Alan Gardiner

Alan is 24 and currently working as a Volunteer Constituency and Parliamentary Assistant for Rushanara Ali MP. He also works on a project called We Do Ideas –an ideas generation project based in the University of Northampton that helps students come up with socially-orientated ideas and then turn these ideas into reality through entrepreneurial competitions, seminars and workshops. He's a Volunteer Learning Session Leader and works on The U – A Citizen’s University – a venture which teaches members of the public important life skills, such as first aid, energy efficiency and conflict resolution through interactive learning sessions.

Having been involved in charity and sport throughout his life and graduating with a First Class BA (Hons) in Politics from Newcastle University in 2010, he has been looking for a career that combines these passions. His social action project, Grassroots, reflects this as it seeks to improve community cohesion in Tower Hamlets through sport. They believe that, in the context of the Summer 2011 riots and the 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games, there has never been a greater opportunity to address this issue in this way.

They aim to bring the whole of Tower Hamlets together, including local residents and authority figures such as politicians and the emergency services, to learn and play Olympic and Paralympic sports on a level playing field before then utilising this collaboration to discuss social issues emanating from the riots.

Alan is inspired by Sir Alex Ferguson – celebrating 25 years of unparalleled success at the highest level.