The British Council is on the lookout for future leaders aged 18-35 to connect with exceptional individuals from around the globe who have big ideas and want to change the world through policy making. The Future Leaders Connect programme gives people from around the world the opportunity to meet and collaborate, develop policy-making expertise and make valuable connections.

Applications for this year’s programme close on Monday 13 May, at 11.59pm (UK time). Northern Slant spoke to one of last year’s participants, Joseph (Joe) Devlin, about his experiences on the programme and the application process. You can find out more about the programme here.

 

When did you apply to the programme, what attracted you to applying? Describe the application process.

Since graduating with a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University of Belfast in 2016, Joe has been working in the energy sector with Viridian. He says it’s an industry that fascinates and inspires him given the fundamental changes that are happening right now and the pace and scale of which will continue to accelerate. “Where there’s change there is opportunity and I’m excited about the possibilities renewable energy, data and technology can bring not only to consumers pockets, but to our pursuit of a low carbon energy future,” he says.

It’s the pursuit of this energy future that encouraged his application for the Future Leaders Connect programme. “Excitement and inspiration is great, but it’s not worth much unless I have the skills, experience and, most importantly, global network to deliver fundamental change around how we understand and use our energy. I felt, and rightly so, that Future Leaders Connect would give me the exposure I needed to understand how policy is developed and equip me with the skills to do it.”

“I was alerted to the programme through my involvement with the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Belfast Hub, a collective of young people working together to make Northern Ireland one of the best places in the world to live and work. The application process was straightforward. A written application form outlining my policy vision and discussing my previous experience in the field was followed up with a face-to-face interview at the British Council offices in Belfast. I remember it was a really sunny day and the interview room had a great view of Belfast. I was able to draw attention to some energy related vistas during the conversation which hopefully helped to bring my policy vision to life!

“I felt I had given an honest account of myself and what I was trying to achieve, but it’s hard not to go immediately into postmortem mode. It wasn’t long until the ‘I should have said X not Y’ kicked in. Needless to say those thoughts were put to bed on receipt of the acceptance email!”


Tell us about the programme – the format, location, make-up of participants.

“First of all,” says Joe, “I have never experienced such a well oiled machine quite like the organisation of Future Leaders Connect. It was a phenomenal logistical effort, considering the wide range of countries represented.”

The 2018 programme kicked off with an intensive policy leadership and development programme ran by the prestigious Møller Institute at Churchill College, Cambridge. Participants “covered everything from ethics to empathy and were given the opportunity to really work with and get to know all of the other members. We were also joined by leaders in the field to get a real world perspective on what it means to be a leader and how to navigate the challenges we may face when implementing of action plans for change.”

The programme concluded with three days in London, spending a lot of time in the Houses of Parliament meeting current politicians and civil servants. This, Joe adds, was a great opportunity to supplement our learning at the Møller Institute. Our time in Cambridge was delivered mainly in workshop sessions, and our time in London was more formal lecture and Q+A sessions with the speakers.

“I’ve never met so many people from so many different countries around the world in such a short space of time. The diversity was incredible and the conversations were like none I’ve ever had before. I’m a firm believer that we in Northern Ireland stand to benefit greatly from more external focus. It could really help us deliver the future we’ve been promised.”

 

Tell us what you learned on the programme. What was your highlight(s)?

“The biggest learning I took from the programme was the requirement to really understand why a person believes what they believe. This is important when they agree with you and even more important when they don’t. It’s easy and lazy to assume people have a stance given a set of characteristics, background or experience. Nobody ever gets motivated to engage in a sensible, respectful debate when being talked down to or shouted at.

“Unfortunately, this seems to be the norm for our political and social discourse fuelled by the desire for likes and retweets. When I was given the opportunity on the programme to speak with people I had a fundamental disagreement with, it was refreshing not to have to come up with the witty soundbite that ‘wins’ the argument but goes nowhere towards establishing common ground. The desire to understand and be understood is paramount.

“Getting to take part in the Elders event celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was a personal highlight. I was fortunate enough to present my definition of ethical leadership and take part in a Q+A streamed to quite a few thousand folks across the world. Meeting inspirational leaders like Mary Robinson, Gro Harlem Brundtland and Zeid Raad Al Hussein was an experience I’ll never forget.”

 

You were joined by another successful applicant from Northern Ireland, Laura McNamee. How did you get on?

“Myself and Laura had the opportunity to meet up and chat twice before embarking on the programme. I was late both times and have been apologising constantly since! I believe we flew the ‘fleg’ for Team NI well, representing all that is good about the place we call home. One of my stand out experiences on the programme was Laura and I attempting to explain devolution and the current Stormont impasse to people from all four corners of the earth. We could tell by the look on their faces that we succeeded! It was an enjoyable challenge, albeit one we wish we didn’t have to undertake.

“One thing we made sure to do was avoid each other as much as possible during the programme sessions. It’s easy to spend all your time talking to people who are familiar during coffee breaks and the like. But we agreed that we had this amazing opportunity to speak with people in our fields from a wide range of different countries. After all, Laura and I can meet for coffee in Belfast anytime, which I’ll be early for (well, on time at least)!”

 

What have you been up to since completing the programme? What advice would you give to anyone from Northern Ireland considering applying to this year’s programme?

Joe says he’s been using his newfound skills to start chipping away at his plans to help Northern Ireland become a world leader in climate change mitigation by changing our relationship with energy. Electricity, he says, “should no longer be viewed as a stream of electrons from a power station. It’s my aim to make energy more local, make it something you have control over – both its production and consumption. We have the tools and technology to do it. But people need to care, and that’s the first step in my policy action plan. Empowerment of the consumer to make the sustainable choice is my current focus.”

For Joe, the programme was a fantastic experience for him both personally and professionally. “It’s immensely rewarding to forge relationships I wouldn’t ordinarily have the opportunity to all whilst learning how the policy world works. The level of international focus was something I’ve never experienced, I am extremely grateful for it. Not everyone gets to say they travelled the entire world whilst sitting around a table in Cambridge!”

This, he adds, was only possible due to the British Council recognising the need to empower potential future leaders and the willingness of Viridian, specifically Power NI PPB, to support him full participation in the programme.

“For those thinking of applying to the 2019 cohort, if you have the desire to have a real impact on a global challenge that has an important local dimension then this is the programme that will equip you with the tools to deliver it. At this current time, we are in dire need of positive leadership. Future Leaders Connect has given me some personal validation about the work I’m involved in, but more importantly the motivation and skills to drive lasting local change for the global good.

“Oh, and leave the imposter syndrome at the door. You are good enough ;)”