Finale of the 2010 Fellowship Programme
On 8th July 2010, our talented group of 22 leaders spent the final day of their Fellowship Programme at No. 11 Downing Street by kind permission of the Chancellor of the Exchequer the Rt Hon George Osborne MP.
Each of our 2010 Fellows delivered a five minute presentation summarising their ‘action plan’ – a project to implement on their return home, often inspired by their attachments and other Fellowship Programme experiences. Those in the audience at Downing Street included Trustees Baroness Smith, Catherine Smith, and Lord McCluskey, in addition to Trust sponsors and friends.
Marina Mkhitaryan tells an audience at Downing Street about her plan to promote the concept of social enterprise in Armenia
One of the most impressive presentations of the day was that of Armenian Fellow Marina Mkhitaryan (pictured above) who plans to promote social enterprise in Armenia as a business model for NGOs. In the sphere of conflict and post-conflict resolution, the audience heard two particularly inspiring presentations. Rustam Bagaev plans to establish a peace and reconciliation centre in Chechnya. He hopes to combat and reverse the negative images associated with the region and re-build trust between communities. From Moldova, Vladislav Kulminski hopes to contribute to the establishment of a lasting resolution to the Transnistria conflict, moving towards a strategy of engagement and involvement with Transnistria rather than isolation. Talking about his experience, Vladislav said: “My insights into the UK’s experience with devolution and political decentralization will have a deep impact on the way I see and change institutions back home.”
Vladislav Kulminski answers questions on the Transnistrian conflict and the relevance of the Scottish model of devolution
Following her attachments at the National AIDS Trust and AVERT, Kama Hajiyeva has returned to Azerbaijan with a plan to tackle discrimination against those who live with HIV. From Kyrgyzstan, Suyun Aidarov (pictured below) plans to reduce the number of homeless children in the country by better coordinating the work of international organisations and local NGOs in delivering services to those in need. Russian Fellow Andrey Sergeev told the audience about his goal to strengthen and increase volunteering in Nizhny Novgorod using the best UK practices in this field. He plans to draft a regional law on volunteering, as well as creating a regional volunteer award scheme, and facilitating an agreement between local government and the volunteer sector centers in order to improve the capacity of volunteer organisations in delivering social services. Nino Kakubava intends to improve the delivery of public health services in Georgia, specifically in the area of breast and cervical cancer detection and prevention, via the strengthening of public-private partnerships.
Lord McNally presents Kyrgyz Fellow Suyun Aidarov with his Fellowship certificate
Representing the Ministry of Justice, Lord McNally (Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords) presented each Fellow with a certificate of participation to celebrate their completion of the 2010 John Smith Fellowship Programme. Lord McNally also took part in a Question & Answer session with Fellows answering questions on issues such as the UK voting system and the importance of a written constitution. Lord McNally commented that it was a ‘personal honour’ to be associated with the John Smith Memorial Trust and the valuable work that it does.
The Downing Street events continued with an evening reception hosted by Immigration Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Trust Damian Green MP held in honour of the 2010 Fellowship Programme. Guests included Ambassadors of our Fellowship countries, attachment hosts, Trust sponsors and former Trust Chairman Lord Robertson.
Damian Green MP and Anna Makhlay (Ukrainian Fellow) deliver speeches at the Downing Street reception. On her return home, Anna intends to bring Ukrainian criminal legislation in line with European standards
The day concluded with a farewell dinner at One Great George Street hosted by Trust Chairman Lord Falconer. The 2010 Fellows provided the dinner guests with entertainment during the evening including a 2010 Fellowship song and a thank you speech delivered by Armenian Fellow Hovhannes Ghazaryan and Ukrainian Fellow Nataliya Gumenyuk.
Dinner guests were also entertained by writer and broadcaster Hardeep Singh Kohli
The John Smith Memorial Trust would like to thank Lord McNally, Damian Green MP, George Osborne MP, Helen Lloyd and all at No. 11 Downing Street, for making possible this special day for our 2010 Fellows. The 2010 Fellows will reunite in July 2011 to report on their action plan progress.
The 2010 Fellows sing their farewell song at One Great George Street
July 2010