20 THE AMOS BURSARY 2021 IMPACT REPORT
The Annual Youth Conference
I loved the range of topics covered and the speakers. I ended up writing 7 pages worth of crucial advice and knowledge. As a young Black woman, I feel incredibly inspired and well informed of the options available for me and the opportunities available.
The Amos Bursary Annual Youth Conference took place in July 2021. The Amos Bursary scholars, graduates and like-minded ambitious young people of African and Caribbean descent, from Year 12 to final year university students, (16 – 25-year olds) were invited. The theme of the conference was The Bridge: Building Foundations for the Future. The conference was hosted by AMOS scholars Solomon Adu and Daniel Brown. The keynote was made by Peter Cheese, Chief Executive Officer of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, who focused on the future of work. Peter said, ‘The best way to predict the future is to shape it. This is the time for change – be curious, challenge, be brave and aim high.’ Dorothea Hodge, CEO The Equitas Consultancy gave an outline for building your foundations for the future. She said, ‘find out what you love and do it; find the experts (elders) to help you to short circuit knowledge: write your life plan; and travel, travel, travel.’ The panel discussion had an outstanding line up of speakers: Paul Reid, Founder of Disrupt Space Ltd and now CEO of the Slavery Museum in Liverpool, Esther Odejimi-Uzokwe, Programme Director of 10,000 Black Interns and AMOS graduate Dr Ivan Beckley Founder and CEO of Suvera.
The morning session rounded off with Martin Birchall, Founder and Managing Director of Highfliers, who gave an in-depth insight on current careers and the current graduate market. His invaluable insights provided a summary of research on the Class of 2021, the current job market, and potential salaries, top graduate employers, and tips on making the most out of university and choosing the right course. The afternoon session was led by the Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer of The Executive Leadership Council (ELC)), Dr LaTese Briggs, Ph.D. The ELC is an American organisation which works to increase the number of successful Black executives. The conference was closed by an alumni panel discussion with Isaiah Wellington-Lynn, Anthropologist at Twenty-First Century Brand and PHD student at Oxford University Wilfred Obeng Co-Founder AudioMob, bringing audio ads into games. Former Google Engineer, and Forbes 30 Under 30. Victor Azubuike, who left JP Morgan in 2021 to join Tillit, a Paytech startup. He serves as a Trustee for the Belgrave Trust and WhyMe? He co-founded My Brothers’ Keeper Book club to promote active reading among young people and he runs the Amos Bursary Book club
Statistics for the conference: 90% of the attendees found the talks helpful/extremely helpful 90% found the event very good/ excellent
