HRH The Prince of Wales recently hosted a special reception at Clarence House in London where he met supporters as well as young people aged 25-35 helped through Mosaic’s International Leadership Programme (ILP).

The event saw Mosaic, founded by His Royal Highness in 2007, present The Prince with a report detailing the success of the 2015 ILP, which aims to develop global leadership skills, inspire thinking about global issues and equip young people to become involved in their local communities.

A number of the 80 delegates from the 2015 ILP were in attendance, sharing their personal stories with His Royal Highness before meeting many of Mosaic’s supporters and sponsors including Her Royal Highness Princess Badiya El Hassan bin Talal, Mosaic’s Founder Chairman, His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Mosaic’s newest Board Member and Othman Moqbel, CEO of Human Appeal.

The International Leadership Programme operates in 18 countries with delegates using their training to establish a diverse range of projects in key areas including fighting global poverty, sustainability & climate change and bringing communities together.

Jonathan Freeman, Managing Director of Mosaic, said: “The success of our International Leadership Programme is a source of great pride to everyone at Mosaic. It was extremely inspiring to hear the incredible stories from delegates around the world who are all making such a positive contribution in their communities.”

Debra Hay, Head of International at Mosaic, said: “We are delighted to have been able to tell The Prince of Wales more about the success of our international work and to showcase the amazing results of our International Leadership programme. I’d like to thank all of our supporters and partners, without whom the programme simply could not run.”

It was announced at the Clarence House reception that the 2016 ILP Summit will take place in Abu Dhabi in November, kicking off another year of inspirational work led by young people around the world.

A few of the many ILP 2015 successes

Aminul Hoque, a 27-year old from London and one of five UK delegates on the ILP, is currently Head of Operations for Al Isharah, a charity committed to making everyday activities accessible for the deaf and hard of hearing. With his learnings from the ILP, Aminul has already successfully secured funding and delivered a range of summer activities – from a mix of indoor and outdoor activities including sports outings to special day trips and a peer mentoring session – over a five-week period focusing on young people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Morad Alqadi, a Community Outreach Manager for Mercy Corps, an international development organisation that helps people around the world survive and thrive after conflict, crisis and natural disaster.

Following his participation in the ILP 2015 Summit, Morad decided to support community integration across Jordan. As part of his action plan, Morad conducted a series of leadership and conflict management workshops in various cities across the country, targeting Jordanian and Syrian activists, influential men, and women and young people.

Javid Shahmaliyev from Azerbaijan was one of the ILP delegates present at the event. He was supported by Tahir Taghizadeh, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to the UK.

Javid used experience gained on the ILP to focus on the discussion of gender issues, particularly selective abortion of which Azerbaijan has one of the highest rates in the world, by visiting 20 local mosques across five different regions in his home country.

Ravza Altuntas Çakir from Turkey was inspired by the ILP to create a catering business for female Syrian refugees in Turkey, enabling their economic and social integration into Turkish society. Using the skills developed during the ILP, particularly strategic thinking and effective communication, Ravza approached governmental and non-governmental organisations to ask for support in setting up the Al Shami Kitchen in Izmit.

Mosaic’s International Leadership Programme is backed by a number of supporting and partner organisations including King Abdullah II Fund For Development, The European Azerbaijan Society, The Arab Bank, Jordan Phosphate Mines Company, Zain, UK Aid from the British People, Prudence Foundation, Inclusive Ventures Group , Kamal Exchange, Qatar Shell and Crescent Petroleum.