Alan Senitt Upstanders leadership programme graduation 2024
90 students from schools including JFS, Yavneh College and King Solomon High participate in initiative inspired by community leader and political activist murdered 18 years ago
Ninety students from nine schools graduated from a leadership programme launched in honour of Alan Senitt, the former UJS President brutally murdered by in Washington in 2006.
Pupils from JFS (Harrow), Nower Hill (Pinner), Immanuel College (Bushey), Guru Nanak Sikh Academy (Hayes), Copthall School (Mill Hill), Yavneh College (Borehamwood), JCoSS (Barnet) Watford Boys Grammar and King Solomon High School (Ilford) completed interfaith leadership training as part of The Alan Senitt Upstanders Leadership Programme.
The initiative is facilitated by Maccabi GB’s educational projects, Stand Up! Education Against Discrimination and Streetwise, on behalf of the Alan Senitt Memorial Trust.
A one-of-a-kind programme, it breaks down community barriers and presents opportunities for participants from a variety of backgrounds to step outside their comfort zones, and not only learn about themselves and their skills, but to learn about each others, their communities, cultures, and religions.
Across 6-months, participants took part in a number of seminars and received training on community leadership, team building, volunteering, event management, and anti-discrimination training on topics such as antisemitism, anti-Muslim hate, discrimination against LGBT+, disability discrimination, and racism in sport and online.
The graduation ceremony at the offices of Maccabi GB was opened by Jon Mason, Alan’s high school teacher, who has led the programme at Nower Hill for 17 years.
Projects presented by the graduating schools included those supporting the homeless community, anti-discrimination initiatives to support the Asian and South Asian Communities, a scheme sharing the experiences of the elderly by building bridges between generations and projects on body dysmorphia and empowering women.
Nathan Servi, Maccabi GB chief operating officer said: “At the end of the programme, it is clear that the graduating students have learnt what it means to be a true upstanding leader; it is about self-awareness, communication, listening, decision making, influencing and empowering others, and it is, above all about leading by example.”
He added: “You – our young graduates – demonstrated this perfectly in this evening’s presentations and your achievements on this programme are testament to your development as the leaders of tomorrow. You have learnt many of these skills and will continue to learn many going forward. I, and all the ‘adults’ in the room are excited to see where your leadership journey takes you, so congratulations on all your achievements.”
The team will expand the programme next year, bringing in 110 students from eleven schools to further benefit the communities and wider British society.
Alongside the leadership programme, the team will be resuming the delivery of anti-discrimination workshops in secondary schools with funding from the Mayor’s office Sadiq Khan granted for the 5th consecutive year.
- To learn more or to book FREE workshops, please visit www.standupeducation.org or contact us at info@standupeducation.org