A Powerful Start to Ignite
This week, we officially launched Ignite — Southampton’s new leadership journey for emerging and developing community leaders — and what a launch it was!
We were thrilled to welcome so many passionate, committed people into the room, ready to grow their leadership potential. The event was filled with inspiring insights from our brilliant guest speakers: Hayley Binstead, Jack Willis, Dr Abdoulie Sanneh, and Astrid Vaswani. Each of them generously shared personal stories of their own leadership journeys — from building community spaces and challenging perceptions, to leading with faith, empathy, and boldness.
Dr Sanneh even shared some of the moving words his community had used to describe him — a moment that reminded us just how powerful quiet, consistent leadership can be.
Thank you to everyone who joined us. You made the event open, curious, and full of possibility, which is exactly what the programme will be.
If you’re interested in becoming part of Ignite, expressions of interest for the September–March programme are now open. Facilitated by Amanda Smethurst, it’s a chance to grow your confidence, build your skills, and join a network of emerging leaders shaping Southampton’s future.
Expression of Interest
Interested in joining Ignite?
Ignite is a new leadership journey for Southampton — supporting emerging community leaders to build confidence, grow their networks, and create change. If you’re ready to take the next step, fill out the expression of interest form here before 17 August 2025.
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