Who we are
FreeRadicals is supported by a group of active board members who are involved all aspects of the work, including the direct work in communities, and bring a wealth of experiences, skills and knowledge to the movement:
Dan Firth (Co-Founder & Co-Chair) is a Community Organiser in Shoreditch with London Citizens. For the last ten years, he has worked in both voluntary and statutory organisations, as a community worker, a national voter turn-out coordinator and as strategic lead on youth participation for a local authority. In 2008, he set up Young Muslim Voices, a collaborative youth led programme to address issues of inequality and political disenfranchisement among young Muslims. In 2010, he set up the UK’s largest participatory budgeting programme for young people.
Kelly Hockley (Co-Chair) currently works full time as the lead youth worker for a youth and community space in Hatfield for the YMCA central Herts. When she was studying at Luton University she became involved in the community and youth workers union and is still very involved, particularly in campaigning on student issues and young workers rights. Since visiting Cuba on an educational trip she has become involved in solidarity campaigns for Venezuela and Cuba, developing a more general interest in the countries of Latin America.
Peter Baran (Treasurer) is the General Manager of SOAS Students’ Union, the Union of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. In this role he runs the commercial activities, and does the support work which facilitates the student populations’ extensive campaigns on local and world issues: SOAS SU being known as one of the most politically active and radical in the country. A North London native, he has previously worked in the media, and currently presents various shows for Resonance 104.4FM, and is committed to increasing youth involvement in political issues.
Arun Kundani (Co-Founder) is currently a fellow at the Open Society Institute where he is writing a book on official narratives of Muslim extremism. His last book was entitled The End of Tolerance: racism in 21st century Britain and his 2009 report on Britain’s anti-extremism policy, entitled Spooked: how not to prevent violent extremism, led to a parliamentary inquiry into allegations of unwarranted surveillance of Muslim communities. Arun worked at the Institute of Race Relations from 1997 to 2010, where he developed award-winning multimedia resources for young people and edited the journal Race & Class.
Shahina Bahar has been working in the field of international development over the last decade. She has worked with indigenous communities in Nepal and Mexico and with civil society organisations in Uganda, Kenya and Zambia. She worked as an organisational capacity building for 2.5 years in Brazil. She currently works with the British Red Cross as an advisor in organisational development. She previously British Youth Council managing a programme to enhance youth voice and active participation in decision-making and supporting youth activists in the Middle East and North Africa. She has recently completed a Masters degree in Participation, Power and Social Change at the Institute of Development Studies in UK.
Musab Younis is the deputy editor of Ceasefire magazine, and a postgraduate student of International Relations at Wadham College, Oxford. He previously held the position of Research and Advocacy Officer at the Muslim Youth Helpline, organising creative projects with young people in London and researching and publishing a national report on improving service provision for young British Muslims. He has worked on research for Demos, the Institute for Government, and the Medical Research Council.
Derek Oakley, originally from Dorset, is passionate about facilitating Community Participation, Social Justice and Conflict Transformation through principled, creative approached. An associate of the National Youth Agency and former Trustee of the British Youth Council he has worked on projects in Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and the Middle East in addition to the UK.
Adam Elliott-Cooper was a youth worker in Radford, Nottingham whilst studying for his undergraduate degree in Politics. He has worked with a number of organisations which research and carryout actions to champion black empowerment, particularly in relation to young people and education, but also international peace and solidarity. He co-edits Ceasefire Magazine and works on a weekly current affairs show on Voice of Africa Radio 94.3FM. Adam is also involved in the face to face work of FreeRadicals as a Youth Catalyst, leading workshops and developing street-based research in the Caledonian Road area.
FreeRadicals is working in partnership with JUST West Yorkshire, the leading voice in the North promoting racial justice, civil liberties and human rights. Their Young Radicals Project is led by Sabiha Iqbal, the Youth Catalyst, an experienced youth worker and activist from Bradford. A law graduate with a background in martial arts, writing and social justice activisim, she aims to instigate change through connecting real life experiences with adacemic analysis through action research and community engagement. In the current project she is focussing her youth work on gypsies and travellers, eastern european young people, young muslims, young offenders and victims of sexual exploitation.
