justice is realised globally.
Values
Community-driven: Our focus is on supporting the communities we represent and supporting each other within the YELC community.
Anti-oppressive: Our practises, our work, our partnerships are centred around fighting (racialised) oppression in all its forms.
Radically caring: Our group culture prioritises understanding individual and collective capabilities so that we are not output driven but people-centred. Our working pace matches the access requirements of the group.
YELC aims to:
Raise awareness of and advocate for social, racial and climate justice issues facing communities of colour in the UK and globally.
Provide and support young leaders in creating a brave space to enable them to play an active role in their communities.
Engage in direct and indirect anti-oppressive and anti-racist actions.
The YELC members discuss a variety of topical, contemporary and pertinent issues, relevant to the lived experiences of young Black people, people of colour and racialised people.
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