Today is Professor Kezia Dugdale’s final day as Director of the Centre and we give our sincere thanks for all her hard work and dedication over the past 5 years.
Read what she had to say in her final eNewsletter earlier this month below. If you haven’t already done so, stay up to date with all our news, opportunities and events by signing up to our regular eNewsletter.
As I pass on the baton of Director to our new recruit I want to take a moment to reflect on the brilliance of this Centre and how critical a role it plays in the public life of the United Kingdom.
Encouraging young people to believe in, engage with and enter politics, as we do, is critical to the future health of our democracy and the prosperity of our country. We’ve been doing that through our research and advocacy work at the John Smith Centre now for 10 years and will no doubt continue to do so for many years to come.
The most abiding memory for me, and indeed impact of the Centre in my view, though is without question the internship and development programmes we run. From programmes aimed at young minority ethnic Scots, to those targeted at young people with care experience, we’ve been resolutely focused on supporting young people with talent to fulfil their potential. The results speak for themselves.
I’ve no doubt that in due course, perhaps sooner than you think, we’ll have more alumni from John Smith Centre programmes in positions of power and influence than some of the UK’s elite private schools – and the country will be all the better for it.
A final word must go to the tremendous staff here at the Centre who are driven by that desire to make a difference every single day. I will miss them all very much!
Here’s to the future!
With grateful thanks,
Professor Kezia Dugdale
Director, John Smith Centre
Kezia is now the Associate Director for the Centre for Public Policy at the University of Glasgow. We wish her every success in her new role and look forward to welcoming our new Director Eddie Barnes to the Centre in July.