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Brent Goes Global

Brent Goes Global is a collaboration between the Raheem Sterling Foundation, Young Brent Foundation and talkSPORT, enabling a group of 15 young people from Brent to take part in a unique once in a lifetime trip to Jamaica. During their 10-day trip, the group had an opportunity to develop new skills that will help forge their future career paths and prospects by experiencing a range of community-established social action projects, exploring new cultures, making intercultural friendships and above all, making lasting memories.
At the heart of the Brent Goes Global project is a commitment to improve access to education, employment and social mobility, mirroring both the Raheem Sterling Foundation and Young Brent Foundation’s mutual ethos. The aims of the project include enhancing the group’s knowledge and appreciation of global cultures and social action initiatives, providing experiential learning opportunities and enabling them to develop skills such as fundraising and project management.
According to the 2020 Brent Poverty Commission, approximately 22% of children in Brent live in poverty. However, with the impact of global economic inflation in 2022, this figure has risen to 43%. This means that many families are now struggling to make ends meet and are unable to provide their children with the enriching experiences that can help them build a deeper understanding of history and culture. Educational holidays and trips are often a luxury that families cannot afford, highlighting the importance of projects such as Brent Goes Global.
The Brent Goes Global 2024 team arrive in Jamaica
RSF images collection for website
On their return from the trip, the group reflected on their unique experience and shared their insights into the trip – here are just some of their thoughts:
“The trip to Jamaica was an important experience and it introduced me to a new culture and people so different to my own and I met some amazing people. It was an eye-opening opportunity and exploring a new place was made easy due to the amazing staff.”
“I had a lot of fun exploring the environment and having the freedom to do so; spending time with new people and getting to know each other. There was a very strong support system throughout the trip, offering an invaluable opportunity to learn from each other too.”
“It was an amazing experience that not only helped me learn a lot about the country, culture and people but also helped me learn a lot about myself. I would highly recommend this trip to everyone as it widens your knowledge, understanding and sympathy for others halfway around the world.”

To offer a taste of the life-enhancing experience, the group captured their story in a series of video diaries, showing their life-enhancing experience – from learning how to cook Jamaican cuisine and holding cultural conversations, to social action conversations covering issues in Brent and Jamaica. The group also visited Marcus Garvey Technical High School and took part in a variety of workshops and activities, where discussions included topics such as Jamaican and British styles of education and how they compare.

15 young people go to Jamaica
Click the image to watch a video diary of the first Brent Goes Global experience.

BRENT GOES GLOBAL PODCAST

Brent Goes Global – The Podcast – with The Raheem Sterling Foundation, Young Brent Foundation and talkSPORT

The trip has been captured by talkSPORT’s Audio Producer Luke Henry, who travelled to Jamaica with the group and worked alongside the young people to talk about their experiences and together create a series of podcasts.
Podcast One: Episode 1 – Be Who You Want To Be:
Two young adults, Michela and Sophia sit down after their first 24 hours and discuss their early impressions of Jamaica so far before discussing their mixed heritage upbringing and trying to find another part of themselves in Jamaica.
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