Livingston James hosts Influencers’ Lunch with Sabir Zazai OBE, CEO of Scottish Refugee Council

At our most recent influencers’ lunch we were honoured to have the inspiring Sabir Zazai OBE, CEO of the Scottish Refugee Council, speak to us.

Sabir was awarded an OBE and admitted to the Royal Society of Edinburgh which are thoroughly well deserved honours. They are also testimony to a remarkable (and almost improbable) story of bravery, resilience and compassion given that he arrived in the UK with no shoes, no English language and only 7 years of formal education in Afghanistan.

There were so many takeaways from his talk. I suspect the one that he might want us all to take to heart is that with the ongoing scarcity of talent, there are many highly motivated and talented people who have been displaced from their home country (through no fault of their own) and find themselves in Scotland with a desire to contribute and make a life for themselves here.

With a little compassion and creative thinking, we can not only help these people in their hour of need; we can help them become part of the solution to the very real economic problem that is scarcity of talent in Scotland.

Livingston James influencers’ events bring together thought leaders from the private, public and not for profit sectors to exchange ideas, develop networks and make a difference. For more information please contact [email protected].