17
IMPACT | My Story Has Power
13
WWC PROFESSIONAL EVENTS HAVE TAKEN PLACE SO FAR
43
INTERNATIONAL ALUMNI HAVE VOLUNTEERED AS SPEAKERS
915
STUDENTS HAVE ATTENDED A WWC PROFESSIONAL EVENT
“MY STORY HAS POWER”
Through our Westminster Working Cultures Professional programme, international alumni are preparing students for the transition back to life in their home countries.
I
“
f you think you are too small to make an impact, lock yourself in a room with a mosquito and you’ll see what an impact such a small thing can have.” That’s what Edmilson Angelo (BA Politics and International Relations, 2016) tells people when they suggest one person can’t make significant change in the world. His charity, Change 1’s Life, began as a society at Westminster. “It started small,” he says. “The idea was simply to do something to combat poverty. So we put up posters around the University asking for people to donate things. And every time I travelled back home to Angola, I would pay for extra luggage and take the donations with me.” Eight years later, Edmilson is no longer just helping his neighbours. Now an official charity, Change 1’s Life employs hundreds of staff and volunteers across London, Paris and Angola, and is affecting the lives of over 3 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. Edmilson puts the success of the charity down to its transparency. “I have always been keen on doing something to help others,” he says. “So I started off donating to a charity. But the
more I looked into how charities work, the scandals and how they make a lot of money, I questioned whether I was doing the right thing. So I could either just stop giving to charity, or do it in the way that I thought was right. The purpose of Change 1’s Life is to develop practical, sustainable solutions to combat poverty. This is achieved by a number of projects taking place across the African continent.
WWC Professional is an online event series, which offers international students and recent graduates an opportunity to learn about the professional landscape and career opportunities in the global labour market. In particular, the events prepare international students for what to expect of the working culture in their home countries, when they return after graduation.
I AM WHO I AM BECAUSE OF WHAT I DID AT WESTMINSTER. “The idea is to be the change we want to see in the world, through inspiring young people to stand up for something bigger than themselves and be part of the solution for the many global problems that we have.” These words of inspiration are not going to waste. Despite his busy schedule – complete with running the charity, lecturing and completing his PhD – Edmilson has volunteered as a speaker on our Westminster Working Cultures (WWC) Professional programme.
Edmilson volunteered on our WWC Professional, Career Insights: Africa event, sharing his advice on how students can be a success in Angola and beyond. “Angola is a country that has been neglected in terms of social impact,” says Edmilson. Historically, he says, the working culture was very dependent on the state – but things are changing. “More and more, the working culture in Angola and the majority of Africa is about building. People are willing
