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Images: Courtesy of Trace Collective by Pipi Hormaechea In early 2018, I was growing increasingly disheartened with the conversations about sustainability. It seemed obvious to me that if we were truly serious about taking action to preserve life on this planet as we know it, half-hearted initiatives that focused on damaging a little bit less while oiling a relentless pace of consumption would get us nowhere. I had spent a few months researching, having conversations with brilliant people and reading avidly, in an effort to understand how to reimagine the future of environmental conservation. I vividly remember the moment things clicked in my brain. I remember walking under a tree canopy, my leg being itchy while I listened to a podcast, and the smell of spring in my nostrils. I was giving my dog an afternoon walk in between work calls, in the little park that was just a stone’s throw away from my London flat. I remember that aha moment when I realised that, if we were to really find a way of living that achieved eco systemic balance, we had to completely reimagine every single aspect of business to make sure that it contributed to healing the planet. It seems so obvious to me today - of course damaging less is not enough, of course we need to focus on reversing environmental degradation. But it took a while for things to click. Back then, I didn’t think I’d end up working in fashion. But I discovered regenerative agriculture, and after many conversations I thought, why are we only trying to scale this solution from within the food industry? 30% of those still come from agricultural and farming lands. Of course, that’s not very good news - that percentage should be 100%, as the rest are synthetic and manmade cellulose fabrics that are extremely damaging for the planet. But, I thought, that 30% still gives us plenty to work with. I saw immense potential to use fashion as a tool for environmental regeneration. A few months later, Antonia and I decided to set up Trace Collective, which went on to become the world’s first regenerative fashion brand. With very limited resources, we built the brand on three pillars: Regeneration is our business driver. We have a firm commitment to using solely regenerative fabrics to produce our clothes. That means that they are lovely fabrics we simply cannot use, and we need to compete with other incredible designer brands in an uneven playing field. Circularity guides the full product lifecycle. That starts at the design and manufacturing stages, where we produce fully biodegradable pieces, which means that we don’t use synthetic threads or fastenings, and keep all fabric scraps from cutting to design limited edition pieces. But we don’t think our responsibility ends there, so we offer our customers a for-life repair guarantee for all our garments, and a take back scheme in case those are ever no longer wanted. Transparency is our duty to our customers. They shouldn’t have to spend time trying to figure out whether their purchase has negative social and environmental impacts. We are radically transparent in pricing, impact and origin for each of our garments, and that information can be found both at our website and in the QR tags that are attached to each of our pieces. The model that we built had one single focus: to facilitate environmental and social regeneration. The company exists not to maximize profits, but to maximize impact. As a fashion brand, to us that’s the only way to exist that can be classified as sustainable. Did you know that there’re enough clothes in the world to go around for the next 6 generations? In the current context of environmental breakdown, I just don’t see how we could ever say that producing new pieces of clothing is sustainable if that production is not actively contributing to reversing climate change. When we started talking about regeneration and regenerative fashion, people looked at us as if we had 3 heads. In the years that have passed since it has become, if not mainstream, fairly popular. That’s progress, but there’s a lot of nuance in that progress. Nuance that I think it’s important to explore. So let’s start with the basics. In fashion, regeneration is most commonly associated with regenerative agriculture. After all, regenerative agriculture is the main strategy to drive environmental regeneration from within then fashion industry. And what is regenerative agriculture? In short, it’s a set of principles that focus on improving the health of the soil and the ecology and biodiversity of the environment surrounding the land. Why should we care about soil, you may wonder? Well, according to FAO, 95% of our food is directly or indirectly produced on or soils. Healthy soils are the basis for healthy food production. But a third of the planet’s soil is acutely degraded due to farming and agriculture. Degraded soil not only impacts our ability to produce food - it also emits carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, further contributing to global warming, leads to declines on biodiversity and increases the risk of floods. The most alarming fact? The current way we farm is causing the equivalent of one football field of land to erode every five seconds. Every. Five. Seconds. But let’s not get caught up on the alarming facts and get back to the solution. While regenerative agriculture requires a place-based approach (as different eco regions will require different land management strategies), there’re normally 4 practices that cut across most regenerative projects: crop rotation, cover cropping, no (or minimal) tilling, and no pesticide use. Integrating livestock can also create a virtuous circle of soil health. It’s worth noting at this point that while there’s been a big buzz in recent years in Western countries around regenerative agriculture, these practices were not born here or thought of in a lab. They were developed by indigenous people across millennia, transforming eroded lands into lush fields long before colonizers arrived to America. We’ve just been very slow to catch up. I believe it’s crucial that regenerative agriculture stays at the centre of the conversation around regeneration in the fashion industry. When we talk about regeneration, we must think about environmental regeneration and link it to specific strategies. In an industry where as many as 59% of green claims made by European fashion brands are misleading and could be greenwashing, it’s important to be clear and define the concepts that we use. Regenerative and regeneration and words that can become instruments of greenwashing: the general public has less awareness of what they mean, and they sound new and sexy. But they’re not (new that is, for sure they’re still very sexy), and we must remember that. hey’re not concepts to be distorted, reinvented, or appropriated. Regeneration means putting life, and the processes that create the conditions that are conductive to life, at the centre of everything: businesses, communities, politics… at the heart of all decisions and plans. And this leads me to my last reflection. While regenerative agriculture must stay at the center of the conversation about regeneration in fashion, that’s not where that conversation can end. Regenerative fashion must include an in depth reflection and rethinking of what the industry represents today, its roots, and the role that it’s playing on planetary health and social cohesion. That means acknowledging fashion’s colonial roots, and how those continue to play out today, by extracting resources and exploiting labour from the Global South, by promoting euro-centric beauty standards as the norm and by often appropriating certain aspects of minority cultures by discarding others. It also means reflecting on how those dynamics shape the outlook of the global fashion industry. Today, a few companies control the majority of the global market, and handful of conglomerates are making nearly all of fashion’s profits. It’s a winner takes it all industry, one that paints a picture that is at complete odds with what a regenerative future would look like. There’re many greys in this conversation, and I certainly don’t have all the answers. But I believe that we need to do a better job, both as an industry and as society, in asking the difficult questions, establishing honest dialogue, and holding ourselves to account. In an industry notoriously opaque and competitive, the only path towards a regenerative future is to reimagine the ecosystem into a more cooperative, decentralized landscape. Without taking steps in that direction, any sustainability projects feel just tokenistic and hollow. Regenerative fashion cannot exist without the regenerative approach being three dimensional: environmental, social and ecosystemic. Despite the challenges, five years in, I still believe that fashion has the power to pave the way to a regenerative future. As destructive as it’s become, to me, and to millions of others, fashion still means culture. It means craftsmanship. It means creativity and experimentation. It opens a doors to reimagine business and life - if we can transform fashion and make it truly regenerative, it means we will have transformed every aspect of society. And I believe that can be done. So let’s continue paving the way for a future where we all put life at the heart of fashion, and at the heart of every other industry and system. thetracecollective.com traceplanet.org Images: Courtesy of Trace Collective by Pipi Hormaechea

