Promoting Inclusivity with KEEN UK
In its commitment to foster public-service oriented leaders, the Leadership Programme encourages first-year WHT Scholars to undertake a pro-bono project of their choice. Scholars are permitted to do this in Oxford, their home country or elsewhere, with the only requirement being that it involves engagement in unpaid public service. Many of our scholars embark on dynamic public service projects across the globe. Fizza Rahman (Oxford-Weidenfeld and Hoffmann) talks about her volunteering with KEEN, a UK-based NGO working towards inclusivity. Read about other pro-bono projects.
Nurturing public-service oriented leaders is an integral part of WHT’s Leadership Program. Throughout the year, the scholars are acquainted with seminal philosophical works to underscore the need for civic engagement and tangible impact. Having read and discussed the texts of Elizabeth Anderson and Anne Phillips on the equalities and egalitarianism during the Moral Philosophy Seminars, I was inspired to take up pro-bono work with KEEN, a UK-based NGO working towards inclusivity.
KEEN was set up in 1984 by John Simon, an Oxonian wanting to mitigate the lack of opportunities for individuals with special needs. I collaborated with KEEN on several projects. Together, we designed and piloted the first-ever Oxford-wide recruitment drive to engage volunteers and community buddies, with the aim of fostering 1-1 ‘near-peer’ friendships, reducing isolation, and promoting a sense of fraternity.
Further, in celebration of KEEN’s 35th Anniversary, we launched a UK-wide challenge, engaging universities, student groups, clubs, and societies from 12 different cities, to organize fundraisers for KEEN’s participants.
Additionally, I worked with the organization’s headship to plan, devise, and curate their National Strategy and Action Plan. We collaborated to model the School Buddies Program. The School Buddies Program links mainstream schools with SEN schools across the UK, to alleviate exclusivity and to create a conducive environment, which introduces young pupils to a range of different people with varying abilities and needs. During my engagement with KEEN, we strategized and drafted a wide range of resources for the mainstream schools, SEN schools, teachers, students, and parents.
Working on my pro-bono project was extremely rewarding. I was able to get an insight into the operations of an NGO which delivers on what it promises. Networking with the institution’s leaders has increased my leadership acumen and has given me leverage. I hope to employ this wealth of experiences in my work with children who are engaged in abusive labor back home in Pakistan.
