What Makes Us Unique

We have a simple purpose: To help organisations and individuals turn the theory of their work into practice. We inspire positive transformation by offering tailored services that nurture the mind. We do this in a variety of ways such as, workshops, training, project management which are designed to engage, educate and inspire you and your teams.  

 We do this in a variety of ways, including workshops, seminars, public speaking, training, and project management.
We can design and deliver together to meet your organization’s needs.

Training & Professional Development

Bradford College
West Yorkshire

A training programme on “Islamophobia” for lecturers & HR staff.

The training aims to translate theoretical knowledge into practical applications within educational and workplace settings.

This training is designed to equip lecturers and HR staff with a comprehensive understanding of Islamophobia, its impact, and strategies to counteract it effectively. 

Bradford Metropolitan District Council
West Yorkshire

A multitude of training programmes delivered to  staff around the following subject areas:

  • Building high performance teams & measuring key performance indicators 
  • Unconscious Bias 

The training programmes are designed for staff at all levels, to enhance their skills in building high-performance teams, measuring key performance indicators, and addressing unconscious bias. Each programme aims to provide practical knowledge and strategies that can be immediately applied in the workplace.

West Yorkshire Police 

A training programme delivered to the training school officers at West Yorkshire Police on effective ways of communication.

The “Effective ways to Engagement Training for Police Staff” is specifically designed to equip police staff with the skills and knowledge necessary for effective and positive engagement with communities.

This training emphasises the significance of communication, tone, and approach in fostering trust and cooperation between police forces and the communities they serve.

Dundee International Women’s Centre 

 Scotland

Working collaboratively with staff to develop and support with producing delivery material.

This training module is designed to enhance staff development through comprehensive training and support in producing delivery materials.

The programme focuses on building the skills and knowledge necessary for effective training delivery, curriculum development, and fostering a culture of continuous professional growth.

West Yorkshire Police

A Seminar delivered to the senior management staff at West Yorkshire Police on inclusion & exclusion & the effects of banter/bullying in the workplace. 

This seminar is designed for senior management staff, focusing on the critical topics of inclusion, exclusion, and the impact of banter and bullying in the workplace.

The goal is to equip senior managers with the knowledge and tools to foster an inclusive work environment, understand the nuances between banter and bullying, and effectively address and mitigate negative behaviors.

Personal Development

Mentor and Coaching Dundee International Women’s Centre

Scotland

The Bespoke One-to-One Mentoring & Coaching Programme is tailored to empower and support professionals  from Dundee International Women’s Centre.

This personalised programme focuses on building confidence, challenging imposter syndrome, and achieving both professional and personal goals.

  • One-on-one sessions with experienced mentors
  • Tailored guidance based on individual needs and aspirations
  • Continuous support and feedback

Bradford Metropolitan District Council
West Yorkshire

A number of seminars delivered to the staff at Bradford Metropolitan District Council on the following topics:

  • Respect & allyship 
  • Misogyny 
  • Pregnancy & Maternity 
 
These training programmes are designed for staff at all levels to raise awareness and understanding of the importance of addressing and educating about misogyny, sexism, and pregnancy and maternity rights. The goal is to foster an inclusive and respectful work environment where all employees feel valued and supported.

Advisor For Voluntary Sector Organisations
U.K

One to one training with senior leaders within voluntary sector organisations across the U.K. Taking a close look into their structures & systems in place & advising the best practice for long term sustainability.

To provide senior leaders in voluntary sector organisations with strategic development on optimising their organisational structures and systems for long-term sustainability.

  • Initial Consultation and Assessment
  • Analysis of Structures and Systems
  • Setting SMART Goals for Improvement
  • Tailored Training Sessions
  • Regular Check-Ins and Support

Bradford Metropolitan District Council
West Yorkshire

A series of training sessions delivered to the practitioners across the voluntary and statuary sector on:

  • Communication & Negotiation

 

This training aims to enhance the communication skills of individuals, enabling them to communicate more effectively with colleagues, stakeholders, and the public. The initiative will involve creating a structured and engaging curriculum that provides practical skills, tools, and techniques. 

North of England & Midlands

A empowerment conference for young entrepreneurs looking to take the route of being self employed. Giving them the opportunity to talk with like minded individuals & giving them an outlook how what it takes being an entrepreneur. 

The training To provide young entrepreneurs with the knowledge, inspiration, and network they need to successfully embark on the journey of self-employment, addressing common barriers and offering strategies to overcome them.

Research

Reaching Young People From a Bangladeshi Or Pakistani Heritage
Yorkshire

A research initiative focused on identifying the barriers to employment faced by young people of Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage. The goal is to understand these challenges and develop targeted strategies to improve their employment outcomes.

This project seeks to support young people in Yorkshire to achieve positive employment outcomes by working with grassroots organisations to identify and address barriers and challenges they face.

  •  Planning and Partnership Building
  • Research and Data Collection
  • Data Analysis
  • Strategic Development

Workforce Cultural Audit

Yorkshire

Assessing the organisational culture is essential for fostering a positive work environment and ensuring long-term success.

