True Diversity – Collaborating with Babbasa

Next, as part of our “True Diversity” series, we’d like to shine a light on local organisation Babbasa. We’d like to feature and share to spread the word that Diversity goes far beyond gender balance.

Who they are and what they do

Babbasa is a Bristol-based social enterprise that empowers young people, of ages up to 25, from ethnically diverse and less advantaged communities to move into work, education, or business – so they feel inspired, supported and ready to fulfil their ambitions.

Why it matters

Ayanda, Youth Engagement Lead at Babbasa shared with us when we caught up recently that Babbasa was formed in 2010 by four young graduates who observed rising levels of youth unemployment, educational underachievement and the rapid decline in youth aspirations in Bristol’s ethnically diverse inner city communities. Babbasa was born.

Strongly founded on the fundamental belief that young people’s aspirations and opportunities should not be determined by their social background, and that every young person has a unique skill or talent which, if explored and nurtured, can advance humanity in a significant way.

Fast forward to now, Babbasa is now a well established, multi award winning youth organisation with a collaborative network of over 150 cross-sector organisations, and unique programmes that have supported over 1,600 young people from 67 different cultural groups, to successfully advance their professional ambitions.

How we got involved
We couldn’t agree more with what they believe in and we love supporting them on their mission. After we spoke with the team at Babbasa about what they think could be of true value and useful experience, we invited a group of young people into our office, to experience what it’s like and to have a chat with our sector expert consultants about career paths within the areas they are interested in. The group of aspiring creative professionals brought examples of their work and the team was on hand to provide feedback and some pointers about how to package that up if wanting to apply for roles. The feedback was fantastic and we are looking forward to the next one!

How you can get involved as a business or potential employer
Become a mentor, a funder or sponsor, a Babbasa champion, you could lead a learning experience, become a referral partner or you could become a service client. Lots of options and opportunities to support their mission. You can find details about those options on the Babbasa website, alongside contact details.