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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 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 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 …

Communications and Alumni Officer Vacancy We are seeking someone diligent and hard working with communication skills, alongside some experience in campaigning or advocacy and event planning to help us expand the Future First work in Kenya. The Alumni & Communication Officer should also be attentive to detail and be familiar with coordinating the day-to-day operations of a small, dynamic organization. For more details of the job, please access this link here. Comms and Alumni Relations Job Description …

Guest blog post by David Romain who ran the #backtoschool campaign in Ghana for Future First Global. My time working in Ghana coincided with Future First Global’s #backtoschool week, the launch of a 5 year plan to turn schools into communities on a Global Scale. As soon as Future First’s founders discovered of my whereabouts I was signed up as their Ghana partner. My mission was to establish what local people would be prepared to do to say thank you to their old school and support a local alumni event. What I discovered was a series of local schools with well-established alumni networks forming active communities with their …

Guest blog post by Emily Holgate, who led the Back to School Campaign in Spain. Barcelona is becoming one of the main social hubs of Europe, if not the world. When I moved here last summer, there was a resounding agreement from friends and family that Barcelona is the coolest, trendiest, most sociable city that they have ever visited. And it hasn’t failed me yet! For Future First España, we wanted to take advantage of Barcelona’s innovative, social aspect. We knew it would be difficult as guiris (“foreigners”) to reach out to local schools and ask to talk about careers …

We are hiring! We are looking to recruit a full-time Research and Partnerships Officer for a fixed five month contract from 1st March 2016, based in central London. We are seeking someone diligent and hard working with excellent research and analysis skills alongside some experience of communication, campaigning or advocacy to help us take the Future First model internationally. The Research and Partnerships Officer will also be attentive to detail and be familiar with coordinating the day-to-day operations of a small, dynamic charity. For more details of the job, please access this link here.   The application deadline is 10am on 19th February …

Rishi Kaashyap, an alumni of TVS Academy (Hosur, India), wrote this letter to his 16-year-old self: “ Dream big! It is when life starts to unveil itself and at the outset imagine yourself to have become the best person you can think of in the next 10 years. Draw a picture of then and now and with the belief that the changes you want are coming close, do something everyday that takes you closer to your dream. Plan to plan. Never procrastinate. Set short term goals and achieve them. Establish your credibility in subtle ways, earn your parents’ trust. Talk …

  Two-week campaign mobilises citizens to support their old schools across 10 countries in Europe, Africa and Asia The last 2 days saw the Back to School campaign turn truly international. The alumni of TVS Academy in Hosur (India) went into a local school to give careers talks and help paint a school mural. In Cameroon, the Delegate of Secondary Education officially endorsed the Back to School Campaign and encouraged the citizens of Cameroon to go back to their former schools to inspire the youth. In Ghana, our partner was invited to speak at the 25th anniversary celebrations at Oguaa Senior …

Thomas Goh, from CARE Singaporean is a guest blogger on our Back to School Campaign. CARE run mentoring and life skills programmes with at-risk young people in school. Thomas attended one of their programmes when he was in school, and now works for the organisation. Here is Thomas’s journey with CARE Singapore: It was almost 20 years ago when I was introduced to the mentoring programme through CARE Singapore. I was only 13 years old. I was never interested in my studies and always looking for opportunity to skip lessons. I was never that motivated kid that enjoys school. On one …