EASYUK’s Post-Careers Fair Update

May 2014 – London South Bank University

On an unusually sunny day in London, 17th May 2014 at London South Bank University, Ethiopians and Eritreans of all ages, professional sectors, scholars and students came together to seek knowledge, celebrate inspirational achievements and network. This free Careers Day programme was a project run by the Ethiopian Association of Students and Youth in the UK (EASYUK), an organisation celebrating its 10th anniversary. The day began with a uniquely Ethiopian Ice Breaker The Netala Circle. This activity gathered

participants in a circle enclosed by EASYUK’s team circling them with intertwined netalas making distracting noises. The purpose of this activity was to get the participants to network with each other. However, on a deeper level, it was to imitate the many distractions that we face in life taking us away from our chosen career and connecting with others. As such the theme of the day was set! The participants were treated to workshops

and inspirational speakers. The first session was a parallel workshop of a CV clinic and a combined presentation of Graduate Schemes and PhD programmes. The CV clinic was run by our employment experts, Chris Charles-Johnson and Sharon Smith and gave our participants their many years of experience in personal development. From within our own community, Ermias Kebede and Henock B. Taddese, provided their experience of being on a Graduate scheme and PhD programme, respectively. Ermias having enrolled onto a graduate scheme and Henock having worked in a professional capacity prior to undertaking his doctoral research were the perfect team to give their audience a taste of the requirements, journey and benefits of graduate schemes and PhD

programmes. The second sessions provided a more participatory element to the day, with attendees working in groups, brainstorming and presenting their ideas. Again the workshops were ran in parallel in the two separate seminar rooms, kindly provided to us by London South Bank University. Sharon and Chris continued to provide their expertise in this second session by running an Interview Workshop.

Whilst in the next room, we had Mahlet Mairegu, EASYUK’s Chairperson and Personal Development/Coaching expert, team up with an Ethiopian Entrepreneur, Michael Messele. This workshop gave all participants the opportunity to learn about the Cranfield Business School’s Doability Approach allowing all budding entrepreneurs to test any business ideas.

Once the approach was understood by all; participants were set the task of using it to evaluate if a Directory Enquiry Service equivalent could actually work in Ethiopia. Everyone engaged straight away with many interesting discussion been had and once completed each group presented their ideas and most concluded that it was not doable in the Ethiopian context. All members of the workshop were shocked to find that it was not

only was possible but that Michael Messele is the co-Founder of Ethiopia’s first directory enquiries services Afalagi After a very much-needed short break began the third part of our programme, this time focussing on inspirational stories from professionals in the world of Community Organising, Finance, Engineering, Education, Fashion, Healthcare and Arts. These groundbreakers are the pride of the Ethiopian Diaspora! We began with the champion of our rights and freedom Bekele Debela – a community campaigner for Citizens UK. Bekele told us what drives him everyday is the anger he feels at injustice and uses that anger to fuel change. He took us through a journey of campaigning and championing for the rights of the Diaspora in the UK. Keeping with the theme of community, we welcomed to the stage the amazingly talented Oxford University PhD candidate and founding member of the Canadian Young Diplomat initiative, Alpha Abebe. We were reminded aptly that the President of the United States “rule of the free world”, started as a community organiser!  

Thereafter, our programme drew inspiration from Ethiopians and our friends in the Eritrean community. As such we had three trailblazers from the financial sector, in the form of Netsanet Solomon, Compliance Officer, Sophie Russom, Financial Controller, and Robel Asfaw, Bank Manager. All three had differing experiences and advice to present to our audience. From how to survive in a macho culture, to why networking is key to success, to the exciting world of money laundering prevention.

After a short break, we presented the young Ethiopian Female Civil Engineer, Meron Efrem, who showed us that girls can truly 'rule the world'. The well-spoken and engaging young male Speech Recognition Research Engineer at HP, Milky Tefera Asefa took us through his daily routines. Engineering is a sector in which female participation is as low as 2%. Meron and Milky will be an inspiration for young girls and boys alike wanting to understand more about this exciting and important sector.

All present were then introduced to a young teacher, who brings her subject to life. The hard working and inspirational Science teacher, Adey Negash, gave us a breakdown of how one can become a teacher. The patriotic and selfless lecturer Dr. Amare Desta provided us with a trip down his memory lane, from student to lecturer, his never ending thirst for learning and his enjoyment of engaging with his students.

The fiery fashion Consultant, Lula Kinnaird, provided some style and passion to our day. Lula told us of her transition from Housewife to Fashion Manager. She shared with us some very personal stories of triumphs and how she manages in a sector infamous for its divas. Keeping with the theme of triumph over tribulation, Yonas Ahmed told us how his determination defeated sleepless nights and continuous examinations to make a transition from a patient transport supervisor to a Radiology Manager.

Our last speakers special in their own rights, for different reasons and emanate from the Arts sector. At the age of 11, Eleni Megiso, wrote and published her first book Short But Good a collection of short stories, the young writer moved to the UK at the age of 5. Eleni and her father, Zekaris Megiso, told us the story of getting published by AuthorHouse UK. Eleni bravely spoke to our audience on why she chose to write about hard-hitting subjects such as Slavery and War. Zekaris told us how he provided a refreshingly free and open environment for his daughter to explore her writing skills.

Lastly and equally awe inspiring, the man whose journey in life has been so turbulent, yet his landing is so majestic. The charismatic poet, author, play-writer, Broadcaster and social commentator, Lemn Sissay spoke to our audience about his life, philosophy and work. When he was asked what his best moment in life was, he answered “the present’ – there is nothing better than the present!” Those who face challenges in reaching their aspirations should take note of Lemn’s journey in which ‘his career as a writer happened in spite of his incredible life story not because of it’. All this would not have been possible without: the tireless hard work of our partners from TETV, Petros Gilzagi and Ezra Dawit and London South Bank University’s Dr. Amare Desta for providing us with a free venue. Our thanks also goes out to all our inspirational speakers, Workshop facilitators and to each and every one of you who attended. We hope that this successful event will be a catalyst to delivering more events for our community. The sustainability of your organisation depends on all our efforts; so if you wish to join & take an active role, please do not hesitate to contact us! If you were able to attend, we truly hope you had a great time & if you were unable to make it, we look forward to welcoming you to our next event!

EASYUK | www.easyuk.org.uk | https://www.facebook.com/EASYUK1

EASYUK is a non-religious & non-political organisation focussing purely on supporting Ethiopian students and youths in the UK!