Keynote Speaker Announced: Jaz Ampaw-Farr

It would be easy to say, you’ve never met anyone like Jaz before. Her passion for the potential we can uncover in ourselves when we are just 2% braver and her insight into how to remove the barriers that hinder connection between us and those we seek to influence make Jaz one of those people you will never forget. Jaz’s story is one of growing up in the midst of most appalling abuse, poverty and hardship during which she encountered five teachers (and, importantly, one pimp) whose belief in her literally saved her life. She shares her fantastic journey of how saying yes first allowed her to progress from council estate and foster care to becoming a teacher and advising international governments on education policy.

There are many messages leaders take away from listening to Jaz as she shares her story across the UK, in the US (where she’s being called ‘The British Oprah’!) and elsewhere. Clearly, the impact that we have to transform lives comes through loud and clear but there is more to it than just that. Jaz also embodies the idea of bravery and the willingness to be defined by what you’ve tried even if you fail, rather than by what you could have done. Both her (very) brief stint on TV’s The Apprentice and her career as a stand up comedian are good examples of this and she shows that a human being can be subject to the worst depravities by her fellow humans and not only survive, but thrive – and do so without anger or bitterness.

It is true, we are more than our stories, and Jaz shares ideas and insights from her life in her work with leaders and educators with humour, energy, honesty and an unswerving optimism in people and in authentic connection in particular. Full of practical advice, her message is neatly summed up in her own words to those five teachers from her past and the title of her book – Because Of You – This Is Me.