Interview with Founder Penny Moyses. Image: Courtesy of Clean & Tidy Home Show Go Inspire: How did you come up with the idea of the Clean and Tidy Home Show in London? Penny Moyses: I started following the likes of Mrs Hinch and Stacey Soloman on Instagram a few years ago - the whole home world really piqued my interest. But when I became a mum, and shortly after returned to work full-time and went into lockdown, I lost control of my home. I felt like I was failing in all facets of my life. It was only when I found the wider online cleaning and organising community with tips on how to keep your home, advice from other working mums, and a lot of #instareality that I realised how integral online communities and support are for many of us and especially valuable for those of us who are isolated, marginalised or ostracised. That’s when I realised - I want to facilitate the existing online communities, the ones that really saved me and my home as well as bringing those people who needed such support together in person. I was on my second maternity leave, so I would feed my son through the night and write my business plan, research on social media and look for associations. Throughout the process I have made connections with lifelong friends and discover more every day about what can cause us to feel overwhelmed as well as the solutions to a clearer, cleaner, more organised and healthy home. Helping others through the Clean & Tidy Home Show has been a major highlight of my career. GI: For anyone unsure what the Clean and Tidy Home Show is can you explain it to us? PM: The Clean & Tidy Home Show is the fresh, new lifestyle event that focuses on giving everyone, regardless of space, background or budget, the community and confidence to create a home that supports their lifestyle. We harness the hype and buzz of the social media home organisation frenzy and bring this into a real, live setting for a tangible and memorable home enthusiast experience! Visitors can discover innovative hacks, meet their favourite cleanfluencers and connect with like-minded communities, watch expert organisers in action and shop the aisles with the latest products on offer at discounted show prices. Stage session themes this year include parenthood, menopause, relationships, mental health, authenticity and joy to name a few. We also explore the science of cleaning, learn how to upcycle and better understand what sustainable options there are for home products, our wardrobe and more. GI: Has there been a stand out moment for you, or a specific part of the event you particularly enjoy? PM: There have been many moments I will cherish, but I think it has to be when we cut the ribbon for the launch last year..... The Shine Squad were all with me, we had a queue of people waiting to show their tickets (despite the train strikes!), the whole Clean & Tidy team and all of our wonderful onsite brands and partners. It was also quite cool getting the DM from Mrs Hinch to ask if we had any tickets left for her and Stacey Solomon! GI: Outside of the Clean and Tidy Home Show - what does a normal day look like for you? PM: For at least half the week I am purely focused on the show while my little boys have childcare and I am off to a networking event, meeting up with a brand, or (more often) sitting on a zoom call from my dining room table and chatting to a whole host of wonderful people. For the other half of the week, I manage a work/life blend when I am checking on social media or catching up on emails in the evening or when my boys are napping but I do my best to be present when spending time with my kids and my husband. We love getting out and about, seeing family and friends. Contrary to popular belief, I do not spend my weekends making my home spotless. In the spirit of the Clean & Tidy Home Show my home is not the ideal show home that we often see on Instagram, but it is my little sanctuary that facilitates and supports my lifestyle. cleanandtidyhomeshow.com Image: Courtesy of Clean & Tidy Home Show

Images: Courtesy of WombBae y name is Latoya. I am a 35 years old British Ghanian and am also a London resident. I am the founder of WombBae, an enterprise dedicated to all women and open to men, as a safe space to discuss, educate and spread awareness around the challenges of women’s reproductive health. WombBae started off the back of my own personal journey. My journey consisted of the defiance of fibroids. Having undergone a fibroid op over 4 years ago, Latoya's story has helped to destigmatize the sensitive topic of fibroid and encourage 100's of women to seek help and support to help them on their journey to motherhood and womb health. At the time I had nothing but medical pages and doctor appointments to educate myself. It was a tough time. There was no source with a personal touch. Someone who had experienced what I am going through to tell me the personal, mental, and behavioural side effects there was to be besides the physical effects. Hence WombBae was born. I wanted to create a platform, a haven even… where we can engage and connect with women who also have experienced fibroids. Although this was the initial plan my findings and intrigue guided me to learn more around related conditions. I discovered various circumstances like Endometriosis, PCOS, Adenomyosis, Ovarian Cysts, Ovarian Cancer, Infertility and many more. My intrigue, fascination, interest, and knowledge all grew in my research. Eventually I want to share my knowledge but most importantly I wanted to express myself. The journey can very be lonely and I knew my story would encourage other folk and let them know, they are not alone. For years I felt alone in this battle, only to realise that there were other women going through the same pain and suffering. My new aim is to help promote a change and positively impact the lives of more women around the world. I share tips on how to manage and live with such conditions and my overall message is… these conditions are not the end of the world. You are also entitled to a full, fun, and loving life. I feel so passionate about the people I support. I aim to change peoples' lives for the better by ensuring they always feel supported, and have their views, wishes and feelings heard. WombBae is a women's health platform that focuses on providing informational support on important topics such as Fibroids, Endometriosis, PCOS, PMS and much more. With the goal being to help women understand their womb and unlock better diet and fitness potentials. We have successfully hosted numerous events both online and offline and in the UK and Ghana. We have been supported by Adidas, Refinery29 and Medical News Today. We have also worked with the Princes Trust and TOTM, an organic pad company, as well as appearing on numerous panels talks with Black girl tech summit to name a few. @wombbae Images: Courtesy of WombBae

Hello, fellow soul leader, I know first-hand that finding your purpose and standing up for yourself can be challenging and sometimes overwhelming. I have faced the journey of uncertainty and experienced every emotion connected to “finding your true self”. The truth is, once you let go of your self-doubt and the guilt-ridden opinions of those around you, it becomes much easier to take the first steps towards finding your purpose and seeing real change in your life. So if you are new to this journey or have been here before (I stopped, cried and started many times, but that’s another article), here is a stress-free way to start living with purpose and integrity. What do you really want? Finding your purpose starts with understanding your values and interests. Please note that I said YOUR values and interests. Not your “keep my baby safe” Mum, your overly opinionated Sister, bitter Aunty Betty or your sceptical Uncle Dave. Reflect on what makes you happy, what you are passionate about, and what you value in life. By doing so, you can begin to align your purpose with your values and interests. Reflect on these questions and make a list of EVERYTHING you dream about, that align with your values and passions. If you didn’t have to worry about money, time or current responsibilities. And you didn’t give two hoots about what other people thought about you or your decision. What is the ONE thing you would love to be doing? You get to choose what you want to do and you have the power to make a change! Boundaries It’s important to create firm boundaries, especially when trying to find and create what matters most to you. We tend to live our lives through the opinions, experiences and desires of others. People don’t like change, because what is important to them, is important to them. Then you start to say no and begin to flourish. This makes others take a look at themselves, and when they don’t like what they see (because they are finding it hard to live how they truly want). They project their feelings of self-worth, in-action and doubts onto you. Selfish of them, huh? You were put on this planet with a voice and you should use it. You were put on this planet to live a fulfilling life. What is important to you, should be prioritised. Don’t compromise your integrity or let people take advantage of you. Seek support from others Finding your purpose and finally sticking up for yourself can be a challenging and overwhelming process. Seek support from others who can provide guidance, encouragement, and accountability. Try finding a mentor, a coach, a friend or family member to talk to. Stay away from bitter Aunty Betty and sceptical Uncle Dave! Surround yourself with positive and supportive people who believe in you. BUT, always follow your gut instinct! Take small first steps Taking the first steps towards finding your purpose can feel intimidating at first, but it's essential for personal growth and fulfilment. Don’t feel like you don’t have to have all the answers right now, you just have to make a start. That’s how you start anything in life. One step at a time. Commit to a regular day and time each week to take action, and do one thing to move you closer to achieving what you want. If you committed 1 hour per week (or whatever suits YOUR schedule) to make your dream a reality, imagine where you will be in 3 or 6 months. You’ll be surprised to see what your life will look like a year from now. Remember, the thought of what MIGHT happen is always going to feel worse than what is GOING to happen. But facing, head-on what is holding you back from being your most magnificent self, is the only way to get you moving forward. Your purpose is unique to YOU, and it is never too late to start. Enjoy the process and celebrate your successes along the way. What will you choose to do? Over to you MJ x @moniquejordancavecoach jordancavecoaching.com

