The Faces of Change: Amara and Chris
After celebrating many of The Agency Alumni Agents in Series 1, we’re shining the spotlight on the powerhouse team behind The Agency of Change. These are the passionate creatives who turn ideas into impact - visionaries working together to inspire change and drive our mission forward.
From The Agency of Change cohorts in London and Southampton respectively, we have Alumni Agents Amara and Chris, who both spearheaded projects that have brought their communities together.
Since creating positive change through their projects, the two have continued their involvement with The Agency of Change, collaborating with members of our National Team and influencing the organisation in different roles.
Amara is now managing The Agency of Change TikTok, producing national content to showcase our ongoing story and highlight the work of Agents across the UK.
Chris is an Agency Correspondent in Southampton, capturing the journeys of Agents up close, amplifying their voices, and making sure their work is shared widely.
Amara Q&A
When did you join The Agency and what was your idea/project?
Hi, my name is Amara, and I am an Alumni Agent from the 2023-24 London Cohort. My project aimed to create opportunities for young people to explore hobbies and discover new interests through workshop experiences that aren't discussed in school, such as gardening and horse riding. While delivering these workshops, I planned on filming interviews and documenting the process to make into a short film that young people, friends, and family could watch on a screening day while enjoying a meal made from the crops grown in the garden.
In your own words, what's your role at The Agency?
My role is to highlight key moments in The Agency. Moments such as the formation of friendships in the first few days of a new cohort and the process of recruiting for new Agents as Alumni. Reminding young people that being an Agent isn’t just about making a project to help your territory but also about watching yourself mature into a better version of yourself. I capture these moments into short content videos to show people a closer look at The Agency.
Now if you had to describe your role in one word (and why you chose that word!), what would it be?
I would describe my role as ‘inspiring.’ I chose this word because it applies to me and people viewing the content that I posted. Editing videos and adding captions is always a process that reminds me of how amazing the Agents are. When I post about their project, I go through each one and learn something new, which motivates me to do what I love doing and help others to do so too.
Amara (centre) with fellow Alumni Agents.
What’s a hidden gem in one of The Agency Territories that everyone should know about?
A hidden gem that I need everybody to know about is the community garden in Doddington Estate in Battersea, London. The roof garden must be one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in London. Full of veggies and fruits growing everywhere, and pretty flowers, it's so healing being in that space. I hope I can spend more time there soon.
Describe a recent moment at The Agency that made you feel especially proud or moved.
A moving moment for me was on my first National gathering trip to Manchester. Meeting everyone for the first time in a different city was the reality check I needed to fully understand that The Agency is real (not that I didn’t think that before). A key moment was a poetry workshop run by Ade, which made me think hard about what I care about in life and what impact I want to make on Earth.
The Agency started in Brazil before coming to the UK, if you could bring the programme to another country where would that be?
The Agency programme would flourish in Nigeria. After going to Nigeria and seeing the country myself, I couldn’t help but notice the raw talent and passion that these young people have. They're driven to make each day better than the day before, real hustlers. If young people there had the opportunity to make a project that could help the people around them, I am sure the number of young people falling into fraud and crime would decrease.
Imagine you wake up tomorrow with a superpower - what would it be?
If I woke up with a superpower, it would be teleport. I know one of my biggest issues is procrastination, which ends up impacting my organisational skills. Being able to teleport would get me everywhere I need to go early and ready.
Do you have a motto or phrase that guides you in your work or life?
Every day, I try to remind myself to make today better than yesterday. This could be in the smallest way, such as waking up by the first alarm or doing extra steps.
Finally, if your life were a song, what genre would it be? Feel free to share a song recommendation too.
Despite how young I may be, I am sure I have an old soul when it comes to music. I love music from the 70s-90s or the 90s R&B vibe. Something about hearing raw voices and talent just makes me appreciate everything around me and the things I'm yet to see. Right now, I really love ‘I like’ but Kut Klose. It’s the perfect blend of melodic yearning music. I find it very captivating, and I hope you do too!
Chris Q&A
Use one word to sum up your experience at The Agency. Why did you choose that word?
The one word I would use to sum up my time in The Agency is life-changing, as it has helped shape my confidence in so many ways and it has led to so many things that I have now such as being a part of the Southampton food partnership.
What was your Agency idea/project? Why is it important to you and the community?
My project is Harvest Of Hope a free cooking course for people from low income households, this is important to me as I believe that having access to food is a basic human right and not a privilege, and the area of SO14 is a very impoverished area and truly needs knowledge on how to cook cheap healthy food.
What advice would you give to new participants joining The Agency?
One piece of advice that I would give is for people to take as much from the experience as possible, and try to make friends in The Agency as you will be with these people twice a week for the next 10 weeks.
What kind of storytelling inspires you most? (example: films, video, book, music, poem, video games, etc.)
Music inspires me the most as it is a way for people to fully express themselves and talk about any topic imaginable.
If you had total freedom, what’s a story you would love to tell?
The story of the bible is one I would love to tell.
If you could instantly spark one change in your community or in the world, what would it be?
I would have everyone in the world be able to have access to good healthy food that is not ultra processed and also is not nutritionally terrible.
Do you have a favourite quote or motto?
“Trust the process”
If your life were a song, what genre would it be? Feel free to recommend a song too!
It would be a pop song and the one song I would choose is man in the mirror by Michael Jackson.
Chris Southampton FM Interview
In May 2025, Chris was interviewed by Voice FM Southampton, a local radio station where he discussed his project and the inspirations behind it. Here’s some highlights of what Chris mentioned:
‘I teach younger people as they have fresh ideas they can translate to their parents’ - on the participants of his project Harvest of Hope.
‘I was scared to talk to anyone, then I thought what gave me confidence and they was cooking. When you’re cooking, you can express yourself through the dishes you make.’ - on how he came up his project idea.
‘It’s so empowering to have that thing you’ve made without anyone’s help.’ - on what cooking personally means to him.
‘I had the idea of doing a cooking project, but I had no idea how I was going to do it. And then during The Agency, I got to familiarise myself with the area a bit more.’ - on developing his project after joining as an Agent.
‘You need to think about what you can produce and how it’s not only going to affect you, but the area you live in as well. It can be really uplifting if you just go for the idea and you try your hardest at it, and you don’t take it personally if it fails.’ - advice on the first step for aspiring young people with ideas of change.
Hear Chris speaking about his project in the radio segment below:
This was the eighth article in series 2 of ‘the Faces of Change’. 
the faces of change - alumni - london - southampton - staff