Conducting a comprehensive review to understand staff  experiences around workforce culture, equalities and working towards growth and development.

This review involved gathering detailed feedback from employees through surveys, interviews, and focus groups to gain insights into their satisfaction levels, challenges, and perceptions of the workplace culture. Developing targeted strategies based on these findings to help enhance employee engagement, productivity, and retention.

Public Policy Exchange

London 

Positive for Youth, Positive for Society: The Future of Youth Services.

Understanding “Today’s Youth – Tomorrow’s Future”

Advisor on the future of youth work services. Facilitating a comprehensive discussion for leaders in the youth work sector across the UK, including directors, operations manager, commissioners, and youth workers. Addressing key topics and strategies essential for empowering young people and enhancing community resilience.

Attendees engaged in sharing best practices and exchanging insights to address pressing issues such as funding constraints, evolving youth needs, and effective service delivery models.

Rostra Consulting

Kyrgyzstan

CIVIL SOCIETY AND COUNTERING RADICALISATION IN THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC.

As an advisor to women’s NGOs and senior political advisors, the focus is on enhancing engagement with grassroots women’s organizations. 

Providing resources and capacity-building initiatives tailored to their specific contexts strengthens their ability to advocate for women’s rights and address community challenges effectively.

Effective engagement begins with building meaningful relationships based on mutual respect and understanding of local needs and priorities. It involves fostering open communication channels that empower grassroots organisations to voice their concerns and ideas.

Restructure & Governance For Public Sector Organisations.

This training focuses on understanding the critical importance of operations within the organisation. By adopting a top-down approach, we aim to enhance governance and infrastructure, ensuring that the necessary foundations are in place to support growth and development.

Beginning by reassessing the organisation’s mission, goals, and alignment with current societal needs and understanding the importance of priorities. Strategic vision and implementing a strong infrastructure and working towards a long term strategy. 

Safeguarding

Conference to Front Line Youth Workers

North Wales

This conference is aimed to empower frontline staff across North Wales by enhancing their skills and addressing barriers encountered when working with young people. This initiative seeks to provide practical training and resources that strengthen staff capabilities in engaging and supporting youth effectively.

By identifying and discussing barriers such as communication challenges, cultural differences, and resource limitations, the conference aims to equip attendees with strategies to overcome these obstacles. Through collaborative workshops and shared experiences, frontline staff will gain valuable insights and tools to foster positive relationships and better meet the diverse needs of young people in their communities.

Barandoes National Black Workers and voluntary Conference

Keynote speaker


“150 years on what impact are we making for Black Communities”.

Training for senior practitioners on prevent, safeguarding, misinformation, and its impact on communities. This combination helped staff further develop their understanding of prevent from multiple aspects.

Nottingham Council
Keynote speaker
“Building trust and confidence in our communities to tackle extremism”.

A seminar understanding prevent, safeguarding and engagement. Exploring positive solutions to effective community engagement to build confidence in services.

Scotland Yard
Keynote speaker
“Best approach to prevent and safeguarding”.

Advisor to senior community women’s NGO’s  across London on practice and engagement. Addressing challenges and systems and how to overcome these when engaging with women at grass root level.

NHS Dewsbury
Keynote speaker
Regional prevent forum

Sharing Practise on prevent and community engagement.

Regional Youth Work Unit, Yorkshire and Humber in Partnership with University of Hull
Keynote speaker
“Countering the Myths of Extremism, Racism, Immigration, Europe and Prevent”.

Opening the event to engage and counter the Myths of Radicalisation and negativity attached to Prevent. Training and project management toolkits have given so attendees could have resources to use when they returned to their respective workplaces to allow engaging discussions on work that needs to be done in the areas of extremism, radicalism, racism and the current European immigration movement.

Feedback

 

Our work with Empowering Minds last year was extremely impactful in addressing issues relating to respect, power, influence and identity. The team were always professional and were able to build positive relationships with our learners over a short space of time. Reports and findings provided were insightful allowed us to embed this learning further.

Alina Khan, Vice Principal, Bradford College.

“We have worked in partnership with Empowering Minds Consultancy on a variety of projects and activities, all of which have been enhanced by the staff’s professionalism and passion for equality and inclusion.  Most recently, Race Equality Network co-designed an Equality Training package for VCSE organisations which we commissioned Sofia Mahmood at Empowering Minds to facilitate. Sofia was engaging, passionate and demonstrated a vast depth of knowledge in the field. The feedback from participants about the training was excellent and we are grateful to Empowering Minds to sharing their expertise.”

Humma Nizami, Race Equality Network, Bradford (West Yorkshire)

The Empowering Minds programme definitely empowered the minds of women in Manchester.  The commitment of the women attending the programme coupled with the knowledge, experience and excellent facilitation and delivery of workshops by Sofia helped to ensure that women from a range of backgrounds not only felt comfortable and safe to talk about sensitive issues.  The feedback from the sessions was overwhelmingly positive and has kick started a number of other activities and projects in the city 

Samiya Butt, Prevent & Community Cohesion Coordinator 

Manchester City Council