“I never really thought about my dad’s job when I was a kid. It was just his job. As far as I was concerned it was normal. He may as well have been going to an office for all I knew or cared. I was raised on a dairy farm. I am the daughter of a farmer’s son, of a farmer’s son, of a farmer’s son. But this wasn’t just a farm anywhere - I’m from Northern Ireland - a country with a huge focus on animal agriculture as a major part of the economy. Farming was ingrained in what seemed like every area of society for me growing up. From my school and the other children I was hanging out with, through to the kinds of activities I did as a teenager, our church community and even just the influence of my grandparents. Farming was and is a huge part of my life and who I am today. Our primary school was a tiny, countryside school full of children from agricultural backgrounds. So when I went to my friends’ houses for sleepovers, this would have also been on farms. Mostly dairy farms but I do also recall staying with a friend whose dad was a pig farmer. There were things that were just normalised, such as getting milk directly from the milking parlour at my friends’ houses, rather than going to a shop. Or helping my mum to prepare meals for a group of hungry farmers during the summer silage season, where local farmers would come to help cut the grass to store for the winter months ahead. Or slightly more sinister memories of seeing baby animals that hadn’t survived birth and not really understanding, as kids, why or how they were there. Go-to meals at home growing up would have been shepherd’s pie, a whole roasted chicken with potatoes and vegetables, bangers and mash, and beef lasagne. I never thought of these foods as anything but usual. It’s what all my friends were eating. I do remember we had one childhood friend who went vegetarian at a very young age, and we all thought that was quite strange but didn’t question it. We would have Sunday roasts of lamb, beef and chicken at my granny’s house. Meals at restaurants would always contain meat. It was just the norm. As teenagers, my sister and I were members of the Young Farmers Club - a sort of youth club for young people from farming communities. Some of the activities we would take part in would be sheep and cattle judging, as well as travelling to barn dances in tractors! We were also heavily involved in our local church Youth Club and activities, and the members of that club were mostly other farmer’s children who would have had similar experiences to us. But it wasn’t only these experiences that cemented my existence as a farmer’s daughter. My own family was particularly rooted in animal agriculture in general. Of course my grandfather on my dad’s side was a farmer, but his wife, my granny, formerly ran her own small egg business, and my grandfather on my mother’s side also had a job within the Ministry of Agriculture for Northern Ireland itself in the Meat Standards department. So it’s not really surprising that it took me a long time to question any of it. Me and my siblings loved going to see our dad on the farm when we were kids and would always ask to see the newborn calves. We would get to see them when they were literally just born and often already taken away from their mothers, who would be returned to the herd to be milked. It’s strange to me now, that we knew about the system of the calves being born and what was happening, but it’s like we had no frame of reference to understand why they were actually there. That it was for the milk. That the cows weren’t just producing milk because they were cows, but because they were mothers. When that fact dawned on me many, many years later, I felt a sort of sense of confusion. It now seemed so obvious and yet I had lived on a farm and I didn’t make the connection. But the fact that I was immersed in agriculture and still didn’t make the connection between the systems of production and what was actually happening, is one of the reasons I now do what I do. I create content that shines a light on the animal agriculture systems that are happening all around us, but that are not explained in a clear way to allow us to make our own decisions about what we want to consume or participate in. And also in knowing how I felt when I found this information out for myself (without others trying to criticise me) I make sure my focus is to keep things light-hearted and fun. I aim to help people to consume the information in a way that’s easy to understand but that also doesn’t sound judgemental, and that’s because it isn’t. I have no high horse to be on, as I only made these discoveries myself in 2017, after a whole life eating meat and dairy. The way I began my vegan journey was actually through a documentary called ‘Cowspiracy’ which focuses on the environmental impact of the animal agriculture industry. And again, this was a shock to me. I had no idea that there was any link between climate change and meat and dairy production. But once I had gone away and done my own research after the documentary, I realised that there was a significant correlation and (much as I didn’t want to) I was going to have to go vegan. And so I did, there and then. The journey of telling my family was certainly a challenging one and because I knew it would be, I didn’t actually break the news for a whole year. The topic came up in the preparation for a big family party I was returning to Northern Ireland for. My mum called me to tell me what food she was making for the party and if I had any requests (from the childhood favourites). I remember there being a distinct silence on the line when I said I wouldn’t be able to eat any of that food, and then a very firmly annunciated, ‘why?’. When I dropped the news that it was because I was vegan, it did not go down well. My mum assumed it was because I was against Dad and his farm specifically. But when I explained that I was doing it from the perspective of the global scale and industrial farming systems in place, that seemed to make them understand that it really wasn’t personal. But it is largely due to my family and my background, that I approach veganism with so much nuance. I understand that I was a benefactor of the very system that I now oppose. I tread lightly. So yes, I am a farm girl, and I am now vegan. @farmgirlgoesvegan farmgirlgoesvegan.com

Ruby Cohen Love is an artist, creative director and researcher born in Guatemala. Ruby moved to London in 2015 to pursue her studies at Central Saint martins in fashion communication. Go Inspire: What was your inspiration behind the cover artwork? Ruby: The inspiration for the cover came from cultural diversity and solidarity amongst women. I chose to design the characters on the cover with a similar face to those of traditional dolls in different countries, including my own; Guatemala. They all have similar expressions and faces and the differences are the costumes which I wanted to use as a reflection of how women are similar but have cultural differences and how women are all together but have separate identities, reflecting and celebrating opposites at the same time. GI: How did you find the creation of the artwork? What was the process like for you? RCL: From the early stages of discussion with Go Inspire, I had a clear visual of the cover artwork from the outset. The process is always interesting to see how that first vision your mind becomes a reality and how I can match that reality as close to the visual fantasy as possible. I started with a line drawing by hand and applied ink and finished the colour on photoshop so it was a creative mix between analogue and digital which I have recently started to incorporate into my illustrative work. GI: Go Inspire is focused on inspiring women across the UK. What or who inspires you? RCL: Nature is a big factor when it comes to inspiration for me. I love the feeling of all that I have [before] nature. It could be an animal, a flower, a tree, a river...it doesn't matter. The feeling of natures vastness in comparison to my size gives perspective to how small certain problems may be, in reality. That allows the important to be big. I think most of the time we cannot be creative and I want to talk about creativity as the important element. We overload our mind with everyday problems that don't allow us to be creative. When I stand in front of the beauty of a flower, those problems minimise and then there is space in my mind to be creative. This is incredibly important to me. The second thing that inspires me deeply is art. Seeing architecture, museums, in particular ancient art; Roman, Greek. Even Pre-Raphaelites, Renaissance, I will never stop feeling inspired by the art produced during these times and it's always something I am go back to. GI: We saw that you like to dance, specifically Bachata and you practise Yoga. What do you enjoy most about these? RCL: I enjoy being in my body, to be aware of where I am in space and to feel like I am living from the tip of my toes to the crown of my head. I think that if we are sitting in front of our computer, for example, we are not even thinking where our legs are. I have the sensation when am in my body practicing Yoga or dancing Bachata that I am living fully and that every single part of my body is present and not only my mind. You can be very present with your mind and forget about where your body is. I have the concept of living fully both being in my mind and in my body, and of course in spirit but I would say that this is why I enjoy physical practices as much as intellectual or creative practices. GI: Can you tell us about your cultural heritage and growing up in Guatemala. What was it like moving to London from there? RCL: I was born and raised in Guatemala City but I always felt like a fish out of water. I had a lot of friends, I had a good time in school but I was very different from my friends because I was brought up in the cultural and artist scene in Guatemala so nobody else around me had a similar background and in a way it felt lonely. On the other hand people were always interested in what I was doing and how my life was because it was very different from everybody else's. I always had the need, rather than want, to move to Europe. I always had the feeling that Europe and the culture was my place. The decision to come to London was based on my studies at Central Saint Martins. I had always been interested in fashion and felt this was the best place to study. When I came to London it was a cultural shock for sure! But it felt incredible to be surrounded by similar backgrounds to me and somewhere where I could learn from other people. It has been tough, I would say that is has taken me about 8 years since I have been here. Maybe 2 years ago London started to feel like my home and I can now call myself a Londoner! GI: Could you tell us more about RubyBonBon and your art patisserie? RCL: RubyBonBon is my dream! It is a luxury cake startup which I have been developing for just over a year. The idea is to have a fantasy, a world that surrounds the patisserie which will bring together my fashion world with the patisserie world and communicate that to the audience which will specifically be fashion and art audiences and in general luxury. It will be a cake brand which will be known for its advertisements. I would like to sell cakes as if they were perfumes, for example, if you watch a perfume advertisement, you do not know how the perfume will smell through a screen, instead you buy into the fantasy and the lifestyle and the idea in the advert as an image or a film and you invest in the fantasy and not the perfume itself. Of course the perfume is great! And the cake will be fantastic! My communication will be strong and focussed on the luxury in the images, it will be distinct about the brand and hopefully it will be the go-to for fashion events. I am looking forward to seeing it grow, stay tuned!

