Haleema Ali 

I am an artist, curator and educator - using creativity as a form of activism, to inspire social change. My projects, such as exhibitions I curated on human rights and knife crime, have featured on BBC News. I am also a public speaker and great communicator, appearing on BBC radio, TV, various podcasts and media appearances, as a spokesperson on topics around social change and justice. I can work independently as a self-starter, as well as effectively in a team, by managing volunteers on a regular basis. I manage my own budget effectively and seek funding or sponsorships for events. I liaise with multiple stakeholders to curate ‘artivism’ events, such as ‘22 Seconds To Murder’, an artistic project I founded, fusing art, performances, panel discussion and martial arts to raise awareness on knife crime. I also produce creative workshops for young people, on topics such as climate justice.
Experience in visual art such as: graphic designer, henna art and painting.
My current projects include: Postcode Love, Not War - tackling postcode wars and gangs, funded by Luton Council and a knife crime project, funded by the Violence Exploitation Reduction Unit, Bedfordshire Police.

Freelance

Bite Back 2030

Campaign Manager for Bite Back 2030, a youth-led charity co-founded by Jamie Oliver to help make the food system healthier and fairer. Covid-19 has only further served to highlight the injustices in the food system and sharpen the focus on the impact obesity has on health outcomes.  There is a political moment now to accelerate change. We believe young people are the key voice in driving this change in our food system.  Our Youth Board have already had campaign successes on a  range of issues including Free School Meals, a 9pm watershed on television junk food advertising and post-Brexit trade. 

I collaborate across our small and agile team, working closely with our young activists to develop campaigns that capture public imagination and secure impactful policy change. I help develop campaigns that galvanise a wide range of stakeholders and work closely with the communications, policy and digital teams to ensure our campaigns are youth-led, evidence-based and creative.  

Key responsibilities include:

-Research
-Strategy development
-Campaign planning: Identify key actions for different audiences to take that will influence change. Build a journey that will motivate these audiences to participate and continuously build engagement.
-Youth engagement: Work with our Youth Boards to develop their creative ideas and incorporate them into the campaign plan. Actively engage our youth supporters and ensure all campaigns are youth-led.
-Content support: Provide audience and campaign messaging expertise to help develop campaign content. Lead on the development of central pieces of campaign content, working in coordination with the mobilisation and communications teams.
-Creative thinking: Work with mobilisation and communications teams to translate policy needs/objectives into publicly engaging content/stunts/activations. 
-Campaign project management: Track team roles and responsibilities throughout campaign development and execution.

Campaign Manager

Luton Borough Council

I am one of the ten inaugural leaders. My work is focused around addressing barriers within the arts in the town, by conducting research and creating a best practice guide. 

Funded by Arts Council England, the Luton Creative Leaders programme will address the key barriers to accessing careers in the creative industries and enable diversity in local arts leadership. It offers a paid opportunity for ten people who will help shape local arts and culture and improve the representation of culturally and ethnically diverse and disadvantaged people in the local arts sector.

The ten leaders were chosen from a very competitive field of applicants from a diverse range of backgrounds. They represent the town’s black, Asian, Eastern European, mixed-race and white British communities and include representation from people identifying as LGBTQI, economically disadvantaged and disabled.

Between them, these leaders represent the performing arts, visual arts, craft, textiles, music and publishing sectors.

Creative Leader

UpRising Leadership

A communications role, with a key focus on digital marketing, written communication and event management. Duties have included drafting letters to stakeholders on behalf of an MP and the CEO, copywriting and producing content for the website and social media.  I work closely with the social media manager, helping design the content, such as Instagram Lives and planning our digital communications to suit the needs of our audiences. I produce regular newsletters for the young people in our alumni network and run their Linkedin Network, to keep them up to date with any opportunities. 
I have regular meetings with the CEO and senior leadership team to track what information needs to be sent to funders. I have also monetised the time of the organisation to speak on panel discussions to external audiences. 
I host and produce events tailored to alumni and young people, with a focus on bringing high profile speakers who have created social change, such as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords and activist Gina Martin, to help inspire the next generation of leaders.
I have helped the charity formulate a policy stance on important issues, such as the government’s race report and diversity and inclusion policies. I have been able to differentiate my own personal perspectives from what an organisation should say externally at public speaking engagements.

External Relations Officer

I managed a team of six alumni staff, as part of a commissioned short-term project to create and deliver a set of diversity and inclusion training for Our Bright Future’s youth forum and project staff, to tackle the lack of diversity within the environmental sector. I wrote the job description, helped recruit the staff and was their main point of contact during this process.

