William Banner Laidlaw LiA Report
This is my report documenting my reflections on my time in Ra Province, Fiji, with Think Pacific, as part of my Leadership-in-Action project in July-August 2023. It also includes my reflections on global citizenship and ethical leadership, from across my whole time as a Laidlaw Scholar. This was also the starting point for a hopefully long-term project partnership with the Laidlaw Foundation to establish a Kindergarten and Evacuation Centre in Dreketi Settlement. Please reach out if you would like to learn anymore or collaborate in anyway!
Laidlaw Scholar Alumni (Durham University Cohort 6, 2022-24)
Current Endeavours: I am studying MSc Environmental Economics and Climate Change at the LSE for 2024-25. From September 2025, I will be starting a PhD in Environmental Economics at the University of Basel, Switzerland.
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My time as a Laidlaw Scholar:
I graduated with First Class Honours in BA Economics from Durham University. My foremost interests are Development Economics and Environmental Economics. This is reflected in my research project which explored Demographic Economics, titled "The Shifting Distribution of the Global Population in the Twenty-First Century: an Econometric Analysis of the Projected Fortunes of Nigeria and Japan, with Policy Recommendations for Sustainable Development".
I have experience working in economic consulting, specialising in competition economics, and am also a Zumba instructor. During my time on the Laidlaw Programme I have also served as a Laidlaw Schools Trust Mentor for Excelsior Academy in Newcastle.
In 2023, I completed a six-week international ‘Leadership in Action’ project in partnership with Think Pacific for my Laidlaw Scholarship. For this, I participated in a multi-faceted programme, comprising the building of a health centre, collaborations with Diabetes Fiji and Youth Champs 4 Mental Health, and a Fijian Culture Course. The project ended with a Think Tank where we planned how we would sustain progress. In my sub-group’s case, we are working on a new project to build a multi-purpose building to act as a kindergarten and evacuation centre, for which we are currently fundraising. We have had multiple meetings with the Laidlaw Foundation CEO and the Laidlaw Schools Trust, and we are presenting at the Conversations Conference in Dublin in October 2023.
Our project took place in Vunimaqo and Waisava, Dreketi Settlement, Nalawa district, Ra province, Vita Levu island, Fiji.
I attended the Impact 2022 conference at the LSE and (virtually, after flight cancellations) the Conversations 2023 conference at Trinity College Dublin.
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Will, what a brilliant reflection! Thanks so much for sharing, and including pictures. I felt like I was there with you.