How to start a movement with anti-discrimination activist Alex Holmes

At Tortoise, we’re determined to reflect the voices of young people in our journalism. That’s why NextGen ThinkIns are free to join for students and apprentices. On top of that, thanks to our partners, you get a complimentary membership of Tortoise thrown in with your ticket. What’s not to like?

When he started sixth form, Alex Holmes was bullied and subjected to racist abuse. Rather than standing by, he took his painful experience as an opportunity to make a difference and created the Anti Bullying Ambassadors scheme at just 16 years old.

Now, age 30, there are over 35,000 Ambassadors in schools across the UK and Ireland, he is the Deputy CEO of the Diana Award, an advisory board member for the Gates Foundation and winner of the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian award.

As the pandemic has ripped across the country it has exposed the gaping inequalities embedded in our society. To face those problems we need empowered people, like Alex, to step up and push for change from grassroots level.

Join us for the third instalment of our NextGen series, live virtual events that put students and young people at the heart of the discussion, to ask – how can activism enact positive and meaningful social change?

A bit about Alex

Alex is Deputy CEO at non-profit The Diana Award, which is a legacy to Princess Diana’s belief that young people have the power to change the world. He is founder of peer to peer support programme Anti-Bullying Ambassadors, a network of trained young people dedicated to preventing peer on peer violence (on and offline) and bullying particularly in schools. T

his is a programme Alex founded when aged 16, after experiencing bullying himself. The programme has trained over 35,000 young people across UK, Ireland, Greece, Miami (United States) empowering young people to keep themselves and their peers safe and happy, in 4,000 schools.

Alex sits on the global safety advisory boards of a number of the major social media and tech companies advising them on their approach to safety and online harms.

Alex is a Queen’s Young Leader, Forbes 30 Under 30, a recipient of The Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award and sits on The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Advisory Board, helping spearhead their Sustainable Development Goals ‘Goalkeeper programme.

Alex was named on the Independent on Sunday’s Happy List as one of the ‘100 people who make Britain a happier place to live’ and has a keen interest on barriers to children’s happiness and wellbeing.

What is NextGen?

With education and employment opportunities in turmoil, young people’s voices are, perhaps, the ones those in power most need to hear.

Introducing NextGen ThinkIns, by Tortoise. Launching in Autumn 2020, a live virtual event series that puts you face to face (over Zoom..) with artists, politicians, activists and business people for an honest conversation like no other.

One hour, one editor, one amazing speaker and a room full of young people. The world is chock-full of ‘virtual events’ these days – but we believe there’s nothing quite like this.

NextGen ThinkIn speakers are all world-changers in their field. They’re people with stories to tell – of love and death, success and failure, health, hustles, protests, politics and everything else that matters.

As for what we’ll talk about? That’s up to you.

About Tortoise

Tortoise is a different kind of newsroom. One in which everyone has a seat at the table. We’ve created a place, in the real world and the virtual one, where people can come, listen, learn and, importantly, say what they really think.

That’s why, with the help of our partners, Tortoise is making another 5,000 complimentary memberships available to students and apprentices across the UK, to ensure young people’s stories are front and centre in Tortoise journalism. If you’d like to join us, you can become a member when you sign up for this event.