2011 Fellows hosted throughout the UK by top experts and institutions
On 19th June, after ten days in Edinburgh, the 2011 John Smith Fellows parted for eight days to begin their individual attachment programmes - a series of individual meetings and work placements tailored to each Fellow’s particular expertise and interests. Twelve Fellows headed for the slightly sunnier climes of London, seven stayed in Scotland, two to Bradford and one to Warwick.
The aim of the attachment period is to give the Fellows insight and understanding into the how UK experts and organisations work in their field. They then use what they learn to influence their action plans and the work they do back in their home countries.
Armenian Fellow, Lilit Gevorgyan is an appointed Member of the Council of the Chamber of Control of the Republic of Armenia. The function of the Chamber is to exercise control over the spending of state revenues and funds and to ensure transparency of their usage. Lilit spent time at the National Audit Office, Audit Commission (pictured below), the National School of Government, Audit Scotland, Grant Thornton and Richard Bacon MP.
2011 Fellow Lilit Gevorgyan on attachment at the Audit Commission
Lilit hopes to use her experience in the UK to develop regular training and mentoring for the pool of auditors of the Chamber of Control – a core anticorruption body of Armenia. Talking about her experience, Lilit commented:
“I had meetings in different institutions related to the oversight of public funds spending. I hope to promote establishment of cooperation with my organization, exchange of experience, etc. And though there are many similarities, I saw the gap between methods and technical tools used in audit.... But on the other hand this shows what exactly my organization needs to improve!”
Musa Magomadov (pictured below) is employed by the state institution the Chechen Centre of Standardization, Metrology and Certification (CCSMC). He holds the position of Secretary of the Republican Inter-Departmental Commission for safety of goods and services in the Chechen Republic. Musa’s attachment programme included visits to Trading Standards at Lewisham Council, the National Measurements Office and the Office for Fair Trading.
“The attachment hierarchy was great. The places came from top - services provided for members of the public - Trading Standards team in a borough council to the National Measurement Office and finally the Office for Fair Trading. I gained a deep insight into campaigning and awareness techniques. I will definitely use these techniques in my action plan.”
Musa on an inspection visit to a bakery in Lewisham
On returning to Chechnya, Musa aims to implement health and safety reforms and to contribute to consumer rights development in the Chechen Republic.
Ruslan Kantemirov from Russia had a unique attachment experience this year. Ruslan is Deputy Minister for Rural Territory Development at the Ministry of Agriculture in Ulyanovsk - a city on the Volga River in Russia. Ruslan’s attachment period involved visits to EBLEX (The organisation for the English beef and sheep industry) and the National Farmers Union headquarters in Warwick, Derrick Davies’ Dairy Farm in Reading, the Rural Payments Agency, the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and a visit to Mary Creagh MP and Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Upon returning to Russia, Ruslan will work towards modernising the agricultural sector of his region.
This year, the Fellows also had a couple of group visits. These included a visit to Chatham House’s Russia and Eurasia Programme, a tour of Parliament hosted by Lord Alf Dubs, a theatre style lunch meeting with Neil Kinnock at the D-Group, and a master class on political communications with Alastair Campbell and Lord Falconer.
Ukrainian Fellow Taras Berezovets with Alastair Campbell
Other invaluable attachment placements this year also included: the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Enterprise, BP, Glasgow Council, Clackmannashire Council, NHS Lothian, Dan Rogerson MP, Total Politics, Jonathan Powell, Media Intelligence Partners (MIP), Greg Hands MP, Robert Halfon MP, Institute of Government, You Gov, Mary Creagh MP, the Scottish National Party, Tom Brake MP, the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrat Party, the Local Government Association, Angus Robertson MP, the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO), and British Institute of Human Rights.
The John Smith Memorial Trust would like to thank all its speakers and hosts for sharing their time and expertise with our Fellows.
The 2011 Fellowship Programme concluded in London in early July with a week of visits and lectures, culminating in a day at No. 11 Downing Street by kind permission of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In addition they met the the returning 2010 Fellows and attended a series of events designed to build on the work they have been doing in Edinburgh as a team and individually during their attachment programmes. This work has focussed on their own action plan ideas, projects they will implement on their return home incorporating things they have learned in the UK; their personal development plans - reflecting on themselves as leaders and finally, on an analysis of how we do politics in this country.
To read more about the Fellows' action plans and their concluding week in London please use the following links:
2011 Action Plan Presentations
2011 Programme Finale, Meeting the Prime Minister