Interview with Alex
Welcome to the eight interview of our miniseries with Little Leaders Foundation's team! Today we get to know Alexander Rowe, who is involved with the organization behind the scenes as a creative consultant. Among other things, he has helped us with constructing the website, designing our logo, the Little Trees Nurtury video and much more.
Meet Alex,
our creative consultant!
LLF: Where did you grow up and how has this impacted your life?
Alex: I grew up in Swindon, which is a railway town in the southwest of England. It’s nestled between larger cities like Bristol, Bath, and Oxford, which often means people are just passing through – bustling between trains and coaches to somewhere else. Though I was relatively bored at times as a teenager (who isn’t?), the bright lights of bigger things on the horizon definitely fostered a sense of adventure in me. Looking back, while I always felt the impulse to leave, growing up in Swindon gave me all the things I needed to do exactly that – including a quality education and a stable, supportive base. I’m very grateful.
LLF: What do you do in your daily life?
Alex: In my working life, I’m an Executive Producer for a television company in Amsterdam called Insight TV. Largely, I’m either helping to steer and oversee shows that are currently being made or formulating new ideas for future shows. Away from work, I’m also a daily burden in the kitchen, a constant nuisance stealing the TV for gaming, and a passionate Liverpool FC supporter.
LLF: What does being creative mean to you?
Alex: For me, being creative is both liberating but also humbling. There are multiple ways to be creative and so many possible forms to play with, of course, but in my job and in my work for Little Leaders, it’s important to ensure that the message we want to communicate comes across clearly and resonates with the community we’re hoping to engage. If creative choices become unmoored from the purpose of your work, or the tone that best resonates with your community, you risk both failing to communicate your message and alienating or otherwise failing to get the attention of its intended audience. I suppose I’d see creativity in this context as an abstract conversation. As serious as that sounds, it should also be fun, liberating or cathartic!
LLF: Why did you join Little Leaders Foundation? And what is it you do for the organization?
Alex: My role with Little Leaders is largely to provide my opinion if there are any creative ideas that Kintan and Elisah (or anyone else within the organization) would like to talk through and develop, and to be involved with the creation of video content wherever needed. To be honest, it’s an easy job as the creativity already within the organization rarely needs any direction! I joined LLF for two reasons. Firstly, Kintan is my partner and so I’ll always support her wherever I can. Secondly, and most importantly, I genuinely believe in the ambitions of the organization. It is a privilege to have had the kind of supportive, stable childhood I did, and so to help provide a small piece of that stability, especially in such a direct and transparent manner, is wonderful. I think anyone who places value on their own childhood education can really see how significant it is as a cornerstone to later life.
LLF: You helped with the design of the logo of our organization. Can you tell us a little bit about what the design symbolizes and the process of creating it?
Alex: I did indeed! Though I don’t claim too much credit as it was actually shown to me the same way so many great ideas take shape for the first time – as a doodle on a napkin. Kintan and Elisah had come up with the idea of having an Escher-esque logo with stairs leading ever upwards. It was a symbol of how education and support in early childhood really can empower people and communities in a kind of self-sustaining cycle of societal development. I honed the idea a little, polished it up and there it was.
LLF: As you may know, we believe that education is the stepping stone in creating a more equal playing field for all children. What is your take on the education system now and what is one thing you think is necessary to change it for the better?
Alex: It may be rather generic, but access to education really feels like the best place to begin and is something Little Leaders have already highlighted with both the Sponsor a Child program and the building of the Little Trees Nurtury. If a community has places of education at their centre, or a generation of educated children growing up and participating in their society, then educational progress really feels like a self-sustaining cycle. Access to education could lead to greater inclusion within a community, to a more curious mindset or even further, extended education, and the more we build that connection, that curiosity and that desire to learn, the more we create opportunities for those individuals to question, to improve and to give back.
LLF: What was your favourite subject in school? And which subject do you think we should add to the curriculum?
Alex: At school, I think art would have been my favourite – any excuse to daydream and really explore was the most exciting, far more than being given an exam with a right/wrong, yes/no solution. Although it’s taught at later ages (certainly in the UK), I would say critical thinking and philosophy could perhaps be taught at an earlier stage. It wasn’t until later in secondary school or my A-Levels (around 15 or 16) that I really felt some of those subjects were introduced to me, but looking back on my education, it’s the subjects which taught me how to think and to analyze, rather than how to seek a perfect answer, which is the most useful in life.
LLF: Did someone inspire you when you were young and if so, who is it and is it still an inspiration for you now?
Alex: I’ve always looked up to my sister (as most younger siblings do at some point!) because she’s naturally been the first one of us to reach life milestones and go off to school; to college; to university. I’d always be envious of her and itching to start my own journey, which certainly drove me to keep up. Now, she works in media, mostly specializing in social, historical and heritage projects. Considering that I also work in media, but in a more corporate environment, I think seeing the projects and people she works with helps to remind me what’s important about the industry – education and empowerment. Creativity is about communicating something, and often what it takes is for the decision-makers on the corporate side to really listen to the community they’re representing. I know my sister cares deeply about the projects she’s involved with and the people that engage with them, and that’s certainly something to strive for.
LLF: What is your favourite quote that you would like to share with our Little Leaders?
Alex: I think it’s a quote that’s already on the website! “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.” I think that ties back into Little Leaders’ goals to foster education at the heart of a community and subsequently provide something that benefits more than just the individual being taught, but the community they go on to become a part of. One passionate, educated, and curious person can help grow and sculpt the world around them for the better, but it all starts by planting the seed of learning and placing value on the collective benefit that brings.
LLF: Do you have any ambitions that you would like to enact to help better this world?
Alex: In my job as a television producer, I’d love to be able to craft the type of shows and documentaries which really challenge the viewer and present new topics which provoke compassion and understanding. That type of content can be a great vehicle to progress a conversation, even if it isn’t the direct solution in itself. If I could spend my life creating things which really resonate with people on an emotional level and sends them away ready to be an active and engaged member of society relating to a particular cause or topic, I would die happy!
