BAME ROUTES to Public Life Round 2 out now!!

Do you feel disillusioned with Welsh Politics? Would you like to get more involved in public life and have an impact on the decisions that are made that affect you and your communities? EYST Wales is now recruiting for the second round of the successful BAME Routes to Public Life Mentoring Scheme. Funded by Welsh Government, the scheme is part of the All Wales BAME (Black, Asian and ethnic minority) Engagement Programme.  The BAME Routes to Public Life Mentoring Scheme is intended to help ethnic minority/BAME people to develop political skills and increase their impact in public life.

The second  round of the scheme will run from October 2019 to March 2020 and will include:

•             1-1 mentoring with highly influential people;

•             Bespoke training sessions on political influencing, communications and campaigning at Welsh Government locations;

•             A trip to UK Houses of Parliament;

•             Optional opportunity to help organise or contribute to EYST’s annual conference observing the UN Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The first round of the scheme ran from February to July 2019, and had more 25 Mentor/Mentees pairs. During the recent first round closing ceremony Mentor Suzy Davies AM stated:

“This scheme needs to run and run. We need to see Welsh Government continuing to run schemes like this, as the impact is just so great. We need the Welsh Assembly to reflect the communities it serves”

Mentee feedback has included: “The scheme has made me more ambitious and more confident. I now realise that I can use my voice to help others and be a voice for the voiceless”

“My mentor has given me the confidence to speak up. I am now looking to become a Trustee on a board, somewhere I can make a difference”

More than 25 influential “high-flyers” have already agreed to be mentors, including Vaughan Gething (AM, Cabinet Minister for Health & Social Care); Faith Walker (FW Consultancy); Huw Morris (Welsh Government Director of Skills, Higher Education and Lifelong Learning); Leanne Wood (AM) and John Griffiths (AM) to name a few.

EYST Wales invites applications from BAME people who have a clear interest in politics and/or public life and a commitment to their own and other’s development. We aim to match mentees with mentors who have similar interests and come from the same geographic area.  

To apply, please take a few moments to complete this survey by 21st  August: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/EYSTPublicMentor2/

The application deadline is 5pm on 21st August.  We will notify you in early September if you have been accepted into the project and matched with a mentor. 

For questions, please contact Chisomo Phiri at chisomo@eyst.org.uk or phone/text: 07939429393.

She is happy to chat about the scheme, what it may offer you, and how we can make it possible for you to participate.