Richard Kemp is the Chairman of the QS ImpACT Board of Trustees and the Deputy Lord Mayor of Liverpool. Our Board of Trustees are dedicated to applying their diverse professional backgrounds and experiences to govern the charity’s administration and activities for the benefit of our community members.
This year three things have happened that I would like to share with all the change makers at QS ImpACT. In January I had my 70th birthday; at the beginning of May I was elected to start my 41st year as a councillor for a new ward of Penny Lane. You will probably have heard of Penny Lane as it is at the heart of the Beatles story, and it is where I live. Then on 17th May I was elected by my fellow councillors as the Deputy Lord Mayor of Liverpool and next year will become Lord Mayor.
So why am I telling you all this? For two main reasons:
Firstly, let me share a little secret with you all. I haven’t always been old!! I started raising money for charity at the age of 9 when I saw the work being done by the Pestalozzi Village in helping children from less developed countries in giving them a home and a good education so that they could return to their own Country and build it anew. At the age of 14 I became a member of the Liberal Party, now the Liberal Democrats and at the age of 22 I became the youngest councillor in the UK.
Since then, I have undertaken a huge number of roles within local government including leading all the Lib Dem councillors in England and representing the UK on the world body for local government UCLG. I am not the richest person in the world and could have earned more money than I have done. But no-one could have had more wonderful experiences as I travelled life’s road than I have.
I have met wonderful people, seen terrible things which wonderful people were putting right. I have travelled all over the world not only for the UK but also as an adviser to local governments in other countries. I might not have a huge amount of cash, but I have a memory bank crammed with wonderful experiences.
I hope that your experiences with QS ImpACT will also help you use your skills, talents, and enthusiasm to help the community, the town or city and the Country you grew up in. We have a whole world to save and a host of big problems facing that world which people like you, working with thousands of others, can solve of at least minimise.
Secondly, I encourage you to work with the mayors and local and regional councillors in your area. As I have met local government elected representatives the world over, I know that most of them are in politics for the right reasons. They want to help the people amongst whom they live and will be pleased to work with other people, especially young people like you to solve local problems.
If you have problems with contacting your local elected officials let me know. In most parts of the world, I know people who know people and I would be pleased to help.
All the members of the QS ImpACT Boards share the passion that I have for helping changemakers like you get the skills and knowledge required to make an impact in commerce, industry, government, and community to change the world. So let us know what you need to help us fulfil your personal and community objectives.