Running a huge team of Mind Employees and services in the UK, Karen Mellanby is a keen advocate for ensuring anyone who needs it, can receive the best possible mental health support. As Director of Networks and Communities at Mind, Karen has done some incredible work such as the Our Time to Change campaign that ran for nearly a decade. Go Inspire UK spoke to her about what exactly her role entails... Go Inspire: Can you explain what Mind does and about your role as Director of Networks and Communities? Karen Mellanby: Mind is the leading mental health charity in England and Wales. We work to ensure everyone with a mental health problem gets support and respect. We provide information and services and campaign on the issues that impact negatively on people with mental health problems, whether it’s tackling stigma or ensuring adequate funding for services. My role is to work with our network of 109 local Mind organisations based throughout England and Wales, supporting our services to respond to the local needs in communities and be the best they can be, reaching as many people as possible to support better mental health through a range of services and programmes. GI: Tell me about the moment you knew this is what you wanted to spend your time doing? KM: When the position at Mind came up it ticked all the boxes for me in terms of my passion for mental health and my skills in working with networks of community organisations. I’m a strong believer in the power of people and communities to drive the change they want to see. Working together collaboratively under the Mind brand means we can be stronger together and a powerful force for change. But partnership working isn’t always easy. We’ve had to take time to build a shared vision, strong relationships and utilise the expertise and resources across our networks. But every time I visit a local Mind, see the work they are doing and hear from people the difference services have made to their lives, I feel both inspired and humbled. GI: How would you describe your career? What would a normal day look like for you? KM: I’ve worked in the Charity Sector for almost 30 years and in a variety of roles. During my career I’ve delivered services, developed fundraising bids, delivered training, managed multi-million-pound programmes of work, given media interviews, provided evidence to Parliamentary Committees, met with MPs, celebrities and even royalty. It’s honestly never boring. I feel very fortunate to have such a wonderful, enriching, and exciting career that has provided me with lots of opportunities to grow and develop. I don’t think I can honestly say what a normal day looks like for me. They are all so different and varied. But as a Director I’m now much more focused on big picture strategy, building and managing relationships externally and internally and leading a team of people to deliver impact for our beneficiaries. GI: Is there a specific project at Mind that you are most proud of? KM: It’s difficult to single out just one. I’m proud of the work we have done with the Sport sector, especially our four-year partnership with the English Football League (EFL) which ended in 2022 and saw us raise mental health awareness with millions of football fans across the country and deliver local projects to support people’s mental health to improve through physical activity. Our Time to Change campaign, which we managed alongside Rethink, ran for nearly a decade and we supported Time to Change champions in local communities to use their lived experience of mental health problems to tackle mental health stigma and change attitudes to mental health across society. That was a game changing campaign, I think. And we’ve also supported thousands of people to set up and access local mental health peer support services where they live. GI: Can you tell us about your early career which led you to becoming the Director of Networks and Communities at Mind? KM: One of my earliest jobs was as a home care worker. I then worked for a charity for people with learning difficulties. I discovered that I was comfortable and happy working with people, and especially people who can find themselves less valued in society or ignored and disadvantaged. That led to me studying a social work qualification and then an MA in Applied Social Studies. Since then, my career has been forged in charities, working in a variety of roles, on the frontline locally, before taking on more national, development and leadership roles. In my studies I specialised in mental health so the opportunity to work for Mind excited me enormously GI: What are some of your proudest accomplishments at Mind or any other milestones in your career? How about outside of work? KM: When I started working for Mind in 2013 mental health was much less talked about in society and there was a lot of stigma surrounding it. I’m proud to have been part of a movement that has helped change that and bring mental health more in to the open. And I’m particularly proud of how we have worked together as a network of organisations to increase our income to reach more people through our services year on year. Throughout my career I’ve prioritised gaining practical experience alongside more formal education. I think my social work qualification was a key milestone in supporting me to move forward into a career where my personal and professional values aligned. GI: You were also Deputy Chief Executive at Action for Advocacy, can you tell us more about it and about your role? KM: When I trained as a Social Worker my student placements were in statutory social care services. They did amazing work, but I remember thinking that wasn’t for me. The system back then seemed at breaking point, workers were constrained and so often the voices, needs and rights of the people the system was meant to be working for were ignored. So, I became a health and social care advocate. I stood alongside people in need of, or using, health and social care services, to advocate and support them to make choices and for their voices to be heard. Most advocacy services were provided by local charities, including local Minds as it happens. Action for Advocacy was established to support that network of advocacy providers with information, development support, training, and events, and we also did policy work to promote advocacy to funders and policy makers. As Deputy Chief Executive I oversaw all our policy, training and communications work. GI: Do you have any inspirations or experiences that drives you in your line of work? KM: People inspire me. Some people experience terrible hardship and disadvantage and that inspires and motivates me to make changes so that their voices can be heard, and they have the right to live a full life. Many people have amazing and inspiring stories to tell about their own lived experience and what they have overcome. If I have spent too long in front of the computer, I know I only must go to visit one of our local Mind services to be inspired by how they help bring people together and support real change in people’s lives through their work. I’m also incredibly hopeful and inspired by younger people. I was a Scout Leader for ten years and am a big champion of our work to support young people’s mental health. We have a Youth Voice Network who engage with Mind to help us develop our work and have met some amazing and talented future leaders. GI: Are there any campaigns or work you are doing currently you would like to tell us about? KM: Despite lots of positives around the mental health cause in recent years, it is now an incredibly challenging environment, and we know there is still a long way to go before we can say everyone with a mental health problem gets support and respect. We know that mental health is increasing and becoming more complex and yet the Cost-of-Living crisis is putting funding pressures on services. We know people experiencing poverty need support for their mental health and there remains enormous inequity of access, treatment, and support for people from racialised communities. Over the coming years we will be working hard to ensure services and support are accessible to all and reaching those that need our support the most. We will also be increasing our focus on supporting the mental health needs of young people through our work locally.

