Shaping the future of leadership

We’re excited to introduce some of the inspiring individuals, organisations, and networks selected to receive grants through our Shaping the Future fund. All are working to shift power and drive positive change in the migration and refugee sector.

Everyone who moves to the UK should be met with dignity, equity and fairness. At a time of rising hostility towards people who migrate, we need bold leaders who can shape a better future for us all, rooted in their own experience.

That’s why the new Shaping the Future Leadership Fund, set up by Migration Exchange (MEX), is proud to award 22 grants to individuals, organisations and partnerships across the UK. All are leading innovative, community-based and sustainable work on migration.

Grantees, chosen through a rigorous selection process, include award-winning creatives, educators, researchers and organisational leaders. Their work ranges from storytelling and peer-led learning to using cultural work and advocacy to shift narratives and grow collective power. From supporting migrant domestic workers and Black refugees to developing anti-oppressive leadership models and training people to get elected, these projects reflect bold, community-rooted solutions.

Grantees will also develop their leadership skills through a community of practice for up to two years, learning from each other’s experiences, challenges and successes over time. By connecting different communities across the UK, the project will pool insight and skills, leading to clear, shared solutions.

Shaping the Future uses a model of participatory grantmaking aimed at shifting power. The fund and grant selection process were designed and led by a Co-Creation Group with lived experience of migration. Their insight and leadership made the process fair, inclusive and connected to the real needs of people impacted by the UK’s migration system.

With over 440 eligible applications, we heard a clear message: bold, values-driven leadership is flourishing in communities that are showing deep resolve and resilience in building safety and welcome. What’s needed now is trust and long-term investment in their kind of leadership: rooted in experience, built through relationships, and aimed at long-term change.

Backed by the trust and support of our funders, MEX is proud to invest in these 22 grantees. This initiative is a turning point: from reactive work to long-term change, from isolation to collective action, from surviving to shaping a caring and dignified future, together.

Meet some of our grantees

Interested in learning more about the grantees selected by our Co-Creation Group?

Explore the galleries below to hear, in their own words, what they hope to achieve with support from this grant. Please note that some grantees have chosen to remain anonymous.

Shaping The Future - Network Grant Recipients

Migrant Action and partners

With the Shaping the Future Grant, Migrant Action will launch the ‘Leadership Justice Commission’ initiative in partnership with three other organisations. This will enable ‘leaders’ from diverse backgrounds including those with lived experience of migration go on a journey of transformative leadership development.

Over 2 years, the Leadership Justice Commission will lay the foundation for the pursuit of leadership equity and justice, enabling grassroots leadership capacity building, re-thinking power and privilege, constructing empowering leadership narratives and re-imagining leadership futures.

Migrant Democracy Project and ElectHer

“This grant will support the political leadership of those with lived experience of migration. A group of leaders will be supported to use the political space to get elected, shape immigration policies, and build narrative power.”

Shaping The Future - Organisation Grant Recipients

The Voice of Domestic Workers

“The Shaping the Future grant will boost VODW’s ability to build organisational resilience while improving their weekly educational and support programmes. It will also support the their leadership training initiative, Future Voices Revolution. This programme empowers Migrant Domestic Workers with lived experience of labor exploitation and modern slavery by providing them with a deeper understanding of immigration law and policies. The goal is to give them knowledge and confidence to take an active role in driving the migrant justice movement forward.”

Experts By Experience Employment Initiative

“This grant will expand our national network of refugee and migrant charities and equip them to embed lived experience leadership through equitable employment. Through community of practice and tailored support we will help the sector organisations to pilot inclusive recruitment models, improve onboarding processes,and offer equitable opportunities for refugees to become leaders in their organisations. The impact will be a more inclusive charitable sector, where refugees are empowered to lead and drive systemic change.”

Hear Me Out

“Hear Me Out uses the connecting, empowering medium of music to support people held in immigration detention and asylum centres, and build solidarity in the wider community. The Migration Exchange grant will give a massive boost to our work to develop co-creation across our organisation, embed care and trauma-informed practices in our work, support the career development of people with lived experience, and bring them into key leadership roles in our Board and staff team.”

Shaping The Future - Individual Grant Recipients

Salah Aldeen Al-Hamidi

“This grant will help me run a community-based project that supports newly arrived Yemeni refugees to access education and training through culturally familiar spaces.”

“The aim is to shift mindsets from dependency to contribution and create a new generation of role models within our community.”

Areej Osman

“I am always looking to advance my skills to continue advocating for a fairer asylum and immigration system”

“This program will open a gateway for me to expand my knowledge, build on my confidence and lead from an expert by experience place.”

Motaz Omer

“The grant will support The Power of Words project, a creative storytelling initiative that will be exploring how language shapes identity, belonging and public narratives.”

“Through creative expression and media training, the project will empower participants to challenge harmful stereotypes and advocate for systemic change.”

Mahboobeh Rajabi

“As a refugee-turned-leader, this support enables me to access mentorship, share institutional knowledge with others, and dismantle barriers in the arts.”

“This isn’t just about me—it’s about opening doors for others from forced migration backgrounds to lead, create, and be seen as powerful change makers shaping the future of our cultural landscape.”

Ngang Fru Delvis

“The fund will significantly enhance both personal and organizational capacity, enabling stronger refugee leadership, effective advocacy and policy engagement, and improved service delivery for refugee-led initiatives.”

Comfort Etim

“The grant will enable me to pursue a Diploma in Sport Management, equipping me with the skills to grow and strengthen my work with Comfort Angels Football Club.”

“It’s not just an investment in my education it’s an investment in the continuity of empowerment, integration, and well-being of refugee and asylum-seeking women through sport.”

Javiera

“By developing my skills, I will incorporate music and sound production into my practice, which will be explored with AMPLA (grassroots organisation of Latinx mothers) as a way to share and heal from traumatising experiences we have lived through during our migratory journeys.”

Anthony Kalume

“The grant will support my PhD research into the cultural contributions of migrants to British identity, with a focus on music”

“This work will highlight the foundational role of migrant communities in shaping modern British culture, fostering broader public recognition and informing heritage practices.”

Jessie Allen

Jessie is passionate about developing strong, inclusive leadership capable of transforming unequal systems. She inspires others to take collective action for better health, championing empowerment through care, collaboration, and the belief that together, we can create more equitable communities.