A group of young adults of African heritage who have recently settled in the UK have spent a week honing their superpowers as community peer leaders, advocates and impactful change-makers at a leadership bootcamp in London.

The bright-eyed bunch of five girls and seven boys, had an amazing time on the youth-led charity Active Horizon’s Reach Mix practical leadership and advocacy program.

The London-based charity works with young migrant and refugee adults and hosted the week-long residential practical leadership and advocacy training program at The Royal Foundation of St Katharine from 14-19 July.  The charity’s training program is aimed at transforming young migrants and refugees in the community into active citizens who can bring about positive change.

Far from a snoozefest in a stuffy classroom, the training program is an innovative experience designed to be interactive and practical, and involving visits to multiple sites to engage with real world experts.

As Active Horizons founder and CEO, Yeukai Taruvinga, explained: “Our training is designed to empower 18 to 25-year-olds, and as you can imagine, we couldn’t risk having it feel like another boring seminar. Our learners got to rub shoulders with finance gurus at Santander headquarters, where they received guidance on careers in banking and finance, and a guided tour of the corridors of power in Parliament as they learned about UK politics and influencing change.”

Rich Mix helps young people to build connections and integrate through educational experiences that increase their confidence and participation in community life. It boosts their understanding of their rights and responsibilities and empowers them to get into employment, skills training and entrepreneurship.

Some of the modules the young learners covered ranged from personal development to mental health and wellbeing, relationships and boundaries, public speaking and presentation skills, and employability sessions on careers tech, cybersecurity and coding.

The group also got the inside scoop on university life when they visited the University of Greenwich to learn more about tertiary education.

But it was not all full-throttled learning as the program also provided opportunities for socialising and making new connections among the group, as well as touring London’s famous landmarks.

For Ashley Tererai, one of the participants, the training was a game-changer: “I’ve really enjoyed the Reach Mix leadership programme and I’ve learned a lot. I’m even starting to make reconsiderations about my career path!”