Co-Founder of Migrants4Labour, Community Engagement Manager and supporter for women and girls facing violence and domestic abuse, Go Inspire UK was lucky to have the opportunity to speak to Marcela Benedetti. We learn about her life before moving to London, and her experiences and work whilst living here over the past 15 years which are all truly inspiring. Go Inspire: How did you get involved in a big national charity specialising in domestic abuse? Marcela Benedetti: When I moved to South West London 15 years ago, I didn’t speak English. I was a qualified lawyer in South America - but I didn’t know where or how to start looking for employment here. My first job was as a Spanish-speaking volunteer in LAWRS (Latin American Women’s Rights Service) where I made lifelong friends, improved my English and found the confidence to apply for my first paid job in the UK. Every job I have ever had has involved helping vulnerable people – my passion. I quickly specialised in supporting victims/survivors of domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG). It was a big step to work for a large national domestic abuse charity - but there I was able to develop my career and learn other skills, all the time while focusing primarily on supporting vulnerable women. Currently I am a Community Engagement Manager whose work takes all over London, while also freelancing in the VAWG sector and undertaking various voluntary roles, including as a trustee. GI: What does a normal working day look like for you? MB: There is no such thing as a typical working day! The common factor is that I love doing everything I do. With my portfolio career of paid jobs and voluntary roles, I spend some days at the charity’s head office in central London, some days I work from home and on others I visit different services right across London. This is also true for my voluntary roles: I like meeting other volunteers face-to-face over a coffee when I can, but generally these meetings are online. GI: How on earth do you have time for your political life? MB: My children (I have a son, a stepson and a stepdaughter) are all grown up now so politics takes over my evenings and weekends, as well as the odd weekday when I am not working. Most weekends I spend at least one morning canvassing with members of the Labour Party in Wimbledon. I love meeting people on the doorstep and finding out the issues they are interested in and how I can help! I also campaign all over London and outside the capital during elections. GI: How do you support women experiencing domestic abuse - especially in your role as Community Engagement Manager? MB: I would say that community engagement is one of my strengths as I am good at bringing people together to support each other – it is all about helping them make useful connections. Currently I’m working on a project that helps women and children integrate in their new environment after fleeing abuse. Families who escape domestic abuse often leave their homes with nothing and have to start over in a new location. That is extremely challenging as it means new schools, a new job, new friends, new everything. Our project helps them to learn about all the opportunities in their new area and hopefully helps them to adjust to a new life free from abuse. GI: How did you get to your position today? MB: As a migrant woman who arrived in the UK as an adult and speaking no English, getting a foothold in the job market was not that easy. Often migrants’ qualifications – including university degrees - are not recognised here, and we have to start from scratch, as was the case with me. I heard about the Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS), and luckily I was able to volunteer there while doing a Masters degree at the University of London. With this under my belt I began my career in the VAWG sector, and my experience in community engagement, including as a civil society leader advising City Hall, equipped me perfectly for my current position with the national charity. GI: Do you feel there is enough protection in place from the government and other organisations to protect women? MB:We have come a long way from when I started working in the sector, almost 16 years ago. The Domestic Abuse Act was passed by parliament in 2021 and nowadays we see more discussion of the issues around violence against women and girls in general in the media – something that was almost completely ignored or treated as an afterthought when I first came to this country. But of course, much more has to be done, and we also need to be ever-vigilant to guard against the precious rights that women have fought for and won over many decades being rolled back. GI: Do you have any inspirations or experiences that drive you in your line of work? MB:When I was a baby, a military coup seized power in Argentina and my father was arrested because of his work as a lawyer defending political activists. Although, he was released after 69 days his arrest had a major impact in our family as you can imagine We had to relocate to a small city in the countryside where I grew up. I vividly remember as a child a big street party which marked the return of democracy to Argentina in 1983. My parents never hid their experience from my siblings and me (I have three brothers and a sister) and we grew up knowing that democracy must be valued like the most precious jewel. I knew from a very early age I wanted to be involved in politics and to help people. GI: What is your message for those who need to access support having experienced domestic abuse? MB: If you think you are experiencing abuse in any form, please reach out. A range of organisations are there to support you. GI: Why should people join workplace unions/unions in general if you feel that they should? MB: Unions are an essential part of a democratic society: in the workplace, as in so may other places, we are stronger when we speak together than as a lone voice. Joining a union can lead to higher pay, better workplace benefits and increased respect from employers. Unions fight bullying and discrimination at work, promote health and safety and provide legal advice. I strongly recommend joining a union. I am a proud member of Unison, which has the highest number of women members of any union in the country. GI: With your hectic life in work and politics, how do you find time for yourself? MB: It’s hard – but I manage! Like many people I relax in front of TV box sets (current favourites include Strictly Come Dancing, Succession and The Marvelous Mrs Maisel.) I love going for long walks with my husband in the parks in SW London where we live. I enjoy watching football and I had tears of joy in my eyes when Argentina won the World Cup last December. When I can, I like to travel. I enjoy reading and always have a book on the go. I try my best to have as healthy a lifestyle as possible – with a routine aimed at boosting wellbeing.

Carly Rowena is a Personal Trainer among various other jobs, who shares and supports her local and online community with tons of inspiring content. From wellness support, meditation, motherhood antics, sex and relationships advice and her daily work with clients and content creation online - she is a very busy lady with a lot to tell. Go Inspire UK were very excited to learn about all the brilliant work Carly does every day. Go Inspire: How would you describe yourself to our audience? What is a normal day like for you? Carly Rowena: I’m a Personal Trainer, Author, Online Creator, Breathwork, Meditation and Retreat Facilitator, aka - a mouthful. A normal day for me is scheduled around creating content, filming, editing, speaking to clients, coming up with creative briefs and attending meetings, it’s one big juggle and no two days are the same. GI: Tell us about your online presence? What do you do as a content creator and wellness coach? CR: I love being online, what started out as personal training has now adapted to include a more 360 of wellness, sex and relationships, motherhood, daily routines, honesty and workouts. I aspire to be honest, to share the good, the bad and that inevitably, life is not always easy but if you put steps in place you can live happier than you ever imagined. GI: How did you get into doing this? CR: At 24 I was working in marketing within the motor trade, I had a good job but I was miserable, I didn’t know what I wanted to be and was unsure of my own passions. So I started filming YouTube videos on different subjects hoping to find what inspired me, as my videos increased so did my following and over time people started messaging me to say they thought i’d make a great personal trainer - I never imagined that being my job but as soon as it was mentioned I was inspired. So while working full time I did courses to get qualified, then I told myself that if I could make myself fully booked for a month, I’d quit my job - I did and the rest is history! GI: So our audience can understand your content a bit more, can you tell us about the topics you post online about? CR: I love posting about wellness in a 360 approach because it’s not just one thing. I love to share workouts that not only push your body but boost your mood. I talk about motherhood in an honest approach - I don’t think everyone needs to have children, it doesn’t make you a better human but it’s the route I have taken and I love to share both sides. I also talk sex and relationships in an open but no vulgar way, to inspire confidence and make others feel less alone in whatever is happening in their life. GI: You’ve also been quite busy creating. Can you tell us about your first book, ‘My Beautiful Body’? CR: I wrote My Beautiful body during lockdown as a passion project for my daughter, Jax. I hated the idea that one day she will come home and tell me that someone has commented on her appearance negatively, so I wanted to write a book to show her that she is more than her looks, that her body is her home and her best friend too. GI: And what brought you from writing a new book to creating your app ‘Moodment’? Can you also tell us more about your app? CR: Moodment came to life after lockdown (although I wish I had managed to create it before). Like so many I wanted to support my community during covid and so started teaching 3 live classes per week, we had hundreds of people in each class and it was such a special experience but what I noted was the mood of everyone, we would chat before and after the classes and I realised how out of touch we all were from how we were truly feeling. So I wanted to create an app where we moved, meditated, journalled, and listened to playlists that were suited to the mood we were experiencing. Moodment is honest, it can help boost the mood you’re in or help you lean into a mood you’d like to be. It has an incredible community, yoga, hypnosis, workouts, 3 live workshops per month and daily and monthly challenges - with prizes, I am so inspired by what we have created. GI: What was it like to run retreats across the world? Was there anywhere in particular that stuck out to you? CR: Kilimanjaro, what an experience - the people that came on that retreat all still speak to this day. I started hosting retreats selfishly because I didn’t have friends that wanted to do what I wanted to do - so I decided to create them. I love being a personal trainer but real change comes when you take people out of their daily routine and show them what they’re capable of when there is like minded people and no distractions GI: Sustainability is also something you talk about a lot, what actions do you take to stay sustainable? CR: I know my daughter is not growing up in the world that I grew up in and it saddens me, I don’t know what future I or she has so we make simple steps everyday to try and leave as little footprint as possible. We focus around small steps, lights off, not leaving water running, any excess water use for the plants, recycling, reusing paper for arts and crafts. We swap clothes and toys, walk as often as we can and car share with friends. I also invested in Green Pixie, a company reducing cloud emissions worldwide. GI: What is it like to balance it with a family and travelling - I saw that you travel in a converted van? CR: We love travelling, memories and experiences are why I work so hard. Don’t get me wrong it’s not all epic playlists and amazing hikes, it takes more planning when you travel with children but it’s totally possible and so worth it - seeing the world through young eyes is such a beautiful reminder to be present. GI: Do you have any upcoming projects you would like to speak about? CR: We’re moving to Costa Rica, with a 4 year old, 9 year old dog and newborn - so stay tuned for the big adventure!

At 15 years old Anjali Raman-Middleton started protesting for climate justice. Not long after she noticed a gap in young people attending clean air events. Now Anjali is the Co-Founder of Choked Up, a youth led London organisation "elevating young black and brown voices in the environmental movement." Go Inspire UK spoke to her about her advocacy and why everyone in the UK deserves the right to breathe clean air. Go Inspire: To start off with, tell us a bit about you and what you were doing before co-founding Choked Up UK? Anjali: I started campaigning for climate justice in 2019 when I was fifteen years old. The school strike movement showed me just how powerful young people could be and how important it was that we take action. I ended up getting involved with UKSCN and helped organise the London strikes, most notably the September 2019 strike. The YouthStrike4Climate movement was definitely what got me passionate about climate justice and introduced me to the idea of running campaigns. GI: When did you decide it was time to start speaking up about Air Pollution in your area and across London? ARM: I started attending clean air events with Rosamund Kissi Debrah before I started Choked Up, and I realised that there were basically no young people at any of these events, most of which were about young people’s health, and I thought that this was so wrong. Young people needed to be part of this conversation about our health. So I decided that I needed to speak out about the polluted air I was breathing and give a voice to the young people living with dirty air. GI: There’s a lot online about your ‘Pollution Signs’ in particular. What was it like coming up and then putting those signs out in public? What sort of reactions did it get? ARM: It was so incredible to put up our ‘Pollution Signs’. We’d been working on them for so long and it was just amazing to have them out in the world where everyone could see them. I remember people initially thought that they were signs put up by the council, which was quite cool. There were a lot of people who were very supportive of them and the message we were putting out, but there were equally a lot of people who called us divisive for mentioning race, arguing that everyone breathes the same air and therefore there is no inequality. GI: Your charity is aimed specifically at ethnically diverse neighbourhoods because they are ones most affected by air pollution. What is your experience of this? And why does it happen with these specific areas and communities? ARM: When people from ex-colonies immigrated to the UK in 1940s-1960s, they experienced institutionalized racism that effectively forced them into poverty. They also experienced housing discrimination that kept them from moving into more affluent areas. These factors forced them into poorer and less desirable areas, which were often located by busy roads that people did not want to live on, away from green space. These areas were obviously more polluted, resulting in Londoners of colour today breathing, on average, 27% more air pollution than their white counterparts. GI: What do we need to do to dramatically reduce the air pollution in these areas? ARM: National government needs to take real action on air pollution. The current targets just aren’t good enough - we need World Health Organisation air quality targets and they need to be legally binding. We also need investment into local government, making sure that areas with the worst pollution receive the greatest investment. Our response to the air pollution crisis must be locally-based and community led, prioritising the voices of those most affected. The solution to traffic pollution is not the same as the solution to wood burning, so we need to give local government the room to devise their own solutions. GI: How was Choked Up UK set up? And whose part of it… ARM: We all met whilst doing the Fellowship program at The Advocacy Academy. They supported us in creating the campaign, by teaching about key principles of campaigning, social justice, and movement building. There are only three of us in the campaign at the moment, but we’re hoping to take on some new volunteers soon! We’re all young people of colour, who grew up in South London in highly polluted areas. We were all in sixth form when we started the campaign. GI: How do you see these communities 5, 10 or even 20 years into the future if you and many other people continue to reduce and fight against air pollution? How do you see it if we don’t? ARM: Everyone will be able to breathe. It means lives saved and inequality reduced. I hope that people’s relationship with nature will also be improved as investment into urban planting projects increases and the amount of traffic on our streets decreases. I see people’s lives as less defined by the roads they live next to. GI: What advice would you give to young people of colour in urban areas facing the same issue in the UK to start campaigns like yours? ARM: Find other people who are passionate about the same thing as you and work with them. Campaigning cannot be done alone. You need people who can support you and brainstorm ideas with you. You also need to be specific and realistic. What specific issue do you want to change? How likely is this to change? Lastly, don’t be disheartened when you don’t see changes immediately. Always remember change is slow and difficult, but if we give up it’ll never happen.

Original Six the Musical West End actress Jarnéia Richard-Noel has been running all over the theatre and music scene in London. Starring as Catherine Howard in Six the Musical for over 3 years and joining music girl group SVN just after the covid lockdown, Go Inspire UK managed to catch up with Jarnéia to see what else she is up to. Go Inspire UK: In a sentence, how would you describe being a theatre actress? Jaye'J: One big emotional rollercoaster! It's not easy at all, the resilience you build is like no other but it's so magical and it's the place I feel most at home. GI: Throughout your career, you’ve been in many productions, but Six was one of your longest - what was it like playing Catherine of Aragon? And why did you stay in that specific role for so long? Jaye'J: Playing The Queen Herself ‘Catherine of Aragon’ was a total honour and to play her for so long, and originate a role so early into my career were dreams I haven’t dreamt of yet. I just couldn’t believe it was all happening so soon. Aragon was a firecracker - her strength & resilience as a leader of the country alongside Henry 8th - and to play such a fearless woman, I had a ball and her song ‘No Way’ in the musical is a huge bop! I think I stayed doing the role as I just felt whatever I needed to learn as a woman and a performer I still had time to do that in this show. When I left I felt I got everything I needed from it and more! Not only that, but what a beautiful story to tell every night with 5 other amazing humans as well as the all-female band. The reaction to this show is like no other and the impact it has had on so many is so special. I enjoyed living in that every night! GI: What was it like taking that long break throughout covid once the theatres had shut down? Do you think theatres have returned back to normal? And do you think you and your experience as an actress changed? Jaye'J: Honestly, I was happy to have a break. It came at a time when I actually just needed a breather from work, life, relationships etc. So at first, I thought a couple of months off was lovely. However, seeing how covid drastically changed our industry and really put us all in positions of uncertainty if theatre will ever be the same, was heartbreaking. We were one of the last industries to get back on our feet as so many rules conflicted with having audiences back in the theatre and how we would all work backstage. Six at the time was one of the first shows to open back up socially distanced. The joy of being back with my work family and having audiences coming to escape to the theatre to forget about normal lives and the world we were living in at the time - the feeling and emotions were so overwhelming! It made being a performer that much more special than it already was. I would say theatre has finally returned back to normal with some adjustments kept but it definitely took some time. Jaye'J: The whole of 2021 and most of 2022 was trying to navigate keeping performers, backstage crew, and FOH workers safe and covid free in all shows around the UK, but obviously people did catch covid. You had people in the company playing roles they’ve never played before, hiring extra cast and crew for extra cover, swings and understudies on more than ever before, and Dance Captains re-blocking the shows every day. Sometimes having to close the shows and reopen them in a couple of weeks due to people catching covid and the rules at the time. It was draining but everyone did their best and always put on the best show for the audiences whilst keeping them safe also. It definitely changed my experience as an actress, coming back to an 8/9 show week whilst having 8 months if not more off was crazy. The stamina just wasn’t the same, especially if you caught covid it really can have an effect on the body & voice so that was something new to work with. I also didn’t think I'd be a swing in my career as I didn’t think I had the brain for it - but joining Hairspray UK tour so late on for extra cover as a swing for dynamites was challenging as I learnt the whole show in a week but I’m super grateful for that experience. GI: You’ve recently starred in Millenials at The Other Palace, what was that like? Jaye'J: One of the most fun jobs I have ever done! Number 1, Elliot Clay is a sensation and these songs were absolutely beautiful and hilarious. Number 2, I performed on an avocado stage with a trampoline in the middle for 4/5 weeks, I mean how cool! Number 3, I worked with the most amazingly talented humans whose storytelling was incredible every night. It was such a small quirky space only holding 100 audience members but it made it so intimate and really got the message across of being a ‘millennial’ and how being together is better than being alone. GI: What was the experience of working on a brand-new production like that? Jaye'J: I do love stepping into a new show. Even though there were two casts before me, the song cycle show still had more to develop which was amazing to be a part of. When my cast joined we had new choreography by the amazing Tinovimbanashe Sibanda. It was directed by Hannah Benson who allowed to have our own spin on it and have our own interpretation of what the characters might have gone through in their songs. Also, the audience's buzz to new writing & music is so liberating. Such wonderful humans came every night and really connected with this show. A rollercoaster of tears, laughter, fun, understanding, and unity all in one 60 mins show with a short interval. I loved it and wish I could have been in it for longer. GI: You also returned to Six to record the filmed production. Although not your first time on camera, what was it like filming the show? Jaye'J: It was my first time filming a movie though, how wild to say. The whole month of June 2022 had rehearsals to performing at Hampton Court then back into rehearsals to make slight changes and spacing for the movie, and certain camera shots. To then film it in a week and have x4 live audiences at the Pro Shot was probably my most proudest and also surrealist moment of my career. Doing the show with the girls again, my sisters, was unreal! We last did it all together in 2019, it’s like we needed to do it together one last time. I can’t explain fully how I felt doing it. I just couldn’t believe it was happening and the whole team we filmed with were just amazing! GI: What is your normal routine in preparation for the roles you have played? Jaye'J: It’s hard to say because every show I’ve done has been very different. So I don’t think I have a set routine to prepare for the roles. A lot of the time everything happens so quickly so during the rehearsals is where I really get to know my character. On stage is where everything settles and I can explore more organically with the adrenaline of the audience what my character would actually do. GI: How did you start out in theatre acting? Jaye'J: Since the age of 4 my mum and nan put me into my local dance school, ‘Chaplins Stage School’ in Northampton. From there I trained in BTDA ballet, jazz, tap and also did performing arts, singing classes, gymnastics and as I got older started training in Street/Hip-Hop/Commercial Classes. I always wanted to be a performer since I was a little girl. I wanted to be Beyonce, I mean who doesn’t? I stopped everything from the age of 14 until I decided to do the BTEC Dance Diploma Course at Northampton College 2011-2013. I didn’t actually go into musical theatre until I was 19 when I trained at The Urdang Academy on the foundation course & then did the 3-year dance & musical theatre diploma course and graduated in 2017. From there I have the best agent, Leagh Hicks Associates and the rest has been wonderful! At times very hard and with alot of No’s but I’m super grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had. GI: What advice would you give to newer theatre actors - especially those who may have had a long period away from education or work? Jaye'J: The resilience you need for this industry is no joke. When you don’t book a job that isn’t always based on your talent. There are many other factors casting directors are looking for. So don’t let it get you down. Know what you bring to the table and keep focused and pushing towards what you want. Be kind to everyone you work with or have taught you in training just because - but also because those people can recommend you for further jobs in the future. Your reputation matters and it doesn’t cost to be kind. It's not easy and sometimes you might want to give up but don’t! There is something out there for you. GI: You are also part of the girl group SVN - how would you describe your music? Jaye'J: Yes, my wonderful girls. SVN, I’m so glad we started this in 2020 as I’ve always loved making my own music but doing it with these women is the most organic process. We are all on the same page of how we want our music to be etc. I would say it's a fusion of pop meets R&B, meets reggaeton, meets dancehall. We all come from different backgrounds and I think that shows in our music. We also are heavy on making our music positive, meaningful and include every human out there to make them feel loved, accepted and heard. We have recently dropped a new Christmas Single ‘At Christmas’ which is available on all platforms and we have collaborated with ‘Refuge Charity’ for their Christmas Appeal. Please donate whatever you can for such an amazing charity. GI: What was it like performing at the O2 Academy Islington? Jaye'J: Nothing can beat this day, nothing! It was the most magical out-of-body experience, I was literally smiling so hard the whole way through the show. The love, energy and support we had in that room was electric. The effort we made to put on this show was huge and to have that energy reciprocated from our friends, family and fans that night was just insane. I'm ready to do that again and again and again. So proud of all my SVN girls and the dancers we had that night too and everyone who was involved, just proud of us all! Even though we have done SVN shows before I think this is the first one where we did the most original tracks. To have them sing all the words back to us so loudly as well, blew my mind. These are things little 5 year old Jarnéia has dreamt of, a huge pinch-me moment! Twitter: @_jrichardnoel Instagram: @jrichardnoel Music: https://svnldn.com Photography by Laura Pink Art Direction by Marina Sardanopoli Article by Chelsea Abbott

After 20 years of tireless work for women’s rights, Farah Nazeer became CEO of Women’s Aid in March 2021. She spoke to Go Inspire UK about some of her most significant accomplishments, and her drive to end domestic violence for women. Go Inspire: Can you explain what Women’s Aid do and about your role as CEO? Farah Nazeer: Women’s Aid is the national charity working to end domestic abuse against women and children. As a national federation of just under 170 local domestic abuse organisations throughout England, we provide nearly 300 local lifesaving services to women and children. Our support services help thousands of women and children every year and we provide expert training to a range of agencies and professionals working with survivors. We also work to change attitudes, hearts and minds. We campaign to achieve change in policy, practice and awareness, educating the public on healthy relationships and helping to build a future where domestic abuse is no longer tolerated. My role as CEO is to represent and campaign on behalf of these vital services, and on behalf of survivors of abuse. It is a role I take incredibly seriously, and feel privileged to do. GI: Can you tell us about your early career which led you to becoming the CEO of Women’s Aid? Prior to working at Women’s Aid, I served on the senior leadership team at Action Aid UK, working to end gender-based violence and ensure women’s economic rights. I have also worked at Bond, the Motor Neurone Disease Association and the Women’s Institute. I was a local authority councillor for almost a decade working on local service provision, health, environment, and accountability. I’ve always been passionate about women’s rights, and working to end violence against women and children, so I was extremely proud to join Women’s Aid, a feminist and survivor-centered organisation. GI: How would you describe your career? What would a normal day look like for you? There is no typical day in my job- and there are never enough hours in the day! I work across a range of issues, which help survivors on their journeys to safety, as well as working towards a future where domestic abuse is completely intolerable. Whether it’s speaking at events, meeting with our amazing member services or campaigning for policy and attitudinal change, survivors’ voices and needs drive everything I do. I’m extremely proud of the power of our federation to work together to achieve real change for women and children. As we head towards Women’s Aid’s 50th birthday in 2024, I’m hopeful of how we can bring people together to reduce the level of domestic abuse in the future, and awareness-raising and myth-busting is a big part of this. We know that by challenging attitudes and educating young people, we can make a positive difference. GI: What drives you in this line of work? First and foremost, I’m inspired every day by the survivors we work with: their incredible strength and courage give me the drive to keep going. I’m also motivated by the women I work with at Women’s Aid, including in our local member organisations up and down the country. These hard-working women deliver lifesaving services on a shoestring budget- they run on passion and determination. Their commitment and dedication inspire me to do all I can to help both survivors and the services that support them. I am a feminist, passionate about women’s rights, and am so proud of our achievements so far at Women’s Aid, but I know there is a long way to go before domestic abuse is intolerable in our society. That in itself drives me to keep going. GI: You've also worked in many other places in your career - could you explain some of your other roles? I served on the leadership team at Action Aid, leading on advocacy and influencing. My focus was on ending violence against women and girls in some of the most marginalised communities in the world, including working to end gender-based violence in the work place. At the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association, I advocated for the rights of people with MND, to improve access to provision. My time as councillor in East London gave me a clear understanding of the structural causes of poverty, often compounded by discrimination and poor policy and provision decisions. My career experience has encouraged me to do all I can to achieve real change for women and children. GI: Specifically, I saw your work in the Czech Republic, could you expand on your work there? I worked in the Czech Republic as Romany Rights Manager for European Dialogue, focusing on the rights and access to services and opportunities for Romany women. This included delivering European Commission-funded empowerment projects for Romany Women and young people, and working closely with communities to ensure the programmes delivered for Romany women responded to their specific needs, ensuring their voices were fully centred. I also did part of my degree in the Czech Republic, focusing on the rights of Romany women. GI: You say, and have done a lot of work on women’s rights - is there specific areas you focus on in particular? Why do you think this is an important issue? Every woman has a right to live a life free of violence and fear. Currently, 1.6 million women in England and Wales experience domestic abuse a year, although that’s only the tip of the iceberg, as not all women report abuse. Domestic abuse is evident in the news every single day- yet it seems to be more of an ‘acceptable’ crime in society. Things must change. We know that misogyny and gender inequality are at the root of all violence against women, which is why changing public attitudes and challenging stereotypical gender roles is so important. Everyone has a role to play in ending domestic abuse and we can all make a difference. I also advocate for the rights of Black and minoritised women, whose voices are so often not heard. Every survivor faces challenges to reporting abuse and getting justice, but for Black, minoritised and migrant women, the barriers can be so much greater. GI: What could readers to do campaign and support causes like Women’s Aid, or the WI - or even raise awareness of women’s rights? You can follow and support Women’s Aid’s social media channels, become a Women’s Aid campaigner or fundraise for the cause. As part of our Come Together to End Domestic Abuse campaign, we suggest five things that everyone can do to help end domestic abuse, which includes ideas like holding a fundraising event, and dispelling sexist myths in your everyday life. You can use your social media to raise awareness of women’s rights, and talk to friends, family and colleagues. Call out sexism when you can. There are so many ways we can all raise awareness. GI: What would you recommend for people who want to educate themselves more on women's rights? You can follow women’s rights’ organisations on social media, read the information on their websites and share and support their campaigns. GI: On Twitter, you say you are passionate about the environment and civic space - could you outline a bit more about what they mean to you? Just as we all have a responsibility to help end domestic abuse, we all have our part to play in respecting the environment and the world we live in. When it comes to the environment and climate change, the consequences of not taking action to protect them will be devastating, and as ever will be felt most acutely by the poorest, most marginalised people, most of whom are women. Civic space ensures the right to protest and comment, and many of the rights women now have were born of struggle. If individuals and organisations find they are unable to peacefully protest, I believe that compromises our rights and our democracy. I believe in the principles of sharing of power and accountable collaboration. We all have a responsibility to each other. As a federation of 168 members, at Women’s Aid we know that working together is key to achieving the change we want to see. We regularly collaborate with organisations in our sector, to influence and bring about policy change. We are stronger together, so we must all must play our part. GI: Do you have any advice for women looking to further careers in any of the jobs you've worked in, or further their activism? Be ambitious, passionate, be yourself and believe in yourself. Know what drives you and what your mission is. Be bold and humble. Reach out to women in positions you admire and look into mentoring schemes. In terms of activism, I’d say keeping survivors/victims’ voices at the heart of what you do is key- listen to their needs, what matters to them most, and use that to drive your campaigning. GI: What are some of your proudest accomplishments at Women’s Aid or any other milestones in your career? How about outside of work? I was immensely proud to join Women’s Aid last year, which involved steering the charity through the unprecedented rise in demand for domestic abuse services presented by the Covid-19 pandemic. It was a challenging time for the sector, but thanks to the hard work, passion and determination of our staff, Women’s Aid transitioned through a period of significant growth. I continue to be proud every day to be part of a feminist organisation dedicated to serving and supporting survivors of domestic abuse. Whether it’s through research, campaigning or the delivery of vital services, our federation is helping to save lives every day. That makes me immensely proud. I’m also a very proud mum. I want to do all I can to ensure the world is a safer place for all of our children to grow up in. womensaid.org.uk Instagram: @womens_aid Twitter: @FarahNazeer Photography by Laura Pink Styling/Direction by Marina Sardanopoli Fashion by Trace Collective Article by Chelsea Abbott