Guest Blog: Spreading the Good Word Down Under
Guest Blog from Vicki Fowler from Westlake Boys High School Vicki is the Community Manager of Westlake Boys in Auckland, New Zealand. She is a long-time friend of FFG and sat on our advisory board since January 2016. Over the last ten years she has developed one of the most impressive alumni communities that Future First Global has seen in the public sector, and is a committed advocate for developing this in state schools nationwide. Thirty Headmasters, Board of Trustee members and staff representing 18 state schools throughout New Zealand gathered at Westlake Boys High School in Auckland earlier this month …
Minister of Education Launches Association of Alumni Communities in Kenya!
Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Education signs off pledge to support his alma matter and launches the #GoBackGiveBack Campaign in Kenya We are excited to be able to announce that the Association of Alumni Communities in Kenya (AACK) (#AlumniCommunitiesKE) was launched on 29th May, 2017 at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development by Dr. Fred Matiang’i, the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. Dr Matiang’i commended the Association for taking civic responsibility to build a culture of involvement in strengthening the public education systems which eventually enriches institutions, enhances accountability and transparency. Making a speech at …
Back to School Week in Kenya: our very own Eddy Omondi goes back to his roots
T. S. Eliot says Home is where one starts from. Going back to Migori County, my place of birth, in order to promote alumni activities has been an amazing experience for me. I look forward to building the same platform at my motherland Homabay County, and more specifically at Rusinga Island from where I trace my origin. Migori is the root, Rusinga is the stem to building alumni platforms. I saw great support from the County Education Office, the various alumni of different schools at the county, and the school administrations for supporting alumni work. And I received welcoming greetings …
‘We have already had calls from schools about next year!’: Back to School Week in Cameroon
As Back to School Week wraps up after a series of great events in Togo, Liberia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Cameroon, I spoke to Melki from JumpStart Academy who ran the campaign in Cameroon, about what impact the campaign had had in Cameroon and his thoughts about alumni engagement in the country. For Melki, the best thing about the campaign was ‘the enthusiasm with which the students and headteachers of Cameroon welcomed the idea, and the fact that it is the first time such an event has been help in all the schools we went to.’ This campaign was the …
Back To School Week is go! An exciting week of events in Togo kicks off the 2017 global campaign!
Our global campaign, Back to School Week, kicked off last week with a programme of events and activities running in schools across Togo, in West Africa. Back to School Week is all about building momentum and visibility for alumni work across the world, and sees weeks of intense activity of alumni going back to their schools, facilitated and run by our partners across the world. The events allow alumni to engage with their old schools and the students now at them, and gives them a chance to share their skills and enthusiasm to support the younger generation. As the newest …
Future First Global launches international campaign Back to School Week
It’s back! After our hugely successful campaign last year, Future First Global are launching this year’s Back to School campaign, and we need you! ‘Back to School Week’ is a global campaign running from May 8th to 26th in order to galvanize people around the world to think about how they can support their former schools. The campaign combines exciting in-school engagements for alumni and students, online engagement, and an ongoing campaign across the year. Our research found that 52% of alumni would be willing to give back to their old school, but that only 2% had. We want to change …
Future First Kenya is Hiring!
Future First Kenya is looking for a Trainer and Alumni Communities Coordinator! Future First has now developed a world-class training programme for Alumni Network leaders based on global research across 30 countries that explores the fundamental aspects of alumni community building, and how to get there. The training has factored feedback from existing alumni networks in Kenya and features basic structures around how to establish, build and mobilise networks are common throughout. The training is interactive and includes the co-creation of a strategy between international alumni experts, as trainers, and local practitioners. We understand that candidates may not tick all …
A Guide to Working with your Alumni
Issues of impact, sustainability and community development have led to a marked increase in programmes looking to develop their alumni activities. This ‘how to’ guide is designed to help organisations take the next step, or even the first step, in building their own alumni programmes. Amongst the 80 interviewees from Latin America, Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Australasia who informed this report, there was a common pattern of questions surfacing. Questions such as: ‘what’s next for our participants?’,‘what more can we do for our alumni?’ and ‘how can we mobilise support from our graduates?’ are at the forefront for …
Future First Global is hosting our First Panel Discussions in Central London
Future First Global will be hosting our first panel discussions, one on May 17th and one on May 18th, from 6-8pm in Central London. The two evenings will bring together a select group of people from education and international development to discuss the role alumni can play in education and also in organizations. Both events will be taking place at the Open Society Foundation offices in Central London, a short walk from Pimlico underground station. They will be starting at 6pm, with the programme due to start at 6:15pm. The main discussion is due to finish at 7:30pm but we’d love our guests to stay around for a drink …
Future First Global is Hiring a Managing Director!!
Future First Global is seeking a Managing Director to help grow the organisation. Considerable travel may be involved and we are seeking someone with strong entrepreneurial abilities to help think through strategy and deliver results for the organisation. We are looking for someone who can get deals through with high level government officials, NGO partners and foundations as well as have an in depth understanding of how volunteering programmes, community building programmes and schools work. We are looking for someone with drive and ambition who can provide leadership for the organisation – attitude and aptitude are ultimately more important to us …

