Dismantling barriers and bias in the workplace
Our Hero – Mo Ali
Mo Ali embodies everything Babbasa hopes to achieve and more. Having fled war-torn Somalia as a young boy, Mo has harnessed his unique skills and ambitious vision of the future to create an extraordinary life for himself and others. Starting his journey with us seven years ago, aged just 15, Mo came to Babbasa with dreams of starting his own business and took part in our programmes.
Now, at the age of 25, Mo has made a name for himself throughout Bristol. Not only as an accomplished poet and public speaker, but also through his continued work with Babbasa. He now works as our Youth Coordinator, championing our Trailblazer alumni programme giving young people a voice across the city through a series of initiatives and peer-to-peer support. He speaks regularly at Bristol schools and businesses about the importance of self-development and cultural inclusion. To date, he has worked with over 12,000 students across 20 different schools. His work not only seeks to make young people their most confident selves, but also to dismantle the barriers and biases that exist within Bristol’s institutions and workplaces.
Mo’s story, like many others, reflects the symbiotic relationship of Babbasa to our young people and communities. We know that if Babbasa’s dreams of social mobility are ever going to become a reality then we all have to lean on each other’s networks and skills to fight for a better future. Isn’t enough to prepare young people for a world that is still not willing to nourish and sustain them.
What can I do?
There are many ways to get involved in Babbasa’s work. If you are a young person looking to develop your skills, receive mentoring or find quality work, you can sign up to our Youth Empowerment Programmes. If you are professional looking to contribute to our vision, you can sign up to our Equal Opportunity Ambassador programme, where you can take on a series of challenges including mentoring, fundraising or pro bono support. Or, if your organisation is looking to source and recruit a diverse range of young people and improve your cultural competency, you can find out more about our Recruitment and Inclusion Services.
About the nominator – Babbasa
The Global Goal of Decent Work speaks right to the core of Babbasa’s aspirations. Bristol is a vibrant and abundant city, bubbling with new opportunities in every sector. It’s a place where everyone should have the chance to explore a career that fulfils them. But time and time again, young people from low-income and ethnic minority backgrounds remain underrepresented.
Babbasa is an award-winning youth empowerment social enterprise based in St Pauls, Bristol’s inner city. At the heart of everything we do is the belief that all young people can achieve their employment and enterprise ambitions, regardless of where they live, their nationality, ethnicity, gender, race, sexuality or faith.
Our 2020 Bridge to Equality report found that young people in Bristol’s ethnically diverse and low-income communities have high levels of ambition, with 60% knowing what career they wanted to pursue. However, only 19% of young people knew what they needed to do to achieve their professional aspirations. And with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic still being felt intensely amongst the less privileged factions of society, many young people have started to see the future as bleak.
Our core programmes – Support, Challenge, and Placement – bring together a mix of soft skills training, mentoring schemes, career-oriented events and personalised recruitment support. No two young people are the same, and neither should be their support. We tailor our programmes to the needs of our young people, working with them at their own pace to build confidence, develop skills, connect with employers and mentors, and access workplace experience. And with the launch of our new Recruitment and Inclusion Services (BRIS) we’re bridging the gap between our young people and their employers to offer recruitment for sustainable and high quality employment.
Goal 8 – Decent work and economic growth
Our Hero is working towards Global Goal 8. This Goal promotes sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
