West Midlands Celebrates
West Midlands celebrates its Mosaic talent…..
On Thursday 8 July, Mosaic West Midlands celebrated a year of local delivery in the presence of guest of honour and Mosaic National Chairman, HRH Princess Badiya bint el Hassan of Jordan.
Guests were welcomed with drinks and canapés, courtesy of Mahir’s Experience caterers, in the stunning surroundings of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery’s Round Room Gallery. Ambient reception music was provided by talented students from Broadway School, Perry Barr; a school that has been benefitting from Mosaic programmes including Speakers Bureau and APAX Mosaic Enterprise Challenge, since November 2009!
Whilst enjoying the chance to network with local, regional and national Mosaic supporters guests were introduced to our guest of honour and Chairman who was making her first visit to Mosaic operations outside London since Mosaic was launched in late 2007. The event marked a milestone in the progress of Mosaic outside that city in which it all began, celebrating Mosaic’s exciting expansion nationally, not just in the West Midlands.
Guests were invited to Birmingham Council House’s Banqueting Suites for dinner and performances. Regional Leadership Group member and compere, Dr Haseena Lockhat, led guests through a showcase of young people’s talent , accompanied by a delicious three-course meal and a performance from Eastern Sunset, who opened the show with their unique sound, a fusion of Indian, Kurdish and Eqyptian music.
Mosaic aims to raise the aspirations, confidence and self-esteem of local young people to ensure they fulfil their potential. There was no better way to demonstrate this potential talent and the impact of Mosaic’s work than by hearing from students personally, and seeing them centre stage. Students from Al-Hijrah School and Harborne Hill School wowed the audience with a stunning performance of poetry and music, written and performed by each student, and under the working title Tapestry of Talent. The spellbinding piece was the result of 4 weeks of mentoring and inspiration from expert mentors, Faraz Yousafzai (Silk Road), Mohammed Imran and Stacey-Ann Henry (teachers and mentors from Al-Hijrah and Harborne Schools respectively), Matt Windle (Former Young Poet Laureate for Birmingham 2008/9 and artist), Jaskirt Dhaliwal (Visual Artist) and Romana Qureshi (Poet).
Our Mosaic Stars students, potential young leaders from within our schools, who have been working with us since April this year also put their talent to the test. Alina Mahmood, Dhenisa Chander, Nazia Hussain and Rabea Carrim Abdool from Handsworth Wood Girls School took to the stage to present on their experiences of Mosaic and their hopes for the future – demonstrating increased confidence and presentational skills! Fellow Stars, Hakeem Nawaz and Amir Makanvand from Lordswood Boys closed the evening with a dramatic UV drumming performance to end the night and the networking on a real high – and a great talking point!
This talent was matched by inspirational and challenging speeches from West Midlands Regional Leadership Group Co-Chairmen, Najma Hafeez and Dr Tahir Abbas; Mosaic Managing Director, John O’Brien and our Chairman, HRH Princess Badiya bint El Hassan of Jordan who called for action to
continue supporting Mosaic both with time and expertise and funding for the next 12 months and beyond!
What guests said:
“Well done on a very successful and inspiring dinner! I attended and really was inspired by everything I saw, which is why I'd like to volunteer as a mentor. “ Junior Doctor, Birmingham
“Your Mosaic students were incredible; I can’t believe the incredible skill of those young people!” Tariq Shah, Vigo Group, Chairman of Mosaic Yorkshire Regional leadership Team
“Genuinely brilliant night. Professional, moderate, inspiration focused and no over bloated speeches” Barrister, London
“It was a fabulous evening, with a sprinkling of everything. The real bonus for the military guests there was the side drumming at the end by the very talented cadets. I've seen something similar done before by army musicians and I can honestly say that anyone would be hard pressed to spot the difference; we very much look forward to continuing to work with Mosaic in the West Midlands.” – Major, Armed Forces