TILN Brussels 2015: Conveyor belt for success

For a few moments I felt that I’d made a monumental mistake: How could I abandon, even for just three days, the biggest political campaign in OBV’s 20 year history, to go off to Brussels and help train some young politicians?

The OBV eXpress bus tour was barely half way through its journey of targeting 1 million Black people to register to vote and vote in the 2015 general election.

To some it would seem like the captain of the football team had just walked off the  field half way through the match.

But I need not of have worried: First, the well-drilled OBV team brilliantly continued the campaign in both Manchester and Lewisham barely noticing my absence.

But equally important was my/ OBV’s continued involvement in the nurturing of young minority politicians from both the US and across Europe through the German Marshall funded Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders Network (TILN).

These are no ordinary young politicians, and the trainers who were assembled were there to ensure these young men and women not only fulfil their great ambitions as leaders but also to have more of a global mindset that is underpinned by greater social and racial justice.

The lead team of trainers included President Obama’s education guru and former TILN alumni David Johns. Joining him from New York was Sayu Bhojwani, who is the President and Founder of The New American Leaders Project and former Advisor to Mayor Bloomberg. I made up the third party to underpin what would be a three day - dawn to dusk - intensive training period.

David and I, brought together for the fourth year running, used our tried and tested training package that includes campaigning skills; where to target, how to target, fundraising, team building, messaging and much more. Furthermore,  David  being the youngest of the trainers led a brilliant session on social media.

I led a near three hour session on ethics in areas such as: why are you doing this? What are you standing for? Where will you compromise? What are your red lines? The debate, with the some of the smartest young minds on both sides of the Atlantic  sparked intensive discussion.

It wasn’t all intense though.

There were some wonderfully  amusing moments when, for example, Ponka We Victors, State Legislator from Kansas informed the group of a political debate she had in her political chamber, when a rather pompous opposition legislature began making derogatory remarks about Hispanics crossing over the border with remarks such as, “those horrible individuals shouldn’t be on our lands.”

To which Ponka We, who is a native American  from the Ponka Tribe of Oklahoma,  quietly informed the pompous politician that there were many in her community who strongly felt that Americans such as him should not be on their lands too. The group laughed, cheered and spontaneously applauded.

The newest recruit to the training team, Sayu Bhojwani brought an invaluable media dynamic to the session. For three hours she walked the group through intricate media messaging: How to pivot from awkward questions and then get back onto safe ground. And how to subtly reframe the discussion which leaves the interviewer or political challenger unable to get that knockout blow.

What I most like about the TILN training sessions is both visibly seeing these young individuals politically grow, but also how they felt free to talk about inequality and prejudice in a safe space which allows them to believe they are not alone whilst also  learn from the experiences from within the group.

After the three days this group then went  on to the world renowned Brussels Forum, and the youth Brussels Forum too, where global business and political leaders meet to discuss shared agendas.

From the beginning to the end of the whole  five days Lora Berg and Dr Mischa Thompson of the State Department,  the German Marshall Fund, and the US Helsinki Commission, inform the group that they are not asking for their brilliance and continued success, they are demanding it. And so they should.

It’s a brilliant project which OBV is proud to be associated with.

Simon Woolley