Q&A
i) Alvin, you grew up in Newham tell us about that?
Newham is home. I was born and raised in Plaistow, and it has shaped who I am.
ii) As a young person growing up in Newham who were your role models?
My father passed away when I was nine years old. Without a father figure in my life, my early teens were tough. I was angry and I rebelled. At some points, I looked up to older kids who got in trouble with the law, who carried weapons, and sold drugs. Fortunately for me, my mother was adamant that I get a good education, and she pushed me to do well at school. It was a constant struggle between wanting to do good, and being surrounded by negative influences. In the end I found books and stories of great people who did great things. People like Gandhi, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, inspired me. Then I learned about Filipino national heroes like Jose Rizal who also inspired me. The role models who made a positive difference in my life were my mum, and aunties and uncles who cared for me, my teachers who believed in me, and historic figures who showed what was possible.
iii) Were you the first person in your family to go to university? What were your motivations for doing so?
My mother started university in the Philippines, but had to cut it short. She left the Philippines when she was 19 to work in England as a chambermaid, cleaning hotels in the Lake District. As a second generation immigration, raised by a single mother, the value of education was instilled in me from an early age. To my mum, education was my ticket out. Before attending, university was this unknown thing to me. My mum couldn't really prepare me for the experience, nor give me tips on how to do well. It was a whole new experience. I wanted to go to university because I was told it was the thing to do, and that it would enable me to have a good career. Looking back, the day I graduated from university was a big day for my mum too! And it was an experience much more significant than just upskilling and preparation for a job: higher education was a means of exploring ideas, learning from great teachers, envisioning a better future, shaping my identity, and making lifelong friendships.
iv) You've been very active over the years, can you describe your career journey?
When I graduated in 2009, the global financial crisis hurt job prospects for most young people. Unemployment was high. I didn't have a graduate job, but luckily I was supported by a couple of recruitment companies that helped young people from underrepresented ethnic minority backgrounds. With their support, I secured roles at an organisation that worked at the intersection between the arts and business, and then worked for a CEO of a tech startup. In 2010, I volunteered on a project in East London to help reduce knife crime, which was run by Citizens UK. Whilst helping out, they offered me a job. It was my first proper job, and it marked the beginning of my career, focused on matters of social justice. As a community organiser I supported the living wage campaign, and was responsible for working with community leaders in Haringey. In between 2011-12 we organised a grassroots response to the Tottenham riots, which led to investment in the area and policy-change. Whilst I was working in North London, David Lammy MP offered me a job, and I helped his office for a brief time before doing a master's at the LSE. As a community organiser, I was surrounded by all these smart kids from Oxbridge, and felt like I needed to learn more about UK social policy, and the master's was a perfect opportunity to do that. In 2013, during my postgraduate degree, I was invited to give a speech on unemployment, in place of the Employment Minister who was no longer able to attend the meeting. At that event, the CEO of the social business Catch22 was there, and asked me what I was going to do after graduating. He suggested that I apply for a job opportunity that was open, and I got it. I was brought in to support their public affairs efforts, working with the team and government and commissioners to help ensure the best services were provided to people who needed support across the country. These were services related to criminal justice, gangs, the Troubled Families agenda, and prisons. After Catch22, I joined the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) to do similar public affairs work, but this time focused on poverty more broadly. Throughout my career, I have been lucky to have worked with such fantastic, optimistic, and inspirational people, who - despite what were often tough times - rallied together with the hope of a better future. And I am forever thankful for that. After JRF, in 2016, I founded an organisation called The Fourth Group to shape tech for all, leaving nobody behind, and most recently - because of the work of The Fourth Group - I have launched a class action on behalf of 1 million people against Facebook in response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
v) Would you describe yourself as a social entrepreneur? You've certainly started innovative programmes. You could say that. I have been inspired by the likes of Rushanara Ali MP who co-founded the UpRising Leadership Programme, which has supported so many underrepresented people and communities. Sometimes, when you see something is needed but is not there, you've got to create it.
vi) Tell us about the World Economic Forum and Davos, this isn't your normal conference is it?
I was invited to attended Davos in 2016, and I went to speak with world leaders and C-Level executives to address poverty. I was fortunate enough to meet Kofi Annan and Justin Trudeau, and spoke with them about the social and economic challenges that need to be tackled. International forums can be a means through which dialogue can happen, and where issues that matter can be put on the agenda.
vii) What are you up to now?
Right now I'm focusing on the class action against Facebook in response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Also, these have been tough times for us all, during the pandemic, so I am making sure to be there for my friends and family as much as I can.
viii) You're not one to be deterred, what are you planning for the future?
I watched the film "Soul" over Christmas. It's a wonderful film, and it pushed me to think about life and purpose. Right now, I'm focused on supporting friends and family, especially those who have lost loved ones. Given the pandemic, it is very difficult to plan ahead for the future, but of course we must always hold hope that things can get better. And that is possible if we come together to tackle the big problems so many of us face: acting responsibly during the pandemic, doing what we can to support health workers, and preparing for how we might address the growing unemployment and closures of family businesses that have been part of our communities for so long.
ix) What advice would you give to the next group of young people and older living in Newham or elsewhere?
Please take care, and keep strong. Us people, as residents of Newham, have always shown resilience - it's part of our DNA. And let's remember - as we always have been - to be grateful for that which we are fortunate to have.
Thanks for talking to us Alvin, your work is very encouraging, we wish you well and we hope to hear from you again.