Diversity and Inclusion Trainer and Alumni manager

I coordinated youth leadership and environmental leadership programmes to help change the face of power, by equipping young people with skills and knowledge to become representative leaders. This involved creating sessions at various venues, liaising with colleagues in Bedford Borough Hall, communicating with speakers and organisations and ensuring the young people had a safe space, particularly in residentials and trips, such as visiting Bedfordshire Police Headquarters, to understand the power landscape at a local and regional level, as well as hearing about the role of the police, such as the Community Cohesion Team. At UpRising, I have displayed excellent IT skills, regularly using Salesforce, Canva, Zoom, Hangouts, Trello, Mural and the Google suite.

Youth Leadership Programme Coordinator 

Friends of the Earth

Public speaker at the The Art of Activism: Climate Solutions event, speaking on climate justice.

Public Speaker

Art workshop facilitator for My World My Home young people, designing art around the theme of climate change and climate justice, using sustainable and recycled materials.

Creative workshop facilitator on climate justice

Luton Sixth Form College

A pastoral role, providing mentoring to students on a one-to-one basis, as well as group sessions, to ensure their wellbeing during their time at college. I created and delivered sessions on PSHE topics, such as safeguarding and grooming. I helped students through any personal challenges which may have affected them on both a personal level and their education, as well as offering career advice, to help guide them through university, apprenticeship and job applications. The role was varied, from advising students on good interview techniques, to monitoring their attendance and speaking to parents if the student is struggling. There was a balance of administrative tasks and face-to-face interactions with young people. I monitored student attendance, grades and comments from staff about their academic progress, as well as being their first point of call for any personal matters, sign-posting them or referring them to the relevant services, such as the mental health team. I engaged with staff, students and their families to help them succeed.

Student Mentor and Form Tutor (Progress Coach)

Performer for a theatre piece for the Riot Act, People, Power Passion - a politically themed play artistically portraying injustice. I also devised some scenes, helping produce engaging and immersive moments with the audiences, addressing issues around racism, discrimination and Islamophobia.

Performing Artist

Luton Culture Trust

Freelance artist and event manager. Organised paid and voluntary arts and culture events and workshops and run an art exhibition on human rights.

Freelance Artist

Member of Parliament

Intern for the local MP, leading a political summer school and communicating with the MP’s staff on a regular basis. This role involved working with the MP and his team to guide the group of young people participating in the programme on a tour around parliament. I managed the team in the 'Save Our Town' campaign, a regeneration project to boost Luton's economy. We created a promotional campaign video, where I helped connect the team with key stakeholders and local businesses around Luton, as well as showcasing a large banner on the grounds of the Luton Town football match. We organised a fundraising event to help boost the campaign. I helped run the residential, where my duties ranged from cooking, cleaning and offering pastoral support to the participants. I also delivered my own workshop on presentation skills and student politics.

MP's Intern

The Prince's Trust

Coordinated several mentoring programmes for young people across London in deprived areas, to boost their confidence and employability skills, as well as connecting them with relatable role models. I managed various school relationships and worked with students and parents. Through this role, I was required to train and
manage multiple teams of professional mentors. I trained mentors in delivering sessions. I helped organise high-profile events for politicians, royalty and celebrities, such as Prince Charles and Sadiq Khan. I also hosted a graduation ceremony, showcasing my public speaking skills.

Education Executive

I'm a freelance artist, activist, campaigner and educator. I use creativity to inspire social change and currently hold the position of Creative Leader for my local Council. I've curated art exhibitions on human rights and knife crime which were both featured on BBC News. I deliver talks, training and creative workshops on topics ranging from Diversity and Inclusion to Climate Justice. My current projects are funded by Bedfordshire Police and Luton Council, addressing postcode wars and serious youth violence. 

I'm also a youth worker, passionate about inspiring the next generation of leaders. I'm currently the Campaign Manager for Bite Back 2030, co-founded by Jamie Oliver with the aim of creating a world where young people have the opportunity to be healthy, no matter where they live. I've taught students in a pupil referral unit, who were expelled from mainstream school, run mentoring programmes for the Prince's Trust, mentored young people myself, and run youth leadership and environmental programmes, as well as managing the external relations and comms for UpRising Leadership. I've interned for an MP, running a political summer school.

I'm  a member of several advisory and board groups, including a Police Scrutiny Panel, ensuring stop and searches are conducted in a fair and effective manner, Luton Sports Network and Next Generation Youth Theatre panel. 

I've had a varied career - I guess you can say, I wear multiple hats..or hijabs! I've worked in various industries, in the education, charity and art